Tag Archives: plateau

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Plateau Above Townsley Lake, Sunset

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Plateau Above Townsley Lake, Sunset

Plateau Above Townsley Lake, Sunset. Yosemite National Park, California. September 7, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The last light illuminates the sub-alpine tundra and a small dry tarn on the plateau above Townsley Lake with the Fletcher-Parsons Peaks ridge in the distance. Yosemite National Park, California.

I have crossed this plateau above Townsley Lake near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp many times on travels between Fletcher Lake and the Ireland Lake area. The area fascinates me, as it is a very large and relatively flat area of alpine tundra in an area that otherwise contains a lot of high rocky peaks. For several years I’ve wanted to be on the plateau as the sun sets, and I finally got my chance during my early September 2008 photography expedition into this area. I stayed up here long enough to photograph after the sun had set… and then stumbled back into camp in the dark to fix a late dinner under the light of my headlamp.

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Tarn on Lake Townsley Plateau

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Plateau Above Townsley Lake, Sunset

Tarn on Lake Townsley Plateau. Yosemite National Park, California. September 7, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset light on the meadow near a small alpine tarn on the plateau above Townsley Lake, with the ridge between Fletcher and Parson Peaks beyond.

This plateau is located just above Townsley Lake, near the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp and Fletcher Lake. I have visited this spot many times on walks between Fletcher and Ireland Lakes, and I have wanted to photograph here at sunset for quite some time.

(I’ve written a bit about how I get to and across this plateau here.)

This tarn, dry at this late time in the season, sits near the edge of the plateau and catches the low angle sun just before sunset. The ridge beyond runs between Parsons and Fletcher Peaks. The water level is very low due to the lateness of the season – a month earlier this tarn was surrounded by green grasses and wildflowers.

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Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Sierra Trail, Big Arroyo

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High Sierra Trail, Big Arroyo
High Sierra Trail, Big Arroyo. Sequoia National Park, California. August 7, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The High Sierra Trail crosses a small stream as it begins to climb out of Big Arroyo toward the Chagoopa Plateau.

On this day our route traveled from the old cabin in Big Arroyo out to Moraine Lake on the Chagoopa Plateau. This section of trail was near the start of the day’s walk as we began our climb out of the Arroyo, through a trail section that was often under forest cover and was crossed frequently by small creeks. I’ve been across this trail section more than once, and this time I managed to avoid being surprised by the climb. When you arrive in Big Arroyo from Kaweah Gap the view convinces you that you have nothing but downhill between there and the Kern Canyon – but you are quite wrong. The trail does follow the bottom of the Arroyo for a few miles, but then it climbs – more steadily and more steeply than you might think – up the east side of the valley to reach the flat area of Chagoopa Plateau.

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