Dan's Outside

Sunrise, Temple Crag and Fourth Lake

Sunrise, Temple Crag and Fourth Lake. Sierra Nevada Range, California. August 12, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

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August 13, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Sunrise, Temple Crag and Fourth Lake

Dusy Basin, Morning Reflection

Dusy Basin, Morning Reflection. Sierra Nevada Range, California. August 14, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

The same scene I posted yesterday, this time in color. From a series of photographs I’m posting at G Dan Mitchell | Photography.
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June 30, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Dusy Basin, Morning Reflection

Dusy Basin, Morning Reflection (B&W)

Dusy Basin, Morning Reflection. Sierra Nevada Range, California. August 14, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

(Another photo in a series of Dusy Basin photographs I’m posting on my photography web site.)
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June 29, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Dusy Basin, Morning Reflection (B&W)

Dawn, Dusy Basin

Dawy, Dusy Basin. Sierra Nevada Range, California. August 13, 2005. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

(Another photograph from my photography site.)
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June 28, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Dawn, Dusy Basin

Sunset, Dusy Basin

Sunset, Dusy Basin. Sierra Nevada Range, California. August 12, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

On hot late-June days in the coastal California lowlands, my thoughts turn more and more to cool Sierra evenings at about 10,000 feet. :-)

(Note: The photos in this series are first posted at G Dan Mitchell | Photography.)
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June 27, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Sunset, Dusy Basin

Trail to Lamarck Col

Trail to Lamarck Col near North Lake. August 13, 2004. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.
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June 21, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Trail to Lamarck Col

Merced River Saga Continues

Last month a rock slide closed the hiway from Mariposa into Yosemite Valley. (A good central source for news on this is Yosemite Blog, where there are links to numerous related stories.)

Although it wasn’t first reported this way, it now appears that this is a major slide. It has not stopped, the road is completely covered, and material threatens to slide into the Merced river itself. Recent reports indicate that the closure of this road is now likely to last all the way through the summer.
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June 8, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Merced River Saga Continues

Sierra Crest, Conway Summit

Sierra Crest. Conway Summit. May 27, 2006. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.
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June 5, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Sierra Crest, Conway Summit

Sierra Passes Opening

I hear from a variety of sources that several of the Sierra Nevada passes subject to winter closures are opening up. Sonora Pass (Hiway 108) is open and Ebbetts Pass (Hiway 4) may open later today. Monitor Pass (Hiway 89 between Hiway 4 and Hiway 395) is open as well.

I went over Sonora Pass last year just after it opened, and the snow was spectacular. This year should be similar since there has been quite a lot of snow. (I think I’ll be able to provide a first-hand report by early next week…)

Tioga Pass (Hiway 120) is not open, though I understand that Yosemite NP may allow traffic up to Yosemite Creek over the weekend. That should also be quite spectacular. Last year Tioga Pass did not open until late June, and I would be very surprised if we saw an earlier opening this year.
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May 26, 2006 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Sierra Passes Opening

Dusy Basin Dawn

Dawn. Dusy Basin. August 14, 2005. © Copyright Dan Mitchell.

Sometimes there is a story behind a photo.

Last summer I started a 14-day pack trip in the central Sierra Nevada with a group of friends. On the fifth day I didn’t feel well, so I walked out over Duck Pass to a roadend at Mammoth. And, of course, I felt fine once I got out…

I drove back home, disappointed that I had to leave the trip. On the other hand, I got to spend some unexpected time with my family and I attended my niece’s wedding, which I would otherwise have missed.

A few days later I decided that it would be cool to hike in and meet the party near the end of the trip. I packed up and drove to the Sierra, car-camped the first night, and trudged over Bishop Pass the next day. I camped below the pass in upper Dusy Basin.

The next morning I packed up and headed down stream to a lake where I figured I might meet them as they climbed up out of Le Conte Canyon. I took of my pack and sat on a rock eating lunch as they arrived. My friend Caroline was first and I’ll never forget the shocked look on her face when she saw me. Shortly after, the rest of the group arrived and I followed them, trying desparately to keep up this bunch of totally acclimated hikers.

That night we camped in upper Dusy Basin at the same lake I had camped at the previous night. It looked like rain for awhile but, somewhat surprisingly, it cleared in the late afternoon – and I got one of my all-time favorite photographs.

The next morning my friends were in a white heat to get over the pass and out to civilization – they needed showers, good food, and all the other things they had missed for two weeks. So, this group of hikers that two weeks earlier had typically hit the trail at about 10:00 a.m. was up before the sun and on the trail as the sun rose.

The light – as it often is at this time of day in this part of the Sierra – was astonishing, and the air was absolutely clear. As we walked past this small lake on our way to the trail to the pass I took out my tripod and spent 15 minutes capturing images, hurrying because I knew that the group was not going to be patient.

After I got back I liked the images but they didn’t quite “click” for me. (You can see an earlier version of one of them here.) Today I was doing an end-of-year review of hundreds (OK, thousands) of images and this one caught my eye. First I tried it as a color image. On a lark I thought I’d see what it looked like in black and white – and I think it works better that way.
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December 18, 2005 Posted by gdanmitchell | Sierra Nevada | Comments Off on Dusy Basin Dawn