Sierra Nevada through an Arch

About This Experience

Our visit to Mobius Arch became much more than a short walk to one of the most famous formations in California’s Alabama Hills. We arrived during the day and obtained our free camping permit in person that very same day. With the formalities taken care of, we drove deeper into the Alabama Hills looking for a place to spend the night and eventually found a beautiful secluded spot surrounded by the characteristic rounded granite formations, with the enormous Sierra Nevada rising in the distance. It was exactly the kind of place we had hoped to find. As evening arrived, the landscape became wonderfully quiet. The last daylight faded from the rocks, the mountains turned into dark silhouettes, and soon the sky filled with an astonishing number of stars. Far from strong artificial lights, the night sky seemed incredibly deep and clear. Sitting outside our camp among the rocks and looking toward the dark outline of the Sierra Nevada was one of the most peaceful moments of our stay in California. Early the next morning we woke before the sun had fully reached the valley. The air was cool and the granite hills around us were still in shadow as we started exploring on foot. We climbed and walked among the rounded rocks, enjoying the changing perspectives toward the Sierra Nevada as the first light began to appear. Eventually we headed toward Mobius Arch, which is reached by a short and relatively easy walk from the nearby dirt roads. The arch itself is not enormous, but its unusual curved shape and its position in front of the Sierra Nevada make it extraordinary. It was even possible to carefully scramble onto part of the arch, although doing so is not recommended and the formation is best appreciated without climbing on it. The real magic came when the sun began to rise. Warm light slowly reached the Alabama Hills while the high peaks behind them caught the first glow of the morning. By carefully choosing our position, we could frame the mountains perfectly through the opening of the arch. We moved around the formation several times, searching for the best angle as the light changed from minute to minute. The combination of golden granite, the naturally sculpted arch and the immense Sierra backdrop created one of the most beautiful photographic scenes of the trip. We took some astonishing pictures that morning, but the experience was about much more than photography. The previous night beneath the stars, the secluded campsite among the rocks, the early walk through the granite hills and finally seeing the Sierra Nevada framed by Mobius Arch at sunrise all became part of one continuous experience. What could easily have been a quick stop at a famous arch instead became a memorable night and morning in one of the most distinctive landscapes of the Eastern Sierra.