Rain Ride

By Forrest Smith - Drempd.com

There were to competing notions, both pulling me in opposite directions. The first; a beautiful, chunky, gravel road with interspersed pine trees, sage and a rugged string of peaks rising sharply to the south. The second; a downpour, soaking me through my coat, fleece, and undershirt.. The mountain road won for about an hour, until it started a steeper descent, and the thought of slowly cranking my way back up in the rain was enough to tip the scales back into the direction of the campground. So I turned around and had a mostly rain-free return trip to the comfort of my car and tent.

The great thing about heavy showers with intermittent rain is that it makes for some beautiful picture-taking. The greens are a bit greener just after rain, along with all of the other colors notched up in saturation a bit more than usual. The peaks all-the-more dynamic as clouds swirl around.

Rain and mountains
Gravel grinding in the eastern Sierra
Eastern Sierra roads
Gravel grinding in the rain