Fall has properly set in the Pacific Northwest: thunderstorms with wind gusts topping 30miles per hour, temperatures dropping to freezing, and gloomy grey clouds that blanket the skies every day. But before the weather became winter-like, I had managed one last outing into the mountains on a rare fall day with bluebird skies. Vibrant colors, a consequence of the long and warm summer, covered every square inch of the steep alpine slope, and also served as wonderful hunting grounds for the sweet mountain berries.
The short but sweet fall has been my favorite season to shoot, but scenes like these won't return for another year. I am glad I got to visit it one last time before the onset of winter
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
The Beginning of Summer
While the Pacific Northwest is already in the binds of fall with cooler temperatures and shorter days, I still remember the beginning of summer as though it was yesterday. During one of the early heat waves, I made it out to this famed reflection of Mt Shuksan before it lost its coat of snow and ice later in the summer. Walking around in balmy 60 degree weather at sunrise, when it would have normally been close to freezing, was surreal
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
A Sunny Fall
Fall is here in the PNW, admittedly. Wandering around the neighborhood and on the hiking trails, the signs are unmistakable: the reddening leaves of the tiny blueberry shrubs, tall fireweed, and the broad leaved maples. That it is here a couple of weeks early, despite the mercury hovering around the nominal for this month. It meant that I had to prepone plans for capturing the rather short season when color changes around the Pacific Northwest.
Despite the spells of wet weather, I was able to head out during one of the sunnier days to capture the burst of colors carpeting the slopes of the North Cascades.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Waiting For Last Light
You wait in anticipation for this moment: as the sun approaches the horizon, the shadows lengthen, leaving the deep green valleys in cold darkness; the highest of the snow-capped ridges and glacier-covered peaks taken on a bright orange glow, while up above, the sky transforms from the azure blue of the day to the deep blue of dusk; clouds change from their frothy white to a deep orange as they drift effortlessly across the landscape.
As a photographer, it is not just the moment, but the actual transformation, that captures my attention, and draws me out to mountain-top vistas as the sun sets. Sometimes, I try to capture this as a timelapse, but in others, I just seek to capture a moment in time as the best possible representation of that beautiful evening.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
The Changing Summer
The summer has been a bizarre one in the Pacific Northwest. First the region was baked under a historic heat wave that melted snow off the summits of the North Cascades Peak, which triggered wildfires in varied regions across the west. And when the region normally suffers an unending deluge of smoke, the winds shifted direction and started cooling down. Rain showers, common during the summer, were few and far in-between. And in addition, the increase in local travel this year meant many of the easily accessible backcountry locations were far more crowded. These changes necessitated rethinking my hiking strategy, including skipping favored destinations in search of more off-beat ones.
I am glad I found a few, including this one that transported me to the Swiss alps. But with the season slowly coming to a close, I wonder what the winter, and next year, holds in store for this changing landscape.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
The Great Escape
The summer has been a constant challenge of struggling to balance life and work, and seeking to find those voids where I could quickly retreat to the outdoors. Not only do these trips help provide a breathing room in our busy lives, but a whiff of greenery has boosted our morale which had taken a hit over the last few months of a stressful pandemic season. In a way, these trips where we climb high above the urban landscape, is symbolic of our struggles to forget them momentarily and to lead our lives with the simplest of needs: food, shelter and clothing.
I hope we get to continue doing these, if only to remind us that the machinations of everyday life are not the only things to live for
Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
A Night Out
Unlike the previous one, which was a fortuitous coincidence of circumstances, shots of the Milky Way, like the one above, are far more planned. Having had an image in mind of a composition involving the galactic arm rising above the snow-capped volcanic cone of Mt Baker, just as the first rays of moonlight light up the east-facing slopes, I trudged up an appropriate viewpoint at sunset hoping to stake out such a location. But despite the planning, this too required quite a bit of luck: a cloud-free smog-free sky unaffected by the wildfires raging the Pacific Northwest, and snow-free access to a location where this shoot was possible.
Thankfully, the atmospheric conditions cooperated for the most part, and except for the light polution at the horizon, and the light haze from the fires, it was a blissful night for photography. I watched as the sky slowly transitioned from the orange hues of sunset to the deep purple of twilight, and small sparks of light slowly appeared in the sky, starting with the brightest planets (Venus and Jupiter) followed by the dimmer stars. Soon thereafter, the band of the Milky Way slowly made its appearance, first visible only to the camera, and then to the naked eye. The mercury dropped too, and I found it ever more harder to keep myself warm, but I persisted, waiting until the band slowly moved over to the summit of Mt Baker.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Escaping Civilization
I climbed high above the smoke-filled valley, away from the maddening sounds of civilization, and towards the alpine ridge to catch a breath of fresh mountain air. It was a couple of hours of concerted effort in increasingly warming temperatures to cut above the treeline, but it was effort that was worth the rewards - including the grand vista that you see above.
Sure, I could have stayed at home, watched the telly, planned for my next trip, or enjoyed the creature comforts that we are so used to. But pushing myself to hike to these spectacular destinations helps me realize that just as in nature and in life, hard work is the price for success, and the satisfaction in achieving success lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Every decision we make is a conscious choice on the path we carve for our life, and let it be a thoughtful one.
Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Mountain Summer
The month of July in the Pacific Northwest is typically characterized by balmy weather and sunny skies, with just the occasional shower to keep the temperatures at a reasonable level. The Cascades still retain a bit of their winter snowpack while down below, meadows take their summer green coat and burst with wildflowers. This year though, was a tad different. By late July, the Pacific Northwest had already endured two months of dry heat, thanks to the heat dome. Without any precipitation, wildfires spread far and wide, and their smoke spread through most of the Cascades. The heat also caused most of the snow capping the volcanic peaks to melt away and reveal the dirty understory. It didn't take long for us to realize it wasn't a normal summer.
The mercury has certainly dropped in August, but the smoke is still hanging on, and during one of the clearer weekends, I caught sight of the characteristic volcanic cone of Mt Baker rising high above the green meadows and wildflowers of the North Cascades ranges
Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Leave No Trace
As the snow melts away from the higher elevations of the Cascades, it leaves behind glaciated mountains enclosing valleys filled with glistening lakes and delicate alpine meadows. Views like these await visitors who summit the high peaks and ridges, where, above the treeline, the grand montane vistas open up. Such accessible areas are few and far in-between, and the high visitation to these areas during the short hiking season has a heavy toll on the delicate flora and fauna that survive in the higher elevations of the Cascades.
So when you are planning your next trip into the high alpine terrain of the Cascades, make sure you follow the seven principles of Leave No Trace:
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces, and concentrate use on existing trails and campsites
Dispose of waste properly, and pack it in, and pack it out. And if possible, leave the place cleaner than when you arrived there.
Leave what you find, or as they say: take only pictures and leave only footprints
Minimize campfire impacts - create fires only where permitted
Respect wildlife
Be considerate of other visitors.
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA