There comes a point late in the afternoon each day when we're out backpacking. Massey really has no endurance filter...its more of an on-off switch. Most times, that switch is stuck in the "on" position. So after a full day of chasing birds, bunnies, pika, marmots, lizards, and whatever else she thinks she should chase, the batteries need a recharge. While Terry and I filter water and make dinner, Massey chills. But is still on alert.
Blog
Thirsty Thursday: Mt. Shasta Attempt
Rambler: Beth (and a few photos from Terry)
Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Pomegranate Limeade
Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! Apparently last year was our year to climb mountains. And it was also the year to fail at every summit attempt! Well, really we only planned to climb Shasta and Whitney last year, and we succeeded in climbing roughly half of both. Apparently that meteorologist on the climbing team wasn't so good at picking good weather weekends for summit bids.
We tried to climb Shasta last Memorial Day. We started under beautiful blue skies, and by the time we got to Lake Helen to set up base camp, I was a sweaty mess with sunburned earlobes (missed the sunscreen there).
We went about doing all the regular camp set-up stuff...boiling water, moving snow around, setting tent anchors, etc...all the while noticing that the clouds were building.
This is how you get boiled water cool enough to drink in a hurry.
Ice axes are handy for sinking tent anchors in the snow.
Soon, it looked like this. Light snow. Thick clouds. And two people trying to keep entertained while we waited out the rest of the daylight. The plan was to go to bed as soon as it started to get dark, given our 3:30 am alpine start the next morning.
Terry's alarmed mountaineering look. You know, the ones you always see of the serious climber looking seriously at the summit that he seriously can't see because of the serious weather going on. Seriously, those are snowflakes.
Still kinda nice out.
Nice so nice anymore.
Eventually we crawled in the tent, woke up at 3:30 am like we said we would, couldn't see past the last row of tents due to clouds and snow, so we stayed in the tent. Without being able to see the route, it definitely wasn't safe to try to climb it. Not many people made it up that morning. But the inside of the tent was pretty nice.
Later that morning we packed up and headed back down. Unfortunately we couldn't stay an extra day, but if we had, we likely would have summited the next day. But, the mountain will always be there. Its probably about time that we start thinking about another weekend to try Shasta again!
The Welliver Photography Best of 2012
Well, here it is...our best from 2012. Last year wasn't a particularly prolific year of shooting for us, but we did squeeze in a few trips for some focused shooting in new spots. It's always a challenge to narrow down our favorites from the past year to a manageable collection, and in the interest of length, we decided to limit ourselves to 12 images each. Feel free to leave a comment and tell us which images are your favorites!
Marin County: Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise by Beth.
Panoche, CA: Brilliant Sunset by Terry.
Garrapata State Beach: Bowling Balls by Beth.
Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Trees by Terry.
Switzerland: Lone Tree on a Snowy Hill by Beth.
Desolation Wilderness: Trail along Lake Aloha by Beth.
Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Scene by Terry.
Front Yard, Spreckels: Poppies by Beth.
Switzerland: Kapellbrücke Nacht (Chapel Bridge Night) in Lucerne by Terry.
Switzerland: Shreckhorn by Beth.
Switzerland: Hut and Eiger by Terry.
Switzerland: Three Alps by Beth.
Switzerland: The view from Männlichen by Beth. Not the best technical execution in this photo, but the story behind this photo is epic. Stay tuned for that blog!
Big Sur: Bixby Bridge by Terry.
Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Trail beside Conness Lake by Beth.
Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Cascade by Terry.
Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Campsite by Beth.
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Multnomah Falls by Terry.
Manzanar National Historic Site: Prayer Flags by Terry.
Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Waterfall by Terry.
Monterey, CA: Mustang by Terry.
Alabama Hills: Lathe Arch by Terry.
Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch, Rock, and Sierra Crest by Beth.
Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch by Terry.
Iowa: Cold Morning by Beth.
Of course Massey is wondering why she isn't included, so here's a bonus image of the dog posing like a rockstar.
Alabama Hills: Massey in the Mobius Arch by Beth.
We compiled our Best of 2012 in order to participate in Jim Goldstein's annual "Best of" collaborative project. In the next couple week's he'll post a whole long list of links to similar "best of" posts from other photographers. Be sure to check out that list as there is some truly amazing and inspiring work out there!
Thanks for supporting Welliver Photography in 2012. Big opportunities coming in 2013...plenty of adventures to new places on tap. Here's to textured skies and nice light!
All photographs in this post are available for purchase in our Best of 2012 gallery on our store.
Thirsty Thursday: Not Too Shabby
Rambler: BethDrink at Hand: 2004 Parrot Ranch Cab Sav
Welcome back for another edition of Thirsty Thursday...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Last weekend was a pretty good one here at Welliver Photography, mainly because we weren't so much "here" as we were "out there" -- the best way to spend a long holiday weekend!
Saturday morning we parked Ellie near Saddlebag Lake and the three of us headed out into the Twenty Lakes Basin in the Hoover Wilderness. The hike to our camping spot was pretty quick and easy, leaving us most of 3 days to explore the endless alpine lakes in this High Sierra basin. Beautiful, glacier-fed lakes nestled beneath 12,000 peaks.
Exploring Shamrock Lake. The middle of the glacier-fed Conness Lakes, roughly 11,000' up. There was one more up above this lake! Requisite glowing tent photo (forgive me, its my first one!). North Peak in the background.
Roughly 3 days and 27 miles later, we had sufficiently explored Twenty Lakes Basin and give it two thumbs up. Over the top beautiful, though I think the 10,000' altitude certainly wore us out by the end!
If you want to visit the Twenty Lakes Basin yourself (and you should!), you can find the trailhead at Saddlebag Lake, 2 miles north of Highway 120 / Tioga Pass (the dirt road to Saddlebag Lake roughly 4 miles from the east gate to Yosemite National Park). There is a shuttle boat that will take you across Saddlebag Lake and drop you very close to the first of many lakes in the basin without having to do more than a half mile of hiking. Get out there and check it out!