Fred Weyman Wilderness and Landscape Fine Art Photography
Foxtail Pines, Mt. Whitney
Most of the worlds Foxtail Pines occur in scattered groves at treeline in Sequoia National Park. There is also a smaller stand in the Klamath Mountains. This stand on the relative flats of Bighorn Plateau is one of the largest. It is five miles, as the raven flies, southeast to Mt. Whitney (center 14,494 ft.). After the hail stopped, I emerged from my tent to find this scene created by broken clouds and scattered late afternoon showers.
Moose Lake
On the longest day of the year there was still snow and ice on Moose Lake, (10,530 ft.) perched high above the Kaweah Canyon in Sequoia National Park. The lake wasn't listed in Peter Brownings' Place Names of the Sierra Nevada, so the name was a mystery to me since moose don't live anywhere near the Sierra. It wasn't until I had returned, made the first prints, and was rebrowsing the proofs, that I finally discovered the bellowing moose profile. In case you are as slow as I was: the moose's eye is the island on the far left, the foreground peninsula is the open mouth, and the Kaweah Peaks and Great Western Divide form the 10-mile long left antler.
Mt. Whitney
At the top of the Sierra is the ridge from Mt. Muir (left, 14,015 ft.) to Mt. Whitney (14,494 ft.) This sunrise view is from the heavily used Trail Camp (12,039 ft.), where most people camp before and after their hike to the top of Mt. Whitney. Because it leads to the highest peak the quotas for this trail are usually filled months in advance. Although the scenery is good on this route, if you seek solitude or even better scenery, there are numerous available alternatives in the Sierra.
Bighorn Plateau, Great Western Divide
Bighorn Plateau is one of the most scenic and remote spots in the Sierra. Nowhere else are you more surrounded by large peaks; the Kaweah ridge to the southwest, the Great Western Divide to the west, the Kings/Kern Divide to the north, and the main spine of the highest Sierra including Mt. Whitney to the east. Also at Bighorn Plateau are several colorful groves of foxtail pines, and this small scenic unnamed lake and meadow at the pass on the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail. A small hailstorm from these clouds chased me into my tent, but once it passed created a beautiful scene.
Precipice Lake
In remote Sequoia National Park near Kaweah Gap, the striped and incised cliff on Eagle Scout Peak (12,040) on the far side of Precipice Lake (10,380) has become known as "Ansel Adam's Wall ", after his well-known black and white photo of the cliff with melting ice on the lake. Although more than twenty miles from the Crescent Meadows trailhead (6,600 ft.), the rather flat and very scenic traverse on the High Sierra Trail makes access easier than other remote Sierra locations. If you look closely you can see this cliff in the distance on the "Moose Lake" photograph.
Foxtail Pines, Tyndall Plateau
Most of the worlds Foxtail Pines occur in scattered groves at treeline in Sequoia National Park. There is also a smaller stand in the Klamath Mountains. These stands on the relative flats of lower Tyndall Creek and Bighorn Plateau are some of the largest. It is six miles, as the raven flies, southeast to Mt. Whitney (center 14,494 ft.). Snow or perhaps hail dusts Mt. Bernard (left, 13,990 ft.).
Mt. Stewart
Red-shouldered Mt. Stewart (12,205 ft.), part of the Great Western Divide, overlooks rocky Nine Lakes Basin.
Mt. Williamson
Too many eastern Sierra trailheads are on the low elevation flats of the dry Owens Valley where daunting, steep-angled views of the next morning's route shorten your sleep and make you think twice about your route choice. This is the scene near the Shepherds Pass trailhead (6,300 ft.) where the trail climbs more than 6,000 feet before reaching the pass just north of Mt. Williamson (right, 14,375 ft.), the second highest peak in the Sierra.
Hamilton Lake
Down slope night winds occur when warm air that has risen on a warm summer day, cools and descends down the valleys at night. Normally they are mild, but in this huge bowl around Hamilton Lake, they were funneled together. Before the wind even hit my campsite, where this photo was taken, it's loud roar coming across the lake woke me in the middle of the night. Moments later, while I was still confused by the increasing roar, a wall of tent-flattening, campground-scattering wind blasted the site and continued until sunrise.
Pyramidal Pinnacle
The highest of the lakes (11,682 ft.) in Nine Lakes Basin sits at the foot of the imposing north face of Black Kaweah (right, peak not visible). Pyramidal Pinnacle (right center, 13,665 ft.) and Kaweah Queen (left, 13,382 ft.) complete the surrounding ridge. This dramatic lighting occurred when, for a minute or two, the sun slipped beneath a thick cloud layer just before it dropped beneath the horizon behind me.
Hamilton Bowl
Backed by the largest granite wall in Sequoia National Park, the 1,800-foot Angel Wings, Hamilton Lake sits in a huge glacial bowl in the Sierra.
Tulainyo Lake
The highest lake in North America (12,802 ft.), sits at the base of Mt. Russell's (14,086 ft.) north face Although entirely in Tulare County, just a few feet from Inyo County, it's name comes from both. Mt Whitney, which is about 400 feet higher, and one mile south of Mt. Russell, is hidden by the east ridge of Mt. Russell. Mt. Whitney's peak was visible from just 100 feet higher on Tunabora Peak, but the lake was partially obscured. Once again the hearty Alpine Sunflower livened up a stark rocky foreground.
Tyndall Frog Ponds
Tyndall Creek, Plateau and Frog Ponds (~11,000 ft.) are named for their proximity to Mt. Tyndall, named after nineteenth century British scientist John Tyndall who first described why the sky is blue. At the far end of the ponds is a very scenic camping spot along the John Muir/ Pacific Crest Trail. The Kaweah Peaks Ridge (~13,800 ft.) forms the horizon behind the ponds.
South from Mt. Whitney
The view south from the 14,494 ft. summit of Mt. Whitney includes the north face of Keeler Needle. One of the Hitchcock Lakes in front of Hitchcock Peak, Mt. Chamberlain is in the center of the next ridge back, and The Boreal Plateau is the large treeless area further back
The General Sherman Sequoia
With an estimated trunk volume of 1,487 cubic meters, the General Sherman Sequoia is considered the world?s largest single living organism. It is 275 feet tall, has a base diameter of 40 feet, and is thought to be between 2,300 and 2,700 years old. The lower left person provides some sense of scale, but the confused-and-awed feeling of being in the presence of such an abnormally sized object is difficult to portray.
Milestone Basin
Overlooking two unnamed ponds on the edge of Tyndall Plateau, dawn begins on the Great Western Divide. Milestone Mountain (13,641 ft.), Midway Mountain (13,666 ft.), and Table Mountain (13,630 ft.) are on the far side of the canyon of the upper Kern River.
