North Fork Nooksack River

It is fall..

Sep 27

…but it’s not very obvious. At least not in the North Cascades. After spending the day bouncing around the North Fork Nooksack River valley, I suspect that fall colors will be disappointing this year. Labor Day weekend was my last outing so I was eager to get out again. I decided to attempt to revisit a section of Ruth Creek with a friend in order to access some more difficult terrain that I know would yield some great photos. Forecasts were leaning towards nice sunny weather but I decided to give it a go.

On the way, we stopped off to check fall color conditions on Church Mountain:

The forecasted 63% cloud cover was more like 0-10%. The stretch of Ruth Creek proved to be quite formidable and our attempts to enter it’s guarded treasures were futile. Despite wearing chest waders, I only managed a few photos from here:

Defeat came quick but there was still a fair amount of day left. We poked around another forest service road before ending up at Artist Point with hundreds of other tourists. It was tough being there and watching people pick wildflowers and wander wherever they chose to.

A storm front was coming in (witnessed by the very strong winds at Artist Point) so we both thought there might be a chance for a striking sunset. I decided we should head to Cougar Divide to try our luck. We made haste to the trailhead and arrived about an hour before sunset. About a half hour later, we had arrived at the viewpoint that I like to shoot from.

Sunset started wonderfully with a cloudcap and other clouds swirling around Mount Baker. To the east, Mount Shuksan’s summit pyramid was already firmly in the grip of cloud cover. Back down the Nooksack Valley a cloud bank was building up, adding to the interest. I promised my friend solitude at this location but we ended up running into 7 others at the viewpoint! Most left upon our arrival and, after a few minutes, we had the place to ourselves.

Just prior to the point of brilliant pinks and peak sunset colors, it all shut off like a light switch. I suspect the sun dipped behind a cloud bank along the horizon which shut us out. This seemed to be confirmed by looking north towards Canada where we could see the pink colors that were eluding us!

I spent a few more minutes after sunset taking some shots before we made our way out. The moon was rising to the east but I couldn’t capture any decent shots. The day was done and all that was left was the long drive back home. That, and replacing the flat I got just prior to crossing the Wells Creek bridge. I really hope that the fall colors arrive!

Deep at Bagley Creek

Sep 07

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Labor Day marks the traditional end of summer but our weather must be “gifted” since signs of fall have been noticeable for as week or two. Weekend forecasts had been called for gray and showery conditions so a return trip to Bagley Creek with a friend was penciled in. My first visit was a quick one a couple weeks ago but the scenery was stunning and seemed to have potential for even more. During that first visit, it looked like there were some drops and waterfalls just out of sight so some more thorough exploration was in order.

On the way to Bagley Creek, I decided to visit a location I discovered in an old out-of-print book. The location is a rock outcrop which contains fossilized imprints of plant leafs. I’ve never heard of something like this in the Cascades and the ease of access makes it pretty incredible. Through the years, I suspect that most of the quality examples (such as what was in the book’s photo) have been taken home by careless individuals. In order to preserve what remains, I’m electing NOT to reveal its location and simply share some photos.

It was very cool to see and touch some of the history of the Cascades. We cut our time short and made our way to Bagley Creek. I wanted to check out two things- the stretch of creek immediately upstream of a forest service road & then a second stretch of the creek further upstream which had a nice sized waterfall. Before wading upstream, we checked out the scene just below the bridge:

Looking upstream from the bridge, one can make out a nice 6′ drop so it was time to wade upstream to investigate it further. As it turns out, a nice amphitheater contains the drop. Just below the drop, however, a plunge pool at least 6′ deep prevented any further travels. After a few more photos, I headed back to the bridge to move on to the second location.

The second location is basically just around the corner. Accessed off of a decommissioned logging road, the forest is dense and makes travel difficult. The waterfall proved elusive yet again due to steep sidewalls and deep waters. We were there and had more time so we followed the old road which paralleled the creek downstream.

