Tag Archives: shoreline

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening, Unnamed Lake and the Great Western Divide

August 20, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 1 Comment

Evening sky over the Great Western Divide reflected in an unnamed alpine lake, Sequoia National Park, California.

I don’t know quite what to say about this area of the Sierra located just east of the Great Western Divide in the upper reaches of the Kern River drainage – I’ve been very close to here on many previous trips, but I never quite managed to hop the intervening ridge even though I’ve thought vaguely about visiting this area for decades and I once passed through the lower reaches of it, more or less by accident and completely unaware of what was just upstream.

A group of us traveled over Kearsarge Pass (11,700’+) and Forrester Pass (13, 200′) to arrive in the upper Kern at Tyndall Creek along the JMT. (I think the general area is also known as the “bighorn plateau.”) I’ve been here on several previous occasions while heading to or circumnavigating Mt. Whitney. While I’ve gone east (to exit over the very rough Shepherd Pass at 12,000′) I’ve not really explored west and north of this area. Our general plan on this trip was to rectify that, specifically by visiting remote and very high Lake South America. After wandering up a mosquito-infested valley, climbing its headwall, and then dropping to a lake just below the saddle we made it to Lake South America. We had originally planned to stay here overnight, but the very barren and rocky surroundings didn’t attract us in the end, so we decided to head on to the west and south.

After a bit of a walk on a somewhat rough trail (which got much rougher later on) we arrived at a series of timberline lakes overlooking the Great Western Divide, which towered above us to the west. There is much I could say about this area, but I’ll limit myself to a few comments… and not name the specific location we visited. We finally found a sandy camping spot between a few lakes and tarns – it was surrounded by stunning alpine views ranging from the lakes themselves and the surrounding rocky meadows and clumps of trees to the jagged and high peaks to our west. The next morning we followed a very faint trail down the canyon, passing almost continuously through astonishing scenery featuring intimate, granite-surrounded meadows and small lakes.

I must go back. It won’t be easy. I’ll want to carry a bit more photography gear than I carried on this trip, and I’ll want to stay a day or two longer. And the location is two to three days from the nearest trailheads, all of which take you over some very high passes.

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.

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 is available by “mousing over” large images in blog posts. Leave a comment if you want to know more.)

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

Tuolumne Meadows, Stormy Evening

August 10, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Evening storm clouds over the Sierra crest beyond Tuolumne Meadows and Lembert Dome, Yosemite National Park, California.

Once I saw these clouds begin to gather above Mount Dana on the Sierra crest, I made it my goal to be in this particular spot along the banks of the Tuolumne River at sunset. Actually, I arrived and set up quite a bit before actual sunset, and I began shooting even a bit earlier than the time when this photograph was made. A large storm cell had parked itself over and just beyond 13,000’+ Mount Dana on the Sierra crest at Tioga Pass, and as the evening went on rain eventually began to fall from this cell.

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.

keywords: yosemite, national, park, california, usa, north america, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, crest, tuolumne, meadows, river, lembert, dome, mount, gibbs, dana, dog, brush, tree, forest, reflection, storm, clouds, sunset, evening, three, trees, bank, shoreline, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, sunset, stock, mount, dana

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

Mono Lake Shoreline and Tufa, Dawn

August 9, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Dawn illuminates the shoreline of Mono Lake, tufa towers, and the smooth surface of the lake.

In my previous post (“Abandoned Buildings, Eastern Sierra”) I wrote about not quite making it to the South Tufa area of Mono Lake at dawn, instead stopped five or ten minutes earlier to shoot some amazing red sunrise light on the eastern Sierra escarpment in the Parker Pass area. Fortunately, because Mono Lake is lower in elevation that the spot where I shot sunrise, by the time I got to South Tufa the sunset wasn’t that far along. In fact, by rushing out to the shoreline I managed to get there shortly after the first light hit the tufa towers.

This was one of the first photographs I made when I arrived, hence the very golden “first light” and the long shadows on the shoreline rocks in the foreground. It was an interesting morning: there were already plentiful signs that this would be a day of thunderstorms and rain with virga to the east and a developing weather cell already over the Sierra crest to the north. Despite all of the potential for “weather action,” it was very quite and still at this point, with only the sound of seagulls breaking the morning silence.

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.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Morning Squall, South Tufa

August 1, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 3 Comments

Thunderhead builds above Mono Lake — “Morning Squall, South Tufa” — The shoreline of Mono Lake as a morning squall drops rain over the Sierra Crest near Lee Vining, California.

This photograph is, in a number of ways, a sort of happy accident. I had been camped in the Tuolumne Meadows area for several days, photographing in that part of the Yosemite National Park Sierra Nevada high country. On the previous day I had been caught out on a hike in a surprise thunderstorm without rain gear, so I was very conscious of the weather. That evening it occurred to me that, given the approach of some monsoonal moisture and the already wet weather, it was possible that interesting clouds might form in the Mono Lake area the next morning.

That night I peered out of my tent from time to time to see if any clouds were interrupting the light of the full moon, thinking that this might be enough to get me to change my plans for morning photography and make the drive to Mono Lake. At one point a few clouds did dim the moon light, and a bit later a few showers came through. At this point I decided to get up earlier and drive to the lake.

I thought I got up early enough. However, as I drove down highway 395 south of Lee Vining I realized that I had miscalculated and that the sun was already hitting the clouds! I experienced a classic photographer’s dilemma – shoot what I see here now, or race on hoping to shoot the planned thing. I decided to stop and photograph the first light on the Sierra crest from 395 before heading on — but now my original plan for a pre-dawn visit to Mono was out the window. After finishing here I made my way to Mono just as the first sun was striking the lake. I quickly made it out to the shoreline and saw (how could anyone miss it!?) this giant cloud cell blowing up over the Sierra crest just north of Lee Vining.

This post was revised in April, 2025.

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.