The Willey Range on a Beautiful Winter Day (30-Dec-2010)

[1HappyHiker]

Let's hear it for Mother Nature! What a rare day of weather yesterday! Judging from the number of cars parked nearly everywhere in the Crawford Notch, there were plenty of folks out enjoying the day, including myself and NeoAkela. We happened to be trekking in the Willey Range, but it would have been difficult to go wrong regardless of where you were in the mountains yesterday.

Below are just a few samples of the many photos I took. I'm presenting just a few since snapshots similar to these have been posted by others many, many times. But hopefully, if NeoAkela gets a chance, he'll add some of his extra special photos that were taken yesterday. Also, I invite others to contribute their photos as well. That would NOT be considered by me as "hijacking" this thread.

The Presidential Range looked . . . well I guess you'd have to say "Presidential" from Mt. Willey

And, they also were looking quite "Presidential" from Mt. Field as well!

Mt. Tom was the last stop of the day, and the Carrigain Notch was nicely profiled on the horizon.

Below is a snapshot that doesn't do justice to the interlacing of ridgelines as the daylight begins to fade.

I'll close by saying that the beauty of the trails winding through the woods was truly awesome!

1HappyHiker

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Nice! Where on Field did you get a view of the Presis?

Tim

 

[1HappyHiker]

Nice! Where on Field did you get a view of the Presis?

Particularly in the winter, there is a nice spot just 30 feet or so off the summit that has a Presidential view.

 

[NeoAkela]

John, that was indeed an incredible day to be outdoors! Beautiful weather and tons of snow! One of those select snowshoe trips that will linger in my memory.

Kirby enjoyed the summit of Avalon; here she is looking regal (though she really was staring intently at two greyjays who were squawking angrily at her)!

The photos you posted sum up the day completely - I definitely could not come close to how well you captured it. However, Kirby and I lingered at the summit of Field until dusk where we were fortunate enough to be treated to an extra-special alpenglow and sunset display! The photos do not do it justice, but here are a few that I snapped while Kirby took a little nap...

This tree just looked really interesting to me....

Another shot that wasn't as intended, though it looked kind of neat....

Kirby falling asleep in boredom as I jumped around taking photos...

Suddenly the Presis lit up with spectacular alpenglow!

Looking due North, such fine colors!

Heading down the mountain, I had to stop and snap this last image with a long exposure... what an incredible wash of color to accompany a quick descent down the Avalon trail!

 

[loanshark]

Willey Range

Great late afternoon Shots!

 

[blaze]

terrific photos!

 

[Jimmy Legs and Little D]

A fantastic set of breathtaking photos!

Donna

 

[mtruman]

Great shots guys! John's trail pics make me long for the snowy woods and the Presidential view from Field is spectacular. The sunset shots of the alpenglow are amazing. You sure picked a perfect day to be out there!

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Fine shots of the Presidentials by both of you! I like how Kirby's head blocks Mount Reagan (er, Clay); great pose.

 

[1HappyHiker]

NeoAkela: Thank you Chris for posting your super-terrific photos! You did an awesome job of capturing the alpenglow.
And, Kirby is a magnificent model. She is a really beautiful dog.

Loanshark; Blaze; Jimmy Legs and Little D; mtruman; Dr. Dasypodidae: Both Chris & I thank you for your kind words about the photos. It was one of those rare special days in the Whites, and we were fortunate enough to be out there trying to photographically capture some of the magical scenes.

 

[Roxi]

John and Chris,

I truly feel privileged every time I'm fortunate enough to view the extraordinary photos you two take. Thank you both so much for posting them. They are gorgeous!

 

[grouseking]

How the heck did I miss these??

Wow, I am impressed. Wish my hike thru Livermore Pass had skies like you did last week. Thanks for posting these, to the both of you.

 

[forestgnome]

awesome images to tweek my homesickness

 

[1HappyHiker]

Roxi; Grouseking; Forestgnome: Hey thanks guys for the nice words! It was simply one of those magical days when it would've been extremely difficult NOT to get a good photo.

 

[PETCH]

Beautiful Pictures John and NeoAkela, The colors and contrasts are outstanding. Certainly frame-worthy.

Petch