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Hiking the Rush Creek Trail 2017
Rush Creek Trail – “Living up to its name!” Monday, June 5th, 2017 Most days, the idea of a Monday morning spawns images of another dreadful work week. For me however, It would be a very different Monday. I was fortunate enough to wake up on in the Eastern Sierra Nevada with a beautiful destination to venture to. I have been visiting the June Lake Loop for well over a decade, but never actually hiked the trails that are in and around this lovely region. I was going to change that by taking on the Rush Creek Trail to Agnew Lake. “The Starship hits up the June Lake Loop for another glorious Eastern…
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Exploring the Alabama Hills 2017
Visiting the Arch Trail Loop – “Venturing out for a good round of shots.” Thursday, March 23rd, 2017 On this new spring day, my travel companion and I traveled to the wonderful land of Alabama Hills for some exploration and photography. The weather was very clear and the sun was shining as bright as it could on us, but no more than a typical sunny day in Winter. Julia and I wanted to revisit the Mobius Arch trial loop and being a weekday, we had the place all to ourselves for a little while at least. “Lone Pine Peak rises high over the Alabama Hills.” Arch Trail Loop GPS Coordinates:…
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Whitney Portal Road 2017
Hiking the Whitney Portal Road – “Taking the slow lane!” Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017 My travel companion Julia and I wanted to visit the Whitney Portal today because it had been years since our last trip to this place. The weather was perfect and we started our ascent early that morning. As we drove up Whitney Portal Road, we were suddenly stopped by a ‘suggested’ road closure sign. Now typically I will cruise around signs like this, but I knew of the serious damage that occurred up the road by a massive rock slide in late January 2017. I also knew that the debris was recently cleared with dynamite and heavy equipment, but what I didn’t know…
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Wintery Spring in the Eastern Sierra 2017
Cruising the 395 from Lone Pine to Mammoth – “Allergies be gone!” Tuesday, March 21st, 2017 With the winds blowing strong and the pollen abound, my allergies were wreaking havoc on my well being, but we still pushed on with the day. It was Julia’s first time visiting this grand region again since our last Eastern Sierra romp in 2014. I felt bad because I was dealing with headache’s shortness of breath, and wanting to blackout which did not make me the sort of company you’d want to have around on a trip like this. Despite all my symptoms, I was determined to help show her a good time today. We had started…
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Spring Equinox at Death Valley 2017
The First Day of Spring in Death Valley – “97ºF and getting hotter!” Monday, March 20th, 2017 Every year, my best friend and I would get together and go on an epic photo venture, but due to extremely difficult times, 15 months had managed to pass since we last traveled together and so we both decided to put a stop to this no matter what. One day before the Spring Equinox of 2017, I picked up the lovely Miss Julia Starr at McCarran International Airport in Vegas. We were both extremely excited to see each other again and made the preparations for the days to follow. We set off on…
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Lone Pine Winter Storm 2017 – Chapter 03
DAY 04 – “That morning light on high sierra granite.” Tuesday, January 24th, 2017 I woke up at 6 AM again on the nose and took a quick look outside to see what the weather was like. It was mostly clear and the Eastern Sierra peaks where definitely in view. I geared up fast and loaded everything into the Starship. I knew that I had to get out to a decent point along Whitney Portal Road if I was going to capture some Mt. Whitney alpenglow. Once it begins, good alpenglow will only last from five to eight minutes tops and the rose-pink color then becomes typical daylight. The sun had…
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Lone Pine Winter Storm 2017 – Chapter 02
DAY 03 – “A break in the storm brings some blue skies.” Monday, January 23rd, 2017 The past couple of nights were rough due to the sound of howling winds blasting ice pellets at my door and window. The wall heater also joined in the midnight orchestra by occasionally popping loud enough to startle me awake when it cooled and then roared when it fired back up. None of that mattered however because I was having a wonderful time and looking forward to what the weather would bring for the following day. I got up at 6 AM again without the need for an alarm. My body and mind were in “Venture Mode”…
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Lone Pine Winter Storm 2017 – Chapter 01
Saturday, January 21st, 2017 DAY 01 – “Journey to the north.” For weeks the Eastern Sierra has been pelted over and over by multiple storms being swept in from the Pacific Ocean in the form of what meteorologists are calling an “Atmospheric River”. As a photographer, the one thing you get very good at is watching the weather forecast like a hawk and predicting more or less what kind of photo opportunities you will be getting. I had taken notice that the Eastern Sierra was scheduled for one last big winter storm. The forecast after that revealed nothing but sunny days for a while. I knew this was my last opportunity to venture into…
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Southwest 2015 – Zion, Images of a Winter Dreamland
Monday, December 14th, 2015 Julia and I awoke on what would be our very last day in the town of Springdale. For the last few days, we waited patiently for a snow storm to hit that we had been hearing about all week long, but it never came, that is until we looked out the window this morning. It was snowing and the mountains were covered in it! This seriously could not have been better timed. Rather than pack up, check out, and go home, we stayed for the day and spent our last hours here exploring through a new snow covered Zion. With our camera gear mounted up and…
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Southwest 2015 – Lazy Sunday at the Virgin River
Sunday, December 13th, 2015 Julia and I woke up super late today. We were very sore from all the resistance hiking through The Narrows yesterday so today was definitely going to be a lazy Sunday for us. Our knees were aching, but our attitudes remained positive as we slowly made our way out of the hotel and on to another small venture for the day. We didn’t want anything too crazy, so we settled on a casual walk along the Virgin River just south of the main entrance to the park. It was practically lunch, so we grabbed a quick bite at Cafe Soleil since it would be our last…
