Tag Archives: sierra

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

Upper Young Lake

Leave a comment
Upper Young Lake

Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening light on Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park, California.

The first section of Upper Young Lake that you come to – at least if you approach from west side as I did – is especially beautiful. After climbing to the level of the lake you cross over gentle meadow hills spotted with small groves of alpine trees and eventually descend very gently through meadows to the lake shore. This side of the lake has an especially interesting shoreline – there are clumps of boggy, partially submerged meadow, slightly higher sections of firm ground containing wildflowers, good sized rocks and boulders embedded in the meadow and the lake shore, and a long string of rocks cuts across a rounded bay.

In this photograph I’m shooting from the slightly higher and drier meadow across one of the boggy shoreline sections on which a small, solitary tree grows next to a large rock and some wildflowers. Beyond is the the bay that is bisected by the string of boulder islands, with more small clusters of trees and glaciated rocks on the far shore, backed by the lower reaches of a tall and rocky ridge than runs along the far side of the series of Young Lakes.

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: Pinus contorta, murrayana, lodgepole, pine, tamarack, upper, young, lake, tree, forest, grove, small, grass, flower, meadow, shore, shoreline, rock, boulder, grass, talus, scree, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, backpack, hike, nature, wilderness, flora, water, reflection, granite, alpine, travel, scenic, landscape, evening, light, stock

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

Boulders, Upper Young Lake

Leave a comment
Boulders, Upper Young Lake

Boulders, Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Small islands catch the evening light at Upper Young Lake, Yosemite National Park.

On this late-July evening I climbed from Lower Young Lake to the upper lake an hour or so before sunset, hoping to photograph the lake and the surrounding open terrain as the day ended. The lake provides a real alpine scene, as it is set in an open meadow interspersed with glacial remains and scattered groups of trees with tall, rocky ridges and peaks to the south, east, and north – but open to the sunset in the west.

On a side note, I’ve been to this lake a number of times. Although the walk up from the lower lake isn’t all that far (perhaps a mile or so) I’ve always wondered about one section of the use trail that more or less ascends right up a steep section of the creek flowing from the lake. This time I took a closer look at the map instead of just walking where the trail seemed to go, and I found a much easier approach that leaves the main trail at the middle lake.

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: boulder, island, evening, sunset, light, warm, ripples, reflection, grass, tree, plant, flora, lichen, rock, hill, tree, alpine, face, meadow, shoreline, upper, young, lake, granite, snow, forest, grove, water, sierra, nevada, mountain, range, yosemite, national park, california, usa, hike, backpack, travel, scenic, tuolumne meadows, nature, landscape, stock

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

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

2 Comments
Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Meadows and rocks along the shoreline of upper Young Lake with Sierra Crest peaks reflected the distance, Yosemite National Park.

During the last week of July I backpacked to the Young Lakes area of the Yosemite High Sierra near Tuolumne Meadows to spend the better part of four days visiting and photographing the lakes and other features of this area. I’ve been here many times, but this is the first time that I simply stayed put for several days and visited all three Young Lakes and Roosevelt Lake.

The three Young Lakes are all within about a mile of one another, strung along a creek below the ridge running out the Ragged Peak. Each has a distinct personality, and it isn’t surprising that the upper lake is the most alpine of the three, mostly surrounded by open sub-alpine meadows, a sparse forest of small trees, and open views of the surrounding peaks at or near the crest of the Sierra Nevada range.

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: upper, young, lake, shoreline, rock, meadow, grass, tree, forest, mountain, boulder, reflection, meadow, sky, cloud, evening, sunset, sierra, nevada, range, yosemite, national park, landscape, nature, stock, hike, backpack, alpine, california, usa

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature

First Light, South Tufa

3 Comments
First Light, South Tufa

First Light, South Tufa. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

First light of dawn illuminates tufa towers and distant mountain at Mono Lake, California.

This photograph was made at the usual spot – anyone who has photographed at Mono (and who hasn’t!? :-) knows that the most consistent spot to shoot sunrise light is at the South Tufa area, down the road from highway 395 a bit south of Lee Vining. On a good morning you’ll have at least some clouds, and the location of those clouds may dictate what your foreground subject is; do you want to shoot to the north and the low hills, to the east and towards the sunrise, or toward the Sierra Nevada crest? You arrive very early, usually well before dawn, and walk out to the edge of the water where the towers are. You find a composition and wait, with the only sounds the cries of seagulls (a sound I immediately associate with Mono) and possibly the voices of other photographers. The sky begins to lighten and then, almost before you know it, the warm glow of the first dawn light begins to light up the towers. (Am I the only one who marvels that this happens in almost complete silence?)

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: first, light, dawn, sun, rise, morning, illuminate, tufa, tower, south, mono, lake, water, reflection, cloud, sky, red, pink, rock, ripple, pattern, gull, bird, distant, california, usa, eastern, sierra, nevada, landscape, nature, scenic, travel, stock, bird, shore