Lake Ann Maple Pass Loop

Posted on August 7, 2016 by Andy Porter

I hiked the Lake Ann Maple Pass Loop om Wednesday, Aug. 3rd. The wildflowers are almost at peak.

As always, a fantastic trip!

Recent Night Sky Images

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Andy Porter

Over the past 3 weeks I have visited the Pasayten Wilderness, the Glacier Peak Wilderness, Winchester Mountain Lookout (twice), Artist Point – for a North Cascades Institute Class and the Diablo Overlook – for a North Cascades National Park class.

The Glacier Peak trip was not during ht e new moon, but I was able to get a few good shots early in the night, before moon rise. I was out working to capture an image of the tent at Upper Lyman Lake, with the Milky Way behind, over Spider Gap. I could clearly hear and animal sniffing around. It was a deer, come to find place where anyone peed, to lick the spot for any lingering salt.

: Glacier Peak Wilderness

: Glacier Peak Wilderness

: Glacier Peak Wilderness

I decided to see if I could capture the deer in the image, and it worked pretty well!

The Winchester Mountain Look out is a perfect place to spend the night and shoot night sky images…

: Artist Point

: Winchester Lookout

: Winchester Mountain

The Night Sky Photo Class that I lead though the North Cascades Institute was held at Artist Point. There were 14 of us, we parked at the Artist Point rest area and started to hike to Huntoon Point. There were more than 50 other night sky photo enthusiasts there, all out along the same trail! We asked and were told that they were all from Vancouver, BC! The skies got cloudy, but we managed a few shots.

: Artist Point

: Artist Point

: Artist Point

The last class was on Aug. 1st, another Night Sky Photo Class, this one through the North Cascades National Park, as a part of the NPS Centennial. About 15 people arrived and we hung out at the overlook, trying to learn the basic tools of night sky capture.

There are two New Moons in September, on the 1st and 30th! If you’re interested in a Night Sky Photo Tour, here are the details!

An evening at Winchester Mountain Lookout

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Andy Porter

I made it up to the Winchester Mountain Lookout last week, I wanted to reconnoiter a bit for an upcoming Photo Tour that’s scheduled. When I arrived the lookout was already claimed by 2 people, and then 8 more recent high school grads showed up, so it was a busy night there for the sunset! I managed a few decent shots!

Spider Meadows Wildflowers

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Andy Porter

Just back from Glacier Peak Wilderness, traveled in and out via Spider Meadows.

My brain goes into sensory overload when I see all those colors! I love it!

I have seen more flowers, and denser stands of flowers elsewhere, but never such a varied array at once.

Purple, yellow, white, red and green, it was awesome!

Trying to capture the scene is not easy! I just started, took a few steps and kept shooting, each viewpoint offering a different scene.

Night Sky at Glacier Peak Wilderness

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Andy Porter

Just back from 4 days in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

Here are a few pics of the night sky.

We hiked up Phelps Creek, through Spider Meadows and on up and over Spider Gap, descending to our camp.

This first image is from the Upper Lyman Lake Basin. Chiwawa Mountain on the right. Spider Gap is the low point along the skyline.

Here is another image from the same location. The moon began to rise and is splashing light on Chiwawa Mtn.

Lots more soon!

Pasayten Wilderness Wildflowers

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Andy Porter

The Pasayten Wilderness is more than 500,000 acres of splendor: lush meadows, rugged peaks, sweeping vistas, deep valleys, thick forests and wildflowers…lots of wildflowers!

July brings an explosion of color, thickets of flowers bursting aloud, the bright colors of Indian Paint Brush and Lupine off setting each other in grand style.

Here, see what I mean:

These images are from a trip along the trail to Sunny Pass. From Tonasket take the road to Loomis, ascend along the Toats Coulee Road to the Iron Gate Trailhead and Camp. The flowers start not far from the trips start!

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