Who is ready for fall in the PNW? This transitional time of the year, though short, has some of the best color palettes. Golden larches, orange and red shurbs, grey granite and blue-white snow all come together in a wonderful symphony of colors. And even though I sometimes wish it can stay like this year around, it is the fleeting nature of the colors that make it special.
Hope you get to enjoy the colorful foliage this time of the year. Check out WTA for ideas on where to go.
Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest
WA USA
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
The mountains of Georgia
I felt at home in the mountains in Georgia, watching the clouds play with snow-capped peaks, admiring massive glaciers carving endless valleys, and exploring tiny villages in the alpine environment. While mountains might be everywhere, it felt special here. A bit more rugged, unexplored, and hard-to-reach, but all the more beautiful.
Here are some of the scenes I captured in the Caucasus mountains of Georgia.
Caucasus
Georgia
The Core of Novarupta
Most people associate Katmai with its famous grizzles. They are the star of the show, after all. However, there is an entirely different aspect to the National Park that very few people get out to explore.
In the summer of 1912, this park lay witness to one of the largest volcanic explosions of the century: the Novarupta explosion. It created an umbrella cloud 1000 miles wide, and expelled thirty times as much ash as Mt St Helens, lowering earth's temperature by more than a degree. The ash flow piled 700ft deep into the glaciated valley which now resembles a moonscape. This is the Valley of the 10000 smokes, so named for the innumerable fumeroles and vents that were observed in the aftermath of the explosion.
This valley is like no other: a vast ash-strewn landscape with nary a sign of vegetation stretching for miles into the horizon. The distant glacier-covered volcanoes are a reminder of the active nature of this region. In the late afternoon light, I snatched a few telephoto images of this mountainscape to capture the interplay of shadow and light.
Katmai National Park
AK USA
Last Light
Climbing high above the clouds puts one in a special place, a place where your only concern is survival. It seems like a place removed from the realities of everyday life and humdrum work, of politics and power struggles, and of the pressures of time and place. Out here, you can sit and admire the slow changes in the sky as the sun sets, and of the blue mountain ranges giving way to the twinkling lights of cities far in the horizon.
Eventually, the cold takes over, forcing you to settle in for the long night, but not before capturing one last look.
Mount Adams Wilderness
WA USA
Summer Trails
During the long days of summer, I often find myself heading to this one spot to watch the sun set over the endless mountain ranges. At places like these, I often wonder which trails wander through innumerable valleys and meadows, which ones climb to the mountaintops for panoramic views, and which ones hide my very own wilderness.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
Winter Maladies
I am a sucker for waking up early to catch a winter sunrise. But often, this is the only way to capture angelic trees poking through unspoilt powder glazed in an iridescent hue of blue and purple. I remember this particular winter morning primarily because of how cold the summit was and how beautiful the conditions were. I had also contemplated flying a drone out for some aerial photography, but my fingers were frozen solid within just a few minutes of arriving here.
Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA
Summerlands
As much as I try to escape to the south during the long and dark winters of the Pacific Northwest, I can't imagine spending the summers anywhere else. I imagine hiking through beautiful meadows filled with wildflower dancing to the wind, watching colorful sunrises over alpine lakes, climbing up to mountaintops for panoramic views of snow-capped peaks, and enjoying my own wilderness amidst the Cascades. This scene encapsulates what I love about the PNW summers. And while the wildflowers were long gone, the idyllic mountain scenery was still ever-present.
Glacier Peak Wilderness
WA USA
Lost in the Maelstrom
One of the challenges with winter hiking above the treeline is the impact of ground level fog and clouds that impair visibility. Tracks and ski lines made in the pure white snow disappear into nothingness, while the treeless landscapes feature very few landmarks to mark the direction. I found myself in one such terrain while snowshoeing in Rainier where I had to descend through the clouds. And for many minutes, I was walking in a featureless landscape of alpine white. I found other skiers experiencing the very same predicament that afternoon.
Mount Rainier National Park
WA USA
Forgetting Winter
With 12hr+ days, we may be officially in Spring, but that doesn't mean winter weather isn't over yet in the Pacific Northwest. It will be a long time before the gleaming white snow capping the Cascades slowly melt away. And in the meanwhile, you can still get beautiful winter landscapes like these.
Which one do you prefer? 1 or 2?
Mt Baker Snoqualmie National Forest
WA USA