Mount St. Helens and Flowers

I've just returned from Glacier National Park, and have had a busy day cleaning, organizing, etc. You know, all the things you have to do upon returning from an extended trip! The family is beat as to be expected - hey, we played hard!

The trip was excellent, and I am in the middle of editing images now. They will follow shortly, rest assured!

In the meantime, I realize I have not shared my last trip to Mount St. Helens yet, which included a supreme flower show. May I?

I drove down to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument on a Saturday afternoon after celebrating my daughter's 7th birthday at an amusement park. I was beat before I got started!

What a difference a few weeks makes. Three weeks prior, my daughter and hiked up to St. Helens Lake, finding snow above 4,500' and a frozen lake.

This was a much different setting, with wildflowers ablaze across the landscape from the very beginning of the trail. I arrived under blue skies, but as predicted, clouds began moving in from the west creating some very dramatic light. Half an hour before sunset the clouds consumed the mountain for the evening.

I left the Johnstone Ridge parking lot at 9:00 pm for my next destination - Windy Ridge.

Just as I was about to the Windy Ridge parking lot, I saw a little bit of fog. Then BAM! I was in a white out! Solid white. I had to come to a complete stop as I couldn't even see 10' in front of me. I tried to roll ahead slowly, but couldn't. I waited for a break and finally got a quick glimpse of a white paint line on the pavement - a parking stall. I carefully pulled the truck in and parked it. The wind was howling and the clouds were just screaming over the parking lot. It was midnight.

I grabbed my headlamp and got out of the truck to look for the TH and figure out where in the parking lot I was. I couldn't find it and decided to just hope for better conditions in the morning. I began to return to the truck, but couldn't find it. I wandered and wandered. I had only ventured about 50-60' away from it, but somehow got disoriented. Finally after about 10 minutes my headlamp caught the side reflector of my truck.


I had planned to sleep in the bed of the truck, but conditions were too unpleasant. So I set my alarm for 4:00 am and reclined the drivers seat.

Wake up time came and conditions had not changed. I snoozed another 45 minutes and awoke to lighter skies. I successfully located the TH and was somewhat embarrassed at how close I was actually parked to it.

I grabbed my gear and began my hike in the still heavy fog. About 200 yards up the trail, I emerged out of the fog to clear skies and clouds filling the valley below. Mt. Adams was clear in the distance. What a difference escaping the Windy Ridge parking lot (low point in the ridge) meant.

I arrived at the Truman-Abraham Saddle as first light began to highlight the clouds above the peak.

From the junction I went up, following the Abraham Trail up a ridge with fantastic views. Wildflowers were out in force, influencing my pace substantially.

Soon I arrived at the Plains of Abraham, and remembered just how barren this landscape is. I walked south for a ways before returning to the junction and setting my sights on Windy Pass.

The Windy Trail has suffered from serious erosion and washout, and is difficult to follow in stretches. As it climbs to the pass, erosion has created some exposed stretches as you traverse the steep hillside. From the pass the trail descends steeply, and again goes thru some washouts at a couple of steep gully crossings.

But there was reward at the end of my descent. Pumice Plains was carpeted with lupine! I have never seen lupine in such abundance before. The ground was a solid purple, and the perfume was so intense I wished I could bottle it. What a treat the senses to absorb.

Finally, it was time to return to the truck for the long drive home.

August Issue of Backpacker

Be sure and check out the current issue of Backpacker magazine on newstands now. It includes another one of my images of Mount Olympus from my traverse of the Bailey Range a few years ago.

Not only was this a very successful trip for me, it has also furnished a number of images that have seen the pages of various publications, probably more than any other trip I have done. It's a trip I would like to repeat soon.

I coupled this traverse with the Skyline High Route for a fantastic 8 day trip crossing the Olympic Mountains from north to south, starting at Sol Duc and finishing at Lake Quinault. I highly recommend this trip for its fantastic scenery, solitude and abundant wildlife.

This image was taken at the very begining of the trip, just above camp near The Catwalk on the shoulder of Cat Peak. It affords a pretty excellent view of the Mount Olympus massif and is a non-technical, albeit long, destination.

