Alabama Hills Is Open to Visitors and Campers as of Friday May 22
Related: Alabama Hills, concussion, Eastern Sierra, Mt Whitney area, peak bagging
I was evicted from Alabama Hills back on April 10.
The Alabama Hills area was reopened Friday May 22 in time for Memorial Day Weekend. Campers poured in Friday night like water through a breached dam, but now days are hot and the sand is dry and the flowers are desiccated, and.... lots and lots of campers, with polluted air from campfires along with human noises. The gestalt of the place is totally different than in March. It’s still special, but visit November through March for the best experience.
Not my thing at this point—crowded, dry and not at all like it was in March. But... one good storm could make it all interesting for a day or two. So head out and be prepared for good luck.
The most remote areas still have good photo opportunities; a little extra effort goes a long way. I might mountain bike to a place or two that is relatively empty to make some images if the clouds and weather present opportunities.
I was *so* embarrassingly lucky to enjoy the best year in 50 years (a local’s opinion) through March and early April with about 10% of normal visitation. The whole period was enthralling, and a treat that likely will never happen again. Actually—no—I have never believed in the depressing defeatist “trip of a lifetime” concept. Something even better will come along.
Are such things always luck? Maybe, maybe not—I keep getting lucky because... (my hypothesis) I expect to and keep the door open, so to speak—I travel and do most everything now expecting good things from serendipity, letting things flow as they are wont to. My concussion I would not care to repeat, but on top of red-pilling myself at age 6 through precocious logical analysis and rejection of dogma, the concussion enhanced all that by temporarily removed a processing module in my brain that peeled away a layer of the world.
Sony A7R IV + Sony FE 20mm f/1.8 G
ENV: Alabama Hills, altitude 5200 ft / 1585 m, 55°F / 12°C
RAW: LACA corrected, vignetting corrected, pull 1.1 stops, +100 Shadows, +55 Whites, +20 Clarity
[low-res image for bot]
