JMT Shot of the day

“This last weekend we found conclusive proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bigfoot might possibly exist. You heard it here, folks.



Here's Dave crossing Evolution Creek just below Evolution Valley. This was in late August so I could imagine this crossing would be pretty exciting earlier in the year. There are lots of bridges over creeks on the JMT and why this major creek isn't bridged has always baffled me. But I'm glad it's not. You might want to wear Teva's or something when crossing or you might get athlete's foot from the creek bottom.




Golden ridgeline behind Timberline Lake. It was late evening and the sun was setting as we hiked towards Guitar Lake. The sun had just turned this entire ridge pure gold. It only lasted a few minutes so we grabbed all the gold nuggets we could in our packs. We're all multi-beeeellionaires now.




The day before we left for the JMT we hiked up to Nevada and Vernal Fall. This is Vernal Fall where we had a fun afternoon of innertubing over the waterfall again and again and again. That hike back up will just about kill you.”

“That ridge is gorgeous, kinda like a whole bowl of banana puddin.”

“The golden ridgeline shot looks as though it could be a shot from Mars. Were you abducted by aliens?”

“Buck - is that Evolution creek or IntelligentDesign creek? There is a difference ya' know.

gforce - was that a rhetorical question? He wasn't abducted by aliens, he is an alien.”

“actually, intelligent design creek is not opposite evolution creek, but is halfway between evolutioin creek and creation creek”

“Excellent point cb.”

“This alien talk is juvenile. How old are you guys anyway? Sheesh. And that was orginally called Creation Creek and it drained the Ark Scrape Peaks Basin, which was infamous for bumping Noah's Ark and both giraffes fell out, which is why there are wild giraffe herds still roaming the High Sierra to this day. The giraffes were able to stand on the peaks and barely keep their necks above water while the waters receded. Duh. Shirley you guys know this stuff? Science 101. Libs... always re-writing history.”

“So did Bigfoot have his way with you? Inquiring minds want to know.

Nice pix....I really love the one with the Giraffes in it....but their spots make them so hard to see.”

“that's called camoflage, WW. It's like one of those Bev Doolittle pictures.”

“Yeah...but if you put on your super secret spy glasses with the special anti camolage coating....presto!



Oops I said tooooo much *poof*”

“Has buck been abducted?”

“I hope I see giraffes in the Sierra this summer.”

“Creation Creek? So where's Secular Creek - on the other side of the ridgeline? Or did it just evolve into something else over time?”

“Funny, Wind Walker! ha ha! But still, I can't believe you revealed the locales of these Sierran Giraffes. Gimme those glasses back.

top dawg, Secular Creek feeds Hell Hole Reservoir.”

“Hey Buck, just tried to send you an email but it was returned to me. Which email should I use?”

“Hmmmm... that's weird. I'd try the .ca.us one again and cc: my hotmail account. If not, I'll be over for dinner to discuss this.”

“LOL

Okay. I'm making Enertias tonight.

(I'll resend it)”

“
This is what happens when your lead hiker farts. Kidding, this is just a forest-fire burned area along Palisade Creek. Fortunately the water in the creek itself did not burn.



After you crank over Glen Pass (if you're going south), soon enough you'll start the drop down into Vidette Meadow. This is at the brink of the long set of switchbacks looking down Vidette Meadow and Center Peak (center left). This is a beary bearish area and filled with beauty. Everyone hiking the JMT has this same snapshot. Upper Bubbs Creek is one of my favorite places along the JMT. They actually have a Hooters® restaurant built right into Center Peak. They have great hotwings.”

“i just shat my pants”

“Not to worry Buck, remember... Sierran Giraffes are migratory animals they are no longer at that location and I would never give away the secret location of their annual nesting grounds over by _________creek :)”

“Crash Bang, have you ever been to the Sierras before?

How come it's Vidette Meadow if it's all trees?”

“Because it was just a meadow during creation week when Adam named it.”

“
Here's my very first night time star trail attempt, even though it looks like day. It was when we spent the night on Evolution Lake. It's really more like a plant-trail photo, not a stars. It's not a great photo, that's for sure, but it's signficant to me as it captured Mars on the very night when it was the closest to earth in a bazillion years. I just put my camera on the tripod and went to sleep. When I awoke in the middle of the night the lens was completely fogged over, which is why the trail stopped. I think the battery went dead too. It was dark when I began the photo but the light from the stars brightened it substantially. That night it was so cool watching the stars reflecting on the surface of the lake.




