Tuolumne Rim widlflowers
Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 10:16 pm
Over the holiday weekend did wildflower photography in Tuolumne rim areas along Mather, Evergreen, Hetch Hetchy, and Cherry Lake Road. Roadside areas I have been enjoying pursuing wildflowers over decades that are virtually empty of people taking notice as cars zoom past on their ways to either:
South and Middle Fork of the Tuolumne River bridge crossings on Evergreen Road
Evergreen Lodge
Camp Mather
Hetch Hetchy Dam
Cherry Valley Lake dam
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=37.86757,-119.97061&z=13&t=T
Have not updated my chronicle feature yet but above is a telephoto image taken from near the junction of Mather and Cherry Lake Roads northeast across at frame bottom the saddle just east of Joes Point that was obviously denuded due to the horrible Rim Fire. The peak at skyline frame right is 9877 foot Richardson Peak. At frame left the rounded summit with trees atop is 8464 foot Nance Peak with Edyth Lake in the canyon 2200 feet below its steep cliff face. I had stood atop that summit in late June of 1979 while on a day hike out of my camp at the beautiful Spotted Fawn Lake. In those years there were still rainbow trout in several lakes in that zone that have since gone fishless due to lack of spawning habitat. The canyon between Nance Peak and the noted saddle at frame bottom contains Cherry Creek.
The forested ridge lower and just right of the noted cliff face is the ridgeline just south of Cherry Lake. Thus the brushy treeless area in front of that ridge is part of the Miguel Creek drainage. Also to the right of Nance Peak some miles in the background is 10365 foot Grizzly Peak. On the left ridgeline of Richardson Peak are some pointy peaklets. Below those peaks the mixed forested and rock hill is topo point 6831 just southwest of Laurel Lake that is down below in its tall forest. Frog Creek flows through the hollow between those hills that is Yosemite's prime bear land. Bearup Lake would be below the east side of Richardson Peak in that shallow canyon.
These areas that I have been visiting for decades have some of the best roadside wildflowers one will find late May into early June in the western Sierra forested 3k to 5.5k elevations. Not much for larger landscapes but rather productive for smaller intimate scenes and close-ups. Among the more prominent common showy species are broadleaf and harlequin lupine, square and Leichtlin's mariposa lilies, twining snake lily, Pacific sedum, canyon dudleya, azure penstemon, grand collomia, woolly mule ears, several monkeyflowers, madia, several clarkias, and pretty face.
The below downsized close-up image of pansy monkeyflower and Sierra downingia was shot in Ackerson Meadow where there were dense patches of several species. The full image is 5800x6600 pixels and sharp top to bottom right to left as is focus stacked.
David
http://www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_C ... les-0.html
