Gold Creek

Yesterday, I went to the Gold Creek trail near Snoqualmie Pass, taking advantage of the even overcast lighting in the morning. The advantage of the Gold Creek Trail is that there are some quite scenic sections early on that can be reached without too much effort, allowing me to get the most out of the early morning. Another advantage is that, compared to other trails along the I-90 corridor, it's lightly used. This gives me time to set my tripod on the trail and get a proper composition without tripping anyone.

Something unique about this trip was that I made frequent use of the heavy artillery - for I think the first three images, definitely the first and third, I used my ultra wide lens. Sometimes it feels a bit silly carrying it around, given that I use it far less often than the other lenses, but it can sure come in handy.

First, a shot looking across the valley with some tiger lilies in the background; this is near the beginning of the trail. Although you can't see all of the peaks in the distance, the clouds were starting to get interesting. With some tasteful touching up, the clouds would look even better. F/25.

Next is a little clump of some scarlet paintbrush from nearby. F/25.

Next, from farther along the trail, is a view of the hemlock forest that characterizes much of the valley. F/18.

The forest depicted above (which also includes other trees like silver fir) alternates with brushy areas filled with willows, vine maple alder, and wildflowers. Below is one such spot, with thimbleberry flowers in the foreground and Sitka valerian behind them. F/25.

Lastly, a new flower, at least to my photography: rosy twistedstalk, Streptopus roseus. F/3.8.