Teanaway Sunshine

About a week ago, I was able to revisit the Esmeralda Basin trail in the Teanaway area. It is probably one of my top ten favorite hikes - it has great views, there are plenty of wildflowers along the way, and the elevation gain is satisfying but not exhausting. After the heat we've had, I was a bit apprehensive about the wildflower situation, as I've seen anecdotal reports that flowers and foliage got fried in some areas. Thankfully, plenty of wildflowers were left, and I was doubly fortunate that there was no wildfire activity or smoke in the area. I had to contend with bright sunshine and gusty winds, but I was still able to make some pictures work.

First, a meadow of scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) and other flowers. F/16.

Here's another meadow, with paintbrush (genus Castilleja) in the foreground. F/16.

Next, western red columbine (Aquilegia formosa) with a small stream in the background. I used a middle-ground aperture of F/8 and set the focus point to the flowers. This blurred the background while still keeping the stream recognizable (a wider aperture would have made the background a shapeless blur, and a narrow aperture would have made it too busy).

I got a closeup of a new flower! I'm thinking it's something in the orchid family, probably white orchid (Platanthera dilatata). F/6.3.

The flowers and views get all the glory in the Teanaway, but the trees are nice too. I like the scene below because, although the trees remain the highlight, the viewer still gets a sense of the surrounding terrain. F/18.

Finally, two views from the upper reaches of the trail. Below is a view back down the basin of the North Fork Teanaway River. The trail at this point is a bit narrow, and in the past I haven't stopped in this area for photos due to the difficulty of moving my tripod and gear to let another hiker pass - I'd essentially have to dismantle everything. Trail traffic was light enough this time, though, that I was able to chance it. F/13.

Next, Hawkins Mountain from the end of my hike at Fortune Creek Pass. Gusty winds were blowing at the pass, and I had to put several additional layers on to eat lunch, only to immediately shed them once I began my descent (which was leeward). F/14.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

Olympic Extravaganza part 2: Mountains

It's time for the long-awaited second blog post about my trip to the Olympic Peninsula! Before heading toward the coast, my girlfriend and I spent three nights at the Deer Park campground on the northeast side of the national park. The weather was very warm and sunny, but not nearly as oppressively hot as in the lowlands, and there were some shady spots in the campground to relax in during the afternoons. Deer Park is pretty high in elevation for a car campground - around 5,000 feet - and there are great views everywhere.

Deer Park to Maiden Peak

The first hike we did was the Deer Park to Maiden Peak route, heading west from the campground. Below is the view from the slopes of Maiden Peak, near our turnaround point. The lighting is harsh in this one, but I like the grand sweep of the view, and how the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Dungeness Spit, and Mount Baker are all visible in the distance. F/20.

Next, avalanche lilies blooming in the forest. F/6.3.

Deer Ridge

The next morning, we hiked east from the campground, along the Deer Ridge trail. It seemed quieter than the Deer Park to Maiden Peak route; maybe that's because it isn't really featured in day hiking guides. (More frequently, I see route descriptions that start at Slab Camp and hike steeply to Deer Ridge from the other direction). That's surprising, because the first couple miles feature amazing views with almost no elevation change. A short, easy hike fit the bill for this particular morning, as we could be back at the campground resting in the shade for the hottest part of the day.

Here's a view looking out over the Gray Wolf River valley, with paintbrush blooming in the foreground. F/14.

Below, a closeup of Olympic onion, or scalloped onion (Allium crenulatum). F/5.

Blue Mountain

A trip to Deer Park wouldn't be complete without visiting Blue Mountain, a nearby summit with an easy trail to fabulous views. If I recall correctly, it's the site of a former fire lookout; with views in every direction, it's easy to see why.

First, a mountain view with some interesting rocks in the foreground. F/18.

Next, evening sunlight streaming into a valley below. F/14.

 

We stayed on Blue Mountain until sunset. I had some trouble getting good compositions in the changing light, but I am still happy I got to see sunset up there. Here's a view out to Mount Baker, faintly visible in the haze. F/16.

I really like how the light in the next one turned out, more than I expected. Unfortunately, if you look closely, there are a couple little splotches of light where bugs caught the sunlight and became visible in the composition. Maybe they aren't too obtrusive, though. F/14.

Campground and Vicinity

The views from near the campground are noteworthy in their own right. The campground loop roads have decent vantage points, and a few short trails lead to even better viewpoints. Here are some compositions from the evenings, progressively closer to sunset. I'm not sure which I like best. The bleached wood in the second is very striking, but the sky in that one ended up a bit uneven. The first F/14 and the others F/16.

Finally, a view of the moon on our last morning there. F/16.

 

Olympic Extravaganza Part 1: Coast

I just returned from a multi-night camping trip on the Olympic Peninsula! The goal was to beat the forecast heat by seeking either high elevation or proximity to the coast. While not entirely successful - the heat and sunshine were still considerable at times - I was able to avoid the worst of it (particularly considering the fact that that my plan for the week had originally been to visit some locations in southeast Washington!).

