Mount Shuksan

Hannegan Peak

After a couple of weeks off, I was eager to get out again. I had wanted to return to Hannegan Peak several weeks ago but it wasn’t in the cards. Hannegan Peak is a 10 mile roundtrip day with 3,500 feet of elevation gain. Once atop the peak, you are treated with tremendous views of the North Cascades, Mount Shuksan, and Mount Baker. Even before reaching the summit, the hike provides views of crystal clear Ruth Creek and snow capped Ruth Mountain.

Panorama of the Nooksack Ridge and Ruth Creek valley
Ruth Mountain ahead (Hannegan Pass in the upper left)
From the trailhead, the trail climbs towards Hannegan Pass over 4 miles. The lower stretch of trail is alive with a wide variety of plants and wildflowers. I saw lots of Columbine, Cow Parsnip, Penstemon, and Tiger Lilly in bloom. The upper half of the hike spends more time in the forest and included Queens Cup and Sitka Valerian in bloom. A half mile before Hannegan Pass lies the turnoff for Hannegan Camp, a backcountry camp in a beautiful sub-alpine setting.

Small seasonal runoff near Hannegan Camp
Stream at Hannegan Camp
The final half-mile up to the pass includes some open meadows which were in between stages- too early for the main wildflower display but too late for the Glacier Lillies. Hannegan Pass proper is a forested pass with some minor views to the northeast. The pass is really just a busy junction. To the right is the way trail that climbers use to climb Mount Ruth. Straight ahead the trail drops down into the North Cascades National Park and the Chilliwack River valley, providing access to Copper Ridge, Easy Ridge, and Whatcom Pass.

Grouse on the Hannegan Peak trail
Halfway point to the top of Hannegan Peak. Highest point in the photo is a false summit
Some of the exposed geology of Hannegan Peak, which was part of the Hannegan Caldera
To reach Hannegan Peak, the trail the heads left from the pass is the choice. From the pass, it’s one mile and another 1,200 feet to the summit plateau. The trail switchbacks through meadows as the views get bigger and bigger. A final snow slope brings you up to the wide summit plateau and a short stroll over to the true summit.

Panorama from the summit looking at Ruth Mountain, Mount Shuksan, and Mount Baker
Mount Blum in the distance
Chilliwack River valley and Whatcom Peak & Mount Challenger in the distance
Geology of Peak 6445
The views from the top are some of finest I’ve seen in the Cascades. A full 360 degrees provide ample eye candy: Goat Mountain, Mount Larrabee, Copper Mountain, Mount Redoubt, Whatcom Peak, Mount Challenger, Mount Blum, Ruth Mountain, Mount Shuksan, Mount Baker and hundreds of other peaks. I spent about an hour on the top taking photos before beginning the long hike out.

Heather in bloom atop Hannegan Peak
Ruth Mountain and heather
Jagged Ridge and part of the Nooksack Cirque
Mount Shuksan
Overview of the Hannegan Pass area (center) and Ruth Mountain
Heading home...

While on the summit, I tried out an iPhone app that I had picked up recently: Peaks from Augmented Outdoors. Using the iPhone’s GPS and compass, it attempts to label mountains and peaks in your vicinity. It works without a cellphone connection so it’s perfect for backcountry use. You can take a snapshot of what you see and then share it later via email or Twitter. I opted for the screenshot of the app in use:

Screenshot of the Peaks app in use
The accuracy of the labels is only as good as the calibration of the iPhone’s compass. In my use, most of the labels were in the ballpark but a few were off what I thought to be a bit much. I didn’t realize it at the time but you can fix errors like what I saw while using the app. Oh well! The app costs $2.99 in the App Store. The only improvement in it that I’d like to see is a slider that restricts the search results from the user by distance. This is a feature of a similar program (Peak.ar) that’s free but requires a cellular network in order to operate.

Sulphide sunset

Two weeks ago, I spied some photos from a backcountry trip report from Boulder Ridge on Mount Baker which had the most amazing runnels I had ever seen. Life forced me to change my plans last weekend so I tried my luck this weekend. This winter’s non-winter made this hike a late fall hike instead of a deeply committing winter expedition. Under sunny skies, I headed out along the trail and made steady progress through the forest. The trail was virtually snow-free until the very end (hard to take in since normally there would be SEVERAL feet of snow at this location).

The last visitor’s were most likely the party of backcountry skiers from 2 weeks ago. The trail finally disappeared under the snowpack towards the end and I became weary of continuing. The previous tracks in the snow were faded and hard to follow so. Without the confidence that I could navigate back safely in the dark, I decided to turn around while there was ample light. The decision was disheartening since I know I was only a couple hundred yards from open terrain but it was the right decision.

