Waterfall

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!..

Boulder River

Jan 10

An El Nino forecast of rain and a 5,000 foot+ snow level was forecasted for the weekend so I opted to revisit the forest alongside the Boulder River. I ended up having a springlike day with no rain and even some blue skies. The Boulder River and Boulder River Wilderness drain the slopes of Three Fingers and ultimately spill out into the North Fork Stillaguamish River east of Arlington. The river is mostly constrained in a tight canyon and has some pretty good volume.

The hike alongside the river reward the hike with views of a few waterfalls which flow directly into the river. My only visit to this area was about 2 years ago but I didn’t spend much time exploring sections of the river. This time, I explored three locations along the river. The first location was located on the “front side” of the hike in and was a hunch due to a louder than normal sound of the river. Once I reached the water’s edge, I was not disappointed…

After I was done here, I regained the trail and continued along it until I reached the first waterfall (a minor one). From above, I noticed a nice series of boulders in the river downstream of the falls so I made my way down to take some photos…

My last stop for this day was only just a bit further and was the main bridal veil type waterfall. I initially set up downstream of the falls but the breeze that’s generated by the river blew in a lot of spray onto my lens. I repositioned upstream of the falls but, by this point, it was pretty late in the day and the fading light was making it difficult to take any more photos. A very enjoyable day..

Going Green Again

Nov 18

Another foolish weekend in the rain down at Mount Rainier National Park and along the Carbon River valley. I had some regret for NOT taking a particular shot last week so I decided to head back down to get it. Once again, the weather was steady rain and a complete challenge to keep my camera & lenses moisture free.

This was the shot I noticed last week:

I also took advantage of the hike in to explore the old growth forest:

Green Lake

Nov 08

My first visit to Washington State was in the summer of 1992 and I spent a week with my best friend staying with his aunt and uncle. His uncle took us out on a few tourist type outings down to Mount Saint Helens and to Mount Rainier National Park. I was in awe of everything I saw but what left a lasting impression on me was a simple hike to Green Lake in the northwest corner of Mount Rainier National Park. I can’t explain it but the stillness and peace of the setting has always been something I’ve looked forward to. Now that I live here, the opportunity to visit Green Lake in a winter setting is really special to me.

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Back in 1992, accessing Green lake was pretty easy. The trailhead lies at the side of the road halfway between the Carbon River Park Entrance and the end of the road at Ipsuit Creek Campground. Flooding in the late 1990s changed all of this and sadly, the road can no longer be driven (and most likely will never be repaired). What used to be a 1.8 mile hike is now requires a 3 mile hike along the road just to reach the trailhead. The extra hike along the road makes this a long day but the flip side is that it allows you to enjoy the temperate old growth forest that would normally blur past you while driving the road.

On this particular outing, I expected rain and hoped for snow at the lake (both of which I got). I also enjoyed the entire day in solitude. At the lake, the weather was steady light rain with some brief sleet. After 2 1/2 hours of hiking in the rain, I was saturated and slightly chilled so I was not able to stay as long as I would have liked. After some quick pictures and lunch, I was headed back and trying to take photos of all the things I made a mental note of. I’ll have to make a return trip just to explore the forest along the road..

Frog Mountain and the Upper Beckler Watershed

Oct 26

Having studied the weather forecasts, Saturday was projected to be a dry day as a lull between storm systems. The snow level would also drop so I figured some early snowfall shots might be in order. During my visit last week, I noticed a mountain just east of Jacks Pass which had red tinted meadow slopes near the summit. The mountain is named Frog Mountain and, from looking at maps, it could be scaled halfway on a series of abandoned logging roads.

On my way to Jacks Pass, I could see that portions of the very top did have fresh snow and the weather seemed to be clearing out more. I was hoping that some visual navigation would be possible once the old roadway faded away. The first challenge was finding the entry point of the road. From Jacks Pass, the old road begins clearly but that leads to a huge open area littered with way too much target practice debris- shell casings, clay pigeons.

This made me very nervous because I didn’t want to be heading back only to be BEHIND some people firing guns. Anyways, I found the entry point which had grown over, making it less obvious. Once on the old road, however, it was still fairly well defined. Young alders are filling in the road surface but the going isn’t too bad. Without signage, some decisions had to be made at a few of the road spurs but I made good time along the road section.

