Eastern Yosemite: Gaylor Lakes Foliage
The hardiness of life in the high mountains amazes me. The vibrant colors of plants and wildflowers as they hug the mountainside, or the way that trees seem alive even after being cracked by lightning, snapped by high winds or by frost.
Even the way that life grows out of cracks in the very rocks themselves.
The rugged simplicity and beauty leaves me in awe. Even though I know the winters are harsh and the weather changes the landscape, the high mountains will always feel timeless to me. They are a place that feels like another world entirely, set apart from everything that takes place in the city.
It is a place of noisy solitude (nature is quite noisy sometime), reflection, and rest.
Some of these plants I have been unable to identify. If you have an idea of what they are, please let me know in the comments.
I hope you enjoy these pictures from my hike.
Sprawling dead trees near the Gaylor Lakes Crest, Yosemite, CA. 
Vibrant green bush in the shade near Gaylor Lakes. 
Alpine wildflowers near the crest of Gaylor Lakes Trail. 
Pine Trees and grass near the Gaylor Lakes Trailhead, Yosemite, CA. 
Plants growing from the cracks in the rocks near Gaylor Lakes. 
A bent and wizened tree at the Gaylor Lakes Crest.
A Life of Wanderlust and Contemplation 