Month: November 2019

Back to Palomar Mountain

~ lawrencepallant ~ 2 Comments

I have been visiting Palomar Mountain each of the past four weeks, exploring its trails and places. This time, I started the day with an 8-mile loop in the state park with friends from a meetup group. We visited Doane Valley and the Boucher Hill Fire Lookout. Later in the day, I joined a photography group that was hiking on the Observatory Trail. Here are some photos from the day.

This is part of the western view from the Boucher Hill Fire Lookout Tower on Palomar Mountain.
Boucher Hill Fire Lookout Tower
Brown and Orange
Change
Oak and Leaves
Collection of Leaves: I collected these leave looking for a photo composition in which to place. I never found one, so I just put them down on this rock.
Along the Observatory Trail

Click here to see my collection of photos on Palomar Mountain over the past month.

Back to Garnet Peak

~ lawrencepallant ~ 1 Comment

These days, I am exploring places that are close to home, usually in San Diego County. Garnet Peak is one of those places, so I returned last week. After the drive, it is a 1 mile hike to the peak from Sunrise Highway. I hiked up to the peak for sunset and sunrise the following morning. I think my favorite shot of the morning was the one below of Granite Mountain.

Desert View (version 2): The peak in the center is Granite Mountain.
Desert View Panorama: Vallecito Valley and Granite Peak in Anza Borrego Desert State Park

I also liked my shot of the twisted dead tree on the Garnet Peak. That shot and my trips to Garnet Peak were inspired by Alexander Knuz, another local photographer. You can see his photo “Summer Dawn at Garnet Peak” here.

Twisted Tree

After sunrise morning photos on Garnet Peak, I headed to the Julian area and down the Banner Grade road looking for fall colors. I pulled over at one area and started exploring along a creek with flowing water.

Gold en Green

A trail led up the canyon which I followed. I shortly came upon an abandoned gold mine. Wow! I put on my headlamp and ventured in disturbing some bats. The passage went on further than I dared. It was a bit spooky since I was by myself.

Inside an Abandoned Gold Mine: After sunrise on Garnet Peak, I went looking for fall color around the town of Julian. In my wanderings, I came across a trail beside a creek with water (rare this time of year). After following the trail some distance I came to an abandoned gold mine. Cool! I put on my headlamp and ventured deep into the mountain with a few fluttering bats for company.

You can view more photos here.