Friday, November 27th, 2015It is the day after Thanksgiving. My good friend Ian and I leave early in

Friday, November 27th, 2015

It is the day after Thanksgiving. My good friend Ian and I leave early in the morning and head Southeast for Alabama Hills, where the Mojave Desert meets the Eastern Sierra mountains.

When we arrive, we are both in awe of the landscape we have entered. The desert valley is sprinkled with boulders made from thousands, if not millions of years of weathered monzogranite and volcanic rock. The Sierra Mountains dramatically reach for the sky, Mount Whitney standing tallest among the spires. The wall of mountains is dusted with snow, storm clouds loom over them, but the valley is clear. We scout the boulders, looking for arches, finding a few along the way, and finally end up at Boot Arch to make camp.

The day temps. are in the mid 30′s, so we layer and glove up. As the sun sets, temps. drop to the lower 20′s to high teens. Ian and I wait for the sun to set, the stars to rise, and the Milky Way to align with our compositions, but the clouds move closer, hiding the night sky. It’s hard to be discouraged in such a beautiful place, and we didn’t experience the feeling in the slightest, even though our compositions weren’t as clear as hoped.

The night was windy and our tents in the valley didn’t fare terribly well. Sleeping hours were few and when I woke up at 5 am, my bladder was ready to explode. I slowly dug myself out from my sleeping bag, and when I exited through my tent, I was blown away at what I saw. The clouds had parted, the moon was in full force, and the mountains were full of fresh powder. The pain of the cold winter morning no longer had its hold on me as I emptied my bladder and rushed to get my camera gear. My excitement woke Ian and we went out to explore before sunrise.

We heard a great horned owl hooting in the rocks and saw the sun rise from the top of a boulder mound. Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States was kissed with the pink light of the sun first, and the rest of the mountains were soon draped by the light. We spent the rest of the day exploring, finding a new campsite, and even drove up the mountains a bit and into the snow. That night we photographed Mobius Arch, then headed back to camp to make a much needed fire, dinner, and rest for the night.

Alabama Hills is the type of place where once you enter, your jaw hits the floor for the rest of your stay. I’m already planning for my next adventure Where the Mojave Desert meets the fantastic wall of the Eastern Sierra Mountains.