Before dawn on the 22nd of August last year, I got up early to catch the sight of the sun illuminating the peaks of the High Sierra just west of Bishop. Here’s one of the pictures I took:

I stopped at a bend in the road just north of the Grandview Campground in the Eastern Sierra a few miles from the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, home of the oldest known trees on the planet. I was camping out with 4WheelBob and Rick McCharles, and this would be the day when Bob set out on his epic three-day hike to the White Mountain summit.

Turned out I wasn’t alone at that bend in the road. A young guy with a camera had the same idea in his head. We chatted, took some pictures as the sun painted the far peaks pink, and went on our way.

A few minutes ago I checked my Flickr page for fresh comments and noticed one from a guy who added me to his contacts list the other day. Long story short: he was that guy I met that morning. Here’s a link to his picture. Turns out he fetched a bunch of excellent shots of the pines (here’s his photo album).

His name is Jason Armstong; he lives in Boulder Creek and is quite the avid hiker/photographer. His Big Basin shots make me jealous.

Small world, eh?

If you feel like a trip down memory lane, check out:

• My White Mountain album at flickr.
• Rick McCharles’ video of Bob’s trek.
• My favorite images from the adventure.
• Bob’s description of his hike at Backpacker.com.
• My quick summation of the adventure.
• Tenacity, thy name is Bob — and essay I wrote at my personal page that many of you might not have seen.