March 18-19, 2012 - The Winter Storm of 2012 in Yosemite Valley

As has been well-documented, the “rainy” season has been nearly non-existent in Northern CA.  The higher elevations of the Sierras have gotten a little wintry precipitation; however, it takes quite a good amount of cold air to get any snow accumulation in Yosemite Valley since it sits at approximately 4000 ft…  I know the winter of 2011 should not be used as a comparison to other years since it broke all kinds of records… However, storm after storm raced across Northern CA in 2011 and Yosemite Valley was a winter wonderland on numerous occasions… Like clockwork the storms dumped impressive amounts of snow up and down the Sierras and it seemed like every weekend Yosemite Valley was under the gun…  Guess I shouldn't haven taken last winter for granted because it obviously didn't happen this year!

I had been tracking the weather system for nearly a week…  Snow/Rain/Snow/Rain/Snow as the forecast seemed to change with each and every model run…  Finally, Thursday the weather models indicated significant amounts of snowfall in the high Sierras…  Cold air was supposed to reach the Yosemite Valley floor, but how long would the cold air remain in place was the big question…  A fellow coworker (Jesse) secured a spot tent camping the night of March 16th-17th…  As it turned out the rain, followed by the heavy wet snow collapsed his so-called indestructable tarp and tent…  I can't believe Jesse and his fiancee (Amanda) actually made it through the entire night in a tent!!! 

So I decided to leave the Bay Area around 100 am to avoid traffic and get into Yosemite Valley before sunrise…  Snow was evident near Groveland and there was plenty of snow on Route 120 into the Yosemite Valley…  After nearly 4 hours of driving and listening/brainwashed by some cult-like radio show about Ouija (WeeGee) boards on Coast to Coast A.M. hosted by George Noory, I finally arrived and headed directly to Tunnel View…  There was at least 8-10 inches of snow and the parking lot was not plowed…  I put the jeep back into 4WD and secured my spot…  I decided to take a quick nap and stop listening to Ouija (WeeGee) board talk as it was beginning to freak me out… It's amazing how many crazy people are listening to this garbage at 100 am in the morning (including myself!)… 

I began to set up around 600 am…  There was going to be no sunrise because storm clouds were still impacting the area; however, the snow had stopped, for now…  The heavy, wet snow put considerable weight on the tree branches for the firs time this winter…  The clumps of snow in the trees in the foreground at Tunnel View is quite possibly one of the most beautiful winter scenes I have ever experienced…  There was just enough fog meandering around the Valley to make things interesting…  I would take meandering fog over sun anytime…

As it turned out the snow began to fall shortly after "sunrise" and continued dumping all day…  I, as well as a handful of other photographers, were hoping for some breaks in the weather and maybe get some blue sky peaking through the low clouds and fog…  Near sunset, a few patches of blue sky poked through the clouds; however, the best was yet to come…  Here is a color and B&W panoramic depicting the amount of snow that fell throughout March 17, 2012...

Now, the trick was to get something to eat (which consisted of turkey lunchmeat, chobani, jerky, and protein bars)…  I met up with Jesse and Amanda in the Yosemite lodge bar before taking to the jeep for a night's sleep…  No hassle from the Yosemite Park Police, as of yet…  The definitely have my number…  So I made it through the night without any incident involving law enforcement of any kind; however, I was waking up every 30 minutes to see if the snow was letting up…  I couldn't believe it, the snow continued throughout the entire night, adding another six inches of snow…  I was really hoping for some amazing sunrise photos, but the weather was once again uncooperative in that department; however, the massive snow totals on the ground and in the trees was amazing…  I spent a few hours at Tunnel View before deciding that the clouds weren't going to break and I was better off trying to find something else to shoot…

I decided to shoot the Merced River and the famous rocks that appear to be wearing "snow hats"…  As I made my way from Tunnel View, I was suddenly distracted by Bridalveil Creek…  I pulled the jeep off the side of the road, key is off the side of the road in a plowed turnout!  The rocks indeed hat "snow hats" and frazil ice was slowly flowing down the creek…  It was amazing…  I worked my back a few hundred yards from the road before returning to the jeep…  As I approached the jeep I noticed a plastic bag placed under my wind shield wiper…  "A parking ticket", "Really"?  In conditions like this?  The ticket was for obstructing traffic and would set me back $175!  I was in a plowed turnout off the side of the road…  Anyway, I noticed the sky was beginning to clear up a bit, as the sun heated the ridge tops puffs of fog were breaking out all across the valley…  I knew I had to get back to tunnel view!  On way way around the valley loop I stopped to talk to a park policeman and described the situation…  His exact words were, "wow, that a tough ticket on a day like today"…  Well thanks sir, I appreciate the support; however, he was unable to do anything about it…  The fine Park Policeman suggested I talk to the Yosemite Valley judge…  

