Dungeness River

For the second time this year, I was recently able to camp on the Olympic Peninsula, this time at the Dungeness Forks Campground on the northeast side. It's really not all that far from Sequim and Highway 101, but it is small and feels very remote. For my day hike I chose the Upper Dungeness River. The forecast was for overcast skies, so I didn't feel the need to seek big mountain views. My map also suggested that the trail would follow the river very closely. In this regard, I wasn't disappointed: the river is in sight for a large portion of the hike, with plenty of opportunities to wander down to the banks. The forested surroundings are also scenic, with some gnarly old Douglas first to keep things interesting.

First, two early-morning views of the Dungeness River from the trail, with red alder branches in the foreground. Weather conditions were clearer than I expected, and the blue skies above made the color temperature of the lighting in the shaded forest very "cool" (bluish). In person, the eye corrects for this, but the colors in a photograph taken under these conditions can end up looking very exaggerated. Thankfully, since I shoot in RAW, this is easy to correct using the white balance sliders in Lightroom. Both F/16, 10 seconds.

My turnaround point was Camp Handy, which is three-ish miles from the trailhead. There are some grassy meadows and wide gravel bars where you can view the river and the hillsides beyond, which is a fun contrast to the dense forests of the rest of the hike. Here's an image from the area. F/18.

Next, the trunk of an old Douglas fir, with the river visible in the background. F/14.

Below is what I believe to be Sitka mountain ash growing along the banks of Royal Creek. F/6.3. I also tried this with a narrow aperture for a wider depth of field, so both the creek and the fruits would be in focus. It wasn't as compelling, though; the additional detail in the background forest was a bit distracting.

Here's a closeup of an aster (I'm not sure which species; there are a lot of asters in Washington State, and I'm not good at telling them apart). F/16.

The Dungeness Forks Campground, situated at the confluence of the Dungeness and Gray Wolf rivers, is also quite scenic. When I arrived, about midday on a Thursday, most of the campsites were unoccupied, giving me many choices for finding riverbanks to explore. Here is an image from my favorite spot. F/18, 0.6 seconds.