Hiking Archives - Page 2 of 2

Mountain Vista

September 14, 2011 by Ron Erskine

I knew it was up there; I just hadn’t taken the time to go. And I knew that sunrise would be the best time to record it, but that meant spending the night. Today I would set aside all the reasons I hadn’t gone to photograph Mt. Lyell and Mt. Maclure from the Kuna Crest and go.

Above Tuolumne Meadows, on the way to Tioga Pass, is the Mono Pass trailhead. From here one can take day hikes to a variety of sights along the Sierra crest: miner’s cabins, alpine lakes, Sierra bighorn sheep habitat. It’s only a few miles to historic Mono Pass which drops down Bloody Canyon to the Mono Basin.

As you walk that gentle trail toward Mono Pass, the Kuna Crest is the high wall on your right. The Lyell fork of the Tuolumne River and the John Muir Trail are on the other side. At he end of the Lyell fork, Mt. Lyell and Mt. Maclure reach to over 13,000 feet. I was chasing the view of those peaks from the Kuna Crest.

I walked the Mono Pass trail for only a mile or so until Mammoth Peak (not Mammoth Mountain) was on my right. There, I turned right, left the trail, and made my way up. The sights along the way were classic alpine Sierra settings: just-born creeks twisting through high alpine meadows brightened by gardens of heather. All this sat softly beneath a steep slope of granite scree. The juxtaposition of delicate beauty and the cold indifferent rock above was striking.
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I scrambled up rock, then across a snowfield to the ridgeline. Then, a short ramble to the crest.

Amid the jungle of boulders that comprised the summit, there were several flat sandy spots that would easily accomodate my sleeping bag. I rolled out, sat, and just looked. On my left, Lyell and Maclure with their bright glacier looked back at me. Straight ahead was Tuloumne Meadows and all the familiar peaks of the Cathedral Range. On my right, Tioga Pass and the Sierra crest. I sat and watched until the sun set.

The next morning, I rose in time to get my shot. I was back at the car by lunch time. The picture is a favorite, but it was one of those outings where everything was perfect, especially the sitting and looking.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: adventure, Hiking, Outdoor Photography, Yosemite

Kibbie Lake

August 24, 2011 by Ron Erskine

When I heard a Yosemite ranger tout Kibbie Lake as the finest overnight backpack site in the park, I sprang into action. I avoid backpacking in the Yosemite because of the crowds and generally head to the east side, but it’s a long haul. If Kibbie Lake has the spectator value, reasonable solitude, and is two hours closer to home, I’m in.

A little snooping around the web was encouraging, so Dave Sellers and I synchronized our calendars and set out.

Kibbie Lake sits just inside the northwestern boundary of Yosemite. In fact, the trailhead is also an entry point into the southern reaches of Emigrant Wilderness which borders the park there. Since the trailhead straddles two juridictions (Yosemite NP and Stanilaus NF), a permit can be obtained from either source. But Yosemite is beyond the driving route to the trailhead. Since you will pass by the Stanislaus NF office in Groveland, it’s more convenient to get your permit there.

Past Buck Meadows on Highway 120, turn left onto the road to Cherry Lake. A twisty-turny 30 miles later, over the Cherry Lake Dam to the end of the road, you will finally reach the end of the road.
From the get-go, I was skeptical, but Kibbie Lake scored high. The hike was moderate (4 miles, 500 feet elevation gain), the setting had all the Sierra bells and whistles (granite walls, lovely streams and gardens), and while there were other campers nearby, we were always alone.

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Two thumbs up for Kibbie Lake.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: adventure, backpacking, Hiking, outdoors, Sierra, Yosemite

Chasing Spring

May 19, 2011 by Ron Erskine

The flatlands are drying up, so it is time to start chasing springtime up the mountains. Highway 395 on the east side of the Sierra is my preferred portal to alpine country, and Tioga Pass is the most direct route there. But when will Tioga Pass open? After the record snowfall this past winter, it will likely be later than usual; I heard one report that it may not open at all.

But Tioga Pass is more than just a route to somewhere else. There are several places close to the road that are drop-dead gorgeous. I had seen another photographer’s pictures of Gaylor Lakes, a short walk from the pass, and I decided to look for myself.

