John & Anne Wiley

2010/09/30

More Mtn Marvels

Filed under: Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 07:59

I can’t seem to stop looking at pix from our weekend jaunt past Mammoth. Nearing there from the Bishop area we saw some really remarkable scenery, and our angle to the sun helped minimize haze from the fires just on the other side of the mountains. This shot of Convict Lake is a sample of similar geology for miles around.

1335 Mountain Lake

1335 Mountain Lake

Mammoth itself looks like a scar from the air, especially without snow. People in Bishop told us it used to be quite different but now caters to people with money. We haven’t been there in decades, and decided not to land at the airport just out of view in the distance because they charge just for landing and getting into town costs even more.

1362 Mammoth Scar

1362 Mammoth Scar

Just beyond Mammoth, after looking at the Minarets and the Fossett site we enjoyed a pristine high glacier-carved lake.

1514 High Lake

1514 High Lake

A bit further was a small dam that seems to have been there for a long time. Wonder if there’s any electricity generated there, or maybe it’s just for flood control or water supply.

1517 Water Works

1517 Water Works

California is such a beautiful and varied part of the world, we never seem to run out of fascinating and magnificent places to fly within an hour or two of home.

2010/09/28

Quiet Passage

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,Nature,People,Random,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 18:13

Part of our Saturday flight from Bishop to San Jose was quiet. After passing Mammoth we turned toward the Hetch Hetchy valley, and that took us by the area I call the Minarets. There are several other named features here, and all are remarkably beautiful.

1368 Minarets

1368 Minarets

But among all the lakes and magnificent peaks, the jagged Minarets really stand out and instill in me a sense of quiet awe. Adding to my quiet this day was the knowledge that famed aviation adventurer Steve Fossett died here (see my Photo Page for details). Flying here can be challenging even when weather is good, so I had waited a long time for this clear and almost completely calm day. So mingled with the other sources of my inner quiet was a respect for both the power of this terrain, and for Steve’s skill in flying here so many times in difficult weather. I share his appreciation of this as a favorite place, but not his willingness to fly here on less favorable days. Flying even higher and more quietly than usual, I contemplated what a magnificent place this is to be forever connected with.

1372 Middle Panorama

1372 Middle Panorama

It might give you slightly more impression of the beauty here to see a broader panorama, so above is a photo taken about a mile from the first one and looking more toward the West.

1383 Toward Hetch Hetchy

1383 Toward Hetch Hetchy

This one’s also from the same general area, looking more toward the northwest where we flew over Hetch Hetchy valley. Imagine these three photos side by side, with #1372 in the middle and #1383 on the right. Now that you’re “flying” along with us, note that this is about a third of the panorama we were swimming in. More mountains in every direction, and Mono Lake visible in the distance behind us. Some places we’ve flown evoke gasps and joyful shouts, but here we were mostly in quiet reverie.

2010/09/27

Yosemite

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region — John @ 10:05

We woke at sunrise Saturday in Bishop, with the moon still shining and the sunlit Sierras glowing over the sleepy valley.

1270 Tripp Sunup Moon

1270 Tripp Sunup Moon

Tripp seemed to be stretching her wings as if anticipating the spectacular flight ahead. Within a few minutes the sun had brightly painted the airport sage in subtle hues.

1279 Morning Paintbrush

1279 Morning Paintbrush

By the time we took off, Bishop was glowing greener than we’d remembered it from driving trips. Certainly when we landed in the fading light, we had no idea how large the town is and no hint of the broad green stretch of valley.

1287 Bishop Green

1287 Bishop Green

Soon we passed over a lovely swath of textured life across the arid plain.

1296 Life Lines

1296 Life Lines

I’ve sent Edhat pix of our flight over Mammoth and Hetch Hetchy, so here’s one I like of our entry into Yosemite Valley.

1566 Yosemite

1566 Yosemite

Though it might not seem like it due to the long zoom, we were very high to clear the flight restriction over the valley. Luckily the smoke here was less than in Hetch Hetchy, so the pix came out relatively clear. Last for this post, here’s a different angle on Half Dome than the one on my Photo Page. I like the massive feel of it from this side, and the context of the upper valley.

1602 Shoulder of Half Dome

1602 Shoulder of Half Dome

Dropping into Bishop

Filed under: Aviation,by Anne,Flying,Has Photos,SB Region — Anne @ 10:02

What a day!  After flying toward Mt Whitney close to sunset, we flew on north to Bishop.  Next morning I ran to get my camera as this helicopter hovered before landing.  So wanting to get him mid-air, but too late, yet still loved the action of the dust billowing around him, close to our parked plane.

0515 Helicopter at Bishop, early morning

0515 Helicopter at Bishop, early morning

by ~Anne

2010/09/26

Mountain High

Filed under: Aviation,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Nature,Random,SB Region,Tripp — John @ 21:43

We’re just back from a thrill-packed twenty-four plus hours of flying fun, family garnished. Haven’t taken time yet to review our hundreds of pix, but some are totally breathtaking. We took off from SBA in the late afternoon, headed direct to Mt. Whitney (tallest mountain in contiguous U.S.). For most of our years together we assumed that at some point we’d join the throngs on an arduous hike to the summit. Seems that we’ve now released that notion, so our focus had shifted to seeing it from the air. So when we saw Friday’s forecast for unusually low winds there, Tripp’s stellar ability to climb high was put to the test.

1176 Smokey Mountains

1176 Smokey Mountains

I feel fortunate to be flying in the era of online weather info and GPS. One thing that I’m still missing though, is a good online source for smoke data and forecasts. CA is blessed with the most geological diversity in the U.S. (maybe the world), but unfortunately that includes large areas subject to wildfires. I’ve yet to find a way to anticipate how much smoke will be in an area we’re planning to fly. As we approached the high Sierras, this smoke-strewn horizon had me seriously considering a complete change of plans.

1217 Whitney At Last

1217 Whitney At Last

Happily we carried on, and were treated to relatively clear (and calm as forecast) air next to Whitney. The mountains there are all very high, so for added safety margin over the high valleys and a better look at the peaks we reached 13k’ – our highest altitude to date in Tripp. Due to leaving late the light was fading, so in addition to living our dream of getting up close we also kindled a new dream for return flights in clearer air and better light!

1247 High Tea

1247 High Tea

In this shot looking back toward the southeast you can clearly see the shack on top where people can leave a record of their summit. Also presumably a shelter for anyone caught up there by a storm, I like to imagine a cup of warm tea. It wouldn’t be hot because water boils at a pretty low temperature that high above sea level (unlike nearby Death Valley where it boils hotter than anywhere else in the U.S. due to being below sea level).

We (hopefully Anne too, cuz she got some great shots) will be sharing more spectacular pix from this trip in coming posts. Meanwhile I’ve posted a few different ones on my Photo Page.

ps-here’s a dusky Eastern Sierra mountain lake we passed descending into Bishop for the night. Look how many fish seem to be jumping, leaving all those ripples!

1268 High Lake Dusk

1268 High Lake Dusk

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