Where | The High Camps | Who for | The Schedule | The Cost |
Yosemite High Country
Backpack Expedition Workshop
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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 in between!
The High Sierra Camp Loop
Labor Day Week!
A 7-Day Landscape Photography backpack expedition and Workshop.
September 1 - 7, 2007
Conducted by Steve Kossack
Limited to only 5 participants!
Here is your opportunity to see and photograph the Yosemite back country while backpacking without camp 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 Saturday September 1, through Friday September 7, 2007 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 morning photographic opportunities beyond the imagination.
Merced Lake
From Sunrise 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 lends 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. Sunsets are just as spectacular!
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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| The Tuolumne River heads west and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne |
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 first 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. 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.
- Saturday September 1, 2007:
- Our meeting place will be Tuolumne meadows high camp in the eastern part 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.
- Sunday Sept 2:
- Our loop hike begins. We follow the Tuolumne River out of Tuolumne Meadows for 6 plus miles slightly downhill all the way past Tuolumne Falls and at the foot of it's cascade we come to the beautiful setting of Glen Aulin camp. A great warm up hike on our first day out!Our early afternoon arrival will allow for photographic exploration of the surrounding terrain before dinner and a sunset shoot
- Monday Sept 3:
- From Glen Aulin it's up and out of the canyon to May Lake. This 8 mile plus hike will now show us the vast area that we will be covering in days to come. A big elevation gain will also set the pace of things to come. May Lake is the geographical center of Yosemite National Park and Sunrise here is a photo opportunity not to be missed ... and we won't!
- Tuesday Sept 4:
- Up the trail headed for Sunrise after our sunrise shoot at may Lake. Losing elevation quickly we cross the paved road at Tenaya Lake, break for lunch, and then make the switchback trek up to Sunrise high camp. This will most likely be our toughest day on the trail. Once there this pristine mountain meadow setting will make us forget anything but the photography to be had there!
- Wednesday Sept 5:
- After Sunrise at sunrise ... and breakfast, it's down the trail headed for "the banana belt" climate of Merced Lake. The largest of the high camps this one is also the furthest in. This is our longest hike in terms of miles (10) but most all of it is a beautiful gradual downhill journey. The high camp at Merced Lake will seem like another world compared with the deep canyons and alpine lake settings we have enjoyed photographing to this point.
- Thursday Sept 6
- After our sunrise shoot it's up, up and away! We will climb out to the junction of the Vogelsang Pass trail with the Lewis Creek trail. Both will take us to Vogelsang high camp at 10,200 feet. Which route will we take? How about a show of hands! Either have special rewards! Upon our arrival at Volgelsang we will have lakes and a setting that reminds of the Alps to photograph before dinner and sunset.
- Friday Sept 7
- Alas, our last day on the trail will see us headed back to Tuolumne Meadows. A hike of only 6 plus miles and downhill all the way at that! 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! We will all begin to imagine the images that are now ours!
Please Remember this is a serious hike 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. $2495. 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 $2495 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.