Each year, as the echoes of summer fun fade into memories, and as the cool of fall settles across the Sierras, June Lake ignites with autumn colours. As the wildlife begins to prepare for the winter, the soundscape too takes on a different tenor.
Birdsong, so vibrant and hopeful in the spring, still welcomes the morning sun, but is now filled with the mystery of a changing season. Unseen critters rustle through the underbrush, filling their pantries for winter. And if you listen closely, you’ll hear the rumbling insistence of fresh coffee brewing, crashing through the restful slumber of guests like a bear shaking berries from a huckleberry bush!
Sleepy-eyed friends and family soon stand around the breakfast bar, huddled like a flock of geese ready to migrate. As they sip fresh coffee, idle morning chatter turns to plans for the day: A walk from the nearby Fern Lake trailhead. A stroll along June Lake beach. Or photographing the colours from the road behind Gull Lake.
You see, in the fall, every day is as fine as the next to marvel at the high Sierra landscape. For a photographer, light is everything. And there’s no better light than the few moments after the sun first rises over the peaks around June Lake.
Still, mornings are mornings. And morning people are few and far between! Rolling out of a warm, comfy bed is made easier only because the carpet is plush and the incredible quiet of the wilderness has made every hour of sleep feel like two hours at home in the city. And of course, Ansel Adams country lies just beyond the door….
Every day at June Lake is an opportunity to connect with friends, to marvel at the majestic beauty of the Sierras, and to walk in the footsteps of Adams and John Muir—adventurers whose experience of this high country have left an indelible mark on Americana. Spend a week at Yosemite Gateway Chalet, and you’ll share in this legacy of adventure.
Of course, there’s also something to be said for ignoring the automatic timer on the coffee machine!
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Share your photos! Capture a great, fall image in or near June Lake or Yosemite, and share it with us for a chance to win a holiday at Yosemite Gateway Chalet.
