Fall Color Extravaganza

This weekend, I hiked to Tonga Ridge and Mount Sawyer, hoping for one more sunny fall-color hike in the mountains before the weather really turns (possibly this week).  I've been to Mount Sawyer once before, in the summer, and I think I liked it better as a fall hike. In July of 2019, bugs, heat from the sun, and heavy brush made the final push to the summit challenging. This time of year, those factors are all a bit more reasonable.

First, an image from my hike up the mountain in the morning. This one doesn't feature the jagged mountain peaks that you'll see in some of the other shots I took, but since it was earlier in the day, the angled sunlight brought out colors really well. F/16. 

Next is a series of images from my hike back down the Mount Sawyer portion of the trail, roughly going from most to least favorite. I chose to order the day this way, making a mostly continuous push uphill and saving my photography for the hike down (with the exception of the one you already saw), so that I could scout out the best locations to set up shop. The views changed with every step, and I wanted to take note of those as well as the most considerate locations for photography (places where people could pass me and my gear safely without detouring into the meadows).

In this first one, I think there's a good sense of depth from the foreground, and, for lack of a better way to put it, a good sense of open space. F/16.

The highlight of the next one is the color contrast in the foreground between the green young trees and the red huckleberry leaves. F/16.

The next one doesn't have the same sense of dramatic open space that the ones above have, nor are the colors as vibrant. But since I positioned the camera more along the hill (rather than looking straight down like in the image above), the converging verticals are not nearly as pronounced. F/14.

The last of this series has the least pronounced sense of depth, and the most distracting converging verticals. I liked the color contrast of the leaves in the meadow, but that doesn't come through as well in this picture as it did in person. F/14.

Finally, the view from the top of Mount Sawyer. Speaking of converging verticals, they're pretty obvious here, created by the downward angle of the lens. In this case, though, I think they're beneficial, and add to the sense of depth. F/14.

It looks like that might be it for warm, sunny fall hikes for this season, as least in the high country. Stay tuned for more adventures around the lowlands of western Washington!

Plan B

Last weekend, I was headed to the Middle Fork Snoqualmie trail, because I wanted a river/forest hike after two visits to mountain lakes. When I got there, however, the parking lot was extremely crowded due to some sort of trail running event going on. Looking at my map and their signs, I was able to piece together that the CCC Road Trail south/west of the Pratt Balcony trailhead was out of range of the trail running event, and headed there as an alternative. That section is clearly lightly traveled in general - past the turnoff to the somewhat more popular Pratt Balcony, we saw only one other hiking party all morning, and were frequently hiking through heavy brush. It turned out to be a relatively easy hike through mixed forest types, with occasional views out to Russian Butte. Would I hike it again? Not necessarily. The brush and thorns wore on my patience. And while the forest is certainly nice and pleasant, it's nothing more scenic than the many other second-growth forest trails in the area (or closer to home). Even so, I walked away with a few decent pictures, and it was nice to have a peaceful walk in the woods with lots of solitude. 

First, a lush stand of maples and alders, with bigleaf maple leaves in the foreground. F/14.

Next, one of those peek-a-boo views of Russian Butte. F/14.

Lastly, Russian Butte earlier in the morning, from near the trailhead. F/14.

September Roundup

Hello all! It seems I've gotten a bit behind on my blog, so I'm going to roll my best September excursions into one post. Highlights include two lakes that I had almost entirely to myself, and some fun fall colors! I still can't say that fall is my favorite season, but I've really come around to fall hiking, and about mid-September to mid-October is one of my favorite times of the year to be outside. The bugs and heat are gone, water crossings on trails tend to be easier, and there are lots of pretty colors everywhere.

Lake Janus

Most recently, I visited Lake Janus, along the PCT north of Stevens Pass. It's a lovely lake that tends to get overlooked in favor of nearby Lake Valhalla and Mount McCausland, which offer more dramatic mountain views. In fact, out of the few hiking parties I encountered on the trail to Lake Janus, the majority  had intended to head to Lake Valhalla but turned the wrong way at the intersection with the PCT. For a long stretch of time, there were no other hiking parties at Lake Janus, which was worth the price of slightly-less-dramatic views. The boggy meadows around the lake seem like they could get quite buggy in the summer, so I don't know if I would revisit then, but I can definitely envision repeating this as a fall hike.

First, Lake Janus from one of the camping areas nearby. The foreground looks a bit busier in practice than it did in my mind's eye, but the fall-color effect still comes through fine. F/16.

Next, Lake Janus from nearer the shore. I like the warm tones of the grass and leaves in the foreground. F/16.

