Tag Archives: yosemite

Tarn on Lake Townsley Plateau

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

Pine Needles, Fletcher Lake

Pine Needles, Fletcher Lake

Pine Needles, Fletcher Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 8, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

During the first weekend of September 2008 I made my first late-season visit to the Sierra, heading to Fletcher Lake in the Yosemite backcountry, a place I often try to visit each year at about this time. I like to get up there as the fall season approaches, and an added bonus this time was the possibility of meeting some fellow photographers who were in the area. (More about that later.)

In the morning of my last day at Fletcher I was up early to photograph the morning light on the rocks and trees around the lake, especially those reflected in the still water at that hour. I was just about finished with that project when I spotted these needles on the shady side of a shoreline grove of trees.

keywords: pine, branch, needle, tree, fletcher, vogelsang, lake, yosemite, national park, california, usa, sierra, nevada, nature, green, fall, autumn, pattern, stock

Moth and Corn Lily Leaves

Moth and Corn Lily Leaves
Moth and Corn Lily Leaves. Yosemite National Park, California. July 9, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A moth on new corn lily leaves along the Young Lakes trail in the Yosemite National Park backcountry.

keywords: moth; insect; corn lily; leaf; nature; sierra nevada; tuolumne; tioga; yosemite; national park; california; usa; summer; plant; green; stock

Young Lakes – Yosemite National Park

I just got an email from someone who will be visiting Yosemite from Europe later this summer, asking about visiting the beautiful Young Lakes area in the Yosemite National Park high country. I posted a copy of my reply in the forum.