Kamikochi: Azusa River

Azusa River (Kamikochi) - Japan  2024

Hotaka Mountains, Azusa River (Kamikochi) - Japan  2024

"The Azusa River is 65 km long with a watershed of 559 sq km, and has its source on the southeastern slope of Mount Yari in the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park. The river flows through the Kamikōchi (上高地, Upper Highlands) valley - designated as one of Japan's National Cultural Assets, on the list of Special Natural Monuments and Special Places of Scenic Beauty."

Our route crossed a bridge over the river and we arrived at the main visitor center. Exploring a short distance beyond the center we got treated to an expansive view of river and mountains.

By this time we were getting a little tired. We managed to get seats on a bus that was just departing for Takayama, where we had a nice lunch at a small tempura / udon restaurant.

Kamikochi: Mountains, Trees, River

River, Trees, Mountains (Kamikochi) - Japan  2024

Trees, Mountains (Kamikochi) - Japan  2024

The sun was pretty low, giving me some nice lens flares.

Hotaka Mountains

Hotaka Mountains (Kamikochi) - Japan  2024

Hotaka Mountain Range Sign (Kamikochi) - Japan  2024

Eventually the marshy area gave way to more solid ground. Coming out of the trees we came upon this meadow featuring a view of the stark Hotaka Mountain range.

Mountains / Ritter, Banner

Road, Mountains - Owens Valley  2024

Mount Ritter, Banner Peak - Owens Valley  2024

I made another unplanned excursion down a side road in the valley. After driving a short distance I turned around and pulled off to the side of the road to get a photo of Ritter and Banner in the distance with a salt pond (?) in the foreground.

Little Lakes Valley Hike - 2

Mountains, Trees - Sierra Nevada  2024

A cloudless day, bright and sunny and ideal for hiking. But not so ideal for my style of photos. I've been converting a lot of photos taken during to my trip to black and white. 

This one taken with a Nikon Z7II / 24-200mm lens combo.

Desert Ranges

Desert Ranges - Inyo County  2023

Driving up to the bristlecone pine area . . . vistas kept appearing off to the south, without any chance to pull off until I got to this spot. Junipers in the foreground and desert ranges stretching off to the south.

. . . from the archives #105: Yuccas - 1973

Yucca #1 - San Gabriel Mountains  1973

Yucca #2 - San Gabriel Mountains  1973

I remember taking the bottom photo as I was driving up the road from Azusa to the Angeles Crest Highway. Not sure about the vertical photo on top.

Fern / Tree Stumps - 1973

Fern - San Gabriel Mountains  1973

Tree Stumps - San Gabriel Mountains  1973

Some more in my 50 Year series. These were taken during a backpack that left the trailhead and went down from there to a hidden creek in the semi-arid San Gabriel Mountains. I used a Nikon F SLR with Panatomic-X film.

Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji - Japan  2023

Mt. Fuji, Trees - Japan  2023

Whoa . . . really nice views of the iconic peak, courtesy of our solicitous taxi driver, who seemed to know just the spots to stop at. This is the first time I've had such a clear view - my earlier Fuji photo was taken from the train in 2014. And, as we've seen, at times the view just has to be imagined.

Mt. Whitney

 

Clouds, Mt. Whitney - Lone Pine  2022

Truck, Desert Hills - Inyo County  2022

Photo taken on the summit of Mt. Whitney has been posted before. Mike had to pull off to the side of the road in Lone Pine for a photo of the highest point in the lower 48 states. (Click to enlarge.)

Mount Agassiz

Mt. Agassiz, Pond - Sierra Nevada  2007

A looming presence over the Bishop Pass trail, 13,899 feet elevation.

I've climbed Mt Agassiz twice, both times in 1974. First time was with the Sierra Club, just after I had taken their mountaineering class. Later that year my brother Joe and I repeated the trip. I remember us reaching Bishop Pass, then cutting over to the left among the boulders and picking a chute at random. Once up at the top I managed to get a nice heroic photo of Joe, but somehow there's no photo of me.

