Eastern Sierra Nevadas

In my opinion there are no more beautiful mountains than the Eastern Sierras. 

The mountains in the Eastern Sierras have a natural color all their own. There are so many colors of rock it's amazing. While the Rockies and Appalachians are great as well, there's so much variation and natural beauty in the Sierras.

The above shot was taken in July atop one of the peaks above Virginia Lakes, a couple of the lakes seen below.

Many of the lakes are as still and pure as can be. The scene above is one of the many lakes. As we perused this lake there were several deer eating on the vegetation.

Additionally surprising was the number and variety of flowers growing at elevation. 

In the shot above you can see some red on the snow. It's also often called watermelon, pink, and blood snow. The red snow is called Chlamydormonas Nivalis and is a very common snow alga.

The picture above is of a cell from the red snow. The red snow might be edible, but it's best if you don't. The best thing to do is to wipe away the top four to six inches of the red alga, and if you need to eat the snow, do so after the red is clearly wiped away.

The shot above is a snow-drift we came across when we hiked over the top of the mountain to the other side. The drift, from what we could tell, was approximately twelve feet deep. The water in the pool was crystal clear and about six inches deep. An amazing site.

Above is a picture of a couple of the highest lakes on the way to the top of the mountain.

Above, a few of the peaks at the top.

Of course many of the lakes are incredible. What we found really amazing was how many other lakes we found once we crossed over the peaks. Down virtually every side of the mountain was yet another lake in the distance.

It never ceases to amaze me, the numbers of flowers at all the elevations. In this particular shot a bee looking for nectar. It wouldn't be a big deal, but this guy was huge and he had on his winter jacket - see the nice beige neck cover?

Here's another snow-bank we came across going down another side of the mountain. This "snow cave" was about eight feet high and twelve feet high at the largest opening and half this size at the top opening. The white streak you see running vertically in the picture is water melting from the drift. It's crystal clear and we drank our fill.

More high-altitude flowers. These ones were growing in the rocks.

More flowers growing into the pine branches.

More examples of at-altitude flower growth. Life will find a way.

Finally a nice sunset view to cap off a great day of hiking in the mountain-tops.