Steve Cole Photography Blog

Deception Creek

Jun 22

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I decided to stay closer to home and explored Deception Creek. This creek is the source for the popular Deception Falls located between the town of Skykomish and Stevens Pass along Highway 2. I’ve made a few trips to Deception Falls (as I’ve posted before on my blog) but I’ve never visited the trail that travels up up the Deception Creek valley. The trail generally stays within earshot of the creek but I decided to stay much closer to the creek during my exploration.

Within a short distance, the trail enters the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and soon climbs up and away from the creek. I decided to leave the trail at about the point where the log bridge crosses the creek. I have to say that this bridge is one of the most “elegant” I’ve seen out on the trails!

Swift Creek

Jun 16

This past weekend brought more exploration but closer to home. No doubt photographers in the Pacific Northwest are familiar with the Waterfalls of the Northwest website. While looking through the database of waterfalls, I was drawn into a listing for Rainbow Falls in the vicinity of Mount Baker. It’s described as having a 150 foot drop but also very hard to see due to the deeply incised canyon it empties into. I’ve looked over the topo maps and decided to try and access the falls via the canyon floor by following Rainbow Creek upstream.

The area is accessed by a little used trail- the Swift Creek trail. Long ago, this was the route used to reach Heather Meadows (now the site of the Mount Baker Ski Area) from the Baker Lake region. These days the trail is slowly returning to nature- only the first 2 miles or so receive any maintenance (and its been a few years since the last trail work). It’s a short hike down to Rainbow Creek from the trailhead. The Swift Creek Trail crosses the creek over a very primative log bridge that’s probably not for the faint of heart:

From this point, Rainbow Falls is a half mile upstream to the left. In theory. Last fall, I attempted to follow the creek upstream but chose to cross the creek and then follow the far bank. I made it slightly less than halfway before getting cliffed out. This time, I chose to follow the near bank but this also led to the same conclusion- cliffed out. I can say definitively that it’s not possible to reach the falls from the canyon bottom.

With my primary objective out of reach, I decided to cross the creek via the log bridge and head up the Swift Creek trail. This trail is a hidden gem which affords the hike with some quality traits: a lush & diverse forest and solitude. So much solitude that I started to think about bears. The last thing I wanted to do was surprise a bear on the trail so I constantly made noise by banging my trekking poles together.

Following the crossing of Rainbow Creek, the trail heads gently up valley before a brief series of switchbacks that place you into an upper bench of the Swift Creek valley. At this point, some huge cedars are passed alongside the trail:

Since the trail has not received much maintenance, there are some areas of blowdown to negotiate. As I drew closer to Swift Creek, I came across a black bear’s track in the mud:

Two miles in, Swift Creek is reached. It’s unclear to me what this crossing used to be like- a bridge? A cable car? In either case, there’s no good way to cross (especially when the creek runs high such as on this day). Even without continuing further, there’s still a lot to see and appreciate..

Edmonds Art Show Approaching

Jun 15

As mentioned previously, I have two pieces that will be part of the Juried Art Show at the Edmonds Art Festival which is next weekend (June 19-21). I’m very happy with how the two framed pieces came together so stop by the festival if you’re in the area. It’s free!

Ruckel Creek Exploration

May 31

For the final day of my brief 2 day trip to the Gorge, I wanted to explore the highly touted stretch of the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side. It is best known for its high density of wonderful waterfalls and easy access off of Interstate 84. After some research, I narrowed my options down to a couple sites and selected Ruckel Creek. Access for Ruckel Creek is accomplished via the very popular Eagle Creek Trailhead. From here, a brief half mile hike eastward through lush forest puts you at the official trailhead.

A bit of a misnomer, the Ruckel Creek Trail starts next to the creek but quickly switchbacks above and away from it. I had no lofty goals so I explored the immediate banks of the creek above & below the trailhead. Sunny skies make for very tough photography so I made the best of it. I would love to return on a cloudy or overcast day!..

Dog Mountain Wildflowers

May 31

My first trip to Dog Mountain was back in 2001 and just happened to coincide with the peak bloom of Arrowleaf Balsamroot. Back then, I casually snapped a photo using a 2 megapixel camera of some of the blooms not really thinking much about it. Over the last couple years, I decided I wanted to return in order to take some new photos with my 10 megapixel camera. Things didn’t come together last year for a visit but everything fell into place this year with sunny skies and peak blooms during my visit.

Dog Mountain is located in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area about 50 miles east of the Portland / Vancouver area on the Washington side of the Gorge. The trailhead is located along the banks of the Columbia River at 100′ and climbs 2500′ to the wildflower meadows and another 500′ to the summit. All of this happens over just a couple miles so the trail quickly and steadily gains elevation. The majority of this is shaded which helps since the temperatures can get warm.

On my way to the trailhead, I stopped off at Multnomah Falls. I won’t begin to replicate what hundreds of photographers have done here but I did notice that the moon was rising over the top of the falls:

A couple hours later, I was at my destination: the meadows of Dog Mountain. As was predicted earlier in the week, the Balsamroot was indeed in prime bloom. Although these photos focus on the flowers, the views of the Gorge and Mount Hood are tremendous!..

Showing at the 2009 Edmonds Art Festival

May 21

I’m very excited to announce that two of my photos have been accepted for display at the 2009 Edmonds Art Festival juried exhibition. Located in downtown Edmonds, Washington, this year’s festival will be held June 19-21st (Fathers Day Weekend). Both photos will be available for purchase.

