Optimistic Naming?

Dramatic names seem to be the order of the day in the areas where I hiked this morning - Cougar Mountain (hardly a mountain) in the Issaquah Alps, and I started out on the Wilderness Creek Trail (second-growth, really). At least, that was what I expected.

The naming turned out to be more realistic I had originally assumed, however - I had to huff and puff up a respectably steep slope for most of the mile and a half coming up the Wilderness Creek Trail. And the forest, while indeed second-growth, was lush, taller than I had expected, and quite lovely. Armed to the teeth with food, water, bug spray, and cold medicine (yes, I hike when I have a cold), I rose to Cougar Mountain's challenge.

The highlights of the trip, photographically speaking, were pictures of water along Wilderness Creek and at Coal Creek Falls. I of course used long exposures to blur the motion.

Here is one of some ferns along Wilderness Creek. The darned things kept moving, and I needed to use a longer exposure to blur the water, but this one was acceptable. Thankfully - for this and other pictures - I was able to wait until an opportune moment when the breeze calmed down.

Next, these ones from Coal Creek Falls. The highlights are a bit overexposed, but not overly so, and not to an extent that couldn't be corrected for if editing from RAW.

Another one I liked was this one of bleeding-heart leaves. Each leaf point had a drip of water on it, something I have never seen/noticed on a leaf before.

Also, I took one of my best-yet unfurling fern close-ups. The curled end and the vertical positioning makes it more appealing than my other pictures of similar subjects, I think.

Next, check out the boulders! There is so much stuff living on the rocks in this park. The forest here may be second-growth, but it's very happy second growth.

Finally, some shots of opening devil's club. They're basically the same; the second has a much wider depth of field, though. I'm not sure which I like better.

I swung by Redtown Meadow briefly, but didn't take any pictures. There aren't many flowers blooming now, just some fawn lilies too far away from the trail to be photographed properly. According to signs, however, plants like great camas, Deltoid balsamroot, and Western red columbine will bloom there later this spring. A place to revisit!

Happy trails!