Fred Weyman Wilderness and Landscape Fine Art Photography
Mud Lake
For two days my friend's cell phone wasn't able to get a connection until we arrived at the first (10,800 ft.) of the Pioneer Basin Lakes in the John Muir Wilderness Area. "Hello Dad, I've found heaven on earth!" were his first words describing this view from the campsite that we shared with a pair of the uncommon white-tailed ptarmigan. I found out later in a Sierra guidebook that this slice of heaven had already been named Mud Lake. The ripples on the lake are from the largest display of jumping trout I've ever seen.
Third Lake
Just downstream from the Sierra's largest active glacier, Third Lake (~10,200 ft.) is one of the few Sierra lakes with a milky turquoise color characteristic of lakes immediately downstream of active glaciers. The glacier pulverizes rocks so fine that some of the particles don't settle to the bottom even in the still water of the lake. Many lakes in Glacier National Park have this characteristic color.
Royce Lakes, Merriam Peak
During many days I look for scenes to photograph at sunset and sunrise, then find a nearby place to camp. In the middle of a sunny day, bluish light and contrasty shadows make photography difficult. The rocky campsite I made above Royce Lake #2 (11,620 ft) on a 300 feet high pile of rocks wasn't great, but the morning's light was.
Temple Crag
Temple Crags and Third Lake (~10,000 ft.) are just two of reasons the North Fork of Big Pine Creek is known for its dramatic alpine scenery.
Topsy Turvy Lake
The name alone merited taking the short cross-country detour to Topsy Turvey Lake (~10,800 ft.). I rock hopped to the far side to get the reflections of Mt Powell (left 13,364 ft) and Picture Peak (right-center, 13,120ft.) Mt. Haeckel (13,418 ft.) is on the far right. I was thankful for the high clouds that produced warm, shadowless light without the mid-day blue tinge of a sunny day.
Columbines 1
In the Sierra, I haven't taken many portraits of individual subjects, preferring instead to include them in landscapes if possible. There are many interesting individual objects, but by themselves they miss the grand space of the Sierra. However, these columbines near Topsy Turvy Lake caught my attention. Shadowless light, provided by a light cloud cover, and a nice composition among warm and cool colored granite were to too nice to pass up.
Echo Lake
Photographer Galen Rowell said that days spent in the Sierra's rugged isolation could produce "spiritual rewards" but backpacking with both photographic and survival necessities "?rarely passes the gumption factor of being worth the effort." Even my worst trip was easily worth the effort. Persistent summer rain, uncommon in the Sierra, from the remnants of a Pacific hurricane blew in and kept me tent bound at Echo Lake (11,602 ft.) for much of the Labor Day weekend. Finally, the rain eased and the fog lifted enough behind this colorful alpine rock garden to reveal most of Clyde Spires (13,267 ft.) and the distant Echo Pass.
Columbines 2
Columbines aren't uncommon but they occur infrequently enough so that they are often surprising and always charming. This, and the previous, clump found moisture in a large boulder field near Topsy Turvey Lake.
French Meadows
"All the upper branches of the rivers are fairly laden with lakes, like orchard trees with fruit" ...John Muir. In the view from Pilot Knob (12,245 ft.) Alsace Lake is middle front, followed by Paris Lake on the right, and Puppet Lake behind it. Also visible are slivers of Elba Lake, Moon Lake, L Lake and French Lake at the head of French Canyon (left). Mt. Tom (right center, 13,652 ft.) and colorful Broken Finger Peak (left, 13,080 ft.) behind Pine Creek Pass form the distant horizon.
Chocolate Peak
I expected a good view of the Bishop Creek Basin, but it wasn't until I gained Cloudripper's north ridge (~13,000 ft.) that I realized how Chocolate Peak (11,682 ft.) got its name. There in the middle of a lake-filled, gleaming-granite basin was what geologists call a "roof pendant" of metamorphic rock; a remnant of the dark metamorphic rocks the rest of which had been eroded by weathering and glaciers. Also visible on the far left, with its characteristic downward arching ridges, is a good-sized rock glacier. These are moving glaciers that are covered with rocks. They can exist at lower elevations because the rocks serve as insulation from warm air and the sun's rays. The highest peak, on the far right, is Mt Darwin (13,830 ft.).
