Rainy Day at Greenwater

Last weekend, I hiked to the Greenwater Lakes near Enumclaw. I chose this short, easy hike because rain was predicted to fall in the afternoon, and I wanted to have as much quality photography time as possible earlier in the day. Although it did indeed rain, and maybe a bit earlier than forecast, it wasn't as much of a problem as I expected. Generally speaking, the rain was light and intermittent until mid-afternoon, and the dense old-growth forest canopy offered protection.

First, the Greenwater River itself. F/16, 0.4 seconds.

Next, a calmer stretch of the Greenwater River, near one of the lakes. F/18.

Next, calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa) blooming on the forest floor. These can be hard to photograph, because the forest floor environment in which they grow tends to be dark and visually unappealing. But openings in the canopy and moss on the forest floor solved these problems. F/7.1.

Here's another flower that brightened the otherwise overwhelmingly green environment: vine maple (Acer circinatum). One of the Greenwater Lakes is in the background; I would have liked it to be more clearly discernible than it is, but I still like this composition. F/14.

I'm a big fan of hiking in old-growth forests, so the trail's big trees are always a treat. Here's a shot of a particularly impressive Douglas fir, with a cedar in the background. F/16.

Here's another forest shot, with devil's club in the foreground. F/18.

Lastly, I took a couple pictures of the Greenwater Lakes themselves. Here's the first, with vine maple in the foreground. F/18.

And below, the second of the Greenwater Lakes. F/14.