Sunrise in the Sierra Mountains

One of the most majestic sights to see in the Sierra mountains will always be a sunrise or sunset. I’ve never seen another mountain range that is as filled with light as the Sierra, and it’s no wonder that when the writer and hiker John Muir called it “the Range of Light”, the term stuck.

{See A Guide to my Favorite Trail in the Sierra to plan your own trip.}

“The mighty Sierra…it seemed not clothed with light but wholly composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city….”

— John Muir, The Yosemite

On our recent backpacking trip (post here) my brother hung himself out of the tent one morning and captured these images, all while still tucked comfortably in his sleeping bag.

Like the good outdoor blogger I am, I was sound asleep. Thank goodness this blog doesn’t depend on me.

The sunrise show is about to begin…

A trickle of light comes over the neighboring peaks…

A trickle more. All the heart eyes emojis here.

This color! Over the course of the night, the wind had died down and the waters turned into glass.

“And after ten years of wandering and wondering in the heart of it, rejoicing in its glorious floods of light, the white beams of the morning streaming through the passes, the noonday radiance on the crystal rocks, the flush of the alpenglow, and the irised spray of countless waterfalls, it still seems above all others the Range of Light.”

— John Muir

I still pinch myself that this was real. Add this to your outdoor bucket list and when you get there, be sure you are awake for the sunrise. Obviously, it’s worth it.

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