Part 8 Rossy Finch Lake - a photo on Flickriver

Part 8
I counted the many switchbacks into Laurel Canyon and lost count after 99. Just before the trail leveled out I saw a very nice campsite on the downhill side, with a fantastic view of mono canyon and the recesses on the other side all lined up for one grand view. Next time I would love to camp here. Now the path turned into the canyon and paralleled a roaring creek through thicker forest than what mono creek did far, far below. Soon the landscape opened into meadows surrounded by high ridges on 2 sides and 3 pointed peaks at the far end. The roaring creek became calm and lazy as the trail turned to cross it, once on the other side the trail disappeared. The meadows in places were marshy as my feet sunk into the saturated soil, then a small rise would dry it out completely and sandy, rocky earth replaced the sogginess. Soon I crossed the creek again and entered mosquito infested forest. The trail reappeared again but remained spotty. From here it climbed up an exposed hill to the next level of meadows. By now the sun began to blaze hotter and the temperature rose more than it did the day before despite the higher elevation. For the next mile there was no shade and the temperature crept higher and higher.
Soon I reached a good place to leave the trail. My goal for today was to reach a lake called Rosy Finch, that I had been to while on the Sierra High Route back in 2016. I wanted to photograph it in the alpine glow of sunset which I had not done the that time since I was just passing through. There are no trails from here to Rossy Finch, so my only choice is to take an unnamed pass above a small unnamed lake.
By now the heat was almost too much but I at least wanted to reach the no name lake. The trailess mountainside I now climbed was sparsely treed, so in the heat I would “tree hop”, take a break in the shade of a small tree, hurriedly hike to the next and take a break, again and again until I reached the top. At the top the trees stopped and I left them behind and made my way over rolling ravines and rocky outcrops, hoping that the small lake was just over the next one. But it wasn't and I started growing impatient. Finally I topped a rise and laid eyes on the lake. It was about 175 feet below me. I had climbed too high, and now had to go back and go down.
When I at last reached the lake I refilled my nearly empty water bottles, washed my hands and face, and dunked my head in the refreshing water. Then I headed over to a small stand of crooked pines that grew now far from the outflow creek. Here I undressed and sat in the shade on a large rock for several hours while a light breeze and the shade kept me cool. While here I decided to unofficially name this no name lake, “Lake of the Wilderness Wanderer”.
Several hours passed and the heat subsided slightly. I got dressed and continued, now following the same route I had taken in 2016. Easily follow-able meadow corridors led the way to the last gravelly climb to the top of the pass (11200). When I reached the top I let out a shout of relief. It was now about 3 pm, I had began climbing uphill at 630 am at an elevation of 8700 ft and I was now at 11200 ft. Just over the other side was a trail cam that I waved too.
Now I began to climb downhill at last. Then came the contouring of the mountainside and navigation of steeply sloping talus fields that swiftly fell away from me. Off in the distance was a ridge that became my target because around it on the other side was my goal of Rossy Finch Lake. At one spot on the talus a large block shifted under the weight of my step and I tweaked my knee. The pinch in my knee slowed me down and made traversing the steep talus more challenging, but I kept pushing forward. Soon I reached the ridge and rounded the corner. Here I got my first glimpse of the lake in many years, now all that was left was to figure out how to climb down to it. I searched for a way down and found the best possible route. I carefully worked my way down the steep chute to the bottom of a ravine, then the final short climb up that and I reached the lake. Patches of late season snow still blanketed the ground even though this was July. Jagged spires rose sharply and crowned this lake on it's northeastern shore. I made camp right where I was, too tired to look for another spot, but this was perfect.
That evening the spires glowed pink and I got the photo I had planed this trip for. I even set up the GoPro to get a real time sunset video. youtu.be/XVJQfgryF9A That night I had the whole lake to myself, and it was completely silent, not a sound was heard in the cirque of the lake. The sky was moonless and crystal clear, and both the lake and sky glistened with countless stars.

Taken on: July 22, 2022

Tags:

landscape

lake

sunset

alpine

glow

high sierra

wilderness

wandering

hiking

backpacking

camping

mountain

rocks « less

Sets appears in: • High Sierra 2022 • go back to more » • explored « less

Groups appears in: • in explore • WONDERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN GENERAL.MARAVILLAS DE LA FOTOGRAFIA EN

Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T5, f/2.8, 1/800 sec, 18mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS REBEL T5
Lens:	17-50mm
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	18mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)
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