El Capitan
I spent a few days in the Sierra Mountains this past week. I did a little shooting but not as much as I normally would do on a trip. This trip turned out to be more about just being out and a little reconnaissance for future outings. Yosemite Valley was definitely less crowded in the "shoulder season." They were closing many of the campgrounds outside the valley and closing many of the concessions in the valley. I was able to drive up to the ranger station at Tioga Pass and get a campsite at Crane Flat. I actually had a choice of campsites. I doubt I would have had the luxury in the Summer season.
The valley was much less crowded than Summer as well. I've been to Yosemite once before in the Winter and remember it being blissfully quiet. The weather was very pleasant and warm enough that I rode my bike with shorts and a t-shirt. The valley elevation is about 4,000 ft. The colors in the valley were not quite ready to change just yet. I also visited June Lake where the elevation is approximately 7,600 ft. The colors were maybe a week or two off from full peak. It was already spectacular there I can imagine being there in the full Fall colors. It was significantly cooler in the upper elevations.
I really enjoyed the Mammoth Lakes area. It was definitely dead there. Many of the restaurants were closed - their season is Summer and Winter. Not much going on any other time of the year. Hiking out at the Devil's Postpile was very pleasant. I'd also like to spend some time camping down there, not as much for the photography as for the fishing - I had some nice quiet moments watching trout in the rivers and lakes imagining casting a fly out...
At a Tioga Pass turn out overlooking the Tuolumne River
Tioga pass is awesome. It's just like being in Yosemite Valley looking up at El Capitan or looking out over the Grand Canyon. There's no sense of scale to put its grandeur in perspective and a picture really doesn't do it justice. Point Olmstead looks back out over toward Yosemite Valley and has lots of interesting rock/boulders. Coming down from the pass into Lee Vining is a very steep couple miles and the scenery is great. I pulled out a few times and got out just to take it all in. I'll definitely be returning the Tioga Pass to do some hiking/fishing/photography.
