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High Country and High Sierra Camps

Some of my favorite places in Yosemite are on the High Sierra Loop trip through the High Sierra camps: Tuolumne, Glen Aulin, May Lake, Sunrise, Merced Lake, and Vogelsang. Here's a brief photo tour of some of the sights from the camps and trails along the way in the order of the seven day loop trip.
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Mule Dear Fawn in Bracken Ferns near Merced Lake.
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Mule Dear Fawn in Bracken Ferns near Merced Lake.

  • One of the greatest opportunities of the Merced Lake area is that visitors usually have a layover day where they can slow down and take note of the smaller intricacies.
  • Aquatic Buttercup (Ranunculus aquatilus) actually blooms underwater. As lake levels of Washburn lake drop during the late summer, its flowers may reach the surface as seen here. Copyright ©2004, James McGrew.
  • Ranger Dave (aka Danger Rave) using his binoculars in reverse to serve as a magnifying loop for studying tiny flowers. Copyright © 2007 James McGrew.
  • Fellow naturalist Karen Amstutz botanizing in Tuolumne. Copyright © 2007 James McGrew.
  • Exploring around Merced Lake not only allows the time to discover smaller intricacies of the high country but also some giants. The World's Largest White Fir (Abies concolor) actually grows just a hundred yards from Merced Lake and is just off the trail. Copyright, ©2010 James McGrew
  • Their favorite tools of the back country during one of my naturalist programs on the shore of Merced Lake.
  • Peacefully gazing in awe at Merced Lake.
  • Pacific chorus frog. All species of frogs in Yosemite have catastrophically crashed in numbers, racing towards extinction and many have already gone locally extinct. This species breeds readily in a wide range of habitats, undergoes metamorphosis in a matter of weeks and is so terrestrial that it can quickly disperse. As a result, its numbers have remained stronger than any other species of frog or toad. However its also disappearing incredibly quickly as a result of pesticides blowing in from the Central Valley, non native species and disease, thinning ozone layer (and increased UV radiation), global warming, acid precipitation to name a few.
  • An American Black Bear searches for insects in a decomposing aspen trunk. ©2010, James McGrew
  • Fern Grotto. ©2010, James McGrew
  • Fern Grotto abstract. Copyright © 2008 James McGrew.
  • Fern Grotto Patterns. ©2012 James McGrew
  • Fern Grotto. ©2012 James McGrew
  • Merced Lake HSC Tent Cabins.
  • The dining tent and kitchen at Merced Lake.
  • Oregon Rattlesnake resides in the chaparral above Merced Lake. Visitors to the middle and lower elevations, need to watch their step when off trail. The rattlers usually mind their own business and when startled, they have always given me a warning "buzz" as they coil and quickly retreat under cover. Copyright ©2007, James McGrew.
  • Alligator Lizard near Merced Lake.
  • Western Fence Lizard near Merced Lake. ©2011, James McGrew
  • Mule Dear Fawn in Bracken Ferns near Merced Lake.
  • "Patterns" A classic exfoliation dome between Merced Lake and Vogelsang. Overlying granitic material unloads and fractures like layers of an onion. Such layers eventually "exfoliate" and spall off in rock falls, thereby releasing pressure and causing more unloading in the underlying rock. The process perpetuates the dome like shapes throughout Yosemite's middle elevations.
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