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Washington 12 images Created 1 Sep 2018

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  • After driving for 12 hours I arrived in eastern Washington. Smoke from a nearby fire was limiting visibility over the surrounding farmland. But I knew it would lead to a very red sunset, I just had to find somewhere to shoot it. I started looking for an old barn, but instead came across this church. I liked the way it was situated between the golden wheat fields. My legs were shredded a bit as I tried to find the right spot to frame the sun. A farmer was harvesting the field as I took this, one day later and there would only be dirt instead of wheat.
    Sun And Steeple
  • It was just me and a marmot on the summit of Burroughs Mountain admiring this view of Mount Rainier at sunset. The enormity of this mountain is humbling. Rainier is the most prominent peak in the lower US and the most glaciated containing rivers of ice up to 750 feet thick. This volcano is dormant, but not extinct, and it holds the potential for major destruction if it erupts. The greatest hazard wouldn't necessarily be a lava flow, but what's known as a "lahar." A lahar is a mud and debris flow caused by magma destabilizing the rock and rapidly melting snow and ice. These mudflows can travel many miles (as far as the Puget Sound) and signs in the campground warn visitors to head uphill in the event of an earthquake or a rumbling sound. After spending a week in Washington, this was the first sunset I saw that wasn't extremely smoky. It was a long hike back by headlamp, but the pictures were worth it.
    Rainier Sunset Panorama
  • I found it hard to stop hiking this day, putting in 17 miles by the time I got back to my car. It was my last evening in Washington, and the views were incredible from the Sunrise area of Mount Rainier National Park. This view is from First Burroughs Mountain, looking towards Second Burroughs Mountain and the glaciers beyond.
    The Trail Beckons
  • Spray Falls is a 354 feet high waterfall found on the northwest side of Mt Rainier. You can hear it from far away and as the name implies, I kept having to wipe the water droplets off of my lens.
    Spray Falls
  • The view from Tolmie Peak is spectacular, or at least it would be without the smoke. Eunice Lake sits in a valley below, while Mount Rainier rises above the forested ridges.
    Rainier Above the Smoke
  • The beaches of Olympic National Park in northwest Washington are a special place. There are few stretches of coastline in the US that are this wild and undeveloped. Sea stacks dot the shoreline, some with trees growing on them. Many of the sea stacks are cut off at high tide, but can be reached at low tide. I spent the night on this beach, pitching my tent on the sand above the high-tide mark. Thick forests grow in the area, and rivers carry fallen trees out to sea. This leads to big piles of logs that have to be climbed over to reach most of the beaches. The sun didn't really set this evening. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but the red sun disappeared early into the thick smoke. The next morning it felt like I woke up on a different beach since the marine layer came in and the fog hid all the sea stacks from view.
    Sea Stack Sunset
  • In the northwest corner of Washington state is one of the wettest places in the US. Up to 10 feet of rain falls here annually, which creates a lush rain forest. The dense canopy blocks out the sun, and the forest floor is covered with moss and ferns. When the massive trees do fall, many of the logs end up in rivers and are carried out to sea, where they become piled up along the beaches. Marymere Falls is a 90 foot high waterfall found not far from the shore of Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. This hot August day was the perfect time to photograph the rain forest, since thick wildfire smoke was blocking out all of the big views.
    Falls and Ferns
  • When the sun finally appeared over Hurricane Ridge, it was a dark red, before slowly brightening as it rose higher. It seemed like I was looking through a solar filter, but it was only heavy smoke.
    Filtered Sun
  • In the Cascade Range in northwest Washington is a peak called Mount Baker. This peak is the 3rd tallest in the state, and is among the snowiest mountains on Earth. One winter saw a staggering 95 feet of snow fall, which is the most recorded anywhere in a single season. I hiked halfway up and set up camp on a ridge overlooking this volcanic peak. Into the clouds I ascended and waited until they finally parted just before sunset. My jaw dropped as the glacier-capped summit appeared high above me. But the view was short-lived as the winds shifted and brought in heavy smoke from Canada. Even though the meteor shower would be a bust, I was thankful to get this view, however brief it was. This volcano is still active with fumaroles found in the summit crater, but it hasn't erupted since the end of the 19th century.
    Between Smoke and Cloud
  • After being enveloped in thick fog all day, I got my first glimpse of Mount Baker from my campsite on Park Butte. The evening light was amazing on the glaciated summit. This volcanic mountain is one of the snowiest places in the world. The ski area on the northeast side once measured 95 feet of snowfall in a single season.
    Glaciated Summit
  • American Alps. With countless towering peaks, alpine lakes, verdant meadows, and waterfalls, there are a lot of similarities. The mountains aren't as high, but it's more wild than the European Alps, since the majority of this rarely visited national park in northern Washington is pure wilderness. 312, or 1/3 of all the glaciers in the lower US are found within it's borders, although many of them are shrinking. While passing through in August I only had enough time for one hike. So I climbed a ridge up and around Ann Lake, which is a small, round tarn with it's own island. Sunlight began to disappear as a storm was moving in. But I should have expected to get wet, the trail started from Rainy Pass.
    Ann Lake Wildflowers
  • The views of Ann Lake in the North Cascades kept getting better as I climbed up to Heather Pass. But sunlight was getting scarce as rain showers moved in.
    Overlooking Ann Lake