An Unexpected Sunset

It had been a long time since I’d seen a really good alpine sunset and I wasn’t expecting much. We’d spent a beautiful day on the high ridges before being chased into the basin by a thunderstorm. The skies were still gloomy and looked like they’d stay that way. I shot a couple images of alpine flowers, but I wasn’t feeling it. In retrospect, I should have had higher hopes for the little low gap over the peaks to the west.

But just as we were crossing the pass back toward our camp, the light broke through…

…and the world turned golden.

And more golden still.

And as if that weren’t enough…

This sunset kept going and going, filling the entire valley to the east with light and color.

There were more rainbows in there, but I wasn’t quick enough to catch them. But the sky took its sweet time turning from orange to pink.

It had been a near-perfect day in the mountains, but I had been thinking I’d go home with only a few daytime images. How wrong I was and how glad that we lingered up high!

Tags: eagle cap wilderness, flowers, mountains, oregon, rainbow, storm, sunset, wallowa

• July 13, 2021
• oregon
• 5 Comments