Hiked Monday, June 22. About two weeks after
the hike last hike I posted, (which is definitely not the last hike I did--still way behind on my posts), I returned to largely the same area to hike to Sunset Ridge.
What ever weird thing I or blogpsot did to change the way the posts appear is still going on, BTW. To see the pictures in the format they were taken, click on the pictures.
Nice thing about this last hike was that it was unseasonably cool. Lots of clouds, which made the scene look more like spring that summer.
As mentioned previously, the bloom of the scarlet larkspur had moved up a mile or so along the trail. There were still a few at lower altitudes, but the thicker blooms were higher up.
If you had patience, you could set up and wait for hummingbirds to come down and sip from the larkspur. I didn't have the patience.
As another post-work hike, I had barely enough time to finish. Started near 5pm and got back to the car about 8:30pm. So, yeah, I'm taking full advantage of the summer sun. And the clouds. Got some nice flower shots and some nice back-lit mountains.
Also played some with exposure length, which I often do but don't usually mention in my post. So this shot and the previous one are examples of what a shorter exposure can do: You can expose for the clouds or for the mountains, but not both.
This really makes a difference for any back-lit subject, or anything where you don't want your camera to expose for "average." Most of my stream views in recent hikes are one or even two full stops shorter exposures than the meter suggests. Of course, no stream shots on this hike, but you get the idea.
Because this was another late afternoon hike, I got some more soft lighting of the San Gabriel Mountains. I'm very pleased with my shots, even though they still don't capture the view I enjoyed. This was another one of those days when I was hiking and thinking to myself how lucky I was to be alive to see these things I was seeing
As the sun set and the land got darker, I got a last shot of some yucca stalks, lit by the setting sun. And, in the distance, transmission towers. Someone who looked at this picture commented, "Is it nature imitating man, or man, imitating nature?"
After that shot, it was too dark to shoot much, so I packed up the camera and headed on down.
The sign claims this is 5 miles roundtrip. But it also gives 5 miles for the Echo Mountain hike, and this one is undoubtedly longer and tougher than Echo Mountain. So I'm calling it 6 miles.
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