Leaving Evelyn Lake, Cathedral Range, Yosemite 10328 ft. Just before an afternoon thunderstorm.


Afternoon thunderstorms are the norm here, especially on this high plateau, Yosemite National Park.

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Afternoon thunderstorms are one of the most exciting reasons to backpack in this particular part of the Cathedral Range. Leaving Evelyn Lake on a hike towards Vogelsang, this was the view across the high plateau towards the Rafferty Creek valley and range beyond as we took a short break to pump / filter water for the next few hours and enjoy the vista. I’ve seen many lightning displays up here over the years, on and around Tuolumne Pass, and the evidence of their frequency is apparent everywhere. There are burnt stumps and exploded bonzai like trees all over the place. Once, about 30 years ago, I saw a bolt of lighting strike the ground almost right in front of me. That area is about a half mile from where this peaceful scene.

Thanks to WT and BC for pushing me to do more post on these images from the last trip. I’m enjoying the stormy, dark tones in these images and took your criticism to heart! I still see room for more darkroom fun


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but have to run out the door to the high country and hope for at least a couple hours sleep 🙂

We leave for the high country again, in about an hour, and hope to catch a few mores storms on this next trip. The weather shows mild days and cool nights but one never knows for sure. Now that I’ve had some time to look at the images from the last trip I’m dying to re-create a lot of the images. It’s never perfect but that’s what makes it worth striving for. And, it’s never the same so all my preconceptions may be for naught. Something entirely new will most likely sneak up on me and test my senses.

There were tadpoles in this tiny brook a few weeks ago so it’ll be fun to see what’s developed. There are a few little ponds along the runoff from Evelyn Lake so on this trip I’m planning to check ’em out!

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