Sunday, September 7, 2014

Twin Lakes - Kaiser Wilderness

Took another "Old Guys Hike" and went out with some buddies for an 8 mile round trip up near Kaiser Peak.  We carpooled up to the Potter's Pass trail head and gathered our gear and left the parking lot around 8:30am.

The first leg of our trip started at 8,380 feet elevation and gradually climbed 1.7 miles up to Potters Pass which is at 9,000 feet.  A beautiful view looking north or south.  To the north, we had views of Mount Ritter, Banner Peak, and the Minarets.  To the south, a view of Huntington Lake and China peak, as well as Red Mountain off in the distance.

 
Back on the trail, we headed down a medium descent into the Kasier Wilderness basin.  Along the way we enjoyed wild flowers, a few meadows, and even a few aspens with a hint of color starting.  After nearly a mile, we came upon Lower Twin Lake , which is at 8,664 feet.

 
After another quarter mile, we reached Upper Twin Lake, which offered great views with a dramatic background in the distance.
 
 


 
Feeling pretty good, we decided to add the George Lake loop to our trip.  That 1.25 miles and 500 feet elevation gain really put us to the test, but it was well worth it.  The total 4 mile trip included about 1,400 feet of up and down elevation change.
 
 
One of challenges was to carry my 4x5 Crown Graphic film camera and to try and catch a few good Black and White images.  Below are a few of these pictures.



 
Overall, it was about an 8 mile round trip.  Pretty doable for a day hike, and not bad for middle aged kids and anyone of decent health.  It would be fun to do this one again in early October, as there should be lot's of color and better skys for photography.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Dome Rock, a vista overlooking the Kern River basin

Michelle and I took a day trip up to work on the family cabin. After a few hours of actual work, we packed up and drove up another 2,000 feet to the crest, and climbed out on Dome Rock for a few pics!

Kern River Basin

Needles Rock

Could spend hours on the rock, just resting. Nice breeze, cool temps and quiet!

Pano Looking Southwest

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Corbett Lake

A few pics from our day hike up to Corbett Lake.  A beautiful high sierra lake located near the top of Givens Peak.


This was a nice getaway, spending time with a good friend, and meeting two new friends. We climbed about 3 miles from an elevation of 7,500 feet to over 9,000 feet in just under 3 hours.


 
The hike up to the lake meanders through ferns and granite rock slabs, sprinkled with giant cedar trees.
 
 

It was a decent climb, so at times we had to slow down a bit as we pushed through the switchbacks in the steeper part of the hike.  But we enjoyed a few wild flowers, and had plenty of shade to make the hike very enjoyable.

One of my goals was to get a few good black and white images, so here is one of the iPhone images converted.  Check back later for a some medium format B&W scans.


Getting started

There is always a starting point, when you pull up your boot straps and dive into a project... Well, today is the day!  My attempt at creating a blog, mainly to journal my photography hobby and to share my explorations.


Stay tuned and we'll see where this goes.