Lastly, a meadow near the lake. F/16.

Hope and Mig Lakes

Before that, I hiked to Hope and Mig Lakes, also near Stevens Pass. Like Lake Janus, Mig Lake tends to be overlooked; it seemed like most hikers were turning the other direction, to Trap Lake. But the trail to Hope and Mig Lakes is one of my favorite fall hikes, due to the solitude and the colorful meadows around Mig Lake.

Here's a view of one such meadow. I took a picture from almost the same vantage point last year (first image), but this time included the sky, which I think I might like better. F/16.

Here's a similar view from nearby. The colors aren't quite as striking, but I enjoy the symmetry. F/16.

Next, Mig Lake. There was a slight breeze at this point, which was a mixed blessing. It took longer to time a shot with the leaves being still, but the breezes also stirred up the water, creating the photogenic blue reflections that are visible here. F/16.

Here's another view of Mig Lake, this time with a selective-focus approach. F/5.

On the way to Hope and Mig Lakes, there are a few clearings in the woods with patches of vine maple, which can be one of the most colorful trees in the fall. I really liked the green and red patterns in the ones below. F/7.1.

Lastly from that hike, a peek-a-boo view of Hope Lake through trees. I was concerned about the high contrast, but I think it works. F/14.

Odds and Ends

There were a few instances in the last month where I made closer/shorter trips, for weather or other reasons; I wasn't as thrilled with my results from these outings, but had two images worth blogging about. First, a forest view from a brief dry break during a rather rainy morning on Tiger Mountain. I don't recall the exact location of this one, but it was somewhere in the Tradition Plateau area. I do like the scattering of yellow leaves in the shot. F/16.

Next, some little ferns (licorice ferns?) growing on a tree trunk in Tolt-Macdonald Park near Carnation. I like the selective-focus concept of this shot, but I'm not convinced that I made it work. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I think it might be because the parts of the composition aren't distinct enough from each other, or I wasn't close enough to the little ferns in the foreground. F/8.

All for now. Thanks for hanging in there!

Last Camping Hurrah?

Not long ago, I took what might end up being my final camping trip of the year, to the North Fork Quinault area of Olympic National Park. Earlier this year, I'd had dreams of an August trip to the Mount Adams area, but with fires and smoke there and elsewhere in the Cascades, I couldn't risk it. I decided that the Olympic Peninsula would be a safer bet, with much less haze and lower shower chances. It ended up being a pretty solid choice. The North Fork Quinault Trail, which I did as a day hike, had a fun mix of forest and open views, with some nice stands of old-growth trees. And the area was not crowded at all; I think it gets overshadowed by the nearby Enchanted Valley trailhead and the more well-known Hoh Rainforest.

My favorite image from the hike is this one. The sunshine was a bit filtered by clouds at this point, helping me avoid overexposing the highlights. F/16.

Next, looking up the North Fork Quinault River. I experimented with a couple different shutter speeds here; the one I liked was the shorter one (1/30 of a second). Somehow, it does a better job of depicting the rapid motion of the water. I often do like the silky effect of long exposures of water, but it didn't do it for me this time. F/13.

Here's another view over the North Fork Quinault. F/18.

Next, an old-growth cedar trunk. The highlights did get a bit overexposed (especially upper right). F/16.

One last view of the North Fork Quinault River. I like the color contrast between the river and the berries on the left. F/16.

That's all for now! I'm sad that my camping season might be over, but I'm grateful that I got three solid trips in this year. Besides, fall often ends up being a good time for hiking and photography, so I still have some fun outdoor times to look forward to this year!

Trout Lake

Yesterday, I took a short hike to Trout Lake in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. I wanted a hike that I could do with ample time for photo stops before the heat of the day. The trail goes on to other lakes, one of which I visited on a prior hike (more than ten years ago!). When I did that, though, due to the distance and elevation gain, I was barely able to make it back to the trailhead in daylight after having taken time for photo stops. The higher lakes are beautiful, so maybe sometime I'll camp nearby and get started on the hike right at dawn, when I can get at least some of the climbing done before the hottest part of the day (perhaps even in a slightly cooler weather pattern) and not feel rushed.

Here's my favorite image from the morning, looking over Trout Lake with fireweed in the foreground. F/5.

Here's Trout Lake again, with the sky visible this time; I like the wispy clouds. There's a bit of haze visible, perhaps from wildfire smoke, but thankfully it didn't obscure the view too much. F/16.

Next, another fireweed shot. I was taking a bit of a risk with the high contrast here, but it highlights the early-morning feel, which I like. F/4.5.

