Pinyon Point In The Laguna Mountains
My friend Alex Kunz took me to an awesome location near Stephenson Peak in the Laguna Mountains called Pinyon Point. Pinyon Pines are very rare, and this may be the only location in the Laguna Mountains. This is Alex’s post, which was his August Photo of the Month.
Below is a gallery of images, with more explanation below. As always, clicking on any of these images will launch the slideshow.
Smoke On The Horizon
All of my images captured smoke from prevailing Southeast winds from the Bluecut Fire. This created a harsh transition over Whale Peak in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. While some smoke can add particulates that glow orange on the horizon, the fire was just too large and sending too much smoke.
We reached the point in plenty of time, and I allowed Alex to use my 14mm Nikon for some super-wide angle images. That lens tends to make the scene very large and the subject very small. On many of the images, our vantage point does not appear as narrow as it was to scramble down.
Some of my best images captured the last light on the Sawtooth Mountain Wilderness, another location often-seen but rarely-visited. My understanding is that the only legal way to hike to them is from McCain Valley. The land between the Sawtooth peaks and S-2 Imperial Highway are on private property.
This would be a great sunrise location on a morning with good cloud cover. I will need to add this to my list to wait for the right light!
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the images!
T.M. Schultze is a San Diego-based photographer, traveller, and writer. He writes, photographs, and draws things of the outdoors that have inspired humans for thousands of years. He co-authored the Photographer’s Guide to Joshua Tree Park which can be purchased here.