Galen Rowell, the celebrated adventure photographer, helped put North Lake on the map with his iconic sunrise shot of fiery yellow and orange aspens reflected in the deep mountain blue lake. Fall Reflections in North Lake, photographed by Rowell, is one of my personal favorites. Now North Lake at sunrise is one of the most popular locations to photograph fall colors in California. That early morning, I headed to North Lake in the dark hours, hoping to catch sunrise. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. The fall colors were peaking as the alpenglow lit up the Sierra peaks. That North Lake sunrise I will never forget.
