Sierra Sojourn

Last week I went to Grass Valley to visit friends and decided I might as well make a loop trip via the Eastern Sierra, one of my favorite regions anywhere.  The weather was beautiful as I headed over Monitor Pass at 8500 feet.

After a pleasant night in Lee Vining, I headed up the Tioga Road.  The Eastern Sierra rises straight up, with much more drama than on the western side of the range. 

The landscape is amazingly rugged, shaped by glaciers and volcanism.

Nearing Tioga Pass, above 9000 feet, the whitebark pine rises majestically into the crisp, clear air.  It's very invigorating here...you feel Alive.

 

I always enjoy a bit of granitic slotation when I visit the Yosemite high country.  Here I'm at Tuolumne Meadows.

I took a short hike partway around Tenaya Lake, a favorite spot since 1977, when I camped here for three nights.  The campground is long gone, but you can picnic, kayak, even swim if you're a hardy sort.  Granite escarpments rise all around.

Abstract scene of rocks and trees.  I love the high granite country of Yosemite.  It's rugged and majestic.  Nature's grandeur is everywhere.

Plants are tenacious.  Flowering heather and whitebarks eke out existence among the granite slabs and glacial erratics.