Tag Archives: ridge

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Tarn, Great Western Divide

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Alpine Tarn, Great Western Divide
Alpine Tarn, Great Western Divide

Alpine Tarn, Great Western Divide. Sequoia National Park, California. August 2, 2010. © Copyright 2010 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The peaks of the Great Western Divide tower above a small alpine tarn reflecting afternoon light, Sequoia National Park.

Our original goal on this late-July, early-August southern Sierra backpacking trip was to be Lake South America, a very high, very barren, and very remote lake in the upper reaches of the Kern River basin in Sequoia National Park. Believe it or not, I’ve thought of visiting this lake for decades, ever since a very early pack trip on which I planned to go there but ended up bypassing the lake and exiting in Mineral King. (Mineral King is nowhere near Lake South America. It is a long story… :-)

After staying on the JMT at Tyndall Creek the night before, we headed up over the ridge to the northwest in the morning. After walking up a broad and mosquito infested marshy valley, we climbed the steep headwall at the upper end of this valley and looked down at a lake on the other side. Just beyond this lake was Lake South America. Oddly, when we arrived we were not tremendously excited by the scene. Yes, it is a wild and high place in the heart of the Sierra, but for some reason it seemed a bit like many other high, barren lakes we had visited before… and we decided to make only a very brief visit and then move on.

This turned out to be a great decision. After returning to the lake that we had passed just prior to the short side trip to Lake South America, we picked up a trail heading towards the head waters of the Kern and eventually dropped down to a set of about four beautiful lakes just below treeline. The lakes, unnamed as far as I can tell, seem to sit at the edge of a valley with the high and jagged peaks of the Great Western Divide just beyond, providing one of the most rugged and spectacular scenes I’ve encountered in the Sierra. Needless to say, we decided to camp here despite the mosquito hatch that was currently underway.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Southern California

Afternoon, Upper Bubbs Creek

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Afternoon, Upper Bubbs Creek
Afternoon, Upper Bubbs Creek

Afternoon, Upper Bubbs Creek. Kings Canyon National Park, California. July 31, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Late afternoon light on the forest and distant peaks on Upper Bubbs Creek, Kings Canyon National Park.

Since this photograph comes from an entirely different adventure, a bit of background information is probably in order. Among my summer pack trips, each year I join my friends from the talusdancers, a loosely connected group of folks who like to backpack, for at least one “big trip” in the Sierra. I’ve been doing this for nearly 15 years now. This year’s trip revisited some familiar spots (Tyndall Creek in the upper Kern), some that I had not visited for quite a few years (Forrester Pass), and one area that I have never before visited despite thinking about it for over 30 years (Milestone Basin and the Lake South America area). Near the end of July we headed out of Onion Valley to cross Kearsarge Pass, turned south to enter the Upper Kern River drainage via Forrester Pass, explored there for a few day, and then exited by way of brutal Shepherd Pass.

Forrester Pass is the second-highest point on the John Muir Trail (or “the JMT,” as most refer to it) at 13,200′, and we planned to cross it from north to south on the third day of our trip. At the end of day two we dropped down to Vidette Meadow and then headed up canyon to upper Bubbs Creek where the old Center Basin trail splits off from the main JMT where we made camp. This photograph was made in the late afternoon as we lazed about, doing a bit of laundry and thinking about the big climb ahead of us the next day. The view beyond the foreground and the closer trees is back down the canyon of Bubbs Creek, with the lowering sun lighting the canyon walls.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

First Light Above Tenaya Lake

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First Light Above Tenaya Lake
First Light Above Tenaya Lake

First Light Above Tenaya Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 23, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The first morning light begins to light the granite domes and peaks above Tenaya Lake in the high-country of Yosemite National Park, California.

Although it is still more or less pre-dawn in the forest down around Tenaya Lake, morning is well underway above where the distant summit of Mount Conness is in full sun and the light is beginning to strike the granite ridges and domes above the lake. I’m always amazed at how few people who are in the area manage to get out and see the special beauty of dawn in the Sierra.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows

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Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows
Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows

Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 24, 2010. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset virga drops rain above the summit of Mount Dana and is reflected in a quiet pool of the Tuolumne River.

Earlier on this day I had been caught out without raingear, two hours out from the trailhead on the Sierra crest at Mono Pass, as the thunderstorms began. Apparently a change in the weather pattern had sneaked in without me noticing, and what started as a completely clear morning turned into an afternoon of thundershowers and quite a bit of rain in the Tuolumne region.

For a photographer, this can be good news. All too often, Sierra weather can be what seems like an interminable string of boring, perfect blue sky days. A bit of weather is often a lot more interesting.

Since it had rained all afternoon, I thought there might be a chance of interesting sunset colors if the clouds over the crest stuck around and the clouds to the west cleared enough to allow the light of the setting sun to shine in unimpeded. You almost never know for certain when it comes to these conditions – the best you can do is recognize when they might happen, and then be there to do your work if it happens. You’ll either get some great sunset color… or you’ll be left standing there wondering what happened.

Back in early June I had scouted this location that placed the group of three trees to the right of Lembert dome and placed a quiet pool of the Tuolumne River in the foreground. At that time, while I liked to the potential of the location, there was no interesting light and I did not even go back on that trip to photograph there – I just filed it away in my memory as something to try should I be there when sunset clouds were just right. So when I thought I saw “sunset potential” on this night, I more or less made a bee-line to this spot. I set up my gear, made a composition (and a few variations on it) and waited to see what would happen. Not only did the colors turn on just before sunset, but at that exact time a single cloud dropping virga (rain that doesn’t reach the ground) appeared above Mount Dana, the distant and highest peak in the photograph.

G Dan Mitchell Photography
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

(Basic EXIF data may be available by “mousing over” large images in posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)