Autumn Leaves and Summer Skies

A few days ago, I hiked some of the Perry Creek trail off the Mountain Loop Highway. Although the scenery of late spring and early summer will always be my favorite - I can't get enough of those wildflowers, as you know - this time of year is great for hiking in and of itself. There aren't as many bugs, trails are likely to be dry and clear, creeks are easy to cross, and the weather is typically dry but not hot. These were all true of the Perry Creek Trail, and overall, the hike was a very enjoyable summer-meets-fall situation. On the one hand, the sunshine was warm, with cumulus clouds overhead, and much of the foliage was still green. On the other, the vine maples were starting to show autumn colors, and shaded areas in the morning had that distinctive September chill.

First, a view down the Perry Creek valley toward Hall Peak. I like the look of the clouds in this one, and was excited about this composition because I don't typically do a lot of sky photography. F/18.

Next, one with a similar concept, but with the vine maple branches and leaves more prominently featured. F/18.

Here's an image from my turnaround point, at Perry Creek Falls. The trail sits above most of the waterfall, but the parts that can be seen safely are still nice. F/16, 3 seconds.

Below, a view up the valley early in the morning. I like the distinct color zones in this image, and the sunlit area at the top, although the overall composition isn't as eye-catching as this view was in person. F/16.

Next, two more views of the valley featuring early-autumn colors. In the second of this pair, there aren't any obvious straight lines (e.g. tree trunks), making the perspective effect less distracting. (The lens was at an upward angle, which would have made straight lines appear to converge. I dealt with this a lot last year when shooting downward into valleys; see the final image in this post). F/18 and F/16, respectively. 

Finally, bigleaf maple leaves and seeds, with Hall Peak in the background. Given the high-contrast lighting, this one turned out better than I had expected. F/5.6.

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.

Before the Rain

Yesterday, I hiked one of my favorite trails, the Palisades Lakes trail in Mount Rainier National Park. It has become something of an annual tradition to visit this trail in August for the incredible lupine meadows. In contrast to last year's sunshine, the day started overcast, with a mid-morning drizzle steadily intensifying and becoming a pouring, driving rain by afternoon. Now I know that I prefer this trail on a sunny day. With clouds obscuring views of the Palisades and other peaks, the trail wasn't as much fun, and there were long stretches of the hike exposed to rain. I'm glad I went, but I don't think I would go back on an overcast/showery day.

First, an image from Sunrise Point. I don't know what the peaks are in the distance, but I was looking more or less south. F/10.

Next, a lupine meadow along the trail. The lupine were well past peak in most of the meadows - I didn't visit any later this year than last, but I suspect the heat and lack of rain this summer have been accelerating the wildflower cycle. Still, I was happy to find some nice flower displays remaining. F/16.

Finally, Clover Lake, with lupine in the foreground. The selective focus approach I took isn't as compelling in this image as I hoped it would be - I think the foreground around the in-focus lupine is a bit busy - but I still think it works. It would probably look better printed; I've found that the small viewing size on computers and especially phones can lessen the impact of selective focus. F/6.3.

Snow Lake on a Wednesday

On Wednesday, I braved the iconic and notoriously crowded Snow Lake near Snoqualmie Pass. The trail was fairly busy as it was, but it helped that pretty much everyone was considerate and even cheerful (People asked about my photographic process and offered to move out of my camera's line of sight, which are two things I don't usually get). Luckily, I had a little lakeshore spot to myself for a few minutes, so I still experienced some solitude at this well-loved place. While the lake itself was certainly worth the visit, I'm not sure how often I'll be going back. The trail is very rocky, to the point of being annoying. Furthermore, the first few miles traverse brushy avalanche and talus areas; if I'm going to hike in an environment like that, I'd rather do it somewhere like nearby Gold Greek, which is lusher, flatter, less rocky, and much quieter.

First, my favorite image of the day: Snow Lake itself, with a bit of a reflection visible, and submerged rocks in the foreground. A few minutes later, the water was even calmer, leading to a more crisp reflection. But the colors were more vivid in this one, and although I'm not quite sure why, the detail quality ended up better as well. F/16, 1/30 of a second.

Here's another view of the lake, from a slightly more elevated vantage point. F/14.

Next, a new wildflower! I think it's spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium). F/5.6.

Finally, a scene that shows pink mountain-heather, or mountain-heath (Phyllodoce empetriformis) blooming near the lake. F/16.

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.