I am still on a high from Friday night.
I had an inkling of how auroras appear out in the PNW: a few pillars of hazy light show up on the northern horizon, lasting a few seconds before disappearing, with the entire show lasting an hour at most.
But last nights G4 storm was something else: a once in 20-year storm that hits intensity levels enough to bring the aurora down to the mid latitudes. And so while we were watching the northern front, the display of lights happened overhead instead. It was strong enough to bring the entire rainbow of colors from exciting Nitrogen (pink), Hydrogen, Helium (blue and violet) and high altitude Oxygen (red).
This Mother's day spectacle is something that I will not forget for a while. It rivaled the display I had seen many years ago in Iceland. Will there be more this year? That is a million dollar question
North Cascades National Park
WA USA
Colors of the sky
The Eastern Sierras is not just a desert landscape with dry granite peaks, but is a land of glistening lakes and towering mountains where mountain weather comes alive. The first one captures the reflection of the rainbow after a late afternoon thunderstorm, while the next frames the clear reflections of the mountain landscape typical of the Eastern Sierras.
Inyo National Forest
CA USA
A National Park Journey - Grand Teton National Park
By the time I had visited 9 National Parks, my itch to see more had started to grow. So when the opportunity to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton had presented in the summer of 2008, I jumped at it. Having heard more about Yellowstone, mainly due to the marketing prowess of Ol Faithful and its representation in the Yogi bear cartoon series, Grand Teton was merely an afterthought. But our path to Yellowstone took us through Grand Teton, and in retrospect, it was the best decision ever as I found Grand Teton to be far more enthralling than Yellowstone.
I still remember waking up early in the canvas tents of Colter Bay village, and walking up to the still shores of Jackson lake where I got to witness the first light of the day strike the jagged yet characteristic peaks of the Teton Range. From here, the prominence of the Teton Range, reflected fully on the lake, was just hard to comprehend; it stretched from horizon to horizon with alternating shades of snow and granite topping the undulating highline of the Tetons. I had to come back.
A few years later, I did, and I hiked along the Teton Crest trail, winding my way up and over mountain passes, along steep ridges and narrow shelves, and through beautiful alpine meadows nestled behind the mighty Grand Teton. It was an unforgettable trip, but permitting challenges make it hard for me to ever repeat such a trip again. This image is of a rainbow that appeared right after a thunderstorm hit a wildflower-laden meadow on the first day of the backpack.
Grand Teton National Park
WY USA
After the Storm
I was not expecting to see this that day. I was not even expecting to make it out alive .
.
.
It was barely an hour earlier when I left the safety of the rifugio in the French alps under moody skies. The wind was picking up, but nothing to deter from hiking. A couple of far-away lightning strikes signaled an approaching storm. A light drizzle started, that turned to a torrential downpour in a matter of minutes. And the strikes came nearer and more frequent, the accompanying thunder reverberating across the entire valley.
I passed a couple of hikers coming the other way, and they urged me to turn around. I wish I had heeded their advice. For what lay ahead of me was a vast open stretch of trail in rocky terrain with nary a protective zone. And I was in the heart of the storm.
The gale-force winds gripped my tangled poncho, eager to yank away my only barrier to the rain. I held on, fighting the wind and the rain, slowly trudging forward. I had given up all hope of seeing the light after a storm; my only focus was on taking the next step.
And without warning, the clouds parted, the sun shone, and I was treated to dramatic view of the glacier-capped slopes of Mont Blanc.
Courmayeur
Italy