We would walk down 50 feet, then pop over to the water’s edge to survey the scene. Our first location provided some really interesting rock formations:

The next location downstream had one of the deepest plunge pools I’ve seen. I believe this location is roughly where Razor Hone Creek joins Bagley Creek. I managed to get some nice photos despite the sun’s off and on appearances.

We reached one of the bridges used as part of the winter cross country ski trails and then turned around. We now know that this area is accessible during the winter so it might be on the list of places to visit this coming winter!

I’ll be taking a break for the next two weeks to attend to some other commitments so look for a new post later this month!

It is August, isn’t it?

Aug 08

It’s the end of the first week of August and we’re still waiting for the wildflower blooms at Mount Rainier. The forecast of clouds and rain negated any hopes of grand views or sunsets so it was back into the deep forests of the North Cascades. I originally thought about revisiting some locations in the Highway 2 corridor but I remembered that there were a number of “firsts” for me to still visit up in the North Fork Nooksack River valley.

I came across another website that’s devoted to Pacific Northwest waterfalls and it clued me in on a few waterfalls along Twin Lakes Rd as well as an intriguing waterfall along Wells Creek Rd. Back around July 4th, I had made a visit to the Wells Creek area and attempted to photograph Wells Creek Falls. I was thwarted by thick huckleberry brush and limited views from above but I was determined to make it upstream this time thanks to a pair of waders.

The first stop was the new waterfall located a couple miles upstream of the Wells Creek / North Fork Nooksack River confluence. It is roadside accessible but the actual location is a bit dangerous due to the steep drops into the creek. The biggest appeal to this waterfall was a monolithic rock which rises 10-12 feet above the creek immediately below the falls. On this day, the water levels were pretty high so the rock was submerged for the most part. The weather definitely provided a feeling of fall with the low clouds, steady rain, and the distressed colors of the huckleberries in front of me.

These photos of the waterfall are unfortunately soft due to an accident in which the Manual Focus / Auto Focus switch had changed to manual focus while the camera was in my backpack and I didn’t catch the mistake. No matter- I plan on returning later in the fall when levels are lower. From here, it’s just another couple miles up the road to Wells Creek Falls. I slipped on my waders and proceeded up left (or north) bank. About halfway up, my friend & I decided to cross the creek at a short pool stretch of the creek. At its deepest point, the creek was about knee deep but still had a fair amount of force behind it.

It turned out that this was the only fording of the creek required to reach the falls. We arrived at the entrance to the waterfall’s amphitheater and were greeted with a driving rain AND wind driven spray from the waterfall itself. This was going to be a challenge to photograph. I found a spot next to the creek and set up. Any time the lens was exposed, it would immediately accumulate water drops. I lucked out and got the exposure combination correct on the first try (0.5s @ F16) but I had to reset everything a couple times in order to set my circular polarizer correctly and make sure the camera was level.

Each time, I had to swing the camera around 180 degrees, wipe off the lens, cover the camera and wait for the residue moisture on the lens evaporate. When ready, I kept the camera covered and swung it around to set up for the shot. I would press the shutter to activate the 2 second timer and wait for the absolute last second in order to remove the cover. This worked well enough to minimize the effect of water droplets in my finished photos.

We ended up spending a fair amount of time at the falls and were well on our way to becoming waterlogged. This day really felt more like October than August! Our next stop was a lovely two part waterfall along Twin Lakes Rd which is unofficially named Gold Run Falls. At the very top is a 100 foot drop over a series of angled ledges (it reminded me of a pachinko machine so I dubbed it Pachinko Falls). Below this, the creek travels steeply down some angled rock formations.

Steady rain made things miserable. We had good success photographing the lower portion but the main drop proved to be problematic due to the near vertical angle required to compose the shot. I managed to take one water drop plagued shot before beating a quick retreat back to the truck.