I still had enough time to make it back to the trailhead and the road which had a nice vantage of Mount Shuksan’s Sulphide Glacier face as well as views of Mount Bacon and Blum. Without further ado, here’s lemonaide from lemons..

Sulphide Glacier and the summit of Mount Shuksan
Jagged spine of Suksan Arm
Mount Shuksan
Mount Blum
Last light on Mount Shuksan
Mount Shuksan

Kuhlsan Ridge

Another high pressure system brought clear, sunny skies for the weekend. It’s been awhile since I’ve shot a sunset so I decided to set up on Kuhlsan Ridge near the Mount Baker Ski Area for the evening’s show. Time got away from me during the day so I was running a bit behind schedule when I donned my snowshoes for the hike up to Artist Point. I topped out at Artist Point during the “golden hour” so I didn’t have much time to find a location with an interesting foreground.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky so the light reflecting off of Mount Shuksan held most of my interest. not the best sunset I’ve shot but the solitude of witnessing it was very rewarding..

Sunset on Mount Shuksan
Sunset from Kuhlsan Ridge
Sunset reflected off of the Mount Shuksan summit pyramid
Last light of sunset on Mount Shuksan
Last light on the Swift Creek headwaters
Time to go home

New Nooksack location

By now, it should be apparent that I spend a lot of time scouting for new locations up in the Nooksack River valley near Mount Baker. It’s such a large area but through research using aerial photos and maps, I’ve been able to identify some potentially nice sections of river that may not be that obvious. On this particular day, the morning was stunning thanks in large part to bluebird conditions- fresh snowfall and clear skies the next morning. Before I enjoyed the fresh snow at the Mount Baker Ski Area, I took some photos of some of the surrounding views.

Nooksack Ridge and Mount Sefrit with fresh snow
Spindrift off of the Shuksan Arm
The Nooksack Ridge was encased in a thick,fresh coat of snow and the mid-morning light was casting interesting shadows across the ridgeline. Higher winds were present along the Shuksan Arm ridgeline of Mount Shuksan and the snow was being blown off as spindrift that was also backlit by the rising sun. My attention turned to more recreational pursuits for the rest of the morning. Having my fill of the fresh snow conditions, I left the ski area to go exploring.

First up was more of a hunch rather than research. Two weeks ago, I snapped a few pictures of Galena Creek which crosses underneath the Mount Baker Highway about a mile or so before the ski area. Lately, I’ve glanced over to a particular open area just off of the highway that was down hill of where I took my previous pictures. Parking is an issue here (a chain-up area so only 30 minute parking) so I had to work fast.

A short trek through some overgrown brush brought me to Galena Creek and a very pleasant surprise- a waterfall! It turns out this was the site of a bridge for a decomissioned logging road. On either side of the creek were some reinforced bridge abutments (but no bridge). After some snaps of the waterfall, I negotiated up to the top edge of the waterfall to find another small log “ledge” and mini-waterfall. More quick snaps and I headed out to make sure I didn’t get my truck towed or ticketed.

Galena Creek waterfall
Galena Creek
My last stop was another spot along the Nooksack and was about 1/4 mile east of my last location. I found the hike down to the river not too bad and would probably be easier in a normal snow year (currently there is no snowpack in the valley bottom). I found this location to be full of good potential, particularly in the presence of a nice snowpack and/or fresh snowfall. Lots of interest in the river due to some well positioned boulders and the river’s edge also has some interesting rock formations.

North Fork Nooksack River
North Fork Nooksack River
North Fork Nooksack River
North Fork Nooksack River
From this vantage point, I paralleled the river and traveled upstream just a bit to reach one of the horseshoe type bends in the river. Once again, a number of elements are in place that should provide some great photos in different conditions!..

North Fork Nooksack River
North Fork Nooksack River

Winter’s return

Earlier in the week, winter returned to the mountains. At Artist Point near the Mount Baker Ski Area, 4″ of snow fell. My highly anticipated Lee Graduated ND filters also came this week after a lengthy production delay so I was eager to get out and try them. The unsettled weather from the week was forecasted to spill over into Saturday but, as Saturday morning developed, the weather looked MUCH more promising than the forecasts so I decided to roll the dice and head out for sunset.

My destination would be the Bagley Lakes area of Heather Meadows. I wanted to find out how the fall color was developing in the Nooksack River valley (it’s about 2 weeks off) but I was also hoping to include the new snow as part of my compositions. A beautiful fall afternoon followed me and seeing most of Mount Baker from the outskirts of Glacier was a good sign. These first snows of the season also brought the closure of the Mount Baker Highway at the ski area so my hike would be starting from the ski area.

