Needles Grip

Well, once again into the unknown. We thought about staying out here, but the camps in the backcountry here sell out months in advance, and we were informed that while we were allowed to do astro photography anywhere in the park, falling asleep while doing it is strictly prohibited unless sanctioned and paid for. This is some of the most remote desert in the southwest if you get deep enough, however, given the biological soil crusts (which can actually be seen on the left hand side of the photo in the light) the more people that walk around here off trail, essentially destroy desert habitat that took ages to build. Whenever I'm walking in the back country, I'm always aware of this face, as I'm often in a sensitive habitat. The biological soil is made of #cyanobacteria and often look like areas of dirty dirt, they also include the lichens, mosses, algae, microfungi, and bacteria (some of which is seen on the rocks in the foreground). What inspired this tree to reach so far with one of it's branches is beyond me... it clearly didn't work out. But despite the failure, this tree lives on in a formidable landscape environment, through epic storms, winter snow, and searing heat.

Done