It was later afternoon and we were pretty much water logged. I decided to make one more stop in the valley and visited the lower stretch of Bagley Creek where it meets the valley floor. There are supposed to be some nice waterfalls in this area so we headed that way. We initially missed a turnoff and stopped at a spot along Bagley Creek just upstream of it’s confluence with the NF Nooksack River. This spot is downstream of the waterfalls but it proved to be a beautiful stretch of creek with what looked to be its own waterfall drop in the distance.

It was late in the day so we didn’t have time to explore the upstream section of this stretch. We did, however, retrace our route and followed the correct turnoff to reach the location of the waterfalls. The dense forest and steep slopes prevented us from pursuing things fully but there was indeed a very nice stretch of drops and waterfalls. We’ll need to return a later date!

Creekin’

Apr 20

Hot off my photography seminar, I revisited Ruth Creek for some afternoon exploring. The brilliant afternoon sunshine didn’t make photography that great but I wanted to try out some of what I learned as well as look for suitable locations to return to under more optimal conditions.

Once again, I found a fascinating stretch of creek upstream from the Goat Mountain trailhead. The vegetation hasn’t leafed out yet so I’ll have to return when it does!

On my way home, I stopped off at one of my favorite places near Nooksack Falls to check out conditions. I noticed the runoff levels had increased which made things nicer to photograph. I took these shots earlier this winter but those photos had some distracting elements which I remembered to eliminate this time:

Sunrise? Sometimes

Mar 22

Good weather during the week convinced me to head up to Mount Baker’s Heliotrope Ridge for sunrise. The morning’s have also brought fog in the valleys so I thought I might be able to parlay that into an additional photo opportunity at the spot I found last weekend. Sunrise was about 7am so I worked the clock backwards- in place an hour before sunrise…an hour for the hike in…2 1/2 hours for the drive up…..2am wakeup. Ugh….

Just 2 days prior, I saw a backcountry ski report from this area which said that the road was drivable to within a 0.25 mile of the summer trailhead. That would cut down on my hike in which was a nice bonus. I left just a bit before 3am and headed out. By about 5am I was getting close to the end of the drivable portion of the Glacier Creek Road. Constant snow began to appear on the road about 1.5 miles before the end. I passed about 3 parked cars and wondered if I should keep driving. The snow was rutted due to tires but I was beginning to get nervous. Not only did I still have to make it uphill and to someplace safe to park, I also was going to have to come DOWNHILL before the sun had any chance to soften up the snow.

I made it to the 0.25 mile mark before the summer trailhead and found a place to park. Up the road, some headlamps danced like fireflies as some climbers were prepping their gear. In a few minutes, I had my gear ready and headed up the road. My destination was the Mount Baker Vista, a nice viewpoint at the end of the road. The mile or so went fairly quickly and so I settled in with my gear and waited for first light. In the mean time, I kept an eye out on a party of climbers heading up Grouse Ridge on their way to the summit.

The clear skies that I started under now had some clouds here and there which built up some anticipation. The official sunrise came and went but the wonderful colors I was hoping to witness never came. Needless to say, this was a disappointment. With morning in full effect, I packed up and headed back to my truck. I proceeded to head up to the Mount Baker Ski Area for some turns but settled for a catnap instead. The high winds just didn’t seem as inviting as a nap in the sun.

I decided to call it a day and headed home. Along the way, I still felt like getting some pictures so I stopped off near Nooksack Falls to explore another short stretch of an unnamed creek I’ve avoided until now. Turns out that there were some nice surprises to be found!…

Lastly, this trip was my first chance to see the work that’s being done to realign a 1/4 mile section of the Mount Baker Highway near the Church Mountain Road. I recognize the need to move the road away from the Nooksack River but I have to admit that I was saddened to see a particular stretch of the forest along the eastbound lane of the highway that had been logged. It looks like it’s being used as a staging area but it was a really nice stretch of forest.

I stopped here about 2 years ago and poked around. The forest floor was moss covered and Twinflower was everywhere. My visit was in spring and so things hadn’t leafed out yet. I vowed to return at some point during the summer months but never did. Now it’s been significantly altered. The sad price of progress..