Mt. Agassiz, Pond - Sierra Nevada  1974

Joe, Mt. Agassiz Summit - Sierra Nevada  1974

Little Pete Meadow 2 - 2007

Mountains (Afternoon) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Grass, Pond - Sierra Nevada  2007

So, who was this "Pete" who managed to get some nice meadows named after him?  (Just to the north is Big Pete Meadow.) Alas, Google is silent on the issue.

There was enough light left in the day for some exploratory walks around. One benefit of having a camera is that it focuses your attention on elements in your surroundings that you might otherwise miss.

My camp was actually pretty close to the trail. Backpackers passing by didn't really notice me, however.

Backpackers (Little Pete Meadow) - Sierra Nevada  2007

Portland Views

Mt Hood - Portland  2019

River View - Portland  2019

Mt. Hood as seen from the Japanese garden.

Willamette River view taken from a restaurant/bar in a downtown high rise. Too crowded . . . we didn't stay, but I did take some photos.

Mt. Dana

Mt Dana, Tioga Lake - Yosemite  2017

Compare to 2013 photo with better reflections and snow. Oh well.

The actual summit can be seen to the left of the photo. Mike climbed (hiked/scrambled up) Mt. Dana in 2000, coming face-to-face with a marmot at the top. From his journal:

"The views are actually somewhat unsettling: vast incomprehensible panoramas of snow-capped mountains and the Mono Basin as interpreted by an altitude-befogged brain. (The summit altitude is 13,050 ft.) The obligatory 'I Was There' photos are taken. Also proving to be an excellent subject is the marmot that had raced to the top just ahead of Mike and was doing backflips and handstands (almost!) in a vain effort to divest him of some of his food. Mike eats a few left-over peanut M & M's, has some water from his canteen, and the descent begins."

Marmot, Mt Dana Summit, Mono Lake - Yosemite  2000

West Towards Tioga Pass

Sage, Mountains - Yosemite  2017

Mountains, AM - Yosemite  2017

Nice early morning shadows.

Taken from a pull-out going west on Highway 120 towards Tioga Pass. I used an Olympus E-PL7 with a Panasonic 12-60mm zoom lens.

Saline Valley Intersection - Video

Saline Valley Road Intersection, September, 2017 from Mike Mundy on Vimeo.

iPhone video.

Mike first visited this unique spot in 1994.

Bristlecone Pines - 2

Bristlecone Pine - Inyo County  2017

Sierra Crest - Inyo County  2017

Weathered bristlecone pine growing in a talus slope.

Sierra crest from the visitor center.

Photos taken with an Olympus E-PL7 and a Panasonic 12-60mm lens.

Bristlecone Pines - 1

Bristlecone Pine Branches - Inyo County  2017

Bristlecone Pine Trunk - Inyo County  2017

High up in the White Mountains. Mike likes to pay a visit whenever he's in the vicinity. Maybe some day he'll set up camp there so he can get some sunrise photos.

Some day.

Bristlecone Sign - Inyo County  2017

Warner Mountains Excursion

Forest (Warner Mountains) - Modoc County  2017

Pine Trees (Warner Mountains) - Modoc County  2017

In an effort to cram in as much scenery as possible I left Devil's Garden and headed for the Warner Mountains, just east of Alturas. Very close, in fact . . . an amazing change in topography and vegetation.

Some Smoke

Mt Lassen, Lake Almanor - Plumas County  2017

Telephone Poles, Hills, Smoke - Sierra Nevada  2017

Driving from Boomtown to Alturas on Highway 89 I came to a viewpoint over Lake Almanor with some odd white shapes in the distance. It wasn't until I got out of the car that I realized that they were snow fields on Mount Lassen. Here's a nicer photo of the lake from 2007: Lake Almanor & Forest.

The air became progressively smokier and I started to get a wee bit concerned. Eventually, the atmosphere cleared up somewhat.

River, Truck - Sierra Nevada  2017