In the summer of 2015, I had embarked on one of my most challenging backpacks in the Eastern Sierras, on a 55-mi route that wound through the Evolution and Dusy basins. Granite escarpments ringed by towering alpine peaks surround a broad basin filled with glistening lakes. Set in a remote region of the John Muir Wilderness, these places are a haven for landscape photography.
I tried to capture in this panorama what it really is like to be immersed in such a rugged landscape. But nothing can replicate the feeling of really being lost in the granite.
Kings Canyon National Park
CA USA
Sierra Monotones
The summer of 2015 was special for me in many ways; the foremost significance was doing one of my longest, and last, backpacks in the Sierra Nevada. I covered 55 miles over a week, hiking solo from one high alpine lake to another in a long circuit that traversed three mountain passes and cut through the famed Evolution and Dusy basin. It was an arduous trek, made even more challenging by the fact that I was all alone (most of the other hikers were PCT through hikers heading in the opposite direction.
Looking back at the photos I took made me realize what a stark contrast the rocky high-alpine climate of the Sierra Nevada was to the lush greenery of the Pacific Northwest. Rugged barren peaks with scant vegetation arose majestically from dark blue alpine lakes, with the moon a lonely dot in the heavily polarized sky. I hope these monotones capture the ethereal beauty of these craggy landscapes.
Kings Canyon National Park
CA USA
Dusty and Dusy
Four summers ago, I had embarked on what I was perhaps one of the most mentally grueling backpacks I had ever done, a solo 7-day trek into the mountains covering 55 miles and 3 mountain passes above 11500 ft (3500m). It was physically and mentally taxing, and my only escape from being trapped in my head with my own thoughts was photographing the surreal landscape I walked through.
The penultimate evening of my sojourn found me on the dusty shores of Dusy basin, a moonscape with very little vegetation situated at 12000ft. It was a stark landscape, with sun-burnt granite covered by patches of tiny shrubs and stubby grass, interspersed by deep-blue alpine lakes reflecting the wonderful scenery all around. Despite the long arduous days, I was sad that one of my best treks into the Sierras were coming to an end.
Dusy Basin
CA USA