Colors of My Heart

/Home › › Yosemite Falls Trail Yosemite National Park’s Yosemite Falls Trail is a historic and popular hiking route that offers hikers the rare opportunity to experience the full power of Yosemite Falls—North America’s tallest waterfall with a total drop of 739 meters—at remarkably close range. The trail begins near Camp 4 and features steep, continuous switchbacks from the outset, making it suitable for intermediate to advanced hikers. However, the effort is well rewarded: at the midway viewpoint known as Columbia Rock, hikers are greeted with breathtaking panoramic views of Yosemite Valley and Half Dome. The hike to Columbia Rock covers approximately 3.2 kilometers round trip with an elevation gain of about 300 meters, taking around two to three hours. Beyond this point, the trail leads to areas where you can feel the spray of the falls, and depending on the season, you may even find yourself enveloped in a fine mist. From spring to early summer, snowmelt increase...

/Home › › Tioga Road Tioga Road in summer is a mountain highway that runs east to west across Yosemite National Park, offering a refreshing drive where seasonal wildflowers and sweeping vistas unfold one after another through the car windows.  As the elevation rises, clusters of yellow mule’s ears and lupines bloom along the roadside, swaying brightly in the summer sunlight. In the forested areas, white blossoms of mountain dogwood appear between the deep green lodgepole pines, carrying a cool, crisp air into the car. Approaching Olmsted Point, small wildflowers growing in the crevices of the rocky terrain catch the eye, adding gentle color to the rugged granite landscape. Farther along, the vast grasslands of Tuolumne Meadows open up, and in early summer, pink Sierra primroses and yellow buttercups spread like a carpet, creating a quietness so serene that you may feel compelled to stop the car and take a deep breath. My summer drive along Tioga Road was more than...

/ Home › › Alpenglow of Half Dome The climax of dusk at Half Dome, I believe, is a magical display of light truly worthy of the name alpenglow.  As the sun sinks toward the horizon, the vast granite monolith, though losing direct sunlight, begins to take on a golden hue from the soft light scattered through the atmosphere.  That radiance gradually acquires a reddish tint, transforming the rock face into a deep color as if it were glowing from within.  Long shadows stretch across the valley floor, while the sky blends pale pinks and purples and a majestic hush settles over the scene.  The moment when only the rim of Half Dome remains lit until the very end feels like a brief drama staged by nature.  Bathed in alpenglow, Half Dome marks a special time where grandeur and transience intersect, leaving a lasting impression on all who witness it. Half Dome before sunset Nikon D40x / AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-70mm F3.5-5.6G ED / 1/80s / F8 / ISO 200 / 0.0 Join...