Glen Aulin High Sierra camp is one of the most visited and one of the shortest hikes of all the high camps. It’s also a very good first day destination on the way to other high camps or a gateway to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne. The Ten Lakes and Virgina Lakes wilderness can also be accessed once there.

Glen Aulin in Gaelic means beautiful valley or glen. And, it is just that! Glen Aulin is one of the high camps that has been moved over the years because of mosquitoes and there has been talk of closing it permanently for some time  because the drainage of the Tuolumne River is San Francisco’s drinking water and the camps water table will dump into the river if over used. However at the foot of The White Cascade and situated as it is with wonderful vistas of Mt Coness, Tuolumne Falls and Grand Canyon, it would be a great loss if it were to happen.

Just outside of camp is a small dome that is easily climbed. Well it usually is easier at dawn after a nights rest. Images can be made in every direction. The haze in the west usually provides stark color at sunset or soft subtle glow at sunrise.

In the image here from Glen Aulin looking down stream toward the mouth of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne the exposure was based on the granite in shade on the right. The trees were one stop less and the highlights almost 7 stops from the mid-tones. To solve this problem I opened up a stop and cut the difference with a 4ss Singh-Ray graduated neutral density filter. A Singh-Ray ColorCombo filter was also used in this image.

If there is a better way to start a day in a more inspiring place at this moment I had no idea where it might be! But in little more than an hour it was up the trail again.

Next …… up and away to May Lake High Camp.