Tag Archives: trail

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Crossing The Stream

September 24, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Two backpackers (and their dog) negotiate a stream crossing in the John Muir Wilderness.

I was out photographing around the lower end of the lake above this stream when two backpackers passed by. I was fascinated by watching them as they came through here, and their progression to and across the stream reminded me of some aspects of backcountry travel that are important and quite different from how we live our typical day-to-say city lives. They were moving efficiently as they approached the obstacle of this stream at the trail crossing. At first glance the crossing seemed obvious, with the trail clearly arriving and departing from opposite sides of this wide spot in its course. But, as is frequently the case, the crossing wasn’t as simple as it first looked — the water was unusually high for this time of year – and no ideal crossing was apparent. They stopped, looked around, tried a few options, finally settled on stepping across on slightly submerged rocks, and they crossed. The first hiker got across fine, and the dog followed, but the second hiker slipped into the water just a bit and then apparently lost a set of glasses. They pondered a bit, realized that they couldn’t get them back, and then set off, once again moving with a purpose across the meadow and on toward a higher lake.

I now think of something else when I see such backpackers, younger (to me, anyway!) backcountry visitors who seem in many ways like me a few decades ago. I envy their ability to carry large loads and to move quickly. I can still carry what I need to, but it is harder and slower than it once was! I also think about how much they cannot yet know about their potential future in these places, including the prospect that their appreciation and connection to the wilderness will grow and mature in ways that they cannot yet foresee. Sometimes I want to stop and tell them… but I never do.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Meadow, Trail, and Wildflowers

September 8, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A use trail passes through a wildflower-filled meadow in the John Muir Wilderness on a late summer evening

We became very familiar with this little section of unofficial “use trail” near our base camp for our recent sojourn into the John Muir Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada range. Our camp was relatively hidden among trees up on the top of a nearby moraine ridge, but these meadows became a second home to us for over a week. I first used this trail when I arrived on our first day, following behind the rest of the group who had arrived a bit earlier. Near the outlet stream of the lake seen in the distance in the photograph, I turned right and headed up along its shoreline, following this path. It was only after passing the lake and starting to climb that I began to wonder if I was now past our camp — and, yes, I had to backtrack.

There were many places worthy of exploration all around out camp. Some were further away — a higher open meadow, a rocky ridge, narrow meadows full of flowers. But the areas around “our” lake drew us back, and many of us visited them every day at some point. On this evening I set out to simply wander the meadow and see what I could find, and I decided that including the trail in the scene made a lot of sense. Also of note, the meadow was still wet and green and wildflowers were everywhere — even though it was the very end of the month of August, well past the time when the flowers typically die back and the meadow grass turns golden.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

High Country Meadow and Trail

September 6, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A use trail cuts across a subalpine meadow high in the John Muir Wilderness

Earlier this afternoon we left our camp down at a lower lake and headed off into higher country. I followed a use trail up to a moraine ridge, then passed over a section of beautiful meadow with stunning views of surrounding peaks and closer views of late-season wildflowers. From here I simply followed the watershed up the valley a ways until a decent stream crossing presented itself, and from there I wandered across glaciated slabs to the top of a low ridge separating our valley from another containing several lakes.

It was late in the day, so the time available for lingering on the ridge was limited. I soon spotted Patty traversing a lower section of the slabs and I headed down to join her. We continued down to the creek where we had a moment of good light on a small lake before the sun dropped behind a high ridge and left us in shadow. As we continued down the drainage toward that meadow where we started the views to the south opened up and the evening light was still on the ridges. We stopped before descending to the meadow, and from here a narrow trail was visible as it traversed one side of the meadow just below a rocky section filled with old glacial erratics, with a dramatic backdrop of high peaks on the far side of the valley.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: New York City

Sunday In The Park

August 4, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Visitors to Manhattan’s Central Park on a sunny summer afternoon

I love the natural landscape, especially my familiar “friends” of the Sierra Nevada, the California coast, the redwoods, the western deserts, and others that are close enough to me that I regard them as part of my greater neighborhood. But I also love cities. The differences between the two worlds are obvious — loud and fast versus quiet and still, lots of crowds versus solitude, a constructed world versus a natural one. But they are not, perhaps, as entirely separate as we might think. When we visit either of these worlds we invariably bring at least some of the world we left behind. (Sometime when I feel like writing a lot more about the topic, I may share some ideas I have about the dangers of regarding the natural and human worlds as being altogether separate and distinct.)

In any case, we were again in New York earlier this summer, partly for the city itself and partly (mostly?) to visit family. We ended up in Central Park more than once, and on the last visit I think we sort of got to experience the park a bit as the “locals” do, when we put together a picnic with our “kids” and staked out a spot in Sheep Meadow to join the New Yorkers on the Fourth of July. Perhaps because that which seems natural is here so overwhelmed by that which seems constructed, it seems like at least some New Yorkers may almost feel more strongly about their local “natural spaces” than folks do in less urbanized environments. This photograph was made on an earlier walk through the park, when we traveled along paths that took us past this small but very popular lake.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: trail

Crossing The Stream

Meadow, Trail, and Wildflowers

High Country Meadow and Trail

Sunday In The Park

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