Tag Archives: peak

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Ascending to Kaweah Gap

1 Comment
Ascending to Kaweah Gap
“Ascending to Kaweah Gap” — Caroline Reutter passes wildflowers on the High Sierra Trail as the route ascends to Kaweah Gap

My friend Caroline ascends the High Sierra Trail toward Kaweah Gap above Upper Hamilton Lake in Sequoia National Park, California on the morning of the third day of a 9-day trans-Sierra pack trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal.

The High Sierra Trail crosses the entire range between Crescent Meadow in the west and Whitney Portal in the east, and travels through Sequoia National Park with the exception of the section to the east of Whitney Trail Crest. This portion above Upper Hamilton Lake ascends about 2500′ rather steeply to Kaweah Gap, a beautiful pass over the Great Western Divide by which the trail reaches Big Arroyo and the Kern River drainage.

In this photo Caroline has finished most of the very steep initial ascent above Hamilton Lake and is crossing an area of many streams and meadows and flowers shortly before arriving at Precipice Lake, from which it is only a short distance to the Gap.

COMMENT OR QUESTION? Scroll down to the comment form.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dawn and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake

Leave a comment

Dawn and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake
Dawn and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake. Sequoia National Park, California. August 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dawn along the tree-lined shore of Moraine Lake in Sequoia National Park, California. Moraine Lake is along the “High Sierra Trail” route between Crescent Meadow in the western Sierra and Whitney Portal on the east side of the range. This photograph was made last week as I crossed the range from west to east with a group of friends – who were all still warm in their sleeping bags while I arose before dawn to prowl the lakeshore and get this sunrise photograph.

keywords: dawn, shore, shoreline, trees, moraine, lake, high, sierra, trail, nevada, backpack, hike, camp, reflection, rock, mountain, alpine, great western divide, peak, forest, grass, quiet, landscape, california, usa, sequoia, national park, stock, blue, sky

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Ansel’s Tree

2 Comments
Ansel's Tree
“Ansel’s Tree” — The snag that remained in 2008 of the tree in Ansel Adam’s “Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome.”

This is all that remained in 2008 of the Jeffrey Pine on Sentinel Dome that was the subject of the famous Ansel Adams photograph,”Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome.” Somewhere I even have my early attempts at trying to do the “Ansel Adams thing” with my black and white film camera when I was much younger, featuring one or more photographs of this very tree, while it was still alive. Trust me, if you are a Sierra Nevada landscape photographer of a certain age, you knew this tree and probably visited it.

I photographed this close-up “portrait” many years after the tree died, while on a quick hike over to the summit of Sentinel Dome along the Glacier Point Road in 2008. Things change slowly in the Sierra, but they do inevitably change. This is now, objectively speaking, another dead snag atop a Yosemite granite dome — however, this snag has achieved a sort of iconic status. Yet, perhaps there will eventually be another, maybe even the younger tree seen in the background beyond the dead stump.

COMMENT OR QUESTION? Scroll down to the comment form.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others.

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark

4 Comments

Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark
Vernal and Nevada Falls, Alpenglow on Mt. Clark. Yosemite National Park, California. May 16, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

In mid-May made a quick one-day run up to Yosemite and back to get reacquainted with the waterfalls – at that time in full spring flow – and see the Valley coming back to life again after winter. In the evening I found myself at Glacier Point watching another stunning Sierra Crest sunset. This photograph was made as the very last light touched the top of Mt. Clark.

keywords: yosemite, valley, national park, merced, river, mount, mt. clark, sierra, nevada, mountain, crest, ridge, peak, fall, waterfall, evening, sunset, twilight, alpenglow, tree, forest, dome, granite, mist, trail, snow, glacier point, view, scenic, travel, landscape, california, usa, stock