Thank's John. Here is a recap of the trip:
Day 1: Elkhart Park to Island Lake
We habitually plan to underestimate how far we can go, so we planned on stopping somewhere around Seneca Lake. But we felt pretty good, and it was cooling off as the day went on, which helped – to a point; more on that later. It was nice to see a few flowers still in bloom:
We got to Photographer’s Point by 10am, which is the first good view of the range. The light was pretty harsh, but set up for a two-shot stitch anyway.
Then about an hour later the sun went behind a hazy cloud and I got a shot I like better handheld with the Sony. This also shows the many ~500 foot vertical rises and falls along the trail that make the hike so tiring even though the overall difference in elevation between the trailhead and the destination is only about 1500 feet.
After another two hours we were getting closer to Seneca Lake. Stopped to break and eat, found this small alcove of trees. Not long after we reached Seneca Lake. Note the difference in the cloud cover.
This shows the terrain around Island Lake pretty well. It is the last down/up before the lake, which is just beyond the closest pass left-center.
We had just enough time to make dinner before it rained and hailed hard. After that wave went through we had a fleeting rainbow.
Day 2: Titcomb Basin
That night we were buffeted by many storms. Ice/snow on the tent in the morning. We decided to head out to Titcomb Basin in the hopes things would clear up. It was way too windy to take advantage of the cloud cover for flowers or other close subjects. Most of the day looked like this:
But we did get a few quick breaks long enough to pull out the Alpa. Both of these are two-image vertical stitches with the 90hr. From then on it snowed with little visibility.
Day 3: Back to Elhart Lake
At night things started to break up, and the next morning it was a fine sunrise. This is from a small peak just SW of Island Lake with the 90hr:
And with the Leica 90:
I have only a few photos from the hike back. Must have been tired. There was a small lake with some soft light:
Day 4: Green River Lakes
We decided to take a rest day, so we drove over to the Green River Lakes Trailhead and hiked a few miles. Standard shot of Squaretop in bad light from the lake:
On the drive there is a small stream that is actually a warm spring. The plaque highlights a small fish that was separated by a waterfall from any connection with other species of fish. Now endangered since this is the only stream where it lives. The stream is less than ¼ mile long. I tried the ND64 on the falls:
Day 5: New Fork Lakes to Lozier Lakes
This was the high point of the trip. The day was one of the best days backpacking I’ve ever had. There was a bit of everything on this trail: Meadow, forest, deep canyon, scree, switchbacks, talus, wind, river crossing… Marvelous day.
Yours truly, looking not-so-dapper in my Patagonia Baggies and wool socks.
New Fork Canyon has almost a Yosemite feel:
Camping at Lozier Lakes
Day 6: Lozier Lakes to Lake 11,360
We planned to hike off trail from the pass between Lozier Lakes and Clark Lake over to Thompson and Hidden Lakes. While we were exploring that whole area, we found what seemed to be a great place to spend the night, on a col above Lake 11,360 just NW of Glover Peak. Here is the view we had and the site.
As the sun got low, clouds came in. It was iffy whether we would see any sunset, but in the end the clouds opened and I got lucky.
Day 7: All the way back
The next day we woke up to another light show.
Then decided to hoof it all the way back. Near the end of the trip the trail went through a recent forest fire.
I ended up taking 1100+ photos. I used only two Phase batteries and one Sony. However I came back and recharged everything in between the trips. So I probably really went through 3 phase and 2 Sony. The batteries lasted longer than I thought, and it was cold in the mornings and nights. As long as I slept with the batteries they were fine. I would put 2 P1 and 1 Sony in my shirt pocket in the sleeping bag.
As predicted by many, I didn't use the ground glass much, so I left that in the car for the second trip. Also as previously mentioned I swapped the BH40 for the D4. I wasn’t using live view for battery savings, so making small adjustments with the BH40 was driving me crazy.
We hiked 70 miles in 6 days, which was more than we thought we would do. All in all a great time, some good photos, and wonderful experience. I strongly recommend the Wind Rivers. They are one of the best locations for pure backpacking and/or climbing.
Thanks for everyone's help, wisdom and patience.
Dave
PS: After refining my equipment from the first trip, I brought with me:
RRS 24L
Arca Swiss D4
Sony a7r
35mm Sony FE f/2.8
90mm Leica 90 f/2
Alpa STC / IQ180
SK 60xl
Rodi 90hr
4 Phase batteries
3 Sony batteries
ProND 64
55mm polarizer for the Sony
49-55 step up ring
72mm polarizer for the Alpa
(2) Alpa sync release switches – 1 for each lens
Alpa sync cord
Spare Phase sync cord (no wake up feature)
Hex wrenches for tripod and camera plates
Leica Disto 7500i
The usual cloths & LCC card
(2) 32 gb CF cards
(1) 8 gb CF card w/ firmware
(2) 16 gb SD cards
