Steve Cole

Sunny Deception Creek

Apr 10

Last winter I visited the Deception Creek Trail in hopes of reaching a particular waterfall in order to capture it in a winter setting. That attempt ended prematurely due to time constraints. This winter I never really had the chance to try again until this past week. I didn’t have high hopes since our weather has finally shifted away from full-time snow & rain to a more transitional phase. I parked near the Deception Falls picnic area and started my hike up to the trailhead. It’s always a bit dangerous to be walking along a road with a 60mph speed limit but drivers are considerate for the most part.

The hardest part is also the most hilarious- ascending and crossing the snowbank created by the highway snowplows. This year, that equates to climbing up onto a four foot high bank consisting solely of unconsolidated snow with the consistency of sugar. Once atop the bank, I donned my snowshoes and took two steps. And quickly sank down to my waist. Whoops. While one snowshoe was outside of my little burrow, my other snowshoe was buried by backfilled snow and became an impromptu deadman anchor.

I spent the next 5-10 minutes digging out my foot by hand in the glorious sunshine. Having freed my foot and retrieved my snowshoe from the black hole of snow, I regrouped and mushed forward to the trailhead. There was about 3 feet of snow out in the open but that diminished slightly to about 2 feet once I was in the forest. Due to the snow filled access and limited parking, I was assured of a solitary experience. The skies above were partly cloudy so sunshine would beam through the old growth forest from time to time.

I followed some old snowshoe tracks along the official trail and made my way deeper into the forest. In short order, I passed the spot I turned back from last winter. Sure enough, the spot I coveted was only a short distance further. Doh! I climbed up into position and began to fire away. As anticipated, the snowpack was “spring dirty” with fir needles and cones. The wide shots will have to wait until next winter so I focused more on isolating little scenes throughout the area.

As I finished up, a very quick snow squall drifted through while the sun continued to shine. A great, fun day but it was time to head back. Once back at my truck, I thought about making another stop just a bit further east but talked myself out of it. On the drive back to town, The summit ridge of Mount Index was knifing through some passing white clouds. I pulled over and took some shots thinking they might make some nice black & white photos. Behind me, the summit of Baring Mountain was doing the same thing.

I was more than happy with the day so I packed up and called it good. Just another great day in the Cascades!..

River study

Apr 09

Two weeks ago, I stopped off at the Horseshoe Bend trail along the banks of the North Fork Nooksack River after a day on the slopes at the Mount Baker Ski Area. I ended up trying a number of variations of this particular boulder in the river along with the two gnarled trees along the opposite bank..

Jumpoff Sunset

Mar 26

I stayed closer to home this weekend and decided to check out the potential for a new spot I found via Google Earth. Gunn Peak, Merchant Peak, and Baring Mountain are the most recognizable peaks in the Skykomish River valley foothills. Due to their prominence, they can capture and reflect the golden light of sunset. The valley in this area is fairly narrow with some level of terracing. During my searches with Google Earth, I spied a small hill in a clearcut that appeared to be easy to access.

It was only a 25 minute drive so I gambled with Saturday’s sunset to check it out. I haven’t spent much time in this area, mostly because of a controversial gate issue associated with a Forest Service Road (FS Rd 62). It’s a public road but one that provides access to the checkerboard of private ownership that exists in some portions of the central Cascades of Washington State. The timber company who owns these in-holdings expressed concerns to the Forest Service in the past about the danger to its employees from (illegal) target shooting. To the dismay of many, the Forest Service allowed the timber company to eliminate public access to one of it’s own roads.

Anyways, in the last year or so, the interim gate closure was finally eliminated and access has been restored. I have to admit, though, that I’m still a bit leery of the gate and still feel the idea of being “locked in”. I went for it anyways, and was soon parked at the gate to the secondary spur road that I would be walking up to reach my destination. It was an easy 10-15 minute walk and I was soon greeted with a nice, expansive view of the valley below me.

On my far right was the impressive north face of Mount Index’s North Peak. The left side of my panoramic view was highlighted by Jumpoff Ridge and it’s most notable summits- Gunn and Merchant Peak. Finally, the sloping summit of Baring Mountain and Klinger Ridge were visible further up the South Fork Skykomish River valley. It was quite breezy and clouds were shading Jumpoff Ridge when I first arrived. I was on site about an hour before sunset so I had plenty of time to wait for conditions to change.

Luckily, they did change and the sun broke through the clouds as sunset drew closer. This particular sunset was only a six on a 1 to 10 scale but I really only wanted to check the spot out; anything beyond that would have been pure gravy! As summer gets closer and the days get longer, I might be visiting this spot more since it is so close and easy to visit..

