More views at the “knuckles”

Photo #1 is a fairly wide-angled view taken from just a hair south of the mouth of the unnamed brook south of the “knuckles”. I have several photos of this area taken on the return trip when the lighting was much brighter, but they all lose to the shade and the brilliance many of the details that these less photogenic photos capture much better, so I have chosen to go mostly with the less pretty photos on this page (photo #5 is the exception). In photo #1, the alternating bands of grey and reddish rock stand out very well, at the shore, on the mountainside, and on the peak in the upper right; in bright sun, these colouration differences are mostly lost.

Photo #2 focusses on a portion of the cliffs below the “knuckles”. If, in photo #1, you find the long vertical grey sheer cliff about a quarter of the way in from the left and follow up to its top, you will be in the right area: the top of that long vertical grey sheer cliff is at the bottom far right of photo #2. The distinctly red colouring of a portion of the cliff in the centre of photo #2 makes it stand out; either it has been rather recently exposed to the air or it is of a distinct material from most of the adjacent rocks; some reddish-hued rocks are found in the upper portion of the photo, but they seem to be of a more weathered red than those in the centre. Whether it is grass or moss that one sees on the rocks here is hard to make out in this photo, even at high magnification; my best guess is that it’s a mixture of both, with the moss predominating, except where the more vivid greens are seen.

[continued below]

Photo #3, a telephoto view from well south of the mouth of the unnamed brook, looks at the peak of the “knuckles”. The tracks of gravel/dirt/rubble descending the cliff face run through apparently less resistant rock than than that forming the peak and the descending cliff face in the upper centre, which is noticeably without much red colouration. Traces of the brighter red colouration seen in photo #2 are also noticeable in photo #3 at the upper right and at the centre above the bottom of the photo. Since this peak is well below the top of the plateau, one wonders whether this peak was once covered with soil which has since been eroded away exposing it to curious eyes.

Photo #4 is another telephoto view, this time taken from directly below the “knuckles”; the area of the peak in view here is only partly visible in photo #3, which was taken from considerably further south. Here, the alternating grey and reddish rocks appear the same as those seen on the lower part of the western face in photo #1. The peak is apparently too exposed for trees to grow here, but low ground bushes have found enough sustenance in the rocky soil to make a go of it under the harsh alpine conditions that must prevail there for much of the year.

[continued below]

Photo #5, fairly wide-angled view, was taken on the return trip from far enough off shore to better show the edge of the plateau inland of the “knuckles”; this edge is still on a descending slope which needs considerably more distance to become visible from the waters below, but is clearly discernible in Google Earth. The course of the unnamed brook is below that ridge at the far right, which becomes clearer in photo #6. Notice how the sun has rendered far less noticeable the interplay between the grey and the red rocks in this area and how the shadows hide details on the mountainside and at the shore below readily seen in the darker views on this page.

Photo #6, a wide-angled view taken from somewhat further north than photo #5, makes this contrast even more explicit; although I think there’s little doubt that photo #5 is the prettier of the two, notice how photo #6 reveals details that are obscured by shadows in photo #5 and brings out the true colours of the rocks and grass cover. In photo #6, the southern end of the ridge is now visible and the course of the unnamed brook around it quite clear.