Wild and Beautiful Dolly Sods
 

Dolly Sods is my most favorite place for a weekend-long escape into the wilderness. This high-altitude plateau offers some 47-miles of trails to explore and its beauty is one for the books. I particularly like its north-western section along the Rocky Ridge Trail. It offers some breathtaking views of the Canaan Valley and I love its windswept sandstone rocks and dwarf red spruce. It's by far Dolly's most photogenic area. 

Below are a few images from my most recent 3-day backpack at the end of September. After many days of heavy rains, it was a very muddy hike. Most of the creeks swelled up to "raging" rivers which I did not dare attempt to cross.  All in all, it was a spectacular hike with temperatures in the mid 70's and very sunny days. Autumn colors were just beginning to show which is truly unusual, as this location often sees below freezing temperatures and even some snow at this time of the year.  

I photographed mostly using my iPhone camera and my small but mighty Sony A6000. This time instead of using the standard kit lens, I replaced it with my Canon 16-36mm f/2.8 lens mounted to the camera using a Fotodiox Pro adapter. I think I just found a solution which improves the quality of my images and still keeps my gear light.