Cloudrise

Mar 23

I tried to shoot sunrise yesterday from Everett but things didn’t work out as well as I would have hoped. Skies were partly cloudy but those cloudy parts were east towards the mountains. Despite the presence of higher clouds, the sunlight never reflected off of them so that’s why I’m naming this “cloudrise” instead of sunrise! Making the best of it, I did notice some more interesting cloud formations towards the southeast of my location..

Bagley Creek Wandering

Mar 15

Winter continues to churn through the Pacific Northwest. The calls for potentially low snow levels sent me finally back up the North Fork Nooksack River in search of winter scenes of Nooksack Falls and Bagley Creek. The snow continues to pile up at Mount Baker where the base depth has passed the 250″ mark. It’s impressive- but that snowfall hasn’t accumulated to the same degree at lower elevation. I was a bit disappointed to discover that there was a minimal snowpack at the Wells Creek Road turnoff for Nooksack Falls. Definitely not enough for the photo of Nooksack Falls I have been envisioning!

Instead, I drove on to the Salmon Ridge Sno-Park, where my goal was to cross country ski up to Bagley Creek. For me, it’s a bit of a hidden gem, well within earshot of the busy Mount Baker Highway. It’s beautiful in summer, but not as familiar to me during winter. Although I’ve spent over a decade driving up to the Mount Baker Ski area for turns, I only started cross country skiing last winter. As a snowboarder, the independent suspension nature of skis has me wavering like a drunk but I’ve been getting the hang of it. Slowly.

One of the great things about the Salmon Ridge Sno-Park (and cross country skiing for that matter) is that you don’t have to endure hordes of people. It’s definitely an activity that allows you to slow down and connect with nature. There were only two other cars in the large parking lot when I arrived that afternoon. Maybe it was the weather- at 2,000 feet, the incoming storm was offering up alternating cycles of light rain & then snow. From the parking lot, the trail to Bagley Creek utilizes a Forest Service road which parallels the river.

It only gains a few hundred feet over 2ish miles so it’s not a bad option for beginners. Bagley Creek passed underneath the road via a fair sized bridge. It’s confluence with the North Fork Nooksack it’s only a few hundred yards downstream of the bridge. Upstream of this bridge, but below the Mount Baker Highway, lies a fascinating stretch of creek with waterfalls of varying heights and several stretches with unique character.

Since my last visit well over a year ago, some changes have occurred. Just a short distance upstream of the bridge, a large log has beached itself on a rock formation and another log has fallen across the creek some 30 feet up in the air. After taking some photos at the bridge, I wallowed off trail in the deep, unconsolidated snow alongside the creek trying to make my way to a cliff located about 50 yards off the road. On my summertime visit, I waded upstream while my friend found this high perch along the edge of a circular amphitheater.

It was tough going but I reached the edge of the cliff. From this spot, I could see the narrow slot canyon which prevented me from traveling further upstream back in the summer. As I took various photos, the weather was in flux from light sprinkles, to sun breaks (with sprinkles, of course). I packed up and headed back to my skis located back on the road. I wanted to leave myself with a little bit of time to photograph a stretch of the river back closer to the trailhead. I can ski flat land and uphill without too much difficulty but going downhill still terrifies me!

I was proud of myself as I managed to make it down all the hilly stretches with a healthy dose of pizza and french fry. At the base of the last hill back near the trailhead, I wandered off towards the river to check things out. By now, it was almost 3pm and the incoming storm was settling into the mountains. After a few minutes, it began to snow a few large flakes. After setting up my camera, conditions change for the worse. The winds really picked up and the snow was falling sideways and I felt like I was inside a snow globe.

My black backpack quickly turned white and I knew it was time to make haste back to my truck. I made my way back as quickly as I could to my truck and dumped my gear inside. The snowfall rate maintained a furious pace as I joined the parade of cars coming down the mountain from the ski area. The road had not been plowed for a while and it was definitely accumulating on the road. At this time of day, all the traffic heading back to Glacier keeps a couple snowfree ruts on the highway but the eastbound lane was a pristine white color. Thankfully, level heads were present and speeds were down to 35-40mph.

It snowed all the way back to Glacier where it finally changed permanently over to rain. Ironically, had this weather greeted me on my trip up to the mountains, I would have stopped off at Nooksack Falls for my photo! Hopefully there will be another opportunity this winter..

Quick sunrise

Mar 01

Sometimes a sunrise slowly builds to a glorious finale and sometimes it’s a flash in the pan like when you turn a stereo on and forget the volume is at full. A couple of days ago, the sunrise was the latter.