I arrive at Tunnel View and the scene is amazing….  The fog playing hide-nseek with Half Dome and El Capitan, patches of deep blue sky peaking out in between the fog and low clouds, mounds of snow weighing the trees down, Bridalveil Falls flowing, and finally a break in the snow…  At this point tons of photographers and buses full of tourists are all taking in the unbelievable scene…  It was sort of ironic that a tour bus got stuck in the Tunnel View parking lot, which "obstructed" traffic for at least an hour, and received no traffic ticket!

The break in the snow lasted for only about 1.5 hours before it really starting dumping, again…  The 1.5 hour break allowed for some amazing photo opportunities… I held out for "sunset"; however, snow and clouds engulfed the entire valley…  It was quite an impressive storm to say the least…  With the snow coming down at a rate of about 2 inches an hour and not a chance of any good light in the valley I decide to pack up my gear and head home…  I have never in life had to pull over because snow was coming down so hard, but I could not see anything in front on me on Route 120 leaving the park…  What a great weekend and storm for photography!

Update: The extremely compassionate Yosemite National Park legal examiner has dismissed my ticket! 

Yosemite National Park – March 1, 2012 & Mono Lake - March 3, 2012 & Indian Petroglyphs - March 4, 2012

The magical rainbow was definitely short lived; however, I will never forget it arching clear across Yosemite Valley… Now waiting for sunset…  By the time the sun dipped behind the mountains the entire valley was engulfed with low clouds…  Once it was obvious that there wasn’t going to be any magical light, I packed up my gear and headed for the jeep… Eager to get another glimpse at the rainbow, I quickly fired up my laptop and began processing!

So now the big decision is do I stay in Yosemite Valley for the night and hope for a decent sunrise or do I begin an 8.5 hour drive to Southern CA then north on 395 in order to get to Mono Lake and the beautiful Eastern Sierras?  I decide to take a short “nap” in the jeep and wait for sunrise in Yosemite Valley…  I am about 1 hour into my nap when all of the sudden there is pounding on my side window and three tactical flashlights are blazing into the jeep…  The jeep was surrounded by 3 Yosemite National Park police… I guess I shouldn’t have been taking a nap in that particular area…  The nice gentlemen with the tactical flashlights, may have ruined my vision permanently, are running my driver’s license to see if I am wanted on any “weapons or drug” charges…  I tried to explain to the park police that I was only taking a quick nap so I could get up and shoot star trails…  I guess it is tough to comprehend…  Anyway, they told me I needed to head to Camp 4 to continue my nap.  

Looking on the bright side, the ranger told me there weren’t any outstanding warrants for my arrest on weapons possession or drug charges :)

I arrive at Camp 4, it’s about 130 am and the skies are clear. After assessing my options and regaining my vision, I decide to forego sunrise in Yosemite Valley…  All of the mountain passes through the Northern Sierras are closed except I-80, which will entail a lot of backtracking so I decide to head to SOCAL…  As I am looking at some maps to figure out the best route another knock on my window, yup it’s the park police again (less the tactical flashlight for now)… Same group of police…  Now this is bordering on harassment…

Park Police:  “Is everything alright sir”… 

and once again the flashlight is shining into the jeep!

My Response: “Yes Officer (no need for the flashlight) nothing has changed in the past 3 minutes since you last checked on me… I am just figuring out my best route to get to the Eastern Sierras”…

Park Police: “Route 89”

My Response: With a sarcastic laughing I respond, “Thanks for the information”…  Guess he didn’t realize that Route 89 is closed!

