Sunday Peak is in the Greenhorn Mountains, northeast of Bakersfield. The old summit register box had fallen apart; Norm had had a new one built. Carrying it up to the summit in September gave me an excuse to use my old Mountainsmith pack.
My old Mountainsmith has been in storage for many years. A very sturdy and comfortable pack, but so inappropriate for typical hiking! The reason? It weighs 5 1/2 pounds empty! My current pack (see other recent galleries) weighs nearly FIVE POUNDS less than that!
Atop Sunday Peak with Sam and Sheila. This and the balance of photographs in this gallery were taken in early November 2010.
Norm, the dominum factotum of the Sunday Peak trail. This was his 22nd hike to the top for 2010!
Sam, Sheila, and Norm on a glorious fall day atop Sunday Peak. The new summit register box has already had its lid attachment come apart, from wind or humans is not clear, so a rock is standing in for the hinges and latch.
Pesky dogs never quite get the idea of posing for pictures…
Good girl, Sheila, that's better!
Looking north towards Tobias Peak and the High Sierra beyond, with smoke from a Forest Service burn wisping up.
The summit sign gets quite worn, I'm sure due to occasional extreme winds with blowing ice and snow during the winter season.
Another view north towards the fuel-reduction burn. The smoke was blowing away from us, and I did not notice any smell of it.
Norm describing different landmarks to Sam, who was visiting the peak for the first time.
When description lacks precision, try pointing.
When generalized pointing fails, additional precision can be applied!
View to the east and south. Note the golden swaths of color below.
Telephoto shot of the golden oaks below. We had driven up on the road seen; there are approach roads to Sunday Peak on both east and west sides. We drove back down on the west side.
A marvelously luminous dogwood along the western road, driving back to Bakersfield. The trail to Sunday Peak is about two miles long.
Trying a different exposure. This tree had such an elegant shape, ah.
Yet another exposure and angle. Definitely one of those sights and moments that one has to take in by eye, as the camera only captures a hint of the beauty seen in person.
Just around the bend, one of the showy golden oaks. Norm said they had been far less bright just a few days prior.
Context for the glowing roadside dogwood.
We stopped at the little store in Glennville on the way down. Though lower in altitude, some of the trees were starting to show fall colors here too.
Mmmm. California, The Golden State.
This nicely-shaped oak had a big ugly power pole nearby, but framing up the photo to exclude the pole probably forced me to compose the shot better anyway! A splendid fall day with good friends and wonderful sights.
