High Sierra Topix

Not my usual backpacking, but my fiance and I did a little tour of the east side with a nice day hike up NF Big Pine Creek. NF Big Pine Creek is flowing strong, but this is kinda sad because you know that the glaciers are just melting away. The Monsoonal Flows are definitely making their presence known daily. We didn't make it all the way up to the lakes in the basin because a T-storm began in earnest and we thought pushing higher wasn't the smartest thing. We saw lots of BP's taking shelter under trees, which in an active T-storm isn't always the safest option.We also lots of dayhikers with minimal protection pushing up into the basin with thunder booming. I don't have a lot to say other than it was really pretty with all the weather as you can see in the pics that follow. Have fun out there!

Thanks JF for the TR and pictures. Nice to see the wildflowers still around.

Nice photos. And wise to retreat.

Mav: yeah, it always astounds me just how well adapted Sierra flora are to the dry years. Even in some of the most austere areas, one can find delicate little ground covers and wild flowers. The Big Pine Creek drainages see quite a bit of water (owing I'm guessing to the glaciers and the ability of the lakes to hold back water) which is sustaining a lush display even in a dry year. Also, its been a pretty weird year of low snow pack but frequent T-storms.

There certainly have been a lot of clouds and thunderstorms lately on a couple of weekend trips I have made. They make for more interesting photos(love your pics), but clear and sunny would be be nice.

I'd love to see historic photos of the Palisades Glacier to see how it is faring now vs then.

Nice pics! Did you take those with your phone? If so, what kind and which apps?

I've seen some historical photos. I think both it and Lyell glacier used to (earlier last century) cover almost the entire cirque carved out of the flank of the respective mountains.

Some of the photos were taken with my Galaxy Nexus using instagram (ones with frames and all road shots). The rest were shot with a Canon 50D using a 17-55 f/2.8. For some I shot triple exposures and used hdr post-pro. If I had a collection of nd filters I'd prob use hdr less but I don't have any nd filters because 77mm filters are expensive!

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