Little Lakes Valley is one the places in the eastern Sierra Mountains that draws me back again and again. I have backpacked through it, camped at its lakes in both summer and winter, and climbed one of its peaks. On this day I arrived in camp at about 4 PM during a typical afternoon thunderstorm. At around 6 PM, most of the rain had stopped and I hiked into the valley. I arrived on the rocky knoll below around 7 PM.
The first quarter moon was setting behind the ridges on the west side of the valley. I checked the PhotoPills app which showed that twilight ended and night time began at 9:45 PM. It also showed the Milky Way would be visible over Bear Creek Spire at that time. I decided I would stay. At around 9 PM, an hour after sunset, I found a composition and started by taking several beautiful shots throughout twilight as the clouds cleared.
After sunset the moon was completely hidden behind the ridges on the west side of the valley, but cast a glow on the opposite ridges and the clouds (in the photo above).
I found myself standing on the top of this rocky knoll in the dark with a steep drop-off a few feet away. The thought of a wrong step was sobering and made me careful with my footing as I moved in the dark. To give you a sense of how close I was to the edge, I include the shot below. My tripod was set up in front of the two small puddles.
I returned on the following evening , initially checking out a different location. After spending some time there, I returned to the rocky rise above the lake to try some other compositions.
In June of 1997, I climbed Mount Dade with my good friend Gary. We probably camped the night before at the Treasure Lakes. It was a snow climb up the Hourglass Couloir, which I read here gets up to a 40° angle. In the picture below, the Hourglass Couloir has no snow. Click on the photo below to enlarge and see the names and elevations of the peaks. I climbed Mount Dade again in June 2011, but only as far as the top of the couloir.
To see the rest of the photos from this trip, click here.
Lawrence Pallant Photography 
Hi Lawrence, These are just beautiful. Your photography captures the essence. I’m so glad I met you at Rima’s party. And I love your emails.
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Hi Suzanne, Thanks for writing back and I am glad you appreciate the photos. Little Lakes Valley is so beautiful! I already want to go back again to explore more.
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Awesome photos and great photoshop skills to create the landscape composites with Milky Way. .Some day I hope to get out to that area for hiking and photos too.
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The Sierra Mountains are so beautiful. I hope you get there also.
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Nice photo adventure. Inspiring trip and photos, thanks for sharing.
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Nice to hear from you. I already made reservations for next May to visit the redwoods again. I hope to see you there or in Ashland.
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What a wonderful location … definitely worth spending time there to watch the light change, and find new compositions as well! I think your sunset shot is really nice … the color adds even more to an already fabulous composition. I also especially like the foreground in your, ‘Perfectly Misplaced’, and both night shots too!
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I’m glad you mention the foreground in “Perfectly Misplaced” as I struggled to find compositions with good foreground elements and eventually settled on eliminating it. I may go back and try some new compositions in a few weeks. Thank you for your comments.
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Dear Lawrence,
These are beautiful. I love the way you tell a story with the images, giving the reader a sense of what it is like to be there but also the dedication it takes to get the perfect shot. So inspiring.
Sent from my iPhone
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I am glad you get to come along by letting me share with you. This was a fun story to tell this time.
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