White Bark 2017

Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

24mm

Hike Route

You may find it interesting to compare photographs from June 3^rd 2016 https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2016/06/kaiser-pass-road-and-white-bark-vista.html

To the current photographs taken in July this year. Additionally, the road to Kaiser Pass is open but the one-mile gravel road to White Bark is still blocked by snow. I had to walk in and expect it will be another two weeks of melting before you can drive the one-mile to White Bark. There is nearly 500’ of gain outbound.

            Once you get there the area along the ridge is open and snow free. The mountains still have a considerable amount of snow and in the woods on the way to White Bark; there are still large mounds of snow interspersed with dry areas.

            “Why post another article on White Bark?” you ask. The mountains, the sky and each season is different. Also, my lenses seem to change annually. This year I used my trusty Sony A7R2 again. This year I had just picked up the new Sony fe 12-24 f4 lens that fit snugly into my Digital Holster 20 2.0 without it being expanded. I like to carry my cameras on my belt if possible. I had my adapted Canon 400mm f4 D.O. in the daypack. The lens choice was perhaps too big and too small but different nonetheless. And…Edison Lake is full of water again. Mono Creek must be flowing like crazy.

            My trekking poles helped me navigate the snow mounds and although I had micro spikes along hanging off my pack with a carabineer, I did not use them. See, there is a reason to have a carabineer on the back of your pack. Andrew Skurka made fun of those who use carabineers in one of his videos.

            Since I was in the area, I also threw in photographs of Shaver Lake and Huntington Lake from the dam at the east end, taken with the new lens.

Shaver Lake 12mm

Huntington Lake 24mm

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 Banner Ritter 400mm (Near Mammoth Mountain)

 Graveyard Peak With Devil's Bathtub Hidden*

 Saddle Mountain Far Right

 Edison Lake Vermillion Cliffs Above 

Red And White Mountain Vermillion Cliffs Foreground And Below

Mt Hilgard, Mt Gabb, Recess Peak With Bear Dome Below

The Mountains Are Along The Mono Divide

            

The clouds were nice, the air was warm and my lunch was wonderful in the shade of an evergreen sitting on the ground with my back against a rock. All was good until this came along! Oh well, to each his own. We talked briefly as he passed me by inbound. I think he was camping somewhere along Kaiser Pass Road.

*Here is a posting with a photograph of Devil's Bathtub:

http://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2014/06/day-hike-to-devils-bathtub.html

Edison Lake In The Rain 08-02-17
Zeiss Batis 85mm f1.8

The Snow on the dirt road to Whitebark is gone and you can drive in now. The temperature was 56 degrees on the way back down Kaiser Pass Road in a driving rainstorm. Meanwhile the temperature back in a sunny Fresno was 106.