CA 158 north of Silver Lake, Mono County, CA, 10/16/2007
Here is the best photograph I ever made from the rooftop photography platform I built for my car. The added height improved my angle of view for this composition of golden quaking aspens on a hillside above a meadow of high desert grass and brush. I parked in a pullout off of June Lake Loop Road (CA 158) north of Silver Lake in the eastern Sierra of California on an autumn day with sunny weather in the canyons and stormy weather higher in the mountains. The moving clouds provided great chiaroscuro, and all I had to do was wait for this decisive moment when the sunlight highlighted the goldenmost trees. We're in Rush Creek Canyon at an elevation of 7,250 feet above sea level looking northwest up a hill that leads to Grant Peak further north. The hilltop we see is on the Ansel Adams Wilderness boundary. In the upper left corner is the east summit of Mt. Wood (elevation 12,647 feet), 2.4 miles away. Mt. Wood is composed of metamorphic slate like its neighbors Mt. Lewis, Mt. Gibbs, and Mt. Dana. This big massif also includes Parker Peak on its northwest side where it connects with Koips Peak Pass. The eastern Sierra is a land of abrupt contrasts and this hillside is a fine example with desert conditions meeting lush stream-fed aspen forest. The scene immediately caught my eye and contains all the colorful glory I look for in autumn!
