This was just kind of cool looking as we were driving into the Smokies, with the clouds curling over the mountain tops that were dappled with a eerie glow from the sun. Unfortunately the pic doesn't really capture it too well
Trumpman is my best friend. This was the first of MANY natural falls and streams we crossed in the Smokies. The Smokies aren't exactly known for beautiful vistas like the ones I was used to in the West, but all the water in pond, stream and fall form more than made up for it.
Trumpman and myself climbed a hillside at our first camp in the Smokies just to get an inkling of a glimpse of what the foliage looked like. I could only get his head in the pic because we were on a steep grade.
This is Half Dome in Yosemite. A very popular hike there, as you can see, that line is people. The climbing grade is quite steep and there are 2 metal cables that help people up. The ascension was slow because there are lots of people going up and lots coming down.
This is a very popular spot to take pics on the top of Half Dome. The other two people with me are Rob and Mae, my roommates in San Francisco....
The high point on the Paintbrush Loop in Tetons NP. This was the pic as we approached. If you look closely you can see the trail.
that dark blob is me crossing the only snow we hit on our trek to the Tetons. The U-shaped bit is Painstbrush Divide which can be seen further away in the previous pic.
This was taken on the way down from Paintbrush Divide. It was great spot to break and snack. The trail continued to the left of the lake which gave an amazing view of Grand Teton and a glacial valley speading before it.
The Tetons surround the town Jackson in WY. There are a large series of lakes that premise the mountains and this was a view of some of them as we started our hike on Paintbrush Trail.
I took Larisa here to show her how backpacking was done, since it was her first time. It was fall and the foliage up there was amazing.
at Mt Whitney. We had some nice Mountain Hardware tents but I chose to sleep out in my bag on each of the 2 nights we were there. One was OK, the other was freezing, yet each yielded a spectacular night sky which was only rivaled by one I saw in Colorado. In the background is the infamous 99 Switchbacks, which our guide is pointing to, mostly over the bigger snow field on the right.
In the picture are my firends Mike and Rob, mentioned in previos posts. Mike and I went to San Francisco after I had left and Rob took us on this hike around the coast. We ended up at this blow hole which was so simple yet so gratifying to witness.
I saw these in sporadic bunches on the 99 Switchbacks to Mt Whitney. They were the only Flora at that elevation, which was about 12,000 ft, well above the apline line. They really livened up the rocky terrain.
On top of Mt Whitney. I'm standing right on the highest point, I know that becuase the USGS surveys the elvetion and stamps these big metal coins in the stone on the official "peak".