Road 37

Mar 14

Truthfully, not much of an update. Winter decided to return this week so snow levels returned close to their normal levels. Exploring Forest Service Road 37 (the road to the Skyline Divide trailhead) has been on my list for a while and I finally got around to it yesterday. Honestly, I was surprised at the general lack of interesting spots along this road. Maybe it’s because it’s still the dead of winter and the vegetation hasn’t leafed out yet. The first few miles have a wonderful moss-covered forest floor and I was tempted a few times to stop and look for compositions since there was some sunlight filtering through the canopy.

I wanted to check out as much as I could so I pressed on. I ended up taking a few photos along the Nooksack in one particular location since I initially saw some fog/low clouds further up valley:

One thing I’m very excited about was finding a wonderful spot to photograph the valley from. Two years ago, I remember spotting a particular avalanche track that was ablaze in brilliant yellow from the big leaf maples located in the valley floor. I saw this from the Wells Creek Road but did not have a good vantage to take advantage of it. I wondered if Road 37 would offer a better vantage and it does!

It requires a very short hike but the entire valley drops away from you and Church Mountain stands prominently across the valley. I’m excited to shoot this location in the fall and other times during this coming summer since it will also offer opportunities to shoot above any valley fog. Except for a few iPhone photos and a GPS positional fix, I don’t have any photos to share just yet.

I began to run out of time but I continued up the road to see how far I could get before hitting snow. That turned out to be the crossing of Dead Horse Creek where the snow on the road turned continuous. Someone else’s tire tracks continued up the road but I thought better of following them any further. I did get out and briefly explore Dead Horse Creek upstream of the road but didn’t find any good opportunities on this stretch.

Ruth Creek Whirlpool

Feb 15

I shouldn’t be able to write this post but thanks to El Nino and this winter of “non-winter”, I am. Mid February finds the North Fork Nooksack valley without a hint of snowpack until you hit 2700 feet of elevation. No snow means that normally buried roads can be driven so after a nice morning of fresh snow at the Mount Baker Ski Area, I drove to the Nooksack Cirque Trailhead. This should be a 2.25 mile snowshoe but not this year.

After a few quick minutes, I parked at the former bridge across Ruth Creek and the new official trailhead for this hike. My interest in this hike was to make it to the approximate confluence of Price Creek and the Nooksack. The off-trail hike in to Price Lake is on my list of things to do but my research indicated that there is some difficulty in trying to find this crossing. I figured that winter might make the way trail more apparent and help me once I return when warmer weather prevails.

At the trailhead I noticed a path that headed upstream and alongside Ruth Creek. As it turned out, it drops you off at an inviting scene with deep blue pools of water and some fast, cascading rapids. I’m really glad I decided to check this out because these where the only photos I ended up taking! I found the Nooksack Cirque trail to be fairly un-interesting (at least before it drops you off alongside the Nooksack).

My efforts to find the Price Creek confluence also proved fruitless on this outing so that will have to wait until another day. In the meantime, enjoy this quick series!…

Random Nooksack Valley

Feb 01

A variety of photos from throughout the North Fork Nooksack River valley. First stop was the bridge over the North Fork on Mosquito Lake Road. There was only one bald eagle that I could see but it was a lot closer than I’m used to seeing. These photos are approximately 50% crops of the full photo:

Last is yet another location along the upper North Fork, just east of my previous explorations. I struggled a bit looking for compositions but I was drawn to the interesting colors of a particular rock embedded in the sand along the river’s edge…

New Nooksack location

Jan 18

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.

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.

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.

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!..

CVG 2010

Jan 08

I’m pleased to announce that this week I received the news that my photo “Horseshoe Bend” (Above) has been accepted into the 2010 Collective Visions Gallery (CVG) Juried Art Show. Located in Bremerton, Washington, the show runs during the month of February. It opens on the 2nd and runs through the 27th. If you’re in the area, be sure and drop by to check it out!…

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Steve Cole Photography

Pacific Northwest Landscape / Nature Photography