Mount Conness, Early Evening Thunderstorms. Yosemite National Park, California. September 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Early evening thunderstorms above Mount Connesss, as seen from near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, Yosemite National Park, California.

As most of California was heading back home on Labor Day, I was heading to the Sierra Nevada for a late-season four-day pack trip into the Yosemite National Park back-country around the Fletcher Lake/Vogelsang High Sierra Camp area. I got off to a very late start and didn’t get on the trail up Lyell Canyon until nearly 5:00 p.m., so it was dark when I finally arrived at the Ireland Lake trail junction to make camp and fix dinner – and, a bit later, to be serenaded by coyotes.

The next day I headed up the Ireland Lake trail to spend a night at Evelyn Lake and then move the following day to Fletcher Lake, the location of the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. The situation at Fletcher Lake exemplifies much of what I love about late-season Sierra backpacking. During the high season this is a very popular place: a few dozen people stay at the facilities of the high sierra camp and many more backpackers camp nearby – it can be a very busy place! But the high sierra camp shuts down after Labor Day (they were dismantling the tents when I arrived) and the number of backpackers drops dramatically.

But for a photographer, many other special things happen at this time of year as well. While some may lament the passing of the rich green plants of these meadows, I love the golden color that lasts for a few weeks between early September and the coming of the first snow only weeks later – and the spots of green you do find are even more special. The weather cools and there is something special about the light that I can’t quite define – perhaps it is the lower angle of the sun or maybe some change in the weather conditions.

This photograph was made in the early evening on the day I arrived at Fletcher Lake. My usual practice is to set up camp and have an early dinner and then grab the camera equipment as “golden hour” approaches and go to work. I had been focused on the camp chores and hadn’t noticed these clouds until I picked up the camera! Here two large cells, perhaps beginning to dissipate as the day ended, were towering above Mount Conness and the Sierra crest.

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.

Web: G Dan Mitchell Photography
Twitter: http://twitter.com/gdanmitchell
Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/gdanmitchell
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gdanmitchell

keywords: mount, conness, johnson, peak, early, evening, late, afternoon, thunderstorm, cloud, towering, blue, sky, rain, virga, light, fletcher, lake, vogelsang, high, sierra, nevada, camp, range, mountains, alpine, yosemite, national, park, california, usa, travel, scenic, landscape, nature, meadow, brown, gold, lodgepole, tamarack, pine, forest, rock, ridge, backpack, camp, fall, autumn, color, season, stock, september, boulder