Photo #1 is entitled “Moonlit Fog” and was taken in Mount Rainier National Park last September. It captures a late night view of a fog covered White River Valley and a rising moon taken from Sunrise Point:

Photo #2 is entitled “Horseshoe Bend” and was taken in March of this year. This panorama provides a unique perspective of the North Fork Nooksack River encased in a fresh coat of snow. The river flow comes towards the viewer and travels from left to right:

If you happen to be in the area, be sure to visit. The exhibition and the art for sale make for a great afternoon..

Wenatchee Area Balsamroot

May 14

I’ve spent the last two days over on the east side of the Cascades in Wenatchee. I set out looking for wildflowers and found some nice displays of balsamroot in the Olalla Canyon area near the town of Cashmere..

Mount Saint Helens

May 10

The beginning of May is when I think about climbing Mt St Helens. The weather is a bit nicer and the snowpack is fairly consolidated which makes for one long ride down in some nice corn snow. Typically the “summer” climbing route on Monitor Ridge isn’t accessible due to the snow covered road and so the standard winter route begins at the Marble Mountain Snow Park at 2640 feet. You do earn your turns though- 12 miles roundtrip and 5500′ of elevation gain.

I’ve climbed Mt St Helens a couple times before but not since the dome building episode of 2004-2006. My last attempt was aborted below the summit due to wind and rain so I was anxious to experience the new view from the crater rim. There was a promising forecast for the weekend so I purchased a climbing permit and headed down on Friday. Yet another “unseasonable” storm during the week brought new snow to the slopes of Mt St Helens. The promise of sunshine and warmer temperatures brought something else- high avalanche danger.

If I was to be on the mountain, I needed to try and get an early start so that my descent would be before the peak temperatures and sunshine. I arrived at a quiet snow park late Friday afternoon. I wanted to take some sunset photos but hadn’t decided on where to taken them- up the trail near timberline or down the road off of the mountain. I decided the latter and so during the last hour of daylight, I headed back down a few miles to a clearcut which offered a nice view of the mountain. Quickly looking around, I saw this fallen tree and decided to use it as a compositional piece…

The sunset wasn’t especially noteworthy and just faded away. Still, the setting light did accentuate the slopes of the mountain…

After sunset, I headed back to the snow park where I sorted my gear for the morning went to sleep. I got up about 2:20am and hit the trail at 2:50am. I hadn’t paid any attention to the moon cycles so I was surprised to see that this particular morning was a full moon! It was already setting but did offer up a fair amount of light. After about an hour or so of hiking through the forest, I arrived at timberline and had my first good view of the mountain…

The elevation gain begins in earnest from this point on. I do not consider myself to be a strong climber and so I opt for the slow and steady approach and utilize the climber’s breathing technique known as the rest step. Even with the warmer temperatures and sunshine, the snow did refreeze overnight and so I did have some latitude in my pace for the summit. In addition to food, water, snowboard & helmet, I was also lugging my SLR, 3 lenses, and my tripod. All of this starts to build after a number of miles!

I plodded onward, taking the occasional extended break every 1000-1500′ or so. The weather remained clear and sunny with some increasing winds at the higher elevations. Crampons might have been good for piece of mind but weren’t required since there was an adequate bootpack in the snow on the route up. Once the sun’s rays started hitting the slopes, they slowly began to soften up.

A few clouds materialized during the morning but nothing too serious. It took longer than I would have preferred but just shy of 12pm, I topped out on the summit. A steady wind kept things cold and discouraged a long visit to the top. I was still very concerned about the avalanche forecast and so I only stayed long enough to take a couple photos before clicking in and heading down.

After descending about 500-1000 feet, the snow conditions turned into perfect corn snow and I enjoyed smooth turns for 3000 feet. Below timberline, the snow was a bit slower but still rideable and I made it to within 1/4 mile of the trailhead before momentum finally ended. I was exhausted but I enjoyed sitting in the sunshine reflecting on a successful day.

Bagley Creek

Apr 26

Bagley Creek has its origins at Heather Meadows and is fed by the deep snowpack that piles up on the slopes of Table Mountain and Mount Herman. As it leaves Heather Meadows, it drops quickly down the valley to the North Fork Nooksack River below. There are no trails and so this exploration is purely cross-country travel. I’m intrigued by what I saw and plan on investigating further..

All three of these photos were produced using the Essential HDR (High Dynamic Range) software program. The bright snow (there were periods of direct sunlight) marked with the darker areas of the forest really provide the photographer with a challenge for proper exposure. Photos #1 and #3 were processed using just the original RAW image. The second photo had more of a challenge so I used Adobe Camera RAW in Photoshop Elements to produce three versions of this image- +2 exposure, base expsosure, and -2 exposure. The three image were then brought into Essential HDR for tone balancing.

This second image was quite a challenge due to the “blue” cast to the snowbank on the left side of the photo.

In the Clouds

Apr 26

As the ski season officially comes to a close at Mount Baker, the weather still stubbornly remains “winter”-esque. A pleasant sun filled morning gradually gave way to increasing clouds as the weekend’s storm system started to make its way into the region. I noticed the clouds building around Mount Baker so I hurried to get my camera gear and set up for some shots.

Ultimately what I wanted was a shot with clouds around the summit and sunshine beaming down on Coleman Pinnacle. This took some time for the sunbreaks to cooperate but in the meantime, I was treated to some dramatic periods of sunbreaks and clouds..

Steve Cole Photography

Pacific Northwest Landscape / Nature Photography