THE RANGE OF LIGHT / CENTRAL SIERRA NEVADA
MINARETS, RITTER and BANNER.
September dusting of snow, 1972.
September dusting of snow, 1972.
For decades there's been talk of creating a Range Of Light National Park, protecting the region between Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks.
The talk has gone nowhere. The regions most popular area, The Minarets, has been nearly trampled to death due to the lack of management by the
National Forest Service and it's proximity to Mammoth Lakes. The almost unchecked growth of this city is directly linked to the demise of this wilderness
area. The overuse of horses by packing outfitters and by the Sierra Club, in other parts of this region, has been a big part of the problem. The single biggest
difference between National Forest and National Park designation and it's effect on wilderness areas is the size and number of parties, both with and
without pack animals, that each Service allows at any given time. The NPS has much tighter limits on group size and horses. Of all people, Galen Rowell
once wrote a totally unfair attack on the NPS because of his inability to camp with horses in certain parts of Kings Canyon N.P. I hope my images help to
show that this area contains as much scenic beauty as any National Park and deserves such status with the greater protection that comes with it.
The talk has gone nowhere. The regions most popular area, The Minarets, has been nearly trampled to death due to the lack of management by the
National Forest Service and it's proximity to Mammoth Lakes. The almost unchecked growth of this city is directly linked to the demise of this wilderness
area. The overuse of horses by packing outfitters and by the Sierra Club, in other parts of this region, has been a big part of the problem. The single biggest
difference between National Forest and National Park designation and it's effect on wilderness areas is the size and number of parties, both with and
without pack animals, that each Service allows at any given time. The NPS has much tighter limits on group size and horses. Of all people, Galen Rowell
once wrote a totally unfair attack on the NPS because of his inability to camp with horses in certain parts of Kings Canyon N.P. I hope my images help to
show that this area contains as much scenic beauty as any National Park and deserves such status with the greater protection that comes with it.
Mt. Ritter and
Banner Peak
Summer
thunderstorm
clouds shroud
the 13,000 ft.
peaks. 200mm
telephoto
image.
Banner Peak
Summer
thunderstorm
clouds shroud
the 13,000 ft.
peaks. 200mm
telephoto
image.
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purchase info for each image.
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purchase info for each image.
Thanks to Scott Munro, for snapping this pic of me in Humphrey's Basin, May 1976. I became interested in photography as a sophomore at Mt. Eden
High in Hayward, CA. in 1967, assisting Dennis Plunkett, the school's newspaper photographer. The next year I became the newspaper photographer and
with this came access to the darkroom. Many thanks go to Mr. Kissick, the school's journalism teacher. My interest in wilderness exploration started in the
Sierra Nevada, in 1968, on a spring hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. Later, I started reading Walter Starr Jr.'s Guide, which became the most important
and inspirational of books to me. I still have and cherish the 1970, red cloth editon. But it was John Muir, who really got me thinking about truly wild places in
his book Travels In Alaska. In 1976, along with my very trusting wife Debb Gordon, I made the first of many trips to Glacier Bay, Alaska. It was the only trip
I made there with backpacks. Sea kayaking became the main mode of travel after that. I've begun working on a web page covering my journey's to this
magnificent world. A small sample is available now by returning to my home page and clicking on the Alaska link in the nav.bar. So many thanks go to my
hiking companions over the decades; Debb Gordon, Dale Needles, Wes Shaffer, Ray and Ian McKinnon, Scott Munro and my brother Mike Groves. I
always found my solo trips lacking and depended greatly on their friendship and wisdom to keep me going and out of trouble. In all my thousands of miles of
hiking/kayaking, not once has anyone suffer an injury or required an expensive and headline grabbing rescue.
High in Hayward, CA. in 1967, assisting Dennis Plunkett, the school's newspaper photographer. The next year I became the newspaper photographer and
with this came access to the darkroom. Many thanks go to Mr. Kissick, the school's journalism teacher. My interest in wilderness exploration started in the
Sierra Nevada, in 1968, on a spring hike to the top of Yosemite Falls. Later, I started reading Walter Starr Jr.'s Guide, which became the most important
and inspirational of books to me. I still have and cherish the 1970, red cloth editon. But it was John Muir, who really got me thinking about truly wild places in
his book Travels In Alaska. In 1976, along with my very trusting wife Debb Gordon, I made the first of many trips to Glacier Bay, Alaska. It was the only trip
I made there with backpacks. Sea kayaking became the main mode of travel after that. I've begun working on a web page covering my journey's to this
magnificent world. A small sample is available now by returning to my home page and clicking on the Alaska link in the nav.bar. So many thanks go to my
hiking companions over the decades; Debb Gordon, Dale Needles, Wes Shaffer, Ray and Ian McKinnon, Scott Munro and my brother Mike Groves. I
always found my solo trips lacking and depended greatly on their friendship and wisdom to keep me going and out of trouble. In all my thousands of miles of
hiking/kayaking, not once has anyone suffer an injury or required an expensive and headline grabbing rescue.
