Crystal Basin Trip Report - Day 2 - 8/7/11

          Again at dawn I pulled myself quietly out of bed so as not to disturb Sarah. I put on my warm weather clothes and walked out into the brisk morning air. From the cabin I walked right out into the meadow to capture some shots of a field of wildflowers. A few steps in I realized I was walking through thick mud and the waist high grasses had soaked me to the core. I stood shivering as I captured a couple of shots.

Wind Whipped Wildflowers at Dawn
          I then followed a use path through the meadow toward some prominent wildflowers and waited for the sun to rise.

Sierra Tiger Lily



Sunrise Over Tells Peak & Van Vleck Meadow
          Within minutes of the sun breaking over the horizon I felt my body bathed in warm light, a very welcomed feeling.
          I retreated to the cabin to have breakfast with Sarah and discuss our plans for the day. Although we had previously talked about hiking Tells Peak or Two Peaks, we reconsidered our options. With low energy and such a hot day in the forecast, after further discussion we agreed to revisit Bassi Creek. We took it easy and enjoyed a slow morning while preparing lunch for our outing.
(Click HERE to read about our hike to Upper Bassi Falls and Bowl Peak)

Upper Bassi Falls

View from Bowl Peak
          Once back at the cabin we did a repeat of the day before and relaxed with some beers on the front porch. That activity simply would not grow old. In my opinion sitting on that porch might as well have been heaven on earth and we soaked it up all afternoon. We contemplated taking a drive to check out Loon Lake but couldn’t peel ourselves from the porch. Loon Lake will have to wait for a future trip.
          We made an early dinner and when the sun began to set I headed out into the meadow once again to capture the fading light. I wandered about the meadow looking for different compositions before revisiting a patch of wildflowers we had come across earlier in the day. Although there was not much of a view of the crimson mountains, the sheer volume of flowers was amazing by itself.

Alpenglow on the Crystal Range

Lush Scenery

Mother Nature Couldn't Help Showing Off
          The Alpenglow faded and I made a few more pictures before going back to the cabin.

Give Me the Night
          As we lay down for the night we found it hard to believe that it would be our last one spent at the cabin, at least on this trip.