Tag Archives: sierra

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Precipice Lake – Imaginary Landscape

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Precipice Lake - Imaginary Landscape
Precipice Lake – Imaginary Landscape. Sequoia National Park, California. August 6, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A very subjective view of Precipice Lake, Sequoia National Park, California.

Another take on Precipice Lake, this one is not intended to be a literal depiction of the scene. The image has been manipulated in several ways such that it perhaps belongs in the same category with some of my other photos that I describe as “imaginary landscapes.” Part of the “game” with this one was to reduce saturation to the point where it may seem almost but not quite like a black and white image. I like to think of it as being “subjectively true” without being objectively accurate. (Though, frankly, you can say that about essentially any photograph – I suppose this one may just be a bit further from the objective reality that some others I’ve done.)

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

keywords: predicipice, lake, cliff, water, snow, rock, pattern, reflection, kaweah, gap, high, sierra, trail, nevada, california, usa, imaginary, landscape, altered, processed, subjective, ansel adams, sequoia, national park, mountain, alpine, talus, pattern

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake

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Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake
Evening and Shoreline Trees, Moraine Lake. Sequoia National Park, California. August 7 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Evening along the tree-lined shore of Moraine Lake in Sequoia National Park, California.

Moraine Lake is located on the Chagoopa Plateau in the Sierra Nevada backcountry of Sequoia National Park, between Big Arroyo and the deep trench of Kern Canyon. Aside from being a bit windy when I’ve been there, it is a very peaceful spot – and a good warm place (relatively speaking) to swim. No surprise given its name, the opposite shore is formed by a lateral moraine that must have come from a glacier traveling down Big Arroyo, and there are lots of rocks everywhere. In fact, along the near shoreline they form a couple of little peninsulas that enclose shallows cut off from the main lake and which support a few trees like those in this photograph.

Most recently I was here in in early August of 2008, when I and a group of friends camped for a night on our trip from Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal via the High Sierra Trail. Technically (OK, literally), Moraine Lake is not “on” the High Sierra Trail, being instead on a lateral loop that leaves the HS Trail on the Chagoopa Plateau to drop down to the lake, and which then continues to the loop to rejoin a few miles later. Oddly, it seems to me that most people who hike through here probably do take the alternative route past Moraine, with the exception of some hard-core hikers who walk far enough in a day to not need to camp on the Plateau.

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

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.

keywords: high, sierra, trail, nevada, california, usa, landscape, travel, hike, backpack, big arroyo, california, usa, climb, ascend, stream, creek, rock, grass, plant, tree, flower, wildflower, big arroyo, chagoopa, plateau, morning, stock, water, rock, boulder

Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Two Snags – Big Arroyo

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Two Snags - Big Arroyo
Two Snags – Big Arroyo. Sequoia National Park, California. August 7 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Black and white photograph of two trailside snags above Big Arroyo with Great Western Divide in the distance, Sequoia National Park, California.

This photograph was made on Sequoia National Park’s High Sierra Trail as it climbs out of Big Arroyo and onto the Chagoopa Plateau before eventually dropping down into the depths of the Kern Canyon.

I was in full “head down and climbing the trail” mode when I almost walked right past these trailside snags, but my friend Ernie fortunately pointed them out to me. Ernie’s not really a photographer – though he takes far more great photos of fellow backpackers than I – but he notices a lot on the trail. He was the champion at running into wildlife on the August 2008 High Sierra Trail trip, typically managing to discover a couple rattlesnakes each day and on another day discovering a small mammal that the rest of us had never seen in the Sierra.

keywords: high, sierra, trail, nevada, california, usa, landscape, travel, hike, backpack, big arroyo, california, usa, tree, snag, great western divide, sequoia, national park, cloud, sky, ridge, mountain, alpine, landscape, branch, stock, black and white