Our trip to the Sonora Pass country was outstanding! Lon Overacker and I met up on Tuesday, and Cory Freeman came up on Wednesday. We spent our time soaking up the glorious grandeur of the Sierra!
Tuesday was fine and warm with a 'bluebird' sky. On Wednesday we woke to much colder air and clouds flying on the wind. The clouds were gorgeous and plentiful. It was very 'stormy' looking, but never rained. Battling with the wind trying to shoot large format was an interesting proposition, indeed. It went something like this...
Wait for a cloud to roll over to lower the contrast. Take a light meter reading and calculate exposure. Stand there with cable release at the ready. The flowers, like little kids, wave at us in the wind; a couple of goof balls trying to take their portrait. Stand and wait. The cloud moves and the light goes south. The wind quits. Wait for another cloud. Repeat until the right combination of cloud and no wind happens.
If any of you can take a quick trip to Sonora Pass, go now! The flowers on the west side, beginning at about 9,000 feet, and all the way to The Pass are a raging riot of color! The lupine and corn lilies are simply outrageous! There are also lots of asters, and in the wetter areas, yellow monkey flowers. Some of the lupine bushes are three feet tall and are covered with blossoms. There are many, many opportunities for macro/closeup shots, as well intimate landscapes, and grand landscapes. I haven't seen the flowers up there this good in over five years! Go Now! They won't last long!
It was great to meet Lon and to see Cory again. We were simply in awe of the place, and knew that 'It don't get much better than this!'
We'll be posting images, for sure. Stay tuned.
Be Well, Everyone,
-PB
Posted by Cory Freeman on July 20, 2007 at 1:29 PM
They sure were. I can't wait to see the images you and Lon captured. I'll try and get some pics worked this weekend. It was great meeting up with you guys. Well worth the trip!! Sure was dark driving home!! Only saw one deer along side the road, about 20' away, luckily she stayed put!!
Hopefully we can all meet up soon on the east side.
Oh man, I missed all the fun! I was so tied up with a major project at home I could not break away. Glad to hear you all had a good time of it. Sounds like we should see some great upcoming posts between the three of you, and any other CANP folks that can still make the journey up there right now.
Posted by Edward Nunez on July 20, 2007 at 1:49 PM
I am here in my office in Silicon Valley, just thinking about taking the trip there, but never been around the area before. Any suggestions on where to go and stay? I may spend the weekend after these comments.
There are many, and varied, excellent photo opportunities in the high country along CA !08 from the 8,000 foot level all the way to Sonora Pass.
As far as places to stay...
There are five nice improved campgrounds along 108: Mill Creek,Boulder Flat, Dardanelle, Eureka Valley and Kennedy Meadows. There is a walk-in camground between Dardanelle and Kennedy Meadows called Pigeon Flat. Mill Creek is the lowest and Kennedy Meadows is the highest. There is a (free) unimproved spot called Chipmunk Flat, at 8,000 feet. (This is where Lon and I camped this week: its a nice spot!) There are a few other free and unimproved sites along the road between Chipmunk Flat and the summit of the pass. If you camp at any of these unimproved sites, you will need to bring your own water.
Hotel-wise, the best is the Strawberry Inn, in Strawberry. There are cabins at Kennedy Meadows, but these are usually booked very well in advance; cancellations are rare, but you might luck out.
The area can be very busy on weekends, which is why I go up there during the week. The higher country is much less crowded than the areas at, or below Kennedy Meadows, but there will be road traffic, for sure.
I hope this helps. If you go, have fun and be safe!
-PB.
Posted by Edward Nunez on July 20, 2007 at 7:39 PM
Thanks Preston for the information. I really appreciate it. I will post here if I finally made the trip
Posted by Richard Wong on July 20, 2007 at 11:13 PM
Sounds like it was a great trip. It is surprising to hear that it gets crowded up there.
'Crowded' is a relative term, I suppose. To me, 'crowded' is seeing more than three people at a time! Compared to the areas like Yosemite, or on the East Side, Sonora Pass is downright lonesome--and that's a good thing!
Lon and I saw very few people: most were in vehicles.
