Tall pines and towering peaks create a jagged and spired frame. The night is deep, a sky rich with stars. Wind rakes through trees and the night hums with a Sierra wind as pines whisper sing and aspen rattle. The air is crisp, intoxicating with energy and mountain scent. A meteor rips the star field, and leaves a shinning trail. My legs quake as though the mountain electrifies. This part of the range is between 9 and 12 thousand feet. Rock and granite peaks that nestle high meadows and alpine lakes.
Three hours of climbing put us a little shy of 11 thousand. Both of us felt the altitude. The payoff though was majestic scene after scene and moments for precious meditation.
MOUNTAIN ENERGY
Evening clouds in the eastern Sierra, south of Yosemite near June Lake.
Wake up sunshine.
A CLASSIC
A recent moment in the Carson Peak Steakhouse, a mountain staple. For more than 50 years diners have enjoyed steak and trout in this eastern slope hide away, in the forest outside the mountain village.
GOOD ENERGY
At a lodge a waiter from Hawaii who came here in a snow storm many years ago, says this part of the Sierra is a kind of energy vortex. He seems to be a mellow and happy man. There are more happy notes, coming. See you down the trail.
THE WEEKENDER provides a few minutes of visual diversion for your weekend enjoyment.
Lonely Tree
This caught my eye as I drove past a parking lot where they kept a narrow wedge of grass tipped off by a lone palm. How are decisions like that made?
SPEAKING OF DRIVING Here's a five minute excursion into driving in the Sierra. You can find more polished and refined videos, but this gives you a sense of the extraordinary and expansive views available on the eastern slope. In a puff of self aggrandizement you may wish to pay attention to the "score."
REEL NOTES
for real
ARGO Ben Affleck directed a riveting and suspenseful film, borrowed from an historic moment of success by a CIA clandestine operation during the Iran Hostage Crisis. ARGO is superbly entertaining and leaves you with a sense of fulfillment and success. The acting is great, all around. The attention to historic detail, especially in the casting match up is also great. I suspect this film will do well at the box office. It is also one of those rare moments when a member of the Intelligence Community is singled out for a victory, and that happened only because Bill Clinton declassified the operation during his administration. This is a thoroughly enjoyable film. Oh yea-the short roles of John Goodman and Alan Arkin are worth the price of admission alone! But there is so much good about this film! THE MASTER I've told a few friends this is not a great film-too long-plodding-the script is lacking, including a sense of direction, BUT it is worth seeing because of the acting. This is especially true of Joaquin Phoenix's performance. It is masterful, full of nuance and a kind of internal contortion and pain that powers his every moment on the screen. It is one of the most brilliant acting performances I've seen. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is extraordinarily competent in his role as science fiction writer who becomes a cult leader. Amy Adams as the highly wired wife is good as is Laura Dern and so are all of the supporting cast. It's a decent introspection into a cult though it is the acting that makes it a worthwhile view. Phoenix especially is to be commended for his memorable work. See something this weekend that moves you. See you down the trail.
It was a default autumn behavior in Indiana to look for spectacular fall color. It's probably that upbringing and conditioning then that sent us on our search in the high Sierra.
Each of these frames represent a special moment of light in one of the earth's most beautiful places, the eastern slope and in the June Lake Loop and Virginia Lake areas.
It was with joy and gratitude that we could pursue
Nothing is certain in politics. I heard Eric Sevareid say that when I was a young reporter and it has stuck with me.
Now Rick Santorum enjoys the GOP limelight in what
has been the craziest campaign season since I covered my first presidential election in 1968.
I think a lot about the late Sevareid as I watch this
season play out. The reporter/analyst was brilliant.
"The difference between men and boys in politics is, and always has been, that boys want to be something, while the men
want to do something."
Eric Sevareid
Those of you old enough may remember Sevareid as the commentator at the end of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite through the '60s and 70's.
He was one of "Murrow's Boys," the war correspondents who invented modern broadcast journalism as they covered
WW II. Hired by Ed Murrow this band brought seriousness, analysis and intellect to daily reporting.
Sevareid was famous for his "think pieces," as we used to call them. Essays really. He had been a roving correspondent after the war. Once while covering the Burma China war his plane developed trouble and before parachuting to safety he grabbed a bottle of gin.
"Next to power without honor, the most dangerous thing
in the world is power without humor."
Eric Sevareid
It would be a joy to see and hear Sevareid weigh in
on this campaign season. He never spared anyone from his critical gaze.
"The bigger the information media, the less courage and freedom they allow. Bigness means weakness."
Here is a sample of the kind of thoughtfulness in
broadcast journalism, that many of us miss. This is his
final commentary.
"I'm sort of a pessimist about tomorrow and an optimist
about the day after tomorrow."
Eric Sevareid
DAY BOOK THE HIGH SIERRA
With the first blooms of spring I begin thinking about our
next exploration of California. Like the magnetic north I am drawn to the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.
Decades of globe trotting afforded me exposure to many wonderful places on this blue planet and I put the eastern side of the Sierra high on the list of exquisite.
Folks have their favorite spots. One of mine is near Tom's place off the 395. From there you drive up to Rock Creek lake at about 10,500 foot elevation. From the trail head you go up to a wide fan of lakes along either the Morgan or Mono Pass. These shots are taken from a hike, mostly south of the Morgan Pass.
Our friend Ruth, who spent years hiking and exploring this region reminds us the scenes are similar to what we've seen in the Swiss Alps. Gorgeous meadows, valleys, rugged rock walls, popular with technical climbers, pristine alpine lakes, wild life, fresh air, quiet and true serenity.
Box lake
Rock Creek Lake
Morgan Pass
Long Lake. If your journeys ever afford you a chance to visit the Eastern Slope of the Sierra, I suspect you too will be in awe. See you down the trail