Hurricane Hill, Olympic National Park

At the end of Hurricane Ridge, a very worthwhile destination in its own right, lies a sweet former lookout known as Hurricane Hill. While you will be hard pressed to view Mount Olympus from here, the Bailey Range that the Greek goddess is hiding behind is impressive. Add to that views of Port Angeles, the Straight of Juan de Fuca and Vancouver Island, and you will feel like you won the lotto!

Until the 1950's, a road actually existed all the way to it's summit, where a lookout cabin was perched. Both are gone now, though the base of the cabin still exists. It's not hard to understand why someone would want to spend extended time in such a beautiful place.

Today Hurricane Hill is reached by a short trail - 1.4 miles long to be exact. Since it starts high, the entire distance has supreme views as it traverses through meadows. Wildlife is plentiful as well; we saw three bears, several marmots and many dear while enjoying our hike last weekend. When I returned in the evening for photography, I was greeted by a mother grouse and her chicks. Well, greeted might not be the right term. I don't think they were happy that I was sitting and laying on their section of the trail for these shots!

The Hurricane Hill trail is totally melted out right now, and flowers are out in force. They were a little early during our visit, but I suspect that they will peak in the coming week - possibly this weekend?

This visit was considerably different than my first visit to the area on a winter overnight snowshoe several years ago!

If you are looking for a place to take the family, including young ones, this is a great choice. Hurricane Ridge is just a short drive up from the town of Port Angeles. For nearby camping, consider Heart of the Hills campground just inside the park entrance, a personal favorite of mine.

Of course, Hurricane Ridge alone is worth a visit,
with its expansive views into the interior of the range and...oh, I guess I already covered that. I hope you find time to visit this wonderful gem!

New Web Site!

I'm excited to announce that I have gone LIVE with my new web site! Yes, the address is the same; only the presentation has changed!

This has been a taxing project because it has involved more than just a redesign. This is a brand new web site, built from the ground up. I say the ground up, because I went back and diligently worked with each image, using newer photo editing software and technique for web presentation.

It's still a work in progress; I have many out-of-state galleries to complete yet, and will do so soon. Check back often!

I hope you enjoy this new representation of my work.

www.mountainscenes.com

Busy, Busy, Busy!

June was a slow month of blog updates for me. I have multiple projects I've been wrapped up in, and had actually hoped to have announcements out by now for for two of the bigger ones. I also still have all my Death Valley images from early April to edit and share, with my Glacier National Park trip just a few weeks away! No stress here!

My first project has been an update of my web site. Well, update is not accurate. It's a brand new web site. It's been a bigger project than originally planned as I realized I wanted to slim down the content, and re-edit my images using more current software and digital darkroom technique. I am also being much more thorough with my SEO on each individual page and image. It's been a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it.

My second major project isn't quite ready for sharing yet - sorry. You'll just have to stay tuned!

A Fun Day at Mount St. Helens

Last Sunday I spent a wonderful time with my daughter down at Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. We hiked the Boundary Trail from the Johnstone Ridge Observatory up to the Spillover saddle, then up to St. Helens Lake.

This is a pretty gentle trail, but does have some exposed areas where its best to hold the hands of young ones. Of course, the views are outstanding!

We encountered snow shortly above the Spillover, at around 4,500'. The snow was patchy until reaching the ridge saddle above St. Helens Lake where it became continuous. The lake itself was still mostly frozen.

It was a fun afternoon on the trail, with round trip stats of 10 miles, ~1,000' elevation gain. Of course, that was a lot of mileage for the feet of a 6 year-old, and her dogs were barking by the time we reached the truck.

This changed my evening photography plans. I had hoped to backtrack along the trail about 1/2 a mile or so for evening photography. But her feet were done and wouldn't allow that. So instead I found my favorite location near the JRO and looked for an interesting composition other than the one I have shot several times before, which includes an interesting tree for the foreground. I couldn't find anything else that interested me. So I set up yet again to incorporate that dang tree. But I couldn't do it. Not again.

So I packed up and we headed back to the truck to search for a different location.

I didn't search far as I had one in mind: The Castle Lake Overlook. I think it was a good choice. It's further west from the JRO, which takes away the views into the crater. However it offers more of the west slopes of the mountain, which catch the evening light nicely. I think it was a nice trade off.