The color just started as I was a few minutes away from my location and it was really going as I parked and ran with my gear. I literally only had two minutes of “show” and that was enough time to shoot four bracketed series. And then it was over.

Crazy!

Winter Foss

Feb 21

I spent one of the days from this holiday weekend heading up the Foss River Road trying out a new pair of cross country skis. Here are some photos of the Foss River on our way back to my truck:

Boundary Bay Owls

Feb 10

There has been a lot of press lately about the large migration of snowy owls down into the continental U.S. Every once and awhile (known as an irruption), their numbers really spike and this happens to be one of those years. As it turns out, one of the big “hot spots” for them is just across the border in British Columbia at Boundary Bay near the town of Tsawwaassen. Some friends of mine visited a few weeks ago which got me curious and I did some research. Lots of owls, sitting around, not far off established trails- my kind of wildlife photography!

Originally, I was just thinking about a day trip to Boundary Bay. My girlfriend suggested that we make it an overnight trip and that turned out to be a GREAT idea. The main congregation of snowy owls is found near the end of 72nd St, along the raised dike. From the 72nd St junction westward to 64th St, the snowy owls are generally found resting on top of the driftwood pieces that tides have washed up against the base of the protective dike.

For the most part, the owls seem to tolerate the HUGE influx of admirers viewing and photographing their stay. The majority of visitors stay close to 72nd St (site of the largest gathering of owls) but folks willing to walk further west along the dike towards 64th St will also see more owls, bald eagles, great blue herons, and other wildlife. Even fewer people travel east along the dike from 72nd St but don’t let that stop you! I found a couple snowy owls (without any one around) along with a great blue heron and more bald eagles.

As longtime visitors to my blog can tell, I’m a landscape/nature photographer first & foremost. Any wildlife I have previously photographed has usually been the result of being at the right place, right time. In the last year, I purchased a Sigma 50-500mm lens (also known as a “Bigma”) and a gimbal head in hopes of adding more wildlife photos to my portfolio. We arrived at Boundary Bay during the late afternoon and were able to get a parking spot somewhat close to the dike since people were beginning to leave.

The weekend’s forecast was for sunshine and 50 degree temperatures but that was quickly changing at Boundary Bay. A thick maritime fog was advancing towards us from the Strait of Georgia. Eventually Mount Baker disappeared from view and reduced visibility settled in. Although there would be no sunset, the conditions did offer an opportunity to capture some unique photographs. We turned around at 64th St and made our way back to 72nd St. The failing light really provided a challenge since my Sigma is a F6.3 @ 500mm. Thankfully, the low light and higher ISO capabilities of my Pentax K-5 were up to the task.

We got back to my truck well after sunset and the place had pretty much cleared out for the day. Along the way back, however, we were treated to some owl activity such as perching even closer to the dike trail and some flyovers. We traveled the back roads towards Tsawwaassen where we spent the night at the Coast Hotel (recommended!). The next morning, the skies were clear and I was excited to head back in time for sunrise. I had expected a number of wildlife photographers would already be present at Boundary Bay but that wasn’t the case. In fact, we were the third car to show up!

I quickly suited up and we were off. For my sunrise shots, I decided to head out into the marshy, grass filled near-shore environment. It was cold enough over night to frost which made travel a little easier. As you get to the mudflats, there are some beautiful S-shaped tidal inlets which perfectly reflected the developing light show. Although the skies to the east over Mount Baker were devoid of clouds, the skies to our south had a series of high, wispy clouds which began to reflect the warm light of sunrise. It was truly one of my favorite sunrises of the year and the fact I was able to photograph it and enjoy it with my girlfriend made it even better!

Sunrise began to develop quickly and eventually the sun rose above the horizon between Mount Baker and the Twin Sisters range. The wildlife photographers were beginning to show up in numbers as the light improved. My girlfriend decided to head east along the dike from 72nd St as I decided to head back to the owl concentrations west of 72nd St. I’m going to save any commentary about the behavior of wildlife photographers for another blog post but I was saddened.

I headed further west towards 64th St to get away from the photogs and returned to a large tree alongside the dike which the day before held up to three snowy owls. On this day, two bald eagles were enjoying the high ground. My only experiences with bald eagles are along the North Fork Nooksack River near Mosquito Lake Road (east of Bellingham) and in that area, the eagles tend to “spook” quite easily. At Boundary Bay, the experience is quite the opposite.

