Bishop

Rock Creek, Sierras, California

Next up, we headed to the town of Bishop, in the shadow of the mighty Eastern Sierra, to visit some friends who recently moved there from Colorado. We spent the better part of a week there, relaxing and checking out the area, and enjoying our friends’ generous hospitality.

Sierra Granite

When I was a kid growing up in San Diego, my dad used to take me on fishing trips around Bishop, but I don’t remember much about the mountains from then, except for the memories of the things we did. Back then, mountains were just mountains to me; I didn’t have the appreciation of different ranges that I do now, and I cared more about shooting my BB gun and throwing rocks into the lakes (which pissed off the fishermen to be sure!). Anyhow, when I see the Sierras now, I can’t help but be impressed, especially with fresh early season snows dusting the rugged peaks!

The mountains were calling my name loudly and I was dying to do some “serious” mountain photography while we were there, but we didn’t have winter hiking or camping gear with us, and besides it was windy as hell in the mountains and would have been admittedly miserable camping up there. So we just took it easy, went on a snowy day hike up the Rock Creek valley, and soaked in one of the wild hot springs near Mammoth.

We’ll be back for sure in another season for some summer trekking through the range. The Sierras are not only calling my name, but Claudia’s now too!

11 thoughts on “Bishop

  1. Great to see snow in the Sierras…they always seem so dry to me. Speaking of snow, looks like the San Juans could finally get some more snow this weekend!

  2. I enjoy your shots. I was at Long Lake in early June of 2011 for the high snow and went up the Hour Glass Couloir on Mount Dade. You can see my photo from the same location with the link above.

  3. Nice, Jack
    I knew you were at the foot of Long Lake before I saw Lawrence’s comment, but huge change in years – by Memorial Day 2012 the trail was dry all the way to Morgan Pass where he had still feet of snow in 2011. Sorry I have no link to the photos, have been there in Winter, Spring, and Summer in various years and inadvertently took the same shot each time at Marsh Lake. Glad you had a nice time.

    1. Thanks Bryan, yeah it’s great area up there isn’t it? I wished we could have stayed longer and hiked further, but we were a bit ill prepared for the snow and wind. We turned back at the point in the photo above.

  4. It’s good to see you in California! I have hiked in the San Juans and love them but the Sierras are my home team. I’ve been a fan of your work for quite a while now and would love to see you work your magic on the Sierra spots I love.

    If you need suggested places – here are three of my favorite places with my snapshots not doing them any justice:
    https://plus.google.com/photos/116003678819980357159/albums/5781943542739209889

    Thanks for the images!
    =Tod

  5. I’ve always wanted to go back to the Sierras, since I’ve always been inspired by Adams’ and Rowell’s work in those magic mountains. I’ve barely seen the tip of the iceberg there and would love to get back.

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