Anyway, long uneventful 8 drive and I am finally in the midst of the beautiful Eastern Sierras… Since I am in the area of the Indian Petroglyph that I had desperately searched for 6 hours (approx. 8 or so miles of hiking) two weeks prior with no luck, I decide to give it another shot… I already combed a decent portion of the area so it shouldn’t be as difficult?  Wrong, I spent another 5 hours hiking all over the volcanic rock with not a hint of luck… If I ever find this particular petroglyph it is going to be well worth the time and effort…

March 3, 2012 - Mono Lake - Sleepless Night #1

After being snubbed yet again in search of the Indian Petroglyph, I am off to Mono Lake to attempt some star trails… The skies are crystal clear, perfect for star shooting and perfect for temperatures to drop like a stone (another Eric Ballatore coined phrase)…  It is so cold that all of my water bottles had frozen solid within 2 hours of shooting! Complete darkness was going to be from moonset at around 3 am through sunrise approximately 530 am…  I had 2-3 hours to get the shot I wanted…  Never happened…  The slight wind across the lake sort of ruined the star reflection…  No sleep and nothing to show for it, I keep telling myself, “If it were easy everyone would be doing it”…  I pack up my gear, my frozen water, and decide to make another attempt at the “Indian Petroglyph”…

The Indian Petroglyph Misinformation Campaign

So I have spent nearly 11 hours, two separate trips to the Eastern Sierra, hiking approximately 15 miles in search of this particular petroglyph…  Trust me, I am all for the adventure and the satisfaction of finding it myself; however, being “snubbed” a third time would be terrible…  There is little information regarding the petroglyph (for good reason)… My initial plan was to use photos of the petroglyph to use as a frame of reference to see if I could match the background… Easier said than done, the scale of the Eastern Sierras is so large that eventually every rock looks like it should be home to the petroglyph…  This plan failed miserably twice, time for a new plan…  

Knowing full well that locals will probably not even acknowledge my questions, I decide to try anyway…  I go into a total of five places of business (3 outdoor sports stores, a camera shop, and a gas station)…  

1. Gas Station: “Sorry I have no idea what you are talking about” (then I smile, laugh and point to the post card of the Petroglyph on the counter!)

2. Camera Shop: “I am unfamiliar with the petroglyphs” (not a good liar at all!)

3.  1^st Outdoor Sports Store: “I know the petroglyph you are referring too; however, I can’t help you” (finally at least some honestly!)

4. 2^nd Outdoor Sports Store: “We have maps of the areas if you need one?” (Great salesman, but I highly doubt if a protected cultural site dated back some 5000 years would be shown on an $8 map)

5. 3^rd Outdoor Sports Store: “Yeah you know what, my friends took me out to that petroglyph last year, but I am not exactly sure I know where it is, but let me bring up a map”…  (OK, now we might be onto something)

After a few minutes of studying the map, he says, “I think it might be in this general vicinity”…  It’s worth I shot, I hadn’t look it that particular area…  I realize he could be giving me the run-around; however, the vicinity that he directed me to has a particular characteristic that I had read about online…

So after filtering out all the misinformation and putting together some facts I have read about the area online with the help of the fine gentleman in the “3^rd Outdoor Sports Store” I have arrive at a plan and an area of interest!

Since I don’t want to spoil the adventure for anyone I will keep the details to myself :)

I drive, park, and begin to hike…  I pull out my GPS and bring up the tracks that I have hiked the past two times…  Amazingly, I have crisscrossed this area a few times without any luck…  I decide to climb up to a high point to get a better view…  OMG, there it is, directly below me!  Somewhat relieved, I am speechless and motionless as the petroglyph even seems to “glow” during the bright daytime sky… This particular petroglyph points directly to the sky and is enormous (25 ft x 35 ft)?  After studying the magnificent precision and detail that each petroglyph possesses you begin to wonder, what do they mean?  Was someone trying to describe an event?  Or maybe this rock was just a permanent etch-a-sketch where someone was just doodling?  The precision was absolutely amazing; animals, shapes, patterns, all graced the rock that pointed to the heavens…

As a photographer, the ideal situation would be a few high clouds resting over the Eastern Sierras leading to a beautiful sunset and alpine glow followed by a crystal clear night…  I understand full well, that this is way too much to ask for and I would settle for one or the other…    No clouds, so sunset was less than spectacular…  

March 4, 2012 - Indian Petroglyph - Sleepless Night #2

It was clear and beginning to get cold…  The moon was high in the sky and nearly full…  Similar to the night before, I was going to only have a few hours (~2.5 – 3) of complete darkness beginning around 3 am…  It was going to be another cold, sleepless night; however, there was something magical about being along on the petroglyph rock at night that kept me going…  

