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Anticipating an upcoming backcountry trip, I decided to spend a few days in the high country at the beginning of July, partly to photograph and partly to begin adapting to the elevation. (That trip will begin at over 10,000' of elevation.)
I camped just outside the eastern boundary of the park along the Tioga Pass Road since the Tuolumne Meadows campground was still closed while construction work was being completed. Because of new park access regulations I was able to head over Tioga Pass and into the park (the boundary was only five minutes from my camp) as long as I got in before 6:00AM... which wasn't a problem since I wanted to start photographing nearly an hour earlier. I was also able to reinter the park after 2:00 and work the late-day light.
With a closed campground and entrance restrictions (and the early high country season), at times it felt like I had Tuolumne Meadows and nearby locations to myself, especially in the early morning — and what a rare experience that was!
Here's an initial set of photographs from the visit. (These link to my Flickr account, but you can also see them — and read about them — as they appear on my website, with more detailed descriptions over the next few weeks.
Gorgeous set, Dan, thanks for sharing. My grandson is there right now with the family of one of his friends. Texted me to tell me how beautiful Yosemite is.
Dan, I really like the entire set here. Very moody with excellent colors and textures.
The reflections in the still water of the final image is attention grabbing.
My favorite is #3. The depth in this photo along with framing of the subject tree pulls the viewer in. Also, the diagonal lines from the left corner really balance the shot. Thanks for posting this gallery.
Fred Amico wrote:
Gorgeous set, Dan, thanks for sharing. My grandson is there right now with the family of one of his friends. Texted me to tell me how beautiful Yosemite is.
Thanks, Fred. Yosemite is an amazing place — still so for me decades ofter my first visit an uncounted numbers of return visits.
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Jack Flesher wrote:
Nice series Dan, I especially like the first and last ones.
Thanks, Jack.
I had been thinking about the last one since I got up there, and I was just waiting for the right light and a place in my schedule to be there for it. The first one was serendipitous. On my second-to-last day I was surprised by three hours of rather heavy rain that wasn't really in the forecast. While that seriously interfered with my photography that afternoon and evening, I knew that there might be fog afterwards, so I was out and looking for it very early in the morning.
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adventure_photo wrote:
Looks beautiful and inspiring, nice set!
I had a Pakistan trip coming in 2026 and was planning on doing a series of hikes starting at around 10k and going up to 14k (White Mountain Peak) this and next year in preparation. So this July 4th week I tried to do the Mineral King loop at what I thought was a fairly leisurely pace - 5 days for the "short" version (~38 miles) over Black Rock Pass and then down Sawtooth Pass.
Pack was 35 lbs of gear and food + 13 lbs of photo gear. Chunky but manageable. Or so I thought. Felt really good over Timber Gap (9,500 ft), got there from the trailhead in only 90 minutes. And then something happened on the 2nd day below Black Rock Pass. Right around 10,000 ft my legs literally refused to work. Had to stop every 20-30 steps and rest for 5 minutes. Heart rate was normal, leg muscles did not feel tired, it just felt like I had no ability to move.
Turned around at around 10,500ft, around 500-700 ft below Black Rock Pass. Could have probably done it if I had taken 2-3 hrs for the last mile, but I just could not imagine coming down Sawtooth Pass on such legs, particularly since there was still snow and cornices on it. Something changed drastically since last time I attempted elevation. I had done up to 14,000 ft before with daypacks, and up to about 7,000 ft with a 50 lb backpack.
Don't know if it was the combination of weight and elevation that did me in, or if it was a sign of a health condition I am not aware of. I can maintain 160-165bpm for 15+ minutes on a local trail, but I am going to ask the doc to take a closer look at the ticker next time I go in for a physical. Never felt like that in my life before.
Bottom line - you and I ain't spring chicken anymore, listen to your body when you do your trip.
Dan Cross wrote:
Dan, I really like the entire set here. Very moody with excellent colors and textures.
The reflections in the still water of the final image is attention grabbing.
My favorite is #3. The depth in this photo along with framing of the subject tree pulls the viewer in. Also, the diagonal lines from the left corner really balance the shot. Thanks for posting this gallery.
Dan, I must have missed your comment… while I was typing up my reply to those that came before yours. Thanks!
There’s a whole lot of interesting stuff that comes together in that scene in #3 — the two central trees, the angle of the dome on the left, the more distant trees rising further in the distance to create that diagonal, the foreground trees, and more.
Credit where credit is due: As I mentioned, I passed that spot for years without really noticing all of this… until I saw a photograph of this spot by my friend Charles Cramer. (I refer to the central trees as “Charlie’s Trees.”)
