Mid Sierra Musings: October 2018

Resident Eagles Millerton Lake

Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

I’m getting the itch to photograph eagles at Millerton Lake again now that the hiking and backpacking season is drawing to a close. In spite of the fact that we had a month of smoke from fires this summer, it was a great season for wilderness photos and new locations that included the Sierra Glaciers near Big Pine CA.

There are what I would call two “hot spots” at Millerton where I can generally find a bald eagle or two on the Fresno County Side of Millerton near the Courthouse. I guess you could call them the “legal eagles”. There is another resident pair of bald eagles that hang out further upstream.

The other hot spot is not a ‘drive by’, but a long hike and steep climb to find the golden eagles soaring and stooping along the cliffs on the Madera side of Millerton Lake. They are creatures of habit and daily show up about the same time from their roost site elsewhere when the thermals are optimal for soaring. They are shyer than the bald eagles and it is rare to get a photo when they are perched. Additionally, they like to soar among the trees along the cliff as they hunt for prey which makes it difficult for photos or video.

As usual, eagles see me before I see them and they may or may not appear as it strikes their fancy. Eagles are the monarchs of the sky and as I watch them soar, I envy their grace, beauty and mastery of flying.

The seasonal visitors to Millerton Lake from Great Slave Lake in Canada are probably getting ready to make their annual trip to Millerton and should arrive sometime in December depending on the weather conditions in Canada. When they arrive, eagles can be sighted in several locations along the lake. In a way I am somewhat migratory also since I don’t look for eagles much in Summer at Millerton Lake and spend much of my time in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

God willing, I will be back on the eastern side of the Sierra in early Spring looking for Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep to photograph before they move back to the western side of the Sierra crest.

All of these photos were taken in a single day at Millerton and represent about 5 hours of effort in two locations.

Next Two Taken Morning Of 10-5-18

Golden Eagles In Flight Below

Golden Eagle Video Below

Dale Matson

Click On Photographs To Enlarge

Hike Route Part 1

Hike Route Part 2

Finger Lake Below Middle Palisade Glacier

For some particulars on this hike, see my previous report on the hike to Brainerd Lake. https://midsierramusing.blogspot.com/2018/09/day-hike-to-brainerd-lake-along-south.html

Lets’ just say the first hike was a “Recon”. I began this hike at dawn (7am) and intended to get to Finger Lake no matter what. It is about 12 miles round trip with about 3,400’ of elevation gain. I had my headlamp with me if needed. And...it was almost needed. I got back about 6pm.

I had hiked to Brainerd Lake already and that part of the trail was fresh in my mind. This time I had an early start and a day pack. I knew the hike up to Finger Lake was off trail, through a boulder field [note two of the photos] and nearly 800’ of climb.

I had first seen Finger Lake on Brian’s blog “Cali Trails”. https://calitrails.com/2015/02/16/fall-at-finger-lake-backpacking-the-big-pine-south-fork-trail/

He did a great job as usual with his photos and had a GPS map overlay which showed both his route up from Brainerd Lake to Finger Lake and route back down. I had a sense where I wanted to go and a waypoint loaded into my GPS for the outlet to Finger Lake. After about half the climb, I came across some cairns and began to follow that route. It turned out to be less “adventuresome”. You can see where I joined the cairn route climbing and where I followed it descending back to Brainerd Lake. It was difficult for this 74-year-old codger and took me more than an hour each way.

The payoff was getting to see this marvelous lake below Middle Palisades Glacier and its beautiful shade of deep glacial green. I took photos of the mountains above it with my Zeiss 135 2.8 and photos that included the mountains and the lake with my Sony/Zeiss 55 1.8 and Sony RX1R2 35 2.0.

Inbound I ran into a chap who was headed to Brainerd Lake for an overnight with a climb to Finger Lake in the morning. This would be ideal for the light. He will encounter some ice on the surface as I did. There is ice on some of the rocks at the creek crossing! The pond below Palisade Glacier is already frozen over. There is Autumn color visible as one climbs up the switchbacks and looks eastward.

There is a point on the trail outbound not long after finishing the switchbacks, where you can get a good look at what is called the Thumb, “Palisade Crest”, Mt. Jepson, Middle Palisade, and Clyde Peak. I brought my 135mm lens just for this. There is a small glacier below the Palisade Crest also. On my hike to Brainerd Lake I had my 16-35 2.8 GM and it was not as appropriate. My “wide angle” lens this time was the 35mm f2. I am coming to fully appreciate the S/Z 55mm 1.8 lens more and more. I cannot say enough good about it and used it recently near the Palisade Glacier.

These photos are not in order since I combined photographs from 2 different cameras.