Fall Sunshine at Baker River

I realized recently that I hadn't been to the Baker River trail this year, and it's one of my favorite places. So, I paid the trail a visit, wanting to go while the weather and fall colors were still nice. As always, the trail was very quiet, with only a handful of hikers past the bridge. Like the Old Sauk Trail, which I visited prior to this trip, the Baker River trail isn't thought of as a conventional "fall hike," but there were plenty of colorful bigleaf maples to light the way. I also enjoyed the sunny riverbanks; the low water level meant that there was more dry riverbed to explore than usual.

First, a view over the Baker River from a tiny beach along the trail. I don't remember it always being there, so perhaps it only appears when water levels are low, or it's a recent deposit. I was most excited about the mountains peeking out of the fog bank in the distance, but I also like the look of the rocks under the river's surface. F/14.

Here's a nice forest shot, with bigleaf maple leaves, trunks, and branches the stars of the show. F/14.

Here's another river view, from nearer the trailhead. At that location, the main river channel was so narrow and far away that traversing the dry, rocky river bed was a walk in its own right. I'm glad I made the trek, though! I wanted a composition that would highlight the colorful hillside on the opposite side of the river. F/16.

One final forest shot, with red alder trunks in the foreground. F/16.

Three Recent Trips

I've gotten a bit behind on my blogging, so in this post, my readers will get a three-for one deal! Here are my three most recent photography excursions.

Old Sauk Trail

Most recently, I hiked the Old Sauk Trail near Darrington. I had known there might be showers on that particular day, so all the tree cover came in handy. Although I did expect a few fall-color scenes, I was surprised by how vibrant and extensive the colors were. And showers notwithstanding, conditions were excellent for photography - even lighting, almost no breeze.

First, looking over the Sauk River. F/18, 0.6 seconds.

Here's an alternate view from almost the same vantage point. There's slightly more distortion near the edges due to the wider focal length. F/18, 0.6 seconds.

Next, a lush forest scene from the trail. F/14.

For the forest composition below, I included some ferns and a fallen log to add more depth. Looking at it now, I don't think that log is very visually interesting, but I like the ferns, and the fall color in the background. F/14.

Lastly from the Old Sauk, two images with a vine-maple-and-big-trees sort of theme. Vine maples don't get as colorful under forest cover as they do in open areas - the bright reds are mostly absent - but the yellow leaves can still make for some nice scenes. F/14 and F/18, respectively.

Big Four Ice Caves

Prior to that, I visited the Big Four Ice Caves trail on a warm, clear day; I wanted to see some sunshine and blue sky. I certainly did that, but the lighting ended up being the day's biggest challenge. In the meadowy area immediately near the ice caves, Big Four Mountain cast a huge shadow, making for dark foregrounds with very bright mountains in the distance. Elsewhere, the contrast was still very high. I did my best, but I'm not very excited about any of these.

First, Big Four Mountain itself. F/16.

Next, some of the other peaks visible from the area, with fall-color foregrounds. Neither the lighting nor the image quality thrill me in any of these, so I almost didn't post them, but here they are. Ironically, the middle of this set had the best image quality, but not the most interesting foreground. All F/16.

Whitehorse Trail

The third visit featured in this post was to the Whitehorse Trail out of Trafton. In theory, it's a bike trail. Unfortunately, due to the gravel surfacing, the overgrown blackberry bushes (which have thorns), and other issues, I don't see myself taking my bicycle up there anytime soon. It still makes for a nice walk, though! Since it's flat, the miles go by quickly; we were able to cover roughly eight miles round-trip before lunch. A lot of the trail is brushy/brambly, but there are some nice views of farmlands, woods, and the North Fork Stillaguamish River.

Here's the only image I really liked from the day, of the river with some hints of fall color. F/16.

Thanks for hanging in there! Hopefully I'll get one or two more chances to find some fall colors before it's time to look for winter scenery!