This sequence of pictures demonstrate the progression of the shadow of the earth and the belt of Venus. Just after sunset, a flat blue band rises up from the eastern horizon. This is the earth's shadow, which is cast upon our own atmosphere from the setting sun. The pink above it is known as the belt of Venus. Eventually, the blue band grows larger and larger as the pink disappears, signalling the end to the day and offering a welcome to the stars that will follow.

Nice way to spend an evening, isn't it?

Edit: While photographing the mountain, I met Ray Stinson, an astronomer from Tacoma, WA. Ray showed up with his wife in time to photograph sunset, but his main goal was to capture the constellations above St. Helens after nightfall. He teaches astronomy during the summer at the St. Mary's Visitor Center in Glacier National Park. I look forward to looking him up during my visit there next month.

Olympic National Park in June

June is a wonderful time to visit Olympic National Park, especially for rain forests and waterfalls. New growth has plants colored in a fresh light green, temperatures are warm enough that snow is melting in the higher elevations to create larger volume flow in streams, and lets face it - chances of rain in June is excellent (especially this year) making for wonderful photographs of such subject matter!

A couple weeks ago I visited two of my favorite waterfalls in the park: Marymere Falls and Sol Duc (or Soleduck, depending on your preference) Falls. Neither one disappointed!

Marymere Falls is accessed from the the Fairholm Ranger Station on Lake Crescent. It's a short trail that begins with a tunnel under Highway 101, then proceeds to travel through the lush forest of the Barnes Creek drainage. It's a beautiful rain forest full of moss and ferns.

The Sol Duc trail head is probably my favorite trail head in Olympic National Park. It serves as the starting point for such high aspirations as High Divide, Appleton Pass and the Bailey Range - all incredible high country destinations and some of the best the park has to offer.

However, it also offers one of the parks most beautiful waterfalls: Sol Duc Falls.

Sol Duc Falls is reached in a short 3/4 mile hike and is absolutely stunning - especially in June when the snow is melting in the high country. The falls are turbulent and exciting to witness. Many vantages exist, whether from the bridge crossing, one of the observation decks, or a more creative angle.

These waterfalls are a short drive from one another, and definitely worth your time. For an added bonus, the Hoh Rain Forest can be added to the itinerary in the same day.

Olympic Peninsula "The Red Book"

My good friend Dale McKee has joined me on many backcountry excursions, and as a willing model, has appeared in several publications.

This image in particular has appeared in three seperate publications - the latest being the Olympic Peninsual "Red Book", published by Vernon Publications. It appears as a half page layout in their latest directory.

Dale has received free copies of all publications he has appeared in, a promise I make to all who model for me (the condition being that I can secure a copy).

Other published images of Dale include high on Mt. Rainier, and near a crevasse on the Blue Glacier of Mt. Olympus.

Thanks Dale!

The Fun of Preparing Prints

This last weekend I worked on a couple of prints for some clients, and found myself reconnecting with the images on my screen. I hadn't viewed them in a while, and I found myself reminiscing a bit.

This may surprise you, but I don't spend a lot of time "admiring" my images. Frankly, after hours of editing I need a break from them. I don't know if it is this way with other photographers; I can't remember ever asking. But it is certainly the case with me.

When I prepare prints I spend a lot of time evaluating the smallest details for correctness, which means viewing the image at 100% and viewing sections of it at time (think 16x24 image in real size on your monitor). In this case, the memory process kicked in as I remembered why I did certain things while composing the image - sizing up the scene, the placement of filters, working with the light, etc. The love affair started all over again. Not the love for the image, but rather the thought process that takes place behind the camera, which is where the fun is for photographers (it sure isn't sitting in front of the computer!)

These images, though both of Mt. Rainier, were taken at much different times. The first one is from near The Skyline Trail in August during the peak of flower season. Mt. Rainier offers some of the best flower shows our state has to offer, and can be an incredible experience to witness. You also stand to find yourself in good company. I ran into John Shaw and Jamie and Judy Wild on this day.

The second image was taken in the fall (October) from Bench Lake. I beat it up the dark trail with headlamp in hopes of catching alpenglow at sunrise, reflected in the lake. As often happens, Mother Nature had different plans and partially obscured the mountain with clouds. It was my first visit to this lake, and I was fascinated by it. As I watched the scene before me warm with the rising sun, the colors on the slopes drew light while the clouds thinned around the mountain, revealing a cloud cap. This view lasted a mere 10-15 minutes before the mountain disappeared again in deteriorating weather. I drove back home in the rain.

