On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
After a somewhat unsuccessful night shoot and a reasonably successful morning shoot in the Alabama Hills, I decided that rather than brave the morning traffic back to LA, I head north to Big Pine Creek. I took a brief hike there last year to see the fall color and the Middle Palisade glacier. There are two trails up the North Fork of Big Pine Creek, one for the overnight visitors and one for the day hikers.
Last year I took the trail up from the overnight parking area and then down to the day use parking and back along the road to the overnight parking. This time I parked in the day use area and my goal was to hike a bit further up the trail than I hiked last year to the second falls or even Lon Chaney’s cabin. I ended up hiking quite a bit further than I’d planned. The first portion of the trail ascends quite quickly up along the first falls that are right by the trailhead. Above the first falls, you can choose to hike along the creek or an upper trail that is a bit shorter but pretty exposed.
After the climb past the second falls, the trail levels out quite a bit, I decided to continue to Lon Chaney’s cabin. Lon Chaney’s cabin is about half way between the trailhead and the first of seven lakes in the North Fork basin(they’re named First Lake to Seventh Lake, they’re not big on original names up there). I continued hiking.
After passing the trail that heads off to Black Lake and Summit Lake, the trail was heading up an incline and I asked a couple coming down how far it was to First Lake, they said that I was almost there, maybe about a 1/8 of a mile. Pretty much at the top of that incline I saw the aqua green color of First Lake though the trees. I continued on to Second Lake, explored around a bit and then headed back to my car for the drive back to LA.
An Aerochrome infrared shot of Middle Palisade glacier from the trail next to first falls. There was quite a bit more snow up there last year, but we had an early snow last year and it was a bit earlier than my visit last year.
Visual color shot of the same scene as above.
This is Lon Chaney’s cabin along the North Fork of Big Pine Creek. Lon Chaney(the man of a thousand faces), liked to hike this area and loved it so much that he had a cabin built along the banks of the creek. He hired Paul Williams to design and build the cabin. The cabin is now owned by the Forest Service and is used for ranger housing.
A nice cascade along the North Fork, about half way between Lon Chaney’s cabin and First Lake. This is a long exposure, shot with a neutral density filter.
A nice grove of aspen along the creek, the fall color begins earlier at the higher elevations.
Looking up the trail with Temple Crag on the left.
First Lake. The first three lakes all have a milky green color from the runoff from the North Palisaide glacier.
Second Lake. Second Lake it generally thought to be the more impressive of the Big Pine lakes with Temple Crag looming directly over it. You can see some of the fall color above the lake. North Palisade glacier is behind the ridge to the right of Temple Crag.
Infrared shot of Second Lake.
While all the lakes in the Big Pine basin are natural lakes, Second lake has been augmented with a dam to increase it’s depth. This shot was taken from the dam.
Baud
Like the lakes.
Rusty
Thank you for sharing, I am particularly taken with the long exposure to get the sense of motion with the water. The first infrared is just stunning.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: They are really amazing, I’m planning a return this year(and may have a hiker(the kid) to join me). Right now there’s quite a bit of snow up there, so we’ll have to wait until it melts off.
@Rusty: Thanks, I got the same filter for the new camera, so I’ll do it again this year. I really do like the Aerochrome shots.
Torrey
Amazing pictures! Starting the day with these is a real boost.
MomSense
Wow – these are stunning!
p.a.
Beautiful!
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@Torrey: A guy who does hiking vids that I follow on YouTube calls the Sierra, “California’s Alps”. I don’t think he’s wrong.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@MomSense: Thanks, I’m planning on hiking up to Summit Lake this year, it has a nice view of North Palisade and the glacier. You can hike to the glacier, but it is a bit much for a day hike and the base is over 12,000 feet.
@p.a.: Thanks much.
CCL
Lovely.
Kevin
Beautiful shots and terrain. I would love to hike here someday.
Anyway
Nice hike and pics! Thanks for sharing. Like the IR and “visual” shots together.
WaterGirl
I especially love that last photo. Grey skies, and the color of the lake. Perfect.
J R in WV
Just WOW is all I can say.
Thanks for your effort and skill, and for sharing all that with us.
Alps indeed
mvr
Always love lakes and water, but those aspens are impressive as well.
Also like the idea of Lon Chaney’s cabin and it looks like a nice design. Do you know if the stone was from the area?
Thanks!
dibert dogbert
Thanks for the reminder to go find and look at the photos of a 2004 pack trip to Evolution Valley.
martha
These photos are gorgeous! I just love this area of the Sierras…thanks for remind me :-)
stinger
Really beautiful shots.
StringOnAStick
Gorgeous!
We have friends who have a permit to home the PCT this year and the questions about being able to even do the Sierra portion are growing with the snowpack.
munira
Beautiful. I particularly like the aspen grove – it’s stunning.
JPL
Bill, A little late, but wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your pictures.
cope
These are all such wonderful pictures of somewhere I will never get to go. Thank you.
Prometheus Shrugged
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Great shots. Brings back a bit of nostalgia, since this was the first hike that (now) Mrs. Prometheus and I took together 25 years ago. The base of the Palisades Glacier is doable in a day hike (we did it), but you’re right, it is exhausting if you’re not already acclimated to altitude. You don’t need to go all the way to what’s left of the glacier to be rewarded with an astounding view back down. But as you say, this year, the trail above Summit will probably not be passable until August, if at all.
cintibud
Beautiful!
