My Favorite Images of 2014, Part 3

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Andy Porter

Here is the final (for now!) installment of my favorite images from this year. Thank you for following and Merry Christmas, Happy New Years and happy shooting!

Spider Meadows, Glacier Peak Wilderness

Skagit Barn

Stars at the Diablo Overlook, North Cascades National Park

Left Fork Canyon, Zion National Park, Utah

Palouse Falls State Park

Upper Lyman Lake, Glacier Peak Wilderness

Camped in the Glacier Peak Wilderness

Wheat Field at Sunset

Prusik Peak, Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Samish River

Milky Way over Skagit Valley

My Favorite Images of 2014: Part 1

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Andy Porter

I shot many images in 2014. As I review them there are some that capture my imagination. Here are the first 11 images:

Spider Meadows, Glacier Peak Wilderness

Skagit County Barn: Early Morning

Mount Adams and Split Rock, along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Padilla Bay

Crystal Lake, Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Skagit Valley

Liberty Bell and the North Cascades Highway

Samish River

In the Subway, Zion National Park, Utah

Stormy Skies at Maple Pass, North Cascades

Skagit River Bridge

Colchuck Lake, Enchantments, Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Spider Meadows, Glacier Peak Wilderness

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Andy Porter

Spider Meadows, Glacier Peak Wilderness

Astrophotography Images – 2014

Posted on October 18, 2014 by Andy Porter

: Mount Rainier

: Skagit Valley, Northern Hemisphere, Planet Earth, in the outer rim of the Milky Way Galaxy

: Starry night over Diablo Dam

: Dome in a moon scape

: Glacier Peak, Milky Way

: Camped at Isolation Lake, nighttime!

: Milky Way over Mt Adams and the Goat Rocks

: Mount Baker and the Milky Way

: Virgin River, Zion National Park

: Stars along the Baker River

: Palouse Falls

“North Cascades: The Wild Near By” Book Release Event in Mount Vernon!

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Andy Porter

Mount Shuksan

Celebrate the release of “The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby” by Braided River with all three authors in downtown Mt. Vernon, just blocks away from the mighty Skagit River.
Date and Time: Wednesday, November 5 at 7:00pm
Location: Skagit Station 105 E. Kincaid Mount Vernon, WA. 98273
This new conservation title explores the natural and cultural history of the North Cascades in lyrical words, informative maps and inspiring photographs. It features new work from Pulitzer Prize–winning author William Dietrich, prolific guidebook writer Craig Romano and interviewer and essayist Christian Martin, as well as a foreword by Richard Louv, fire lookout journal entries by Gary Snyder and photographs from Paul Bannick, John Scurlock, Andy Porter, John D’Onofrio, Brett Baunton, Ethan Welty and Art Wolfe and many others.
I will be there and provide a short slide show at the end!

Admission by donation. Co-sponsored by Skagit Land Trust. Photo by Steph Abegg. Learn more at http://www.wildnearby.org.

The Wilderness Act Turns 50 !

Posted on September 3, 2014 by Andy Porter

On September 3rd, 1964 President Johnson signed into law the Wilderness Act. This watershed piece of legislation has been a cornerstone in preserving the wild lands of America.

The Wilderness Act provides a definition for wilderness: “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

I have been lucky enough to visit many wilderness areas and enjoy their majesty and solitude. Here are a few images from my travels.

Sahale Camp, Steven Mather Wilderness

Pasayten Wilderness

Milky Way, Glacier Peak Wilderness

Point of the Arches, Olympic Wilderness

Mount Rainier and Avalanche Lillys, Goat Rock Wilderness

Left Fork Canyon, Zion Wilderness

Steeple Peak and Lost Temple Spire, Bridger-Teton Wilderness

Enchantments, Alpine Lakes Wilderness

Mount Olympus, Olympic Wilderness

Amphitheater Mountain, Pasayten Wilderness

Upper Lyman Lake, Glacier Peak Wilderness

Mount Baker and the Park Butte Lookout, Mount Baker Wilderness

Sunrise, Steven Mather Wilderness – This image will be displayed in the Smithsonian Museum as a part of the Wilderness 50 Celebration starting on Sept. 3rd, 2014

Glacier Peak Wilderness: Spider Meadows – Buck Creek Pass Loop

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Andy Porter

Always looking for new adventures in the North Cascades I had heard for years about this loop. Its about 40 miles and covers some very striking terrain. The Glacier Peak Wilderness in in the North Cascades of Washington State, nestled between Highway 2 (Stevens Pass Highway) and Highway 20 (North Cascades Highway) its one of the most rugged parts of the state. We did the loop in 6 days and here are a few pictures!

Start of the trail

We hiked the first day about 5 miles to Spider Meadows. There were many people camped here (it was on a Saturday) but not hard to find a wonderful camp in the endless green meadows. The sky was filled with wonderful clouds…

Spider Meadows

The next days hike took us up steep switchbacks above the valley, to the narrow defile of Spider Gap.

Spider Meadow from above

Lawrence on the trail to Spider Gap

And then onto, up and over Spider Glacier. As we gained elevation the clouds got thicker. And when we reached the top the rain and hail started.

Ascending Spider Glacier

At the top of Spider Gap

We donned rain gear and slid down the glacier on the other side, towards Upper Lyman Lake.

In the rain

The sky was very dark and as we made our way down through the rain we encountered another hiker, who passed us by, on the same loop as us. Our paths would cross several times on our hike. His name was Steve and he had hiked more trails and miles in the North Cascades than anyone I had ever met.

The stark beauty of the valley captivated me and we dallied, wishing for clearing skies…

Clearing skies

Soon our wishes were answered and the sun came out to greet us. The rocks and gray-green water of the lake were like a magnet for me.

Upper Lyman Lake

Reluctantly we left and trekked down through some wonderful grasslands towards Lyman Lake.

Looking back at Spider Gap, the low saddle on the left

Reflections in Upper Lyman Basin

On the way we passed a perfect spot to camp, and so stopped to lolly-gag in the sun while we got our wet gear dry. We had perfect views of Lower Lyman Lake and Cloudy and Bonanza Peaks.

Lower Lyman Lake

Drying out in the sun

Lower Lyman and Bonanza Peak

The next day took us down into the forest and back up to Cloudy Pass. We could look back and see where we had crossed through Spider Gap.

Upper Lyman Basin from Cloudy Pass. The sun halo was…real!

Looking north from Suiattle Pass, down Agnes Gorge

Our trail took us over Suiattle Pass and along Miners Ridge and then down to a river crossing. Here our path was along the Pacific Crest Trail and we must have met more than a dozen thru-hikers, all hurrying along to complete their 2,400 mile quest.

Buck Creek Pass was another highpoint of the trip. From here a trail climbs and rounds Liberty Cap as it heads towards High Pass.

Glacier Peak: evening light

Glacier peak: Morning Light

We camped here, with magnificent views of Glacier Peak.

Glacier Peak

The stars at night was alive.

Glacier Peak, Milky Way

Early the next morning we made our way along a wonderful ridge to High Pass. Here we could get a glimpse of the barren rocks and snow around Triad Lake.

Steve at High Pass

Triad Lake

Making it back to our camp we gathered our stuff and hiked back to the car. The wildflowers along the trail down from Buck Creek pass were beyond compare!