It was fun reliving these memories.

More Death Valley?

Yes, there will be much, MUCH more Death Valley coming soon. I have gotten busy with some publishing projects, and consumed by designing my new web site. I hope to offer a sneak peak soon, and go live shortly after. Stay tuned!

Zabriske Point - Death Valley National Park

Zabriske Point has so much history associated with it, beginning with Christian Brevoot Zabriske, whom it was named after. Zabriske was the vice-president and general manager of the Pacific Coast Borax Company, which used its iconic twenty-mule teams to transport Borax from this heavily mined area (one doesn't have to venture far to run into "Danger - Keep Out" signs).

In 1970, a movie of the same title included a soundtrack by Pink Floyd and Jerry Garcia. It has served as the "surface of Mars" in Robinson Crusoe on Mars and many other sci-fi movies, and not so long ago found itself on the cover of U2's famous The Joshua Tree album.

Of course, Zabriske Point is simply a beautiful place and worthy of a visit on its own merits, especially if one can time it at or near sunrise. Early light highlights the color contrasts of the area and turns much of the badlands a golden color, intermingled with darker browns. Views across eroded badlands to the prominent Manly Beacon, and across the salt flat and out to the Panimint Range. Sunsets can be attractive from here.

Manly Beacon is the centerpiece of the panorama viewed from Zabriskie Point. It begs for your camera's attention, and quite convincingly. It towers over the surrounding badlands as if standing guard over its kingdom.

I had hoped to catch the earth's shadow above Manly Peak the morning I visited (marked by a pink and blue layered sky), but light was filtered to the east. I also wasn't fortunate enough to have any clouds in the sky to catch turning pink at first light. But there was still plenty that interested me.

This area offers great photography before sunrise. In fact, while editing my images of the trip I realized these images taken during this time were amongst my favorites from the shoot.
The first light strikes the area a little later than one might imagine. In fact, the badlands to the south of the view point receive light long before the area around Manly Beacon.
I enjoyed catching the first light as it swept over the area to the west, taking notice of the subtle differences in the quickly changing colors. Then I switched over to my 70-200 lens and worked at isolating various colors and patterns. There is a lot here to entice a photographer and keep the adrenaline running!

There are also a couple of trails starting from the parking lot that are worth investigating. One climbs up and runs the ridge to the north of the view point, offering fantastic and much different views of the area, especially Manly Beacon.

The other descends down into Golden Canyon, one of the most popular hikes in the park - and for good reason! This trail offers incredible views, including up-close personal views of Manly Beacon and Red Cathedral. I'll be sharing images from there soon.

Zabriske Point is just a short distance south of Furnace Creek along Highway 190, and one of the main attractions of Death Valley National Park. If visiting the area, make sure not to miss it!

Artist's Palette - Death Valley National Park

Artist's Palette is on the face of the Black Mountains along Artist's Drive in Death Valley National Park.

As the name would suggest, it broadcasts an aray of attractive colors in its rock. The colors are brought on by the oxidation of different metals; red, pink and yellow is from iron salts, green is from decomposing mica, and the purple is from manganese.

The Artist's Drive area provides evidence of one of Death Valley's most violently explosive periods, though this is not the predominant thought on your mind while viewing these colors of the rainbow.

Geology and history aside, Artist's Palette is a darn right beautiful place! The contrasting palette of colors attract photographers and tourists alike, especially toward evening as the sun begins to set. This is when the colors start to pop as the light grows ever softer.

A great vantage point is on a bluff just south of the main parking lot. It's also accessible from the road shortly before the Artist's Palette turnoff.

This bluff serves as an excellent place to catch sunset over the Panimint Range as well. And if you are lucky enough to catch clouds in the sky, the reward can be excellent!

Arist's Drive is a scenic one-way loop located about halfway between Furnace Creek and Badwater, accessed from Badwater Road. It rises up to the top of an alluvial fan fed by a deep canyon, and includes many sharp curves and deep dips - much like a roller coaster.

These images were all captured with my 70-200mm lense, often in tandem with a 2x telenconverter. This setup was particularly useful in isolating the patterns and colors of the rock.