Armchair lifer after all these years…

I love the outdoors! Most every obsession I’ve had has been something outdoors with the exception of singing, which can be done outdoors(:>. Hiking, backpacking, camping, astronomy, birds and butterflies. All outdoors. I’m disconnected, refreshed, calmed, nourished and excited all at the same time. That’s what being outside does for me. I was going through images from a backpacking trip I took with some friends back in late July/early August of 1999. I reminisced of friends I no longer see and of some on this trip that are now gone. Life is so fleeting is it not? Photos were taken with an early digital camera boasting an incredible 1.3 megapixels. The experience was the most fun and uplifting of my outdoor life. We spent two weeks hiking on the John Muir Trail in the central Sierra Nevada. We hiked 130 miles though pristine forests, canyons, around snow collection lakes, under 14,000 ft spires and across rock strewn “moonscapes”. Acclimation to lower oxygen levels took a few days but soon we were handling 12,000 ft passes with relative ease. One beautiful scene was from McClure Meadow, basking in alpenglow after sunset one evening. This is in Kings Canyon National Park:

(click on images for larger)

I took many, many images of scenery and wild flowers. Imagine my surprise today to find a somewhat poor photo of a butterfly among the hundreds of images. How did I never notice that before? Immediately, I was going through the field guides. Based on the greenish ground color on the dorsal and ventral sides and the small white hindwing cell spot (partially blocked by a blade of grass) the only candidate is the Sierra Sulphur which is endemic to the central Sierra Nevada. A lifer all those years ago before I really even gave butterflies a notice. A pleasant surprise 16 years later. Think I need to go through other photos from previous trips now…