From the small parking lot just inside the Yosemite entrance at Tioga Pass, I shouldered my camera gear and made the short steep walk through oxygen-poor air to the ridge above. The view from there overlooks a shallow valley scoured clean by a long-gone glacier that cradles Gaylor Lakes. Beyond the valley are the peaks of the Cathedral Range – a stunning view.
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I set up my tripod and sat patiently hoping for something special as the sun moved lower in the western sky. It was lovely to watch, but nothing developed that was particularly pixel-worthy. In an idle moment, I turned back toward Mt. Dana, and nearly did a back flip. While I sat in a stupor gazing over there, look what was happening over here!

Man, I snapped into action like an EMT at a 20-car pile-up. Gotta catch this before it passes. I love this picture, but honestly, a chimp could have taken it. It just shows that the trick is to just go out there…and every once in a while, turn around.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: adventure, backpacking, Hiking, Nature, outdoors, Photography, Sierra, Sierra Nevada

Snow at Coe

February 17, 2011 by Ron Erskine

Winter’s back. After a couple of lovely spring-like weeks, the weather man is calling for rain and cold temperatures. Word is that the snow level may drop to 2,000 feet which would dust the hills that enclose our valley here in Morgan Hill.

Two winters ago during a similar cold rainy session, I lay in bed listening to the heavy steady rain, knowing that up at Henry Coe State Park, it must surely be snowing. I rose in the still-dark morning, tiptoed through the bedroom gathering warm clothes and camera gear and headed out. I nabbed a foo-foo coffee at a weirdly empty Starbucks and twisted up the hills through the rain.

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My wife says I operate on Erskine time – always early. Indeed, it was still dark when I arrived a Coe headquarters, but I had a great time watching the snow fall furiously through the twin cones of my headlights sipping my foo-foo coffee.
The snow never let up as the sky turned slate gray which cued me to gear up and go. I headed up the Monument Trail to Eric’s Bench – a magical spot even without the snow’s soft kiss. Like a pinball, I bounced this way and that trying to capture every lovely sight. It was a grand morning.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: adventure, coast ranges, Hiking, Nature, nature photography, nature writing, outdoors, Photography

Olmstead Point

December 1, 2010 by Ron Erskine

Both the best thing and the worst thing about Yosemite National Park, perhaps any national park, is that everyone goes to the same predictable places. Waterfalls, granite domes, and vista points attract gobs of people while a hundred yards away, you are likely to find virtual solitude.

This is particularly true at Olmstead Point, one of the most popular turnouts on the road from Crane Flat to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. The view naturally faces down Tenaya Canyon toward breathtaking views of Clouds Rest and Half Dome.

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The Jeffery pine above was photographed near sunset at the top of this knob. The Sierra juniper below was just a lovely sight on the walk up.
I was alone only a few hundred yards from the Olmstead Point parking lot and lots of cars and lots of people who never crossed the street.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: California, Hiking, Nature, outdoors, Photography, Sierra Nevada, Yosemite

Backpacking. Why?

November 11, 2010 by Ron Erskine

Backpacking:

Carry everything you need on your back.
Walk miles over tough terrain.
Breathe oxygen deficient air.
Sleep on the ground.
Crap in a hole.
Eat just-add-water food.
Bugs.
Altitude sickness.

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Who needs this? Backpacking. Why?

This question is a classic example of those that elicit the remark, “If you have to ask the question, you probably won’t understand the answer.” Never deterred by short odds, let me take a brief stab at it.

Perhaps the best and briefest answer is in this photograph. You cannot see sights like this at roadside rest stops. And if you could, it would not include what this photograph cannot fully convey. Use your imagination to expand this rectangle into a sphere that fully envelopes you. The utter stillness, the complete silence, the warm light, the immense reach of space, completely surrounded me on this morning. I was well off the trail, far away from anyone.

The magic and the mystery that this photo implies were palpable.

Add to this scene the sense of nervous vulnerability one feels in the wilderness. Nasty weather, equipment failures, and injuries can be real, even life-threatening, problems. When you face such a problem, what are you going to do about it? In today’s world, we confront few elemental situations where our resourcefulness profoundly matters. Here, a phone call or a flip of the thermostat won’t cure your discomfort. You have to find a way with what’s on your back.

I truly believe that a moment like this in the wilderness – truly alone, where one’s hold on basic comforts is so tenuous – changes a person in a profound way. Such moments expand your sense of self and awaken in you the magic of the world.

Backpacking? That’s why. There’s a price, but the dividend is priceless.

Filed Under: Sports, Travel Tagged With: adventure, backpacking, Hiking, outdoors, Photography, Sierra, sports, travel, wilderness