Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Having spent Saturday mowing lawns, painting bathrooms, fixing toilets, scooping dog poop, and finding misplaced teenagers, I took Sunday as my day in the Sierra Nevada mountains. My eventual goal is an ascent of Pyramid Peak, where, according to 100-year-old records, a flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches makes its home. The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is a true mountaineer among North American wildlife: hardly ever seen below timberline, it spends its summers among the snowfields left from the previous winter, eating hapless bugs blown to the mountaintops by the prevailing winds. Its habits during the rest of the year are poorly known since most human observers avoid alpine winters. Looking through my photos recently, I recognized that the Rosy-Finch is ... um ... "poorly represented" in my files. I have photos of this species, and if I look carefully, and read the label on the slide mount, I can pick the bird out of the image. Armed with an SL, 250, 400 and 560mm Telyts, 10x40 Trinovids, the 60mm macro lens, a fistfull of Kodachrome and a water bottle I set out on my trek. This was to be a scouting trip to find a good route up the mountain; if I had actually reached the peak it would have been a bonus. As it turned out I reached Lake Sylvia at 8200 feet elevation, a 4.5 mile hike from the trailhead, with Pyramid Peak itself rising nearly 2000 feet above the lake. Along the way I spoke with a few backpackers who had climed the peak the previous day, and who suggested a route up the mountain: from the lake, go a few hundred feet up a rock chute to the ridgeline, then follow the ridge to the peak. Upon reaching the lake, the rock chute was obvious. It was clear that wearing my old running shoes, my feet would take a beating. It was also clear that I'd have to pare down my load somehow for the day I attempt the peak: the SL and Kodachromes are a no-brainer, as is the 400 Telyt. The trinovids would be handy for finding the finches, but not essential. They're out. The 250 is my favorite for wildlife photos in dense brush, but above treeline, how much brush is there? It's out too: I'm left with the 400 and 560mm Telyts, boots, and a bigger water bottle. My next opportunity for Pyramid Peak and Rosy Finches before the winter snows will be in a few weeks; watch for part 2. Doug Herr Birdman of Sacramento http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/telyt - -------------------------------------------------- Visit the Northwestern Alumni Association portal page at http://www.nualumni.com to get free web-based e-mail and many other exciting features.