Emmons Moraine and the White River

Back in the halcyon days of a breathable atmosphere, my girlfriend and I went camping at the White River Campground in Mount Rainier National Park, hiking the Emmons Moraine trail while we were there. Other than a few hours of passing haze, conditions were great and the air was clear. We drove back only to find several wildfires to avoid, smoky skies, and road closures (the return trip took about three times as long as had the journey over). It was a jarring situation after such a fun and peaceful trip.

Emmons Moraine trail

First, the big highlight of the hike, the view over Emmons Moraine itself toward Mount Rainier, glaciers, and the headwaters of the White River. F/14.

The trail crosses the Inter Fork of the White River on a footbridge, and I thought its swift waters might be scenic, despite the harsh sunlight. When photographing moving water, I usually opt for a long exposure to blur the water's motion, but the brightness made that difficult. Thankfully, I like the effect of the faster shutter speed here. F/14, 1/30 second.

Below, an unnamed (I think) lake viewed from the trail. The breezes kept changing the pattern of the sun reflections on the water's surface, so I had to wait a few minutes for this to look the way I envisioned it (and for the sun reflections to not be a solid, overexposed mass). F/18.

White River Campground

I also did some photography in the vicinity of the campground, with both compositions involving the White River in some way. First, a peaceful early morning view. The natural curvature of the trees pictured here has the unintended effect of looking like wide-angle, almost fisheye-type distortion. I'm not sure what the effect is for the average viewer, but for me it's distracting. F/14.

 

Next, a closer view of the turbulent waters of the White River. The sky color is a bit muted, but that's actually a somewhat accurate representation of the scene, as smoke was passing through the air at the time. I'll probably have to do some more work to brighten things up. F/14, 1/25 second.

That's all for now. I'm sure all of my Washington readers are as anxious as I am for the time to come when we can actually breathe outside. When that happens, watch this space for more adventures. Until then, stay safe and hang in there!