Mammoth Lakes is actually the name of the town or village that sits at the bottom, or in the valley, below some awesome mountains. It is a popular year round recreational resort with excellent skiing in the winter and tons of trails to hike, lakes to fish and pull-outs for photographers to gaze in awe. Each of the lakes is quite different and we each had our favorites.
Tioga Pass
Tioga Pass is the section of Highway 120 than takes one from the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas on Highway 395 up and over to Yosemite on the western side of the mountain range. Tioga Pass is only open from late May through October, weather permitting. Tioga Pass is one of three roads that crosses the Sierra Nevadas, allowing access from eastern and western sides of the mountain range. From Tioga Pass all the way to the south of Mt. Whitney, no other roads cross the High Sierra.
Tom and I drove up as far as the Yosemite Park entrance which was closed at the time. Later we met up with a fellow Nikonnian and went as far as Olmsted Point but did not photograph Toloume Meadows. We later returned with Diane and captured even more of the magic of this Pass.. This is a collection of photographs from all three trips.
Mono Lake
Mono Lake is a large, shallow lake located in Mono County, CA. Formed at least 760,000 years ago, it lacks a natural outlet, causing it to be highly saline. Even with its desert environment and salinity, the lake has an important ecosystem based on brine shrimp. The shrimp support a nesting habitat for nearly two million migratory birds and black flies, also known as alkali flies. Tom, Diane and I made several trips to the lake, including both sunset and sunrise golden hours. The photographs below are a compilation of all of our trips.