Zis is just another view (wider angle) of our campsite at Evolution Lake. Can you tell I really like this lake? The alpenglow on Mt. Mendel is reflected in the wa-wa as Jim pees directly in the lake, giving it a golden color. This was taken right before the UFO crash into the cove.”

“Good pic, Buck. Looks prehistoric, like there should be dinos in there...remember Land of the Lost?”

“There were dinosaurs. What do you think we ate for dinner. Nothin' like a baby stegosaurus with some wild onion. I think we pretty much wiped out the Evolution Lake dinosaur herds though. I feel kinda bad. Hopefully there's more dinosaurs left somewhere else? We should've thought of that before we ate so heartily.”

“Oh that Jim, peeing in the wawa, what a joker!”

“You know what happens when you eat dinos? Things start to happen to your body...things start to growwwwwwwwwwww....before you know it, your legs are HUMONGOUS and your arms are very very little. And in between all that....

Hope you didn't scortch the branches of the pines when you let out your after dinner belch.”

“

This is late evening at Lower Palisade Lake. On clear evenings the Sierra sky often turns soft hues of pink and purple, which paints the peaks the same color. I love quiet Sierra evenings. I want to marry them. I took this shot right before the largest Sasquatch I've ever seen went splashing across the lake.





This is the same place but looking the other direction. The ball in the sky with a sliver of light is the moon. At least that's the best explanation we could come up with. Right after I took this shot a large godzilla-like creature popped over that ridge and ate two other campers staying at the lake. At least they died quickly, which I shared with their loved ones and it seemed to help.





This is still Lower Palisade Lake, near the outlet... this time as the sun was just about down. <---- duh. It was great fishing for rainbows in this lake, as well as some sort of prehistoric ling cod that has yet to be officially discovered. We may have eaten the last one, I'm not sure. Oddly, there were also large runs of Chinook salmon going up the creek into the lake which the local Bigfoot population seemed to really enjoy. They'd only eat the brains though. We threw the remaining salmon carcasses out for the stingrays to eat. Right after I took this pic another UFO careened into the mountainside. It seems maybe there's something in my camera that triggers some sort of malfunction in alien spacecraft or something. I witness a lot of heinous crashes. We had a great time on this thru-hike. Thanks for letting me share some of our adventures.”

“Very nice Buck..”

“Buck, it's a pleasure to hear of your adventures and see your photos. My life is kinda dull in comparison.”

“Wow!

That moon picture is really cool!

Looks like you need to watch out for those killer salmon though, or was that the alien bigfoot?”

“You know how people exclaim, "Oooooo! Aahhhhh!" when they're watching fireworks? I do that when I'm looking at your photos, Buck :) Thanks for sharing them! I love the Sierra!”

“Always breathtaking pictures Buck! Did you go up to the Klamath River? I am curious if you did,if you went through the town of Arcata?”

“Gracias.

madeintahoe®, we did go up some drainages near the mouth of the Klamath. And yes, we zipped through Arcata, the old home of Moonstone® products. We picked up a hitchhiking Sasquatch off of 101 near there but dropped him off after a couple miles when he insisted on smokin' weed in my truck. I didn't have any munchies so what's the point?




Here's a view from the ridge trail nearing Whitney, looking across the Great Western Divide. The tall sharp looking things in the background are mountains. I could name the peaks but I won't. There's people and bears down there but you just can't see 'em. Indians were here.





Here's another view from the trail nearing Mt. Whitney looking towards the Great Western Divide. I just like saying that... Great Western Divide. gReAt wEsTeRn DiViDe! WeeeEEEee. It's one of my favorite sub-ranges along the Sierra. It's wild and full of golden trout lakes and creeks and waterfalls. I especially like the section near the headwaters of the Kern River. In this photo the pond at middle-left is a lakelet on the Bighorn Plateau, which we crossed a day or two before. Oddly, no UFOs crashed during the making of this photo.”

“Oddly, no UFOs crashed during the making of this photo.”
Buck
5:26:11 PM
3/02/05

I just watched one fall from the sky while looking at that picture. Does that count?

Nice stuff. When are you sending me a plane ticket so I can fly out and hike some of them thare hills?
last edited: 3/02/05 4:33:08 PM”

“Ho-lee shiznit on those last two shots. They're beautiful!”

“Love the Great Western Divide.”

“Funny Funny Buck! You always make me laugh
yes..moonstone products!
I was born and raised in Arcata, Humboldt County, my family & my hubby's family are still all up there, his family in Rio Dell by Scotia. I remember you had mentioned you were going up to the Klamath, and had meant to tell you if you go through Arcata to stop by Los bagels for the best bagels in town!
I do miss it there at times, but there are no Sierra Nevada mountains :):)”

“Man, I can't wait to start backpacking the Sierra again, and after all this snow it should be a great year for waterfalls and wildflowers and (ahem) mosquitoes, but it's all part of a gloriously wild symphony that I MISS SO BAD right now! I'll resume some JMT shots. For those of you hiking this incredible trail this summer... YOU RULE!



