wilderness

The Sierras of Washington

I hardly expected to see a granite landscape in the PNW. The unique geology of the Cascades means that most of the granite is covered under thick layers of sediment, and only gets exposed in the higher elevations (unless its not already covered by snow, glaciers or even older metamorphic rocks). The Alpine Lakes Wilderness is one of the few regions in Washington where it does become exposed.

Climbing up to this point took me to a wonderland quite reminiscent of the granite escarpments of the Sierra Nevadas. I was in a region with glistening blue lakes surrounded by tall cliffs, craggy rocks and snow-capped peaks. I can't wait to explore more of this region before the season ends.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness
WA USA

A National Park Jouirney - Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen was not high on my priority list, but being reasonably close to home during my first few months in California, I decided to pay a visit to this National Park. Named for the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade range, the park offered a beautiful wilderness area dotted with pristine lakes and plenty of cinder cones, geothermal features such as geysers, bubbling hot springs and vents fuming with sulfurous gases, and challenging hikes that promised epic views.

While it doesn't carry the breadth of features and landscape found in Yellowstone, the combination of high alpine terrain and stunning hikes make it worthwhile to spend a couple of days exploring this unique National Park of California. I still remember being enthralled by the clear waters of the summit lakes, and the chaotic skyline of Brokeoff mountain and Chaos Crags. For the young visitor in me, the vivid descriptions provided to the different landscape features were enough to carve a special place for Lassen in my heart.

I returned a couple more times to the park to explore other areas and to capture an annular solar eclipse, but I would never forget the awe and wonder I had felt on my first trip.

Lassen Volcanic National Park
CA USA

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Calendar of 2021

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With the pandemic restricting travel in general in 2020, I focused my photography on the amazing landscapes in and around my home in the Pacific Northwest. And even when constrained to this rain-drenched corner of the country , I found so much diversity, from rugged mountains of the North Cascades to temperate rain-forests in the Olympic Peninsula, and from dry volcanic terrain at Mt St Helens, to the lush farmlands of the Palouse.

And all of these are public lands preserved under the auspices of the National and State Parks, Wilderness Areas and National Forests that cover vast swaths of the PNW. By limiting my travel to this home range, I have come to realize what a treasure this region has to offer. And I am sure such outdoor destinations all over the country, including the 61 National Parks, have been a welcome respite from the harsh realities of the pandemic.

Having visited 45 of those 61, I have come to realize the vital importance of our National Park system in protecting and preserving nature, culture, wildlife, and landscapes for the future. The National Park Foundation helps safeguard our national heritage, ensuring generations of national park enthusiasts can enjoy the parks we love. Hence, this year, I chose to raise funding for this amazing organization.

Purchase the 2021 Calendar, and support the National Park Foundation

Seattle

WA USA

A Strike on the Galaxy

As part of the work to create my annual photography calendar, whose proceeds this year will go to National Park Foundation, I look through the archive of over 5000 photos I shoot every year. I don't ever get time to comb through every single one; it is a task which I have been failing miserably at. However, occasionally I chance upon gems that I often missed at first glance.

This is one such catch from a trip to the eastern half of the North Cascades in a remote wilderness region, far away from any light pollution. I visted this place early in the summer, far before devastating wildfires impacted visibility in these areas. As I was shooting a timelapse of the Milky Way, a bright meteor streaked the southern half of the sky. I had no idea if the camera had captured it, at least not until I came back and reviewed it on the big screen. I was lucky to catch this bright streak arcing across the band formed by the central disc of the galaxy.

Paseytan Wilderness

WA USA

Early morning mysteries

Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises

- Unkown

Nothing refreshes and re-energizes the soul more than smell of a fresh morning in a rain-forest laden with swirls of moist fog gently caressing its lush green slopes. It is not often that one can get out of the tree cover in a forest, but on this one morning in Colombia, I was able to.

Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona
Colombia

Lost in Granite

In the summer of 2015, I had embarked on one of my most challenging backpacks in the Eastern Sierras, on a 55-mi route that wound through the Evolution and Dusy basins. Granite escarpments ringed by towering alpine peaks surround a broad basin filled with glistening lakes. Set in a remote region of the John Muir Wilderness, these places are a haven for landscape photography.

I tried to capture in this panorama what it really is like to be immersed in such a rugged landscape. But nothing can replicate the feeling of really being lost in the granite.

Kings Canyon National Park
CA USA

Fly Away

Out in the woods, I often look at the sky seeking out patterns in the tree cover. Sometimes, they are to frame the night sky, while others are to seek shapes and patterns where they do not exist, just as one would read the clouds. During one such hike in the forests of California, I came across a dense grove of conifers whose crowns covered the sky except for a bird-shaped gap providing an open view of the sky.

It felt like a sign of redemption and freedom, fleeing from the past and flying towards the future, and it certainly was appropriate for what I was seeking for during those trying times.

John Muir Trail
CA USA

Staring at the Stars

After a long day of hiking, I wanted nothing more than to cook up a hot meal and settle down for a night of well-deserved rest. I was going to do that until I saw the night sky above. It took a while for my eyes to adjust, but eventually the night sky became bright with stars, and the faint line of the Milky Way traced a line across the sky. Faint satellites moved against the collage of stars that frequently played hosts to the scintillating flashes of meteors.

At that moment, I felt blessed to be living in a region where I could head out to experience the darkness of the night sky as it truly was.

Alpine Lakes Wilderness
WA USA

The Sawtooths

I envisioned a dusty old lake, a few drying trees swaying in the wind, and a bare rocky terrain rising up from the basin getting backed in the hot Idaho sun. What I didn't expect was a placid gem of a lake nestled amidst granite monoliths towering over the alpine terrain. As I watched the jagged peaks of the Sawtooths catch the first light of the day, and captured in the mirror-like reflections on the still lake, I felt transported from the grounded imagination I had had to a scene far more memorable than what I had expected.

I felt a joy freezing a slice of time and preserving for eternity a moment that has probably been repeated for aeons.

Sawtooth Wilderness
ID USA