Before the Rain

Yesterday, I hiked one of my favorite trails, the Palisades Lakes trail in Mount Rainier National Park. It has become something of an annual tradition to visit this trail in August for the incredible lupine meadows. In contrast to last year's sunshine, the day started overcast, with a mid-morning drizzle steadily intensifying and becoming a pouring, driving rain by afternoon. Now I know that I prefer this trail on a sunny day. With clouds obscuring views of the Palisades and other peaks, the trail wasn't as much fun, and there were long stretches of the hike exposed to rain. I'm glad I went, but I don't think I would go back on an overcast/showery day.

First, an image from Sunrise Point. I don't know what the peaks are in the distance, but I was looking more or less south. F/10.

Next, a lupine meadow along the trail. The lupine were well past peak in most of the meadows - I didn't visit any later this year than last, but I suspect the heat and lack of rain this summer have been accelerating the wildflower cycle. Still, I was happy to find some nice flower displays remaining. F/16.

Finally, Clover Lake, with lupine in the foreground. The selective focus approach I took isn't as compelling in this image as I hoped it would be - I think the foreground around the in-focus lupine is a bit busy - but I still think it works. It would probably look better printed; I've found that the small viewing size on computers and especially phones can lessen the impact of selective focus. F/6.3.

Snow Lake on a Wednesday

On Wednesday, I braved the iconic and notoriously crowded Snow Lake near Snoqualmie Pass. The trail was fairly busy as it was, but it helped that pretty much everyone was considerate and even cheerful (People asked about my photographic process and offered to move out of my camera's line of sight, which are two things I don't usually get). Luckily, I had a little lakeshore spot to myself for a few minutes, so I still experienced some solitude at this well-loved place. While the lake itself was certainly worth the visit, I'm not sure how often I'll be going back. The trail is very rocky, to the point of being annoying. Furthermore, the first few miles traverse brushy avalanche and talus areas; if I'm going to hike in an environment like that, I'd rather do it somewhere like nearby Gold Greek, which is lusher, flatter, less rocky, and much quieter.

First, my favorite image of the day: Snow Lake itself, with a bit of a reflection visible, and submerged rocks in the foreground. A few minutes later, the water was even calmer, leading to a more crisp reflection. But the colors were more vivid in this one, and although I'm not quite sure why, the detail quality ended up better as well. F/16, 1/30 of a second.

Here's another view of the lake, from a slightly more elevated vantage point. F/14.

Next, a new wildflower! I think it's spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium). F/5.6.

Finally, a scene that shows pink mountain-heather, or mountain-heath (Phyllodoce empetriformis) blooming near the lake. F/16.