Elcapitan reflection in the Merced river
(Operation Deep Freeze, Jan. 2001)

This image was taken at a spot we call ponder and can on occasion hold the right amount
of water for a reflection. Twice in our past 15 years or so it has had the right water
levels. In this case the ice was a bit strong for the image so earlier in the day we
broke it back opening up the reflection a bit. Coming back in the evening we had to
re-stir the water and break up what new ice had formed over the reflection. The resulting
sunset occurred and we ran off 6 or 7 images of El Capitan's reflection trying to get
one that would work and really display the warmth over the rock face.


"There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot.
Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until
progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question of
whether a still higher 'standard of living' is worth its cost in
things natural, wild and free."

-Aldo Leopold- A Sand County Almanac, 1949