Goat Lake

Yesterday, having seen the news that the last section of the Mountain Loop Highway had finally opened for the summer, I couldn't resist a trip to Goat Lake, one of my all-time favorite hikes that I've ever done. At about ten miles round-trip, it's definitely longer than my usual photography hikes. As such, the challenge of the Goat Lake hike is time management. Every time I go, I have to pass by some photography opportunities on the hike up in order to reserve ample time for photography and relaxation at the lake itself, which is why this post will be on the shorter side.

First, the lake itself. The early-season flowers that I have used as foregrounds in years past have faded, so I decided instead to try some more direct lake shots. Even though I'm typically drawn to horizontal compositions, the vertical one below is my favorite from the day. The snowier mountain on the left is a natural focal point when looking at the lake, but I also wanted to draw attention to the nearer, more forested peak on the right. I like how the very distinct rocks in the lower third of the image gradually fade into blurred reflections. F/16.

Next, a horizontal view from the same vantage point, with more attention to the snowy peak. F/16.

Due to breezes, harsh lighting, and the length of the hike, I didn't spend much time on photography in the forested parts of the trail (which is most of it). However, I did get this fun shot of red elderberries with red alder trunks in the background. F/9.

Lodge Lake

Last weekend, wanting a shorter hike that I could complete before the hottest part of the day, I hiked to Lodge Lake near Snoqualmie Pass. It's not the most spectacularly scenic or wild hike I've ever done - the first half of the hike is in sight of the ski area and other development at the pass, and I-90 is audible throughout much of the hike. But the ski slopes were covered in flowers, and the lake itself was surprisingly pristine. Besides, when I was there (roughly 10 am), I had the lake to myself for a good half an hour, which is pretty special, particularly for a trail so accessible from I-90.

First, a view from the ski slope near the trailhead, with paintbrush in bloom. F/5.6.

Next, subalpine spirea in a meadow a bit farther along the trail. The mountain on the right is Red Mountain, I believe; I'm less sure about the one on the left. F/6.3.

Here's Lodge Lake itself, with what I think is Denny Mountain in the distance. I'm glad I was able to get a bit of a reflection. F/18.

Lastly, another view of Lodge Lake. I enjoyed the soft blue coming from the lake surface. F/16.

Olympic trip

A couple weeks ago, I took a camping trip to the Olympic Peninsula, staying at a campground a little ways west of Port Angeles. The original plan had been to do something in the Blue Mountains in southeast Washington, but with a forecast for hot temperatures and maybe even wildfire smoke during the full days of my visit, I opted for a safer bet. Daily breezes off the Strait of Juan de Fuca meant that I definitely beat the heat - indeed, I was cold most evenings and wore a warm jacket at the campsite!

A special part of visiting the Olympic Peninsula is how near the distinct environments - beach/coast, forest, and mountain - are to each other. As such, I organized my trip by visiting one of these environments on each of the full days of my trip.

Part 1: Mountains

I spent my "mountain" day at the very popular Hurricane Hill. It's popular for a reason - the trail is short and well-kept, with stunning views in multiple directions. Thankfully, we started early enough that we were able to avoid any issues entering the park or finding parking. My favorite image from the day is this one, an arrangement of yarrow (white), paintbrush (red), and other wildflowers with mountains in the background. Even though there's a lot going on, I think the composition came together pretty well. F/9.

Overall, the wildflower displays weren't as extensive as they've been other times when I've visited Hurricane Hill, so there were a lot of vistas like the one below. While not as flashy or eye-catching as masses of wildflowers, the grassy slopes had their own kind of beauty. I tried to depict that in the image below. The image quality suffered a bit - I had to boost the ISO to get a shutter speed quick enough to get all the grass sharp. Even so, it'd work at a standard size (8x10 or 8x12). F/18.

Next, a meadow of what I think is American bistort. I wish I could've gotten a bit closer to some of the flowers (I wouldn't have been able to without putting my tripod in the meadow), but I still like it. I enjoy the color contrast between the yellowish-green of the meadow and the blue of the mountains. F/18.

In this last image from Hurricane Hill, I was drawn to the way the topography changed from green to blue as it became more distant. That's something I love about mountain views on sunny days. F/16.

Part 2: Beaches

For my "beach day," I visited the Salt Creek Recreation Area and the Lyre River Conservation Area, which are along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the west or Port Angeles. In contrast to Hurricane Hill, the trails in these parks were very quiet. We were fortunate enough to be at Salt Creek at a lower tide, enabling some beach exploration.

First, from the Salt Creek Recreation Area, red elderberry in focus, with a sea stack in the background. This is probably another favorite image from the trip. F/5.

Here's another view of the sea stack, this time from the tidally fluctuating beach. The gray sky is a bit drab, but I like the sea stack's reflection, and the ripples in the sand. F/16.

The rocks, beaches, and tidepools of Salt Creek were teeming with life, as depicted below. F/18.

Finally, the quiet, secluded beach from the Lyre River Conservation Area. F/16, 1/50 of a second.

Part 3: Forest

My final full day on the peninsula was my "forest day," during which I visited the Marymere Falls and Barnes Creek trails near Lake Crescent. The Marymere Falls trail can get very busy during the day, but was very quiet when we started (not long after 7am). This enabled me to set up my tripod in the trail without interrupting other hikers. The Barnes Creek trail, in contrast, vas very quiet throughout the day with only a few other groups, despite the fact that it passes through some excellent old-growth forest with frequent views of the creek. I'd like to make a return trip specifically to the Barnes Creek trail, skipping Marymere Falls, and explore farther up the valley.

First, Marymere Falls behind a cedar tree. F/16, 2.5 seconds.

Next, Barnes Creek from the Barnes Creek trail. F/16, 2.5 seconds.

Lastly, some impressive old-growth cedar trunks along the Barnes Creek trail. F/18.

That's all for now. Hopefully I'll get out on another camping trip this summer!

Big Four is Back!

I discovered last month that the Big Four Ice Caves trail is back open! It's a short, easy trail to meadows in front of Big Four Mountain, where there are wildflowers and great views of surrounding peaks and cliffs. For me, all of that is more of a draw than the seasonally visible caves. (And since the caves are formed by water, they are inherently unstable, and getting close to them is unsafe.) It had to be a quick trip, but I was still able to find a couple of nice wildflower scenes.

First, a meadow of Sitka valerian. I like how there were still some morning clouds visible in the distance. F/14.

Next, what I think is a variety of arnica growing in a dry stream bed. It turns out that there are quite a few species of arnica in Washington, so I'm not going to try to be that specific. The selective-focus approach I took here isn't as effective as it was in my mind's eye, but I still think it helps highlight the flowers. F/4.