We camped one night along Wright Creek (which I feel is more secluded and has better vistas than nearby Wallace Creek, which is much much more popular with hikers). This view is from a meadow near our camp looking towards the Sierra crest. I'll never forget it. We set up camp late in the day due to a massive downpour that didn't look like it would let up. We just happened to be at the Wright Creek at the right time. But after we frantically set up camp and waited out the storm for a short while, it began to lift. There's nothing like experiencing a lifting storm in the high country. The sun was setting and we had great views of Mt. Whitney, which after 2 and a half weeks of hiking was a most welcome sight. As if excited for us, the nearby Wright Basin began to echo with coyote howls. That's why I backpack.








After enjoying the wild sights and sounds all around me from the open meadow, I started the short walk back to camp where Dave and Jim were cooking dinner in the fading light. As I neared camp I looked to my left back towards the mountains and I stopped in my tracks. A most glorious display of alpenglow was lighting up the tips of the highest peaks. I literally ran back towards the meadow out of the forest so I could enjoy this amazing sight! I snapped a couple quick shots to share with others and just soaked up these glowing peaks, mountains of embers. That's Mt. Whitney on the very far right edge of the pic, the culmination of our JMT adventure, towering above at 14 and a half thousand feet into the sky.”

“

I might as well include this pic right here as well. This is the Wright Creek meadow I was referring to. We camped in some trees a few yards downstream, near the edge. Coyotes yippin' in the evening, deer grazing in the morning. I love this place. There was one other group of backpackers camping near here (very nice people who gave us some white gas for our stove since we had been out for a few days... it was the first hot meal we had in a while!), and about a mile away at Wallace Creek it was tent city. We were so glad we stayed here.”

“Beautiful! We camped at Wright Creek too. Didn't see anyone for 3 days, but it was the week after 9-11.”

“Keep the pics coming. I hope to go out there one day. Funny though, I didn't see any Giraffes, are they out of season, or did the coyotes scare them off?”

“Those are REALLY nice pictures. Very Beautiful area!!!”

“beautiful pictures once again Buck.”

“Awsome!”

“Buck, what's that bright yellow blob in the middle of the last pic? Is it just a big boulder?”

“gorgeous pics buck! Thank you for sharing!”

“Thanks folks.

dayhiker, the yellow blob is a giant foam rock that covers the entrance of a tunnel system underneath Whitney, which, by the way, has some outstanding restaurants and welcomed hot showers for those with proper authorization.

jackstraw, the Sierran Giraffes are all over the place but they spend much of their daylight hours hunting coyotes, chasing them into more remote drainages.





I took this shot of our campsite at the confluence of Piute Creek and the S.F. San Joaquin River because I knew it would be one of the last nights we would camp in vegetation. After this night, heading south, most of our time would be spent above treeline. I love it above treeline but there's nothing like sitting around a campfire in the forest. And yes, I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free...








This is the S.F. San Joaquin River next to our camp. Our site was on the ledge in the upper left corner of the photo. I feel bad because I rinsed my socks and underwear in the river for the first time on the trip which caused a massive fishkill downstream and there were some huge rainbows and browns in there too. I feel really bad. And it also caused an outbreak of giardia and athlete's foot fungus downriver at Muir Trail Ranch and on into Florence Lake and continued down to Fresno. People, please rinse your dirty socks and skivvies at least 100 yards from the river, please. For those of you hiking the JMT this summer and like to fish, I hope this stretch of river has retabilized and repopulated naturally with trout. The fishing can be quite good.”

“

This is a trailside pond on a shelf in the Rae Lakes Basin. Rae Lakes is filled with people and bears and beauty and is one of the more populated areas along the trail. But there is good reason for this and I still loved camping here. We were still able to find a secluded campsite. We camped on a knoll between the upper lake and the middle lake. We couldn't decide which one was prettier.







It was a breezy evening at Rae Lakes even after the sun had set. The mountains rose in grand fashion all around us.








Every now and then the breeze would subside down to soft ripples, as it is here at the middle Rae Lake. The place is riddled with brook trout. The mountains are much taller than my 17mm wide angle lens portrays. I may be heading into this basin this summer if I'm lucky.”

“great shots Buck! August is not going to come soon enough.”