Short trip up the hill report

[John Kasaian]

Yestersday I went to Yosemite Valley to photograph some targets at Happy Isles. No parking spaces so I continued over Tioga----lots of wildflowers, btw---and supper at Whoa Nellie. The trapeze is gone! It was sold. I headed up 395 with a detour to Twin Lakes. There are some beautiful peaks above Twin Lakes. If I had the 4x4 Suburban I'd be tempted to do some off roading to maybe get high enough on the hill behind the north shore of Twin Lakes to take some shots of the peaks across the lake (it looked as if there was a dirt fire break road up there) but I was driving the VW I continued over Sonora Pass(beautiful, btw!)and by the time I hit Columbia every thing was closed up for the night. I passed up the Bell Marble Quarry this time 'round and headed to Jamestown and spent the night at a modest motel. This morning I visited the old Sierra Railroad shops and had the place pretty much to myself for photography. I went back to Yosemite up HWY 120 through Groveland (a pretty little town) and back into the Valley where I lucked out and found a parking space at the trail head parking area by Happy Isles. I worked around all the park visitors(one family from South America apparently took great delight in getting in my way---like by setting a toddler on top of a boulder where he could fall on me and my camera and where we could all end up in the river ) and finally got the shots I was after. Lots of news channel vans with satillite dishes in the area---apparently three hikers were swept over the falls. How tragic.

I headed to Mariposa to photograph St Joseph's and then home.
It was a good trip, too short though. I'll know if it was productive after I soup the film

[Preston]

Sounds like a nice quick trip John.

I was in Columbia playing my guitar on the street at about 8:00PM yesterday evening. If I'd known you were going to be in town, I'd have met up with you.

Thanks for the report. I'll be heeded up Sonora Pass way in early August.

--P

[David Karp]

Sounds like a really nice time. Sure pays to be flexible!

[John Kasaian]

Oh, one of the best parts---I encountered very few skeeters!

[Erik Larsen]

I'm camping just up the hill from whoa Nellie. This place is stunning, but way too many people for my taste. Have not seen a cloud in 3 days - nice for hiking and fishing but not for the kind of photos I was hoping for. Time to head south and hopefully escape the crowds. My curiosity has been satisfied with Yosemite now to relax in kings canyon.

John, you could have at least waved when you drove by me
iPhone typing is tiring!
Regards
Erik

[ROL]

I just spent the entire week prior moving slowly down the east side from Bridgeport to Independence, nursing six months worth of inactivity inducing plantar fasciaitis by hiking as many trails as possible as far as 50% snow coverage. I have a few mosquito bites. Streams running high and dicy on trails above 9000 feet, trekking poles and good sense are a safe bet. Snow level from 9000 to 11000, north to south. Many back country trails north of Mammoth are still covered. I spent only a couple of hours in Yosemite (Tuolumne), where the only facilities open were the store and cafe (campgrounds, Lodge, etc. opened last weekend).

The peaks above Twin Lakes (Bridgeport) are the Sawtooth Range, as I'm sure you know. I am just now developing 5x7 FP4+ of upper Horse Creek and the Matterhorn (glacier). It occurred to me that the last time I stood upon the summit of that particular peak was the day the Eagle had landed – on the moon!. On the way home via the Tioga Road, the following day, we observed people stopped at every turnout either listening to their radios or watching fuzzy San Francisco based broadcasts on portable televisions, waiting for that "one small step for man..." Unbelievable.

By the way, the Eastern California Museum, in Independence, is showing Edward Curtis photo gravures from the Harriman Expedition. Also, for those who aren't already aware, there is a small photo gallery in the back of the Mono Lake Inyo Forest Office, just north of Lee Vining. It contains many fine prints from lesser known artists.