White Mountains Notes

2023-10-28 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: Inyo National Forest, peak bagging, Snowshoe Hare, White Mountains

I’ll be home in a few days to sort out a good trip’s photos, reporting on the Fujifilm GFX 100 II, Fujifilm GF 55mm f/1.7, and Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II.

I stopped in the White Mountains but have now left, because steady cold wind made photography not just unpleasant, but blur-prone with a high failure rate.

Last night it was 19°F where I slept, and 26°F inside my Sprinter van, along with a steady ~20 mph NW wind—a combination that in the daytime might warm to 35°F which is not an issue but that wind makes it all pretty useless for photography albeit hiking is fine if one keeps moving.

There is still last year’s snow 11800' on northern exposures that will not melt this year.

Below, this snowshoe hare’s camouflage doesn’t work anywhere; it stands out like a sore thumb. As a kid, I shot and ate rabbits (and squirrels and deer), but now I value life and beauty more and more... let’s see if it makes it through the weekend what with deer hunters showing up.

Snowshoe Hare transitioning from summer to winter coat

f2.8 @ 1/160 sec, ISO 50; 2023-10-27 17:00:24
iPhone 15 Pro Max + iPhone 15 Pro Max 15.7 mm f/4 @ 15.7mm
ENV: White Mountains, altitude 11669 ft / 3557 m, 38°F / 3°C

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Sad to witness, this winter-coat-ready coyote had its backbone blown apart by a high-powered rifle. Totally legal as I understand it. While I have hunted to eat and can accept with strong distaste the hunting of coyotes for pelts, pointless slaughter like this is hard to stomach. Especially in this high-altitude area with a tenuous balance of predator and prey eg not a ranch with sheep or some such. And whatever loser shot it did so 30 feet from the road, showing disregard for that legality and its obvious safety considerations.

Slaughtered coyote left for scavengers

f1.8 @ 1/3000 sec, ISO 64; 2023-10-27 12:27:22
iPhone 15 Pro Max + iPhone 15 Pro Max 6.9 mm f/4 @ 6.9mm
ENV: White Mountains, altitude 11719 ft / 3572 m, 33°F / 0°C

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Using the MSR Guardian, I refilled my water bottles for a ~3 day supply.

Frozen-over high-altitude pond

f1.8 @ 1/3200 sec, ISO 80; 2023-10-27 12:09:27
iPhone 15 Pro Max + iPhone 15 Pro Max 6.9 mm f/4 @ 6.9mm
ENV: White Mountains, altitude 11721 ft / 3573 m, 38°F / 3°C

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Water resupply from high-altitude pond

f1.8 @ 1/3000 sec, ISO 64; 2023-10-27 12:27:22
iPhone 15 Pro Max + iPhone 15 Pro Max 6.9 mm f/4 @ 6.9mm
ENV: White Mountains, altitude 11719 ft / 3572 m, 40°F / 4°C

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Cold Sunrise

f1.8 @ 1/900 sec handheld IS=on panorama, ISO 200; 2023-10-28 07:14:55
iPhone 15 Pro Max + iPhone 15 Pro Max 6.9 mm f/4 @ 6.9mm
ENV: White Mountains, altitude 10600 ft / 3231 m, 26°F / -3°C

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White Mountain Road to locked gate

f1.8 @ 1/5600 sec, ISO 80; 2023-10-27 16:00:27
iPhone 15 Pro Max + iPhone 15 Pro Max 6.9 mm f/4 @ 6.9mm
ENV: White Mountains, altitude 11857 ft / 3614 m, 40°F / 4°C

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