Seeking that perfect meadow

[DoyleWDonehoo]

"I am seeking the perfect fall meadow, where the grass has turned golden, a creek
runs through it, and a nice mountain scenery in the back ground...
Mine would be Gallats Lake/Meadow area south of Colby Pass, what's yours?"

I have been to just about all of the suggested places (Gallats Lake being among the best), and they are all good suggestions. I will attache two of my favorites below.

[markskor]

Mav asks; “I am seeking the perfect fall meadow…The kind that made you stop in your tracks.”

That “fall” requirement makes this a tough question; hard to say when the only time through wasn’t.

Interesting though was the “meadows that made you stop in your tracks” query. There have been a few of those moments.
Meadow canyon east of Emeric, just atop waterslide
Entrance to numbered lake meadow just below Adair…Tres Amigos tour
Burro Canyon Meadow below Matterhorn
High meadow Lyell Canyon – above Twin Bridges
Below Marie
Entrance Thousand Island from Island Pass Meadows
Lower Cathedral Meadow looking up

Too many to count actually

[DoyleWDonehoo]

I forgot my favorite meadow of all!

[SSSdave]

There are many Sierra meadows with sedge filled ponds or calm slow moving stream pools either of which might allow golden yellow turned grasses and nice reflections. However if the intent is to capture an exceptional scene most subjects with those elements alone are unlikely to rate too highly. Just as with mid summer images with wildflowers, the best images are likely to be supported with backgrounds of magnificent peaks and crags instead of ordinary canyon walls with distant ordinary looking peaks. Another issue is vegetation color. Most meadow vegetation during fall turns yellow and most of that appears best saturated backlit unless one tends to manipulate heavily in Photoshop well beyond the actual visual experience. Generally the yellow from aspen and cottonwoods is considerably more intense and impressive so receive far more attention from photographers. However neither of those trees grows much above 10k so there is a disconnect versus our areas of most magnificent peaks. The best fall sedge pond subject I know of is on the Great Western Divide with an impressive view of Kaweah Peaks Ridge. A beautiful sinuous stream sided by sedge leading to a reflection pond. Another good spot would be the meadow ponds below Orchid Lake. Alot of effort to reach either.

The only red color one will find at those higher elevations are leaves of fireweed, gooseberries, and s. artica. Neither of the first two are that saturated and tend to be very localized suitable only for near foregrounds. The exception is arctic willow that serious photographers have hardly noticed and I'd bit few if any understand its predictable environment.



A problem is the window when those willow leaves turn red tends to be rather narrow, varies with elevation, and year to year summer wetness. Since most such willow is well beyond trailheads, it tends to be a gamble making an effort to hike in somewhere only to find one is too early or late. Yesterday after work here in Silicon Valley, I drove off east to backpack into an eastside area I know has such an excellent subject with an impressive peak backdrop (not the above exc pic that cannot be improved on haha). After driving about 30 miles, I stopped and considered how much I wanted to drive 500+ miles over a rushed 2-day weekend, carrying a big load up a few thousand feet several miles, all for a gamble. Also we just returned from a 4-day trip last weekend so was not too enthusiastic about another exhausting effort and long road trip. Turned around and am now typing on my keyboard at home. There will always be next year when I ought to have alot more PTO to make such an effort more pleasant. To easily become acquainted with salix arctica, one might visit the Tioga Tarns at Tioga Pass or the Cathedral Lakes area during the next few days. Note by mid September most years the turf height willow turns a boring brownish orange.

[lambertiana]

Now that someone has mentioned it, Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne is indeed a nice one (not my pic, a friend took it - I was lugging a Leicaflex SLR on that trip).

I have never been there, but from the pictures that I have seen there is a very nice meadow in the next canyon over, the Lyell Fork Merced River.

[maverick]

Hi SSSDave

I know the area you are referring to near Lower Cathedral, though Upper Mills
Lake is even better for Alpine Blueberry, and another area which is my favorite
especially for fall Alpine Blueberry coverage, where I have decided to go revisit
at the end of the month.
And I agree that the smaller Orchid Lake, which I could reach in a day via the
Bear Ridge Trail, is possibly the best summer, or fall location for a photographer
in the Sierra, just spent 3 nights there (2 weeks ago)!
Great to see the diverse meadow selections.
I have visited most of these places, Gallats, and Upper Lyell have the been
the only ones that stopped me in my tracks with there beauty, meadow wise.

[SSSdave]

You're right about the turfy Upper Mills Creek Lake flats having lots of s. arctica. Of course there are lots of noname ponds there too to make that interesting. A good choice for the end of August.

[TehipiteTom]

Goddard Creek below Lake 10232 is high on my list. I'm also a sucker for Grouse Meadow.

[mokelumnekid]

Come to think of it, the long meadow on the east side of Matthes Crest might be a good spot, especially near the southern end. I've been there many times but don't have any good pics. Here is one I found online, from earlier in the year:

[balzaccom]

I agree with BIg Wet Meadow in SEKI, but here are a couple from our recent adventures that also might fill the bill.

The first is below Bear Trap Lake in Long Canyon---above the West Walker River in the new section of the Hoover Wilderness. Thisis shot early this summer, but it gives you an idea of the scenery:


http://picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/W ... 8822933282" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The second one might be Walker Meadow in the same general area...north of Fremont Lake. This one has more volcanic peaks:

http://picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/W ... 5489267234" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And the last one is Kerrick Canyon just north of Matterhorn Canyon in Yosemite National Park...:

http://picasaweb.google.com/balzaccom/T ... 7502022754" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;