Photographers of all abilities head to Heather Meadows, primarilly to capture their own version of the famous photo of Mount Shuksan and Picture Lake. Today was no exception and both visitors and photographers were scattered all over the trails around Heather Meadows. For me, I wanted a bit more solitude and less crowds so I opted for a slight cardio workout and made my destination the saddle that divides the Bagley Lakes basin and the Chain Lakes basin.

From the ski area parking lot, this amounted to a 2.1 mile hike with about 1,300′ of elevation to gain. Although I’ve been here too many times to count, I’ve never explored this trail. Almost from the start, I realized there were many, many interesting compositions. I’ll have to return next summer during the peak of wildflowers. The trail starts by paralleling Bagley Creek for a half mile or so.

Bagley Creek beneath Upper Bagley Lake
Upon reaching Upper Bagley Lake, the trail winds around the base of Mount Herman and the elevation gain begins…

Upper Bagley Lake
Click for a larger view
After some switchbacks, the views get bigger and the saddle comes into view. The upper basin is notable for the high concentration of volcanic rock. There’s still a couple hundred feet of elevation gain and it’s accomplished by a few, drawn out switchbacks.

Upper basin above Upper Bagley Lake
Last switchbacks below the saddle
The snow deepened before the saddle but was no more than 2-3″ deep. From the saddle, the race was on to find compositions for both Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan. I felt it was just a bit too far to drop down to the Chain Lakes (although it did look interesting!). After deciding on a location, the show began. This sunset easily surpassed last week’s sunset and was one of the better ones I’ve been able to photograph in a while.

Mount Baker and Iceberg Lake
Mount Shuksan
Alpenglow was present and strong and the scattered cloudcover kept providing highlights to the changing light. It spectacular but made it chaotic because I rapidly kept changing positions to photograph Mount Baker to the south and Mount Shuksan to the north. Sunset passed and just about the moment I decided to pack my gear, a full moon broke through the building clouds to the north. I decided to snap only a few quick shots since I still had a ways to hike out with wet & icy conditions. About an hour later, I was back safe and sound in the parking lot. I was so glad that I rolled the dice for this outing!

Hadley Peak
Alpenglow on Ruth Mountain and the Nooksack Ridge
Alpenglow on Mount Shuksan
Fading Light
Mount Baker Glaciers
Mount Baker
Moonrise over Ruth Mountain

Sunset from Anderson Butte

View Larger Map in New Window
This past weekend brought one last “summer”-esque pattern of weather so I decided to find someplace to go for sunset. After researching some options, I decided to head out for Anderson Butte, which is located just along the perimeter of the Noisy-Diobsud Wilderness in the vicinity of Baker Lake. The site of a former fire lookout, it’s accessed via a spur trail off of the main trail that travels to Watson and Anderson Lakes. The trailhead is located above 4,000 feet so you’re already treated to great views of the Baker Lake valley and Mount Baker.

The trailhead is located high on a ridge along the east bank of Baker Lake. It’s accessed by crossing the Baker Lake Dam and heading up the Forest Service road 12 miles. From the trailhead, it’s a short mile through the forest brings you to a small meadow within a ravine and the junction for the Anderson Butte Trail. Although the wildflower season was long over, the huckleberries were in absolutely prime conditions and located everywhere. I had arrived early to the area so that I could make some quick sidetrips to check out the lakes in the area.

Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
The Anderson Lakes were by far the more picture-esque lakes:

Click for a larger view
Another brief sidetrip to the Watson Lakes didn’t reveal too much so I turned around to make it up to Anderson Butte. The trail to the Butte starts out gently but has a short, steep stretch before joining the ridgeline below the lookout. The payoff is immediate and fantastic but just gets better when you finally reach the site of the former lookout. From this vantage point, the Cascades drop off all around you. Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan dominate the view but American Border Peak, Mount Rainier, the Olympics and Mount Redoubt are all visible as well.

On this day, patchy clouds drifted throughout the area which added interest during sunset. Unfortunately, Mount Baker remained mostly cloudy but it was still a fantastic sunset. This spot is truly a gem and I’ll be adding this into my annual rotation of destinations (if not more than once a year!).

Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view
Click for a larger view

Mount Shuksan

While warmer temperatures descended across Western Washington, the weather in the mountains still had the look of winter. Despite the sunshine, a steady conveyor belt of clouds streamed across the upper slopes and summit of Mount Shuksan..

Clouds and Mount Shuksan
Clouds and Mount Shuksan
Summit of Mount Shuksan
On my way home, I stopped to re-shoot this scene of a young fir growing at the foot of an old growth cedar. I shot this scene earlier this winter but snow actually detracted from the composition. I shot this slightly underexposed for the mood and since it helps define the shape of the cedar. I did some minor burning to the extreme righthand side since it was a tad too light in the original photo:

Big Brother
Old Growth Cedar
Lastly, sometimes old ski lift chairs find a new use…

Ski lift chair swing

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