Picture: Snow covered pine trees along road to Echo Summit, near Lake Tahoe, California
I got home this weekend from a sixteen day road & hibernation trip. What the heck does that mean? Well, in the middle of those sixteen days, I hibernated all alone in a motel in South Lake Tahoe while a major storm rolled across the state. The resulting fact was that by the time I got home, I feel as if I traveled through all four seasons.
I left in fall, and managed to shoot some very lovely aspen trees in the Eastern Sierra before the storm came in. Then it snowed… and snowed…. and snowed. By the time the storm cleared, nearly a couple feet of snow had fallen across parts of the Sierra; nearly double what the weather forecasts were calling for just a few days in advance of the storm’s arrival. I waited nearly five days hoping the snow would melt so I could take a hike in Yosemite. Not enough melted, so I changed my hiking destination, but still walked over snow for six out of eight miles round trip.
The next day I arrived in Yosemite Valley, and drove to Glacier Point. Nearly every waterfall was flowing, and I was astounded by just how much water was going over Yosemite Falls, which is normally dry or just a barely noticeable trickle. The same held true for Nevada and Vernal Falls. The runoff from the storm a week prior provided what you might expect to see in early Spring.
The only seasonal thing I missed was the green meadows and wildflowers.
By the time I drove home on Friday afternoon, with the cloudless blue sky and temps throughout the Sierra foothills and Central Valley was in the low the 90’s; perfect summertime (Indian Summer) weather.
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Image ID#: 111006a_LTA-0013
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Only in California! Glad you had a good, extended, trip, and hope you got some nice images, Gary!