Vesper Peak: Sunset Photography [Video]
We hike up to the summit of Vesper Peak to photograph sunset, the night sky and sunrise over the North Cascade Mountains. Unfortunately, forest fire smoke blew in from Eastern Washington, obscuring the night sky and sunrise. But the sunset was magical.
Saddlebag Island: Sea Kayak Camping & Spring Wildflowers [Video]
Join me on a sea kayaking paddle to Saddlebag Island to see its wildlife, explore its forests and to check out the spring wildflowers that grow along its rocky shoreline.
Grande Ronde River – 7 Days Minam to Heller Bar by Packraft & Canoe [Video]
We enjoyed paddling the Grande Ronde so much last year, that we just had to do it again this year, this time paddling 91 miles over 7 days from Minam, Oregon down the Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers to Heller Bar, Washington on the Snake River. This National Wild and Scenic River offers tons of […]
American Pika – Mount Rainier National Park [Video]
On an autumn hike up into the subalpine meadows of Mount Rainier National Park, I found these adorable American Pika (Ochotona princeps) busy topping off their hay piles before winter sets in. American Pika inhabit mountain side boulder and talus fields, where they live and store hay among the rocks. Pika don’t hibernate. Instead, they […]
South Coast Trail – Olympic National Park [Video]
Join me on a 5-day family backpacking trip on the South Coast Trail in Olympic National Park to photograph seascapes along this wild stretch of Washington Coast. We start at Third Beach and make camps at Scotts Bluff and Strawberry Point. Along the way, we found towering sea stacks, coastal sitka spruce forests, tide-pools, seals, […]
Spray Park Wildflower Photo Shoot – Mount Rainier National Park [Video]
Join me on a quick backpacking trip up to Spray Park in the northwest corner of Mount Rainier National Park to photograph Mount Rainier reflected in tranquil ponds. The wildflower meadows were in peak bloom, and so were the mosquitoes! The mosquitoes are atrocious, but calm weather and warm evening light made for perfect reflections […]
Skagit Island Sea Kayak Camping [Video]
Join me for an overnight sea kayaking paddle to little Skagit Island. We photograph the beautiful Pacific madrone trees (Arbutus menziesii) that grow along its rocky shoreline. We load the sea kayak with overnight camping gear, make the quick paddle across Skagit Bay, set up camp and explore the 0.9 mile trail above the shoreline […]
Grande Ronde River – 4 Days by Packraft [Video]
Join us on a 4-day packrafting adventure down the Wallowa and Grande Ronde Rivers in NE Oregon and SE Washington. The Grande Ronde is a National Wild and Scenic River, administered by the BLM, Oregon Parks and Recreation and the US Forest Service. Four of us paddled Alpacka packrafts. We put-in on the Wallowa River […]
John Day River – 5 Days by Packraft & Canoe [Video]
The John Day River, located in north central Oregon, made for a great 5-day paddle with friends last week. The John Day is a national Wild and Scenic River, an Oregon Scenic Waterway, and is the second longest free-flowing river in the continental United States. Three of us paddled Alpacka packrafts, and one a Clipper […]
Frosty Morning in Snohomish River Estuary
It was a frosty early morning of bird watching on Spencer Island in the Snohomish River Estuary. An extremely high tide (12.0 feet) flooded through breaches in the dikes and into the estuary, providing great fishing habitat for great blue heron and bald eagles. The sun rose in a spectacle of color and began melting […]
Skyline Divide Trail – Washington North Cascades [Video]
If you want to do some hiking in Washington State’s North Cascade mountains, consider the Skyline Divide trail. This classic ridge hike is accessed from a 4400 foot altitude trailhead. This quickly gets you up into flower-filled sub-alpine meadows. Mount Baker’s north face dominates the view to the south, while Mount Shuksan fills the eastern […]
Mountain Heather, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington Cascades
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.” — Edward Abbey
Seaplane Hanger, Petersburg, Alaska
“What if i fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?” — Erin Hanson
Liberty Bell Mountain, Washington Pass, Washington
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” — Thomas Jefferson
Rialto Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington State
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln
Western Red Cedar, Cascade Mountains, Washington State
“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something – that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
Snowshoeing in the North Cascades, Washington
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.” — Aristotle
Downey Creek Trail, Cascade Mountains, Washington State
“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” — John Muir
Punchbowl Falls, Eagle Creek Recreation Area, Oregon
“Look at everything as if you were seeing it for the first or last time.” — Betty Smith
Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” — John Steinbeck
Snowshoeing Mount Baker National Recreation Area, Washington
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Scrambling in Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Washington State
“The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” — Sir Richard Burton
Ponytail Falls, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” — Confucius
Snow on Liberty Bell Mountain, Washington Pass, Washington State
“Despite all I have seen and experienced, I still get the same simple thrill out of glimpsing a tiny patch of snow in a high mountain gully and feel the same urge to climb toward it.” — Edmund Hillary A classic view of Liberty Bell Mountain from the Washington Pass Overlook on a snowy early […]