UncleEbeneezer
Great pix! We are already kicking around ideas for Summer destinations in the Sierra, to take advantage of the fact that there will likely be snow on the peaks later than usual and the rivers and falls should be epic. Big Pine Creek is one of the places we are considering for sure since the couple times we’ve been there before we couldn’t go on long hikes because we had an elderly dog with us (though she did surprisingly well).
Ruckus
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA:
He’s not wrong.
I spent a lot of time in the Serra when I was younger, a friend’s dad lived in Mammoth. Four of us went up once over Christmas time and I have a picture of us, having found my buddy’s car, we dug out the driver’s door, my buddy, who is just over 6 ft tall was below the snow level from one night’s storm. But as a picturesque area, in all my travels around the US and Europe, I’ve seen none better, winter or summer. The hiking and camping is stunning. I’ve spent days, and nights camping where the only human(s) you see is(are) the one(s) you are with.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@CCL: Thanks, it is a great hike.
@Kevin: It would be a great hike in early to mid October for fall color. I tried it again in later October(just to Lon Chaney’s cabin) and fall color had really past by then.
@Anyway: I like them too, you can really see the living stuff even at a distance with the IR.
pieceofpeace
I’ll assume this area is now covered in snow. These are lovely, hoping you have more……
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: The grey skies are the reason I didn’t get to the Third Lake, I was concerned about thunder storms.
@J R in WV: The eastern Sierra is magical, glad you like’m.
@mvr: There would have been a lot more color if I’d been there 2 weeks later, but work and all…
The cabin was designed and built by Paul Williams, a well known Black architect. I’m pretty sure the stone is locally sourced.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@dibert dogbert: DO IT, glad to inspire.
@martha: To be quite honest, the easter Sierra are overlooked by a lot of folk. They are really amazing since they rise 10,000 feet over the Owens Valley.
@stinger: Thanks, good subject matter.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@StringOnAStick: The kid really wants to hike this(I pushed Little Lakes Valley as an intro) and was talking about going in May at Christmas. We I last saw here in January for my b-day, I said that July or August might work unless you want to hike though snow.
@munira: It was a bit of a surprise at that elevation, a bit higher was turning, a few weeks later this trail would have been at its prime.
@JPL: Thanks much.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@cope: I know the feeling, I’m only able to travel here in CA. I hope to have more this year.
@Prometheus Shrugged: If I was 30 years younger, a day hike to the glacier would be doable with a start at dawn, but I’m old and slow. I am thinking of Mono Pass for later this year.
@cintibud: Thanks.
Bishop Bag
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Hey Bill, I live in Bishop (obviously) and have hiked Big Pine Canyon many times. I don’t know if you can get my email from the Balloon Juice site but I would love to meet a fellow Juicer the next time you are up in the area. I really enjoy your photos of the area. Lots of exploring to do around the Eastern Sierra and Nevada. Two weeks ago (before all the snow hit) a friend and I drove 70 miles to the old mill and mine site Belleville, NV out Hwy 6. So much history in the Eastern Sierra and the Owens Valley
Mono Pass is definitely a grind. If you want to do the Rock Creek Basin I would really recommend going up towards Morgan Pass. Less of a steep climb that was formerly a truck route for hauling ore down to the Pine Creek mine.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@UncleEbeneezer: Thanks, I’ve got a few places on my list for this year:
Little Lakes Valley to Gem Lakes,
Big Pine Creek to Summit Lake,
Mono Pass,
Blue Lake from Lake Sabrina.
@Ruckus: I do get concerned about hiking alone, but the nice thing about this trail is it is pretty well trafficked, there were even horses coming down the trail.
@pieceofpeace: There is probably about 8 to 10 feet of snow up there now.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@Bishop Bag: I think you are the commenter that mentioned Little Lakes Valley as a good hiking location, thank you very much! I don’t know if you saw my fall color 2022 post, but I made it back up there this past year and did a sunrise hike to Marsh Lake and then up the Mono Pass trail for a bit. I do get up to the Owens Valley quite a lot, it has become my goto place for night shots(though mainly the southern portion of the valley, near Independence). I do plan on heading up to your area again, once the snow melts off to get some hiking in. The kid was impressed with the Big Pine Creek area, though since she’s never hiked in the Sierra, I suggested Little Lakes Valley as a better first hike and I want to hike to Gem Lakes anyway.
I’ve seen shots from Mono Pass and Summit Lake just past the top and I really want to try and shoot that, I’ve been part way up, and I figure as long as I take it slow it should be doable. I’ve also never been above 11k and I’d like to try for 12k. Though Morgan Pass along with the Gem Lakes hike might be an idea with an early start.
I am always looking for interesting things as foregrounds for my night shots, old mining stuff is really good for that. In a future OTR, you’ll see that I revisited the Kearsarge ore loader that I used as a foreground for a Milky Way core shot. Belleville looks interesting, as long as there is more than a concrete slab, it can make an interesting foreground.
So, I am planning on being up there quite a bit this year and would love to get together with a fellow juicer. You can contact me via my site or get my email from Water Girl.
WaterGirl
@dibert dogbert: You could do an OTR post, or a series.
Bishop Bag
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Hey Bill, I found your website and sent you an email.
Mike Mundy
My last time on that trail was in 2018.
Also, a photo of Temple Crag from 1974! Wow!
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@Bishop Bag: Got your email.
@Mike Mundy: The bridge is a great place to shoot the First Falls. Went there for some late season fall color and headed up to Lon’s cabin. The falls were the only spot to have any good color that late.