Tag Archives: townsley

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.

keywords: sunset, evening, townsley, lake, plateau, parsons, fletcher, peak, lake, meadow, forest, grass, tree, peak, ridge, alpine, sun, light, yosemite, national park, california, usa, landscape, travel, scenic, hike, backpack, camp, outdoor, mountain

Photographs: Sierra Nevada, Photographs: Yosemite

Between Ireland and Townsley Lakes

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PlateauTarn2005|08|27: Tarn between Ireland and Townsley Lakes. Yosemite National Park. August 27, 2005. &copy: Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Tarn between Ireland and Townsley Lakes. Yosemite National Park. August 27, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

This small tarn is located on a cross-country route* over a low ridge between Ireland and Townsley Lakes in Yosemite’s backcountry above Tuolumne Meadows. The plateau where this lake is located is one of may favorite parts of the park, and I visit it at least once each summer.

*For those wondering about the route: There is no trail between Townsley and Ireland Lakes, so you should only go here if you are comfortable with trail-less travel and have some experience with this. If you don’t, I’ll just point out that people have gotten lost and into other kinds of unfortunate trouble in places even more benign than this one. Please only regard this as a personal story and not as encouragement to travel here nor as a route guide.

That said, I often make my way to Townsley Lake from Fletcher Lake by any of the common routes and the many available variations, some of which almost look like faint trails. I like to either ascend the grassy slopes above (to the right when approaching from Fletcher) Townsley directly from the lake or else bypass the lake and head straight for the upper part of this slope. From the top of this slope a large alpine tundra area dotted by a few small tarns appears before me. I take a route that heads generally toward the left side of an apparent cone-shaped prominence on the ridge between me and Ireland Lake – there are many ways to get there and I don’t always follow the same route. Eventually I cross over some steep slabs to top out on this ridge, from which I pick out a reasonable route down to the trail coming up toward Ireland Lake from the left.

keywords: tarn, pond, townsley, fletcher, lake, ireland, mountain, ridge, meadow, rock, creek, alpine, sierra, nevada, yosemite, national park, backpack, hike, camp, cross country, landscape, scenic, stock

Photographs: Yosemite

Fletcher Peak and Rafferty Creek Trail

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FletcherRafferty2005|08|28: Fletcher Peak, Rafferty Creek Trail. Yosemite National Park. August 28, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
Fletcher Peak, Rafferty Creek Trail. Yosemite National Park. August 28, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

I know this spot well, almost too well. The Rafferty Creek Trail ascends from Tuolumne Meadows to a low saddle called Tuolumne Pass and then, a short distance later, to Fletcher Lake, site of the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp.

I hike this trail at least once each summer and early fall. It seems like it should be a fairly easy hike. It is only about 7 1/2 miles and less than 2000 feet of climbing. But along with nearly everyone I talk to along this trail, I often find that I’m pretty beat by the time I get to this spot just below Tuolumne Pass.

The large peak in the center is Fletcher Peak, which towers directly over Fletcher Lake and the high sierra camp. To the right is Vogelsang Peak. To the left is the ridge extending back above Townsley Lake toward Parsons Peak.