In this post, I'll cover my time near the coast, when I stayed at Kalaloch Campground and explored the nearby trails and beaches. At Ruby Beach, the most spectacular of the beaches I visited due to its huge sea stacks, I was unable to get any pictures I liked, due to unflattering lighting and crowded conditions. I had better luck earlier in the morning at Beach 4, which has plenty of interesting features in its own right, including tidepools and rock formations. Below, some rocks showing what I believe to be evidence of honeycomb weathering. F/18.

Next, more cool rock formations just above the beach. I'm assuming that this is something sedimentary in origin, but I'm not a geologist by any means. F/16.

While staying at the Kalaloch Campground, I also checked out the short Kalaloch Nature Trail, a short loop through lush forest. Below, a view of a Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), with large burls visible. Apparently, these growths are a result of disease, infestation, or environmental stress (in the case of coastal forests like this one, salt spray from the ocean). F/16.

Next, closeups of some of the flowers along the trail. Below is salal (Gaultheria shallon), F/9.

And here is Cooley's hedge-nettle (Stachys cooleyae), F/6.3.

Coming up next, part two of my Olympic Peninsula travels, this time from the high elevations of the Deer Park area! Stay tuned.

Bright Day at Emmons Moraine

On Saturday, I hiked the Emmons Moraine trail, a favorite of mine on a clear day due to the great views of Mount Rainier, Little Tahoma, and the headwaters of the White River. I had been there twice before, in June 2019 and again in September 2020. Just like those earlier visits, I had to contend with harsh lighting. Nevertheless, it was a fun challenge to try to find new perspectives on the place.

First, my favorite shot of the day: Mount Rainier over the White River, near the campground. Due to the brightness of the scene, I surmised that my usual strategy of trying to blur the water's motion with a slow shutter speed would be unsuccessful. Instead, I aimed for as fast of a shutter speed as I could manage with decent depth of field. F/14, 1/160 of a second.

As I mentioned earlier, I'd been to Emmons Moraine twice before, both times under sunny skies, and I didn't want my pictures to look identical to those from the earlier visits. So I did a little experimenting with narrow-depth-of-field shots. Here's one with a pine tree in the foreground, and Little Tahoma in the background. F/6.3.

Next, another image with a similar narrow-depth-of-field concept, looking down the White River valley. F/5.6.

Below, two more "conventional" shots of the Emmons Moraine area, with a wide depth of field. Compositionally, I think they're my best yet, although the harsh lighting is even more of a problem and might merit some additional fine-tuning. Both F/18.

Finally, a view across the White River valley from the trail. I wish the foreground leaves and background trees were more distinct from each other in the lower third of this image, but I still like the composition. F/14.

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.

Along the Sauk River

Over Memorial Day weekend, my girlfriend and I were fortunate enough to stay at a campsite at the Bedal Campground near Darrington. When I booked the trip (months ago), I had high hopes that the Mountain Loop Highway would be fully open, allowing access to Goat Lake and hikes on the south side of the loop like Perry Creek. Alas, the segment between Bedal and Barlow Pass remained closed to vehicles. As a result, hiking options were rather limited. Thankfully, the Mountain Loop Highway immediately south of the campground made for excellent road walking - mountain and river views and even some old growth. We also managed to get out on one true "hike," which I'll get to later in the post.

Bedal Campground and Vicinity

First, the South Fork Sauk River and a mountain beyond (maybe the Twin Peaks? I'm not sure). F/18, 0.4 seconds.

Here's the same view, horizontal. Somehow, I don't find it as convincing - I don't think the composition leads the eye to the mountain as well. But it's still fine, and would be the one to use in something like a calendar. F/18, 0.4 seconds.

Next, a small stream along the Mountain Loop Highway. I was worried about the lighting being too harsh, but the trees filtered the early morning sunshine sufficiently. F/14, 3 seconds.

Here's a view over the Sauk River near the campground. This was a risk, in terms of both the high-contrast lighting and how busy the composition is. You can see enough of the river and hills to make it interesting, though, and having the trees all aligned helps. F/14.

Next, another experiment, this one from near the campground just after sunrise. I'm not sure if the mountain is as vivid as it needs to be, although it'd be worth seeing this one in print to make that final decision. F/18.

Below are two more views of the South Fork Sauk River from the road. I took the first at F/16, 2.5 seconds; the second at F/18, 0.8 seconds.

Next, some of the aforementioned old growth along the road. Some clouds came along and filtered the sunlight at just the right moment; otherwise, the lighting would have been too harsh. F/16.

Old Sauk River Trail

One hike that we were able to complete was the Old Sauk River Trail. The water levels were so high that some of my usual favorite river access areas were submerged! There was still plenty of quality river scenery, though. Here's my favorite shot from the hike, with morning light illuminating a red alder tree and the Sauk River beyond. F/16, 1/5 of a second.

Next, the Sauk River viewed through ferns. I like the idea behind this one, but in practice, I don't know whether the greens of the ferns and the background trees are distinct enough from one another. F/18, 1/4 of a second.

Finally, a shot from the lush forest along the trail. I like the jungle vibe that the maple leaves are giving off here. F/16.

That's all for now, but I just finished going through the pictures from a more recent hike, so take heart - there will be another long post here before long!