October 30 -- Convict Canyon, A Hike Up A Mountain Shrine

I knew it was going to be another special day in the eastern Sierra as the sunrise was gorgeous. Thing is, I had to find a place to pull over as I was heading up the Sherwin Summit, north of Bishop on Hwy 395. The sky colors were intensifying, so I put on the gas -- and passed a Highway Patrol car waiting between the lanes. I looked at my speedometer -- 80, a 65mph-zone...I slowed down as I past him, looking back in my rear-view mirror, expecting to see flashing lights behind me. Whew!  Lucked-out...I pulled off halfway up the Sherwin grade and got some photos looking southeast --

And just before the summit, I parked the truck again and went to to southbound side to get Mt. Humphreys and its neighboring mountains catching the first rays of sun --

It was shortly before 8am when I reached the parking lot on the north side of Convict Lake. There were, surprisingly still some fall color --

There is what is now becoming my standard hiking gear -- daypack,  500 f/4 lens, and the 17-55 f/2.8 lens, which I took this shot with. One of water bottles has a water filter in it, so all you have to do is fill it with water from a stream and drink. Its's a most handy little invention...I head up the trail running alongside the east shore of Convict Lake, and the sun is just coming over the ridge behind me -- 

Glorious reflections that I just managed to get before a slight wind rippled the water. But even then ANY photo of Convict, and Laurel Mountain behind it, is memorable -- 

And here is a panorama of two photos --

Just about at this point on the trail I saw a Bald Eagle come out from the trees that you see along the shore to the left. It appeared like it flew to somewhere along the far shore -- but I was never able to re-find it. But I DID see it...My consolation prize was photographing a Black-billed Magpie; I've always had a hard time with them, with their sheen of blue and purple feathers, but the 500 f/4 came through once again, and that is why I lug it with me --

He even has a small worm in his beak... Time to head up the Convict Canyon trail proper. The views are  colorful and memorable from the start -- 

And the clouds would add to the "Technicolor surrealism" of the canyon throughout the day. 

Here's the view from my first rest stop -- and there will be many on this hike, as it climbs 3,000 feet in a little over 7 miles -- 

I've brought the 500 f/4 lens with me for birds, but actually don't see many -- and it's a good thing, as my eyes are constantly being drawn up to gazing at the multi-hued,  "Mountains of Mordor"-like, crazily-patterned canyon walls of turrets, pinnacles, domes and jagged ridges -- 

The combination of rock, clouds, and the slanted morning sun create a surreal look -- 

Shortly before noon I reach the point up the canyon where Convict Creek is joined by another creek coming down through the west canyon wall. Bridges have been built here, but they've always been washed out. Thank goodness it's late enough in the year that the water level is low enough to walk gingerly over the rocks to the other side; here's looking from the other side, down canyon --

You can see the supports of the most recent bridge to be washed away (1982), one on each side of the creek -- 

Here's the stream cascading down the west wall, joining Convict Creek -- 

And now is the time to use the 500 f/4 lens for telephoto landscapes; here's one of the cascades from high upstream -- 

And another from lower down -- 

There's a monolithic dome that stands sentinel high up the canyon wall -- 

Here's the top of that dome, again using the 500 f/4 lens -- 

After having lunch along Convict Creek, I head a bit further up the trail until it gets too narrow with me carrying the 500 lens as it's (securely) dangling over the edge, and take a shot looking down canyon -- 

That's far enough for today -- in fact, it's further than I thought I'd get, toting the 500 lens. The views of the dome, west wall and clouds are amazing -- 

Going back down the trail, I look back upstream and there's a lone peak that has these swirly patterns on its face, hard to capture with the sun right next to it -- 

But the sun creates a "sun dog" effect with the clouds, giving them rainbow-like hues -- 

As I head back, I come into a forest of aspen and cottonwoods; it must have been stunning during the at-peak time of fall colors -- 

Looking back up canyon, with the forest in front of me -- 

I turn the corner on the trail, and Convict Lake comes into view with more fantastic clouds -- 

There's still "aspen glow" in the back area of Convict Lake -- 

I come back to the lake, hoping to see the Bald Eagle, but not seeing it, content myself with a photo that is a perfect ending for my time here in the eastern Sierra Nevada during a memorable fall color season -- 

It's now Friday Oct. 31, and a winter storm is due in tonight and tomorrow morning. It's guaranteed to leave snow above 7000 feet, perhaps rain here in Bishop, so tomorrow I'll head back up Hwy 395 to see what snowy landscapes I can find. Then it's off to Nevada on Sunday, and winter 2014-2015 portion of Travels of Discovery...