So I point my tripod and camera in the northerly direction, as I knew exactly the shot I wanted…  I wanted the petroglyph in the foreground with startrails in the background…  I used a wide angle zoom at 17mm in order to capture a great deal of the foreground and the night sky…  I shot a few high ISO shots to make sure I had the correct framing… I figured I wanted to shoot about fifteen 5-minute exposures with a 30 second break in between each exposure… Then I was going to light the foreground with a lantern, equipped with an orange gel in order to make the scene a bit spooky…  Here is the result… 

This particular experience was truly like none other…  I can only hope that this particular petroglyph remains somewhat of a secret in order to preserve its beauty for others to experience…  So many other petroglyphs in this area as well as other around the country have been vandalized, which is truly a shame...

Happy Hunting!

(Now the 8 hour drive home, which included two impromptu naps at rest stops on 395 N and I-80 W)…

Can’t wait to get some sleep!

Yosemite National Park – March 1, 2012

The National Weather Service forecast for Yosemite National Park was for 7-11 inches of snow on Wednesday and 3-5 inches of snow Wednesday night into Thursday morning…

Since this winter in CA has basically been non-eventful in the snowfall category, I thought I needed to get to Yosemite because it may be the last significant snow for the season…  Clear skies as I left the Bay Area at 330 am Thursday morning…  As I made way through the Central Valley, the clouds in the distance started to turn pink, which typically would make me feel absolutely sick for missing sunrise; however, I kept checking the Yosemite Valley webcam and it showed nothing but fog…  Last time this type of "event" occurred, I was pulled over on Route 120 for "slightly exceeding" the speed limit and received a hefty speeding ticket from a fine CA Highway Patrolman…  He was not impressed with my excuse nor did he particularly care that the fog was rising out of Yosemite Valley!

I finally make it to the Yosemite Ranger Station gate and there is a sign that reads “Road Closed No Access to the Valley”…  Most folks might take that as "Road Closed" "Do Not Enter" "Turn Around" "Your Wasting Your Time"?  Of course, I ignore the sign and proceed 15 more miles and approach another sign that reads “Road Closed in 8 miles”…  Again, I proceed thinking that the snow isn’t all that bad (damn National Weather Service forecasting 7-11 inches) and maybe there is a just tree down…  I can wait for a tree to be removed, no big deal?  I finally arrive at the “Road Closed” gate and sure enough it’s closed…  Not just temporarily closed! The road beyond the gate is not plowed at all and it won’t be open for 6 weeks due to construction! 

After a few choice expletives, I turn around and start heading back…  I need to enter Yosemite Valley via the south entrance (route 140)…  Well, that’s another 2 hours of driving…  I am a complete, utter nervous-neurotic mess since I might be missing an unbelievable fog show by now…  Route 49 down to route 140 just might be the windiest road I have ever been on…  After nearly “smoking” Bambi and two of his friends, the only calming mechanism is some beef jerky at 830 am...

I am finally into the park and sure enough there is tons of fog, no sunlight, and no snow?  What happened to the 7-11 and 3-5 inches of snow?  As it turned out, it dumped snow on Wednesday and then rained on Wednesday night, bye bye snow!!!  

 

Well, I decided to try to catch up on some sleep when all of the sudden a guy (Mr. Kenny Calhoun a wonderful photographer http://kennycalhounphotogrpahy.com) pulls into the spot next to me; startles me (much exaggerated) as he is rushing around to get his camera gear out of his car…  I am about 40 minutes into my nap and I cannot imagine that anything worth photographing has magically appeared!  I was definitely wrong, a huge rainbow is now arching across Yosemite Valley… I am now the one rushing to get all of my gear out of the jeep! I have seen my fair share of rainbows within Yosemite Valley, all of which have been in combination with waterfalls… This was the first rainbow I have ever seen arch across the entire valley, magical!

   

Within 2-3 minutes the rainbow is gone…  I then tell the gentlemen "who so rudely woke me up" that I would have never seen the rainbow if it wasn't for him…  He laughed and said I owe him a drink…  I totally agree…  I wasn't able to buy him a drink; however, he would be more than welcome to some beef jerky or protein bars?  Well, maybe not the beef jerky!

Just when you think you have seen everything at Yosemite you are treated to something spectacular…  It's definitely the most magical place I have ever seen and I am so lucky to be able to visit the park whenever I get the itch…