Muriel Lake
In the heart of the John Muir Wilderness Area, between 10,500 and 11,500 feet, are the broad flats of Humphreys Basin, French Meadows and the Royce Lakes basin; a pleasant visual and physical relief from the steep mountains and valleys throughout the Sierra. Cross-country travel is relatively easy among the 40 or so named lakes. Mt. Humphries (13,986 ft.) dominates the eastern view. Piute Pass is just outside the right edge.
Palisades
The Palisades, on the northeastern boundary of Kings Canyon National Park contain almost one third of California' peaks over 14,000 feet and the largest glacier (partially visible) in the Sierra. A very popular mountaineering area, there are at least 12 named peaks in this photo. The interesting names must have been taken when they named this chain of lakes along Big Pine Creek. Seventh (11,100 ft.), Sixth, and Fifth Lakes are visible, with parts of Fourth and Third Lakes in the distance. Summit Lake (extreme left) has some of the nicest views in the basin.
Pioneer Basin
"All the upper branches of the rivers are fairly laden with lakes, like orchard trees with fruit" ?John Muir. The fruits of the upper Mono Creek basin lack individual names but are collectively named the Pioneer Basin Lakes. On the far (south) side of Mono Creek, Fourth Recess Lake (10,132 ft.) is nestled in the dramatic glacial valley named Fourth Recess. Mt. Gabb (just right of center 13,731 ft.) is the highest visible peak. Next time I'll avoid the blue mid-day light, by camping on this ridge that views colorful McGee Canyon in the other direction (see the "Red Mountains" photograph).
Seven Gables
After climbing it's summit, Theodore Solomons, an early Sierra explorer and namer of Seven Gables (13,080 ft.) wrote, "the sight was sublime and awful". The gnarled terrain around Ursa and Big Bear Lake (11,300 ft.) was at least partially responsible for his description. This remote area is about as far from a maintained trail as you can be in the Sierra.
Red Mountains
Red and White Mountain (left, 12,816 ft.) and Red Slate Mountain (right, 13,163 ft.) are part of a colorful ridge of metamorphic and granitic rock that continues north to Mt Baldwin and ends at Mt. Morrison and Convict Lake. Crocker Lake (foreground), Big McGee Lake (~10,500 ft.), and Little McGee Lake are visible in this view across upper McGee Canyon from the shoulder of Mt. Crocker.
Thunder and Lightning Lake
I expected the worst when camped at 13,000 feet in the Inconsolable Range between Cloudripper Peak and Thunder and Lightning Lake. This spot was chosen because of its view of the Palisades (see "Palisades" photograph), so this sunset scene looking the other direction was a bonus. The distant ridge is the White Mountains on the far side of the Owens Valley. The town of Bishop is hidden behind the closer ridge. Alpine sunflowers provide some relief from the barren, rocky foregrounds that are tough to avoid above treeline.
Mesa Lake
The combination of warm colors (red, orange, yellow) with cool colors (blue, green, violet) often adds dramatic interest. The ambiguity metaphorically reflects the ever-changing temperatures situations of a sunny summer day at treeline; below freezing in the morning, up to 80?F in the afternoon, hot on white sunny rocks, cool in the shade or in a breeze, overheated from exertion, but cold as soon as you stop.
Sailor Lake
Along the Middle Fork Bishop Creek, cascading streams, pools, and waterfalls are scattered among the larger lakes. The open terrain made cross-country travel much easier than trying to find an indistinct trail.
Humphreys Lake Camp
At the base of the western face of Mt. Humphries (13,986 ft.), in the remote eastern edge of Humphreys Basin is the largest of Humphries Lakes (~11,600 ft.). Although it's best to camp further from the lake, there weren't many flat choices in this area.
Alpine Blueberry
The finest patches of alpine blueberry that I've ever seen in the Sierra are in Humphreys Basin in the vicinity of Knob Lake, Square Lake and this frost heaved meadow northeast of Mesa Lake (11,300 ft). This low growing shrub turns a rich red color in fall that is quite bright when backlit by the sun.
