Posted by: dave c
at 00:00, January 8 2011.
On this trip, Ginni and I were able to combine visits to several of our favorite destinations – Joshua Tree, Death Valley, the Ancient Bristlecone Forest on White Mountain, and Yosemite. A bonus was a very brief visit to Mono Lake and its amazing tufa formations.
Right at the start of the trip we had to make a decision whether to drive the northern route or head south. A check of road conditions revealed that Vail Pass was closed due to snow, so south it was.
This turned out to be a fortuitous choice, since I was able to capture some very nice images of a clearing storm over the Crestones. I chose a black and white rendering to highlight the frosted ridges of these rugged peaks.
Arriving in Joshua Tree, we set up camp at the Ryan campground,our home for the next 10 days. We enjoyed generally excellent weather and had an enjoyable time climbing and photographing. Our friends Kevin and Diana flew out from Colorado to climb with us for a few days, and we also climbed several days with a new friend, David H. from Minnesota.
Home away from home The Ryan Ranch ruins
Photographically, my favorite images were of the silhouette of a Joshua Tree on one of the large granite boulders in the campground.
Click on the photo below for a slide show of the climbing.
One of the places I like to visit while in Joshua Tree is the Salton Sea. The diversity of migratory birds that winter in the area is something to behold. On this trip there were lower numbers of Snow Geese than on previous visits, but many more pelicans.
To see a few images from my day at this great area, click on the photo below.
Too soon it was time to move on to the next segment of our trip, joining our friend Charlie, Gary, Charlie C. and Jim in Death Valley. Charlie has been working on a list of named summits in Death Valley, and had only 6 more to finish the list (112 total). All six of these peaks are in the southern section of the Park, with five of the six located in the remote Owlshead Mountains.
We spent the next week climbing these peaks, most requiring long day hikes, but one (Owlhead Peak) requiring a backpack to a dry camp above Lost Lake (22 miles round trip).
As with past trips to Death Valley, we were treated to some spectacular scenery. Click on the photo below for a slideshow.
After successfully climbing all six of the peaks needed to finish Charlie’s list, Ginni and I continued on, stopping for a quick visit to an old favorite destination, The Ancient Bristlecone Forest on White Mountain.
Click on the image below for a short slideshow of this segment of our trip.
After a chilly sunrise, photographing these amazing trees, we headed to Yosemite. There was still plenty of Fall color to photograph, plus some enjoyable hiking, including a hike up to Glacier Point. The hiking trail from the valley floor is the only way to reach Glacier Point at this time of year once the road closes for the winter, but we still met quite a few people enjoying the views from the trail.
A sunset stop at Tunnel View was also mandatory for us. Click on the photo elow for more Yosemite images.
With a strong winter storm forecast we decided to take advantage of a brief opening of Tioga Pass, and started heading back to Colorado. There was just time to check out one last photographing venue – South Tufa on Mono Lake – a place to return to.