-PB
Posted by Richard Wong on July 21, 2007 at 2:18 PM
lol, oh okay. I just came from San Francisco and Monterey so it's definetely all relative.
Last Wednesday afternoon July 19, we drove over Sonora Pass on the way to an Eastern Sierra trailhead for a 5-day backpack. I noted the peaking wildflowers along Deadman Creek and immediately wondered about driving back after my trip. Yesterday July 23 we passed back through and I wandered about briefly for a closer look. The main wildflowers beside the streams and seeps are slightly past peak while those in the drier volcanic landscape and granite areas are maybe a week or two past peak. Lots of small closeup flower possibilities even if some of the landscapes shots have gone to seed.
There are other crest areas of the central Sierra with similar rich volcanic geology that have all these same wildflowers along streams. However Sonora Pass because of its higher altitude blooms a couple weeks later than the other road accessible areas like those at Carson or Ebbetts Pass. ...David
Discussion
9 repliesOur trip to the Sonora Pass country was outstanding! Lon Overacker and I met up on Tuesday, and Cory Freeman came up on Wednesday. We spent our time soaking up the glorious grandeur of the Sierra!
Tuesday was fine and warm with a 'bluebird' sky. On Wednesday we woke to much colder air and clouds flying on the wind. The clouds were gorgeous and plentiful. It was very 'stormy' looking, but never rained. Battling with the wind trying to shoot large format was an interesting proposition, indeed. It went something like this...
Wait for a cloud to roll over to lower the contrast. Take a light meter reading and calculate exposure. Stand there with cable release at the ready. The flowers, like little kids, wave at us in the wind; a couple of goof balls trying to take their portrait. Stand and wait. The cloud moves and the light goes south. The wind quits. Wait for another cloud. Repeat until the right combination of cloud and no wind happens.
If any of you can take a quick trip to Sonora Pass, go now! The flowers on the west side, beginning at about 9,000 feet, and all the way to The Pass are a raging riot of color! The lupine and corn lilies are simply outrageous! There are also lots of asters, and in the wetter areas, yellow monkey flowers. Some of the lupine bushes are three feet tall and are covered with blossoms. There are many, many opportunities for macro/closeup shots, as well intimate landscapes, and grand landscapes. I haven't seen the flowers up there this good in over five years! Go Now! They won't last long!
It was great to meet Lon and to see Cory again. We were simply in awe of the place, and knew that 'It don't get much better than this!'
We'll be posting images, for sure. Stay tuned.
Be Well, Everyone,
-PB
Hopefully we can all meet up soon on the east side.
There are many, and varied, excellent photo opportunities in the high country along CA !08 from the 8,000 foot level all the way to Sonora Pass.
As far as places to stay...
There are five nice improved campgrounds along 108: Mill Creek,Boulder Flat, Dardanelle, Eureka Valley and Kennedy Meadows. There is a walk-in camground between Dardanelle and Kennedy Meadows called Pigeon Flat. Mill Creek is the lowest and Kennedy Meadows is the highest. There is a (free) unimproved spot called Chipmunk Flat, at 8,000 feet. (This is where Lon and I camped this week: its a nice spot!) There are a few other free and unimproved sites along the road between Chipmunk Flat and the summit of the pass. If you camp at any of these unimproved sites, you will need to bring your own water.
Hotel-wise, the best is the Strawberry Inn, in Strawberry. There are cabins at Kennedy Meadows, but these are usually booked very well in advance; cancellations are rare, but you might luck out.
The area can be very busy on weekends, which is why I go up there during the week. The higher country is much less crowded than the areas at, or below Kennedy Meadows, but there will be road traffic, for sure.
I hope this helps. If you go, have fun and be safe!
-PB.
'Crowded' is a relative term, I suppose. To me, 'crowded' is seeing more than three people at a time!
Lon and I saw very few people: most were in vehicles.
-PB
There are other crest areas of the central Sierra with similar rich volcanic geology that have all these same wildflowers along streams. However Sonora Pass because of its higher altitude blooms a couple weeks later than the other road accessible areas like those at Carson or Ebbetts Pass. ...David