I approached the tree in several stages, taking photos along the way. I really thought that they would fly away but they didn’t. In fact, a woman walked right up to an interpretive display near the base of the tree and the eagles did little more than look down inquisitively. After getting my fair share of eagle photos, I headed back to 72nd St and then further east to meet my girlfriend, who had been calling me throughout the morning about all the wildlife she had been seeing along the dike. Sure enough, I kept seeing what she had.

We eventually returned to 72nd St around 11am and it was rapidly turning into the circus we witnessed the day before. I took a couple more photos (which filled my memory card) and I took that as a sign to leave. After gathering our stuff and checking out from our hotel, we spent a little time to explore the ag fields near Westham Island and Ladner. We were both pretty tired so we made the drive back home, returning just in time to see the kickoff for the Super Bowl. Ok, that last fact made *ME* happier than my girlfriend!

This was a great place to visit and I’m sure we’ll return, even when the snowy owls have left. This was also my first good outing with my Bigma lens supported by a gimbal head. The vast majority of the photos in this blog post were taken with the Bigma and I’m pleased. It’s not the fastest lens at F6.3 on the longest end but the high ISO capabilities of the Pentax K-5 can make up the difference. I do need to dial in the set up of the gimbal head because I still experienced some vibrations of mirror slap while taking photos..

(You’ll notice the terms “TRAIL PHOTO” and “OFF-TRAIL PHOTO” with the picture descriptions. I’ll explain this in an upcoming blog post about wildlife photographers)

Racehorse Falls

Dec 13

I can’t believe that it’s almost been a month since my last outing! Weather has thwarted some of my plans the last few weekends so this time I settled on something conducive to gray, overcast skies- waterfalls. I also wanted to see if there were any bald eagles yet along the North Fork Nooksack River so I headed for Mosquito Lake Rd area. At the bridge over the North Fork, I only found one eagle in the immediate vicinity but you could hear the calls in the area. The river itself was running a bit swift, but clear, and also with a lot of salmon. Peering down from the bridge into the water, I could see dozens of 24″ salmon (winter steelhead?) resting in one of the slower eddys of the river.

There were also a ton of fisherman bombarding them with lures so I decided to move on. Just across the river is the Nork Fork Rd which parallels the North Fork as it heads upstream. After about 3 miles or so, the county road ends and it appears to enter State DNR lands. Racehorse Creek is crossed using a primitive one lane wooden bridge and, in about a half mile, an unsigned path leads away from the road and towards a series of waterfalls. The itself is about a quarter mile and pretty quiet if not for the constant sounds of gunfire as people blow things up elsewhere in the forest.

Soon enough, the roaring sounds of water get louder and louder. While the double wide trail veers away from the sound of water, another path heads towards the sound. Blue flagging marks the path to take if you’re interested in reached the base of the waterfalls. I think I counted about 4 waterfall drops, all with varying heights. The creek bisects a narrow, steep chasm so photographic opportunities of the upper tiers are limited unless you’re able to rappel down into this section of creek.

I took some shots from the edge of the cliff and then followed the flagging all the way down to the base where I backtracked towards the lowest (and most impressive) waterfall. While I did not have rain to contend with, I had some subtle spray from the waterfall that I needed to be mindful of. Sometimes I was, sometimes I forgot so there may still be some water drops that I missed during my photo editing. I worked the falls up one side, across, and back down the opposite side before heading back to my truck.

I wanted to check out some of the sections of the North Fork and look for any Bald Eagles. As I drove by one shallow, rapid stretch of the river, I spied an eagle eating a fish. I pulled over quickly where it was practical and tried to double back on foot to get some photos. As my luck would have it, as soon as I got there, the eagle lost interest or didn’t like the sight of me and flew off. Such is the life of a bumbling wildlife photographer!

My last stop was further down the road at pullout along a side channel of the river. High above the channel sat three bald eagles and down in the channel were a number of salmon splashing and swimming back and forth. Once again my mere presence sent two of the eagles flying so I opted to photograph the salmon instead. Although I could fill the frame better with my Sigma 50-500mm, I don’t have a polarizing filter for it (86mm filter size. That some serious money!) so I ended up using my 55-300 zoom.

I moved around and settled in along the rip rap and spent the next half hour watching and trying to get the occasional photo. The winter run and eagle season are just getting started so I’m looking forward to returning soon for BETTER results.

More Money (Creek)

Oct 04

Life has been decidedly non-photographic as I have been debating the merits of various roofing contractors but I did sneak away to explore more of the Money Creek valley in the North-Central Cascades. Fall color is just beginning here (and in general along the Highway 2 corridor) with just a hint of yellows in the Big Leaf Maples. The Vine Maples are showing more color with some nice reds and oranges…