I reached what I decided was the end of the road in short order but was not encouraged by what I saw. Above me, the more mature forest above the regenerating clearcut I was in was pretty thick, and there was no direct line of sight to the upper slopes. Being alone and without my GPS, I thought better of continuing. After that decision, I did spy a road spur that continued further upslope. I determined that one spur dead ends in a clearcut but the second spur is promising. I will have to check it out some other time.

I made it back down fairly quickly and still had most of the afternoon so I explored some of the other Forest Service roads in the area. Always good to know what’s out there for future pursuits!

The next storm system starting making its appearance in the late afternoon and on my way home, I across two rainbows at two different locations. Pretty cool!..

Rapid River

Oct 25

I wanted to do some additional exploration of the Beckler River area so I headed towards the Rapid River road. Surprisingly, the wonderful fall colors of last weekend were largely gone. In a week’s time, lots of leaves fell and those that remained had morphed into more faded colors.

Buck Creek

Sep 21

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Weather once again forced a Plan B selection. During my recent trips along the Mountain Loop Highway, Buck Creek caught my eye so I made it my destination this weekend. Buck Creek is located just east of the Mount Dickerman trailhead and drains the east slopes of the mountain. It would be easy to miss if it was not for the one lane controlled bridge crossing. The creek has been eroding the downstream bridge abutments prompting Snohomish County to put in the protective measures. There is no trail here so this outing was a good old Cascade Bushwhack.

AFter gearing up, I headed upslope. After 50 yards, the creek actually has two paths to follow- the main channel which is on the left and a flood overflow channel on the right-hand side. I opted to follow the main channel. Water flow by this time of the year is substantially less than during the peak snowmelt months of early summer. What is striking is the width of water flow during significant rain events. Flood related debris carried downslope seems to cover an area 20 yards wide. This is DEFINITELY a place you do not want to be during flooding!

The creek is a steady series of cascading levels and pools along with several large logjams of flood debris. Progress upstream isn’t bad for roughly 1/3 of a mile but gets more challenging due to a large area of flood damage and slope failure. Given the time of day, I decided this would be the end of my exploration on this occasion so I headed back down. Interesting area and one that I’ll return to in the future..

Surprise Creek

Jul 06

My last trip to Deception Creek was so nice that I decided to head one drainage over to the east and check out Surprise Creek. Located at the upper end of the Tye River Valley, it’s located in the vicinity of where the railroad punches through the Cascades through a tunnel. The trailhead starts underneath the BPA transmission lines but quickly dives into beautiful forest and finally enters the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

The trail is about 5 miles in length and eventually reaches the highlands and some upper lakes near the Pacific Crest Trail. It does steadily gain elevation as you head up valley but does so at a somewhat leisurely pace. After about 2/3rds of a mile, you finally gain sight of Surprise Creek. After a mile, the trail switches sides of the creek and continues upstream. During my trip, I only continues another half mile or so upvalley due to time constraints. The warm, sunny day made for difficult photography but its definately worthy of future trips and additional exploration…

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!

The Snowy Nooksack River

Mar 16

You’d be hard pressed to convince many Washingtonians that this weekend’s storm was probably the last “lowland” snow event of the winter. I was excited because it was one last opportunity this winter to photograph Nooksack Falls with a fresh coat of snow.

I also wanted to experiment with another piece of equipment- a 6′ aluminum ladder. Funny as it may seem, I’ve thought about possibly getting different angles or compositions with the assistance of the ladder. So- I carried the ladder the half mile or so from the Mt Baker Hwy to the falls.

While the fresh snow seemed promising, the actual amount at the falls wasn’t. I had hoped for 2-3″ or so to really provide a nice coat for the trees and rocks but the overnight snowfall amount was more like 1″. I had been at the falls for about 15 minutes or so when it started snowing. Hard. *VERY* difficult conditions to take photos when the snow is blowing into and on your lenses. I’m very thankful that Pentax includes weather seals with their DSLR cameras (for a fraction of the Canikon prices)!

Lastly, I checked another part of the river I’ve been meaning to that also had a horseshoe bend: