Lakes Basin, California

Relatively few people visit the Northern Sierras above Lake Tahoe. Lakes Basin is a particularly scenic region of high elevation lakes and trails. On a ridgetop above one of the lakes, a lone White Pine stands, as if in defiance of time and the elements. Trees grow slowly at this elevation, so its large size was an indicator of great age – surprising, considering how difficult it must be for its roots to obtain water among the rocks it stands on. I was drawn by the complex patterns and textures in the rock, bark, and needles; by the wind-twisted branches; and by the diagonal tilt of the trunk, attesting to a long battle with the elements.