Other than the lake, there's a lot to see on the short hike, including some views of the surrounding topography, the West Fork Foss River, and a handful of massive trees. Due to the lighting contrast, I didn't try to do any deep-woods or river photography. But I was able to get this shot of a cool cliff face visible through an opening in the forest. F/14.

Salt Spring Island

I recently returned from a multi-night camping trip on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia! We stayed at Ruckle Provincial Park, which has a walk-in campground with a stunning eastward view over the water. "Walk-in" literally means walk-in - we had to use a one-handled wheelbarrow to carry our gear the quarter mile from the car to the campsite. This would have been annoying for a shorter trip, but for three nights at the campsite, it felt worthwhile.

The scenic highlight of the trip might have been getting to see the full moon rise over the water. I hadn't checked any moon information before I left, so it was a pleasant surprise! Early in the trip, I noticed that the moon was nearly full, so I was ready with my camera gear for the images you'll see below on a subsequent night.

First, a composition with a narrow depth of field. I like the strong sense of depth in this one. F/6.3.

Here's another composition from the same vantage point, with a wider focal length and depth of field. It's not quite as striking in the small format of a computer or phone screen, but I think it would look good at a print size. F/14.

On our first morning on the island, I spent some time meandering the trails of Ruckle Provincial Park itself. I enjoyed being able to start a hike without a drive, and the trails visited a lot of outcroppings and bays with views over the water. The winds were somewhat breezy that morning; in this image, I tried to work with that by using a longer exposure to intentionally blur the grass. I think it works. F/18, 1/6 of a second.

Next, a view from another of the outcroppings, with Garry oak trees in the foreground. I have mixed feelings about the amount of empty sky at the top right, but zooming in further would have eliminated either the cool branch shapes at the top of the image, or the colorful madrone tree at the lower right, and I was simply too attached to both. F/14.

On the theme of madrones, here are two more landscapes featuring these trees, along with the coastal views characteristic of the park. Both F/16.

Next, a sunrise from my final morning at Ruckle. Processing sunrise shots is tricky; they always remain a work in progress until I am able to see them in print. I don't know whether this is an issue unique to my camera, but I've had issues with the brightest parts of a sunrise or sunset showing up as green once printed. F/14.

I also had some fun photographing the rocks on the shore just before sunrise. I'm not sure why the lighting ended up being so uneven, but I still like the picture. F/14.

While camping, we also took a quick trip to Mount Erskine Provincial Park, which features a short and occasionally steep/rough hike to a viewpoint. With the very bright conditions, I had trouble getting a lot of good shots, but I like the one below, looking toward Vancouver Island. The water color really was that striking. F/14.

That's all for now! I enjoyed the chance to take a longer trip, and to do photography in situations I usually don't - in a beach setting, at sunrise/sunset, and involving the moon. Hopefully I'll get the chance to try more new things this summer - stay tuned!

Esmeralda Basin 2024

First camping trip of 2024 is in the books! I went with a tried-and-true destination: the Teanaway area, to hike the Esmeralda Basin trail. This is one of my favorite hikes because there are usually plenty of early-season wildflowers, the uphill grade is fairly reasonable, and the views from Fortune Creek Pass are stunning. This time, I was able to manage my time so that I was able to spend ample time at the pass and work on several different shots. Due to the wet and cool June we've had, the wildflowers were a bit early in their cycle - no lupine yet, for instance - but the early bloomers were still abundant.

First, some phlox; best guess is spreading phlox (Phlox diffusa). I don't think I've photographed these before! Certainly not recently. F/4.5.

Next, Columbia lewisia (Lewisia columbiana). I can't get enough of those striped petals. I've photographed these before here, but it's been a long time, so it's nice to have a new perspective of them. F/4.5.

This next one is from the pass at the end of the hike; I found these little white flowers blooming there that I haven't seen or noticed before. I think it's a variety of anemone, and I have it narrowed down to two - Drummond's anemone (Anemone drummondii) or cliff anemone (Anemone multifida). I'm guessing the former due to the small size. F/4.5.

There were a lot of fun little gardens of shooting star blooming throughout the hike, particularly near streams; here's one such scene. Best guess is Jeffrey's shooting star (Primula jeffreyi), although there are several species of shooting star in Washington. F/6.3.

The last of the wildflowers is scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata). F/5.

Now for some mountain views! Here's Mount Daniel from the pass. F/16.

Lastly, Hawkins Mountain. I thought the foreground trees were interesting - some of them are growing upright, and some are growing in more of a dense mat, perhaps due to the harsh and windy climate at the pass. F/18.

That's all for now. Enjoy the improving weather!