Where | The High Camps | Who for | The Schedule | The Cost |
Yosemite High Country
Backpack Expedition and Workshop 2008
An adventure of a lifetime!
One Place available!
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| May Lake at sunrise as photographed just a few yards from the high camp! |
Tuolumne Meadows / Vogelsang/ Merced Lake/ Sunrise/ May Lake/ Glen Aulin and everything on the trail between!
The Yosemite High Sierra Camp Loop
Labor Day Week!
A 7-Day Landscape Photography backpack expedition and Workshop.
September 4 - 10, 2008
Conducted by Steve Kossack
Limited to only 5 participants!
This is a once in a lifetime, small group experience! Here is your opportunity to see and photograph the Yosemite back country while backpacking without camping and food gear. End your summer with a lifetime worth of memories and photographs!
About the Expedition and Workshop
6 High Sierra Camps!
F-8 And Be There Workshops and Steve Kossack Photographing The Great American Landscape presents a limited mini-workshop and backpack expedition in the spectacular and beautiful wonderland that is The Yosemite High Country. A 7 day outing! From Thursday September 4, through Wednesday September 10, 2008 we will be photographing and exploring some of the most beautiful country on earth! This is a unique opportunity to see and explore the high country of Yosemite. We will be staying and photographing at all 6 high Sierra camps. No need to carry a full pack! This is the best of all worlds. Everything we need for lodging, bedding and food will be provided for us in these high camps, enabling us to carry photo gear instead! We will experience the Yosemite high country as few see it and partake in the photographic rewards as few know them!
This workshop is open to only 5 participants. Register now!
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| The landmarks of Yosemite valley with Half Dome and Clouds Rest on the left, North Dome with the peak of El Capitan just in view on the right horizon. A trailside panoramic! |
Photographer, guide and host of the DVD series Steve Kossack: Photographing the Great American Landscape will lead this workshop. It's size and design will lend itself the flexibility to hike and photograph the available light and color of this exciting area during our 7-day backpack expedition and workshop.
Read the story of a previous expedition and workshop
Where are The High Sierra Camps?
Built by the National Park Service stating in 1916, these camps are placed in the high country some 7 to 10 miles apart making them a days hike from one another and a perfect loop trip. Each has a superb setting beside a lake, river, creek or meadow and is ringed by magnificent mountains and domes.
Vogelsang
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| Vogelsang Peak will be a feature of our stay in this highest of all the camps at over 10,000 feet! | Fletcher Lake with wildflowers. Here spring is in September! |
At 10,300 feet it is the highest of the high camps and at the top of the glacial world, Vogelsang lake sits at the base of Fletcher Peak and has photographic opportunities beyond the imagination. Located along Fletcher Creek, just beyond Fletcher Lake, Vogelsang is often named as one of the favorite spots in Yosemite by many a veteran visitor. This is truly an alpine setting with peaks and vistas, lakes, meadows and passes within close proximity.
Merced Lake
Merced Lake One of Yosemite's largest lakes At first light
From Vogelsang high camp we drop into the "banana belt" climate of Merced Lake. Three miles below Lake Washburn, near the headwaters of the Merced River, this wonderful setting at 7,100 feet holds many opportunities for both sunset and sunrise images. Our trail leads us to many vistas, meadows and creeks on our way down.
Sunrise
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| The grandest of all meadows is at the foot of Sunrise high camp. As you can see, sunsets are on the menu here also! |
The newest of the high sierra camps on the edge of one of the most beautiful meadows in the sierra. Sunrise takes it name from the wonderful sunrises that occur almost daily here casting alpine glow on the Clark Range. Sunsets are just as spectacular. Sunrise high camp offers numerous vantage points for incredible vistas, including Echo Peak, Matthes Crest, Cathedral Peak and the Clark Range. Elevation: 9,400 ft.
May Lake
Granite and afternoon light in the Sierra Moonrise and alpenglow at dusk
At the geographical center of Yosemite National Park is May Lake. At 9,270 this alpine lake at the foot of Mt. Hoffman is a photographic dream! Sunrise here is a treasure to behold on most summer mornings. The camp here is only a few yards off the lake!
Glen Aulin
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| On the trail | The Tuolumne River heads west to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne |
Mt. Conness in the distance from Glen Aulin |
Glen Aulin means beautiful Valley ... and it is! Set at the foot of the cascade that descends from Tuolumne Falls, this calm and gentle area is the gateway to The Grand Canyon of The Tuolumne. It's our last night's camp in the wilds of the back country.
Who Is This Trip For?
* It's for photographers and nature lovers of all levels. * It's a photography workshop. It's a 7 day loop hike that will cover 6 High Sierra camps. It's a chance to experience the high country without the burden of heavy backpacks. * It's a traditional workshop. * It's for you if: * You like hiking and working in the field from sunrise to sunset. * You want to learn about landscape location and light * You want to learn about equipment and strategies used in landscape photography * You like hiking with like-minded people, and making images and new friends!
