The Eastern Sierras are a magical group of mountains, but one that I'd photographed in the past almost exclusively in the winter or Spring. Recently, however, I had the chance to explore their higher elevations, spending seven amazing days amoung their jagged mountain peaks, glorious alpine lakes, streams, rivers, waterfalls and occasionally wildflower filled meadows. There's nothing more exhilerating than hiking in total darkness at four in the morning to a granite clad lakeshore for sunrise and being rewarded for your efforts with sunrise color, still waters, and early morning storm clouds. And hiking four miles in darkness doesn't seem quite as spooky after witnessing a gorgeous sunset on Cathedral Peak, deers grazing tranquilly in the meadows in the evening lights glow.

Yosemite National Park's high country and Valley Floor, Hoover Wilderness, Mammoth Lakes, and Lake Tahoe provided the spectacular scenery during my roadtrip, during which I slept in my truck each night, dined on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Cliff Bars (as well as the best BBQ Chicken pesto pizza your likely to find in any gas station in the world!), and logged 2300 miles of roadtime. Living large, to be sure...there's no finer time in my world...