This Expedition and Workshop
Make no mistake about it, this is a strenuous hike! We will cover over 60 miles at elevations from just under 7,000 feet to over 10,000 feet in a week! You will need to be in fairly good shape, have the desire and stamina to hike the 8 to 10 miles between camps every day. A training program before our hike is recommended. The trails are well maintained and there is no mountaineering skill needed. Previous backpacking experience is not necessary, just the will to do it! This is an excellent introduction to both the high country and backpacking as well as photography. We will be on the trail 7 to 8 hours a day and photographing the sunrises and sunsets form all the camps. Our pace on the trail will be leisurely and will allow for photography and rest breaks. This workshop is small by design. It will allow for ALL levels of photographic experience. There will be no lectures or product endorsements. Personal instruction will be available at all times. The opportunity to photograph and share with the group will always be present.
Weather, Equipment, Etc.
Early September is ideal in the high sierra. Great hiking weather! Storms are always possible and weather and conditions change quickly at this elevation. We must make our destination every day no matter. Each high sierra camp will provide us with everything needed for sleeping and eating. Water is available in all camps along with toilets. Some of the camps have showers. you will be given all needed information on equipment, including photographic, backpacking and high sierra camp amenities along with tips and suggestions after your registration.
The Schedule
You will need 7 days. 2 of them are weekend days.
- Thursday September 4, 2008:
- Our meeting place will be Tuolumne meadows high camp in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park. This area is easily accessible by vehicle. Group orientation and dinner in the high camp will follow. Our first evening will be spent in Tuolumne Meadows High Camp.
- Friday Sept 5:
- Our loop hike begins. Up to Vogelsang high camp at 10,200 feet. A great way to begin as we hike the gradual trail that climbs up to tuolumne pass. Wildflowers still are usual at this time of the year! Upon our arrival at Volgelsang high camp we will have a setting that reminds of the Alps, complete with lakes and snow covered granite to photograph before dinner and then again at sunset.
- Sat Sept 6:
- After a sunrise and breakfast we load the backpacks and head for Vogelsang Pass. With an incredible view of the Clark range, this is one of the "can't miss" views of the Sierra ... and we won't! The downhill hike that follows, to "the banana belt" as some refer to it, is an all day affair with views of valleys and streams galore. At just over 7,000 feet the knees will rock and the shoulders will strain as we cross the creek at the Merced ranger station marking not only flat terrain but only another mile to go before Merced Lake high camp. This is the largest of the high camps and it will seem like a different planet when compared to Vogelsang, now almost 3,000 feet above!
- Sun Sept 7:
- Up the trail headed for Sunrise after sunrise. ...After our sunrise shoot it's up, up and away!. Gaining elevation quickly after we make the junction that marks our trail after leaving Merced Lake, our now almost 9 mile trek begins the day long steady uphill. Perhaps the least populated trail we will see on our in tire journey, this section highlights creeks, canyons and solitude. This will most likely be our toughest day on the trail at 10 miles. Once accomplished however, this pristine mountain meadow setting will make us forget everything but the photography to be had there!
- Monday Sept 8:
- After Sunrise at sunrise ... and breakfast, it's down the trail and steep switchbacks headed for Tanaya Lake and a lunch break. As we cross the Tioga road we once again leave the clutter and vehicle noise behind for the serene climb to May Lake. This is the geographical middle of Yosemite national park and with Mt. Hoffman as a back drop and Yosemite Valley just over the ridge our photo shoot here is usually one of the best of our entire outing!
- Tuesday Sept 9
- Hopefully sunrise on May Lake will be icing on our cake thus far as we continue the 8 mile decent into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolume River and the breathtaking views of Mt. Cones among others while we make our steady downhill trek through fern grottos and granite ledges to Glen Aulin. At the foot of the white cascades of the Tuolumne River, Glen Aulin means "beautiful Valley" and it is! We'll shoot sunset here on our last night in the high Sierra camps. Our conversation here in this peaceful setting usually turns to our photography and people we've met on our journey.
- Wednesday Sept 10
- Alas, our last day on the trail will see us headed back to our original starting point of a week ago. After stopping to photograph breathtaking Tuolumne Falls and then finish a 1.5 mile climb out of Glen Aulin, we continue a hike of only 5 plus miles of very gradual uphill, as we follow the Thulium river all the way back to Tuolumne Meadows. Our thoughts will be of mountains, lakes, streams, canyons and all the sights and places we have experienced in the last week. While not wanting to leave the freedom and beauty of our surroundings, our knees and backs will now welcome the rest as we will all begin to imagine the images that are now ours!
Please remember this is a serious outing and not to be considered lightly! Weather and climate is unpredictable. September in the Sierra is usually ideal. Mild days and crisp cool nights. Our packs will be light due to the fact that we do not have to carry sleeping bags, tents, food and the gear usually needed on pack trips, however this dictates that we must make each new camp every day!
The Cost
The cost of this trip is U.S. $2695. You are responsible for your own travel arrangements to and from Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. The cost is all inclusive. All accommodations and most food is included! The workshop payment of $2695 will be required when you register. If you need to cancel for any reason, a full refund (less $200) will be made, but only if a replacement for you can be found in time. If we have to cancel the trip for any reason you will receive a full refund. With only 5 places available this workshop is bound to sell out quickly.
Register now!
For more info please e-mail Steve Kossack at f8andbethere@cableone.net or telephone Steve at 1-928-634-8071.