First Daffodils of 2014

Posted on March 14, 2014 by Andy Porter

These images were taken at sunrise, on March 13th, 2014!

Skagit Valley is famous for tulips in the spring. And daffodils! Each year the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival harkens the arrival of spring to the Pacific Northwest.

There are hundreds of acres of tulips and daffodils. If you want to visit, here is a link to the Bloom Map.

Daffodils bloom first, there three large fields alight now, with more to come. The arrival of the tulips generally happens in the first week of April, but it always depends on how many sunny days we get!

Samish Overlook: First Days of Spring!

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Andy Porter

These are a few images from last evening’s sunset. Overlooking Skagit Valley, things are starting to get green!

Sunrise over Skagit Valley

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Andy Porter

My never ending search for fine, scenic viewpoints from which to capture images led me to the Samish Overlook.
Arriving before sunrise the moon was still visible.

Clouds filled the valley and the mountain on the horizon was clear.

As the sun came up the low clouds started to burn off.

It was quite a sight!

Wildflowers of Washington

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Andy Porter

My three favorite places to experience wildflower explosions are:
1. The Pasayten Wilderness. Here you’ll hike through acres of nothing but wildflowers, as far as you can see. And I don’t mean clumps of flowers here and there, but solid unending hillsides and ridgetops.

2. Goat Rocks Wilderness. The south side of the Goat Rocks, along the PCT near Snowgrass Flats has some of the brightest, most colorful, died and gone to flower heaven displays.

3. Sahale Arm, North Cascades National Park. Here the backdrop for the flowers is absolutely magnificent, the jagged peaks surrounding Cascade Pass juxtaposing with the flowers for a truly breathtaking effect.

A Stormy Night Atop Devils Dome

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Andy Porter

We arrived atop Devils Dome late in the afternoon and set up camp.
Though we were atop the peak snow fields nearby supplied us with water. The sunset was magnificent, but we watched it from inside our tent mesh because the mosquitoes were ravenous.
Devils Dome affords a 360 degree view of Jack Mountain, to the south, Hozomeen to the north, The glaciated peaks of North Cascades National Park to the west and a broad expanse of the Pasayten to the east.

After a wonderful dinner we quickly went to sleep excited about the beauty tomorrow promised.

Something woke me up. I lay for a moment with eyes closed, sensing. There was a stillness, which was odd seeing that I was camped on a mountain top, and the smell of rain in the air. Suddenly opening my eyes I saw that the sky was clouded over. I lay for another moment reluctantly picturing myself getting up and putting the rain fly on the tent when I saw the flicker of lightning in the eastern sky. I sat up looking…there was another flash…and another.

Quickly exiting the tent I stood scanning the sky. There was lightning to the east…then to the south, then again, to the west…the dark tumultuous sky was alive with flashes, the peaks briefly illuminated and then again black shapes…I looked on in wonder…and then it stated raining.

I quickly awoke my two companions and let them know that they needed to get up, get dressed and get out of the tent and give me a hand. At first they were both saying, “why don’t you just put on the rain fly and get back in, go back to sleep…” and I replied that if they stayed in the tent that they would miss the lightning show…that provided sufficient motivation and they were soon out of the tent, looking at the skies. The lightning was getting more intense, more frequent…we could see the glow of a fire to the west, over towards Ross Lake and the National Park boundary.

My plan was simple: get the rain fly on the tent, throw all our stuff in it, don our rain gear and then lie on the grass and watch the show. But my two friends had other ideas. One strongly advised that we immediately depart and head down the mountain to find shelter from the lightning. My other friend insisted on a more simple approach: do nothing and simply enjoy the storm. I started with the rain fly and loading the tent and soon they came to assist me.

Some one came up with the idea of planting our trekking poles in the ground, well away from the tent, to act as lightning rods (!). And so, now somewhat content with our preparations, we all watched.

The rain started to come down now. The wind picked up, strong gusts blowing across the summit. The flashes became more insistent, more frequent. With each flash the ridges between us suddenly appeared out of darkness, and then…gone back to my imagination, leaving lasting imprints of what had just been illuminated. From our vantage point we could see what looked like 6 or so fires burning…

On three sides of us there were regular flashes, every few seconds, another, and then another. The wind and rain continued unabated. In fact they increased along with the regularity of the lightning, each building to a crescendo. The lightning now seemed to take on a reddish hue, then green or blue (was it just my imagination?)

Transfixed by the sheer beauty, we had front row seats for natures own fireworks show, the best we had ever seen. Just as I was starting to edge towards getting the hell out of there the tempest began to lessen, the wind shifted. The lightning to the west, which seemed to head towards us, stopped.

And that was it! The storm cell had passed us by. The lightning to the east faded out and in its place we could now see the faint hint of the sun.

The date was 08/08/08. This was the opening night of the Olympics in Bejing, and we mused that the fireworks we had just seen surpassed theirs, hands down. It was also the scheduled date for the start up of the Large Hadron Collider and we considered that the lightning storm was a direct result of the resultant black holes now devouring earth. These points we avidly debated, but all agreed that the peak was rightly named: Devils Dome.

As the excitement died down my friends retired to sleep and I ventured forth to catch some of the morning light.

The Pasayten Wilderness is one of my favorite places in Washington, a land of mountains and rivers, steep valleys and meadows, wildflowers and zen like peace. This experience, on day 6 of our twelve day trek which started at the Canyon Creek Trail head on the North Cascades Highway.

Our journey was just getting started…

Copper Ridge, North Cascades National Park

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Andy Porter

Copper Ridge is located in the northern section of the North Cascades National Park, in Washington. To get there from Bellingham you drive east on Highway 542, the Mount Baker Highway, past the town of Glacier and turn left on Forest Road 32, for Hannegan Pass. The road ends at a parking area and here your hike begins. The first 4 miles climb 2,000 ft. up to Hannegan Pass. Along the right are nice views of Nooksack Ridge. From the pass the trail descends and after 1 mile you reach boundary of North Cascades National Park and the trail junction with the Copper Ridge Trail.

Any overnight stay in the National Park requires a permit, which you can obtain from the Ranger Station in Glacier. Permits are limited and first come first serve, be sure to get there at the crack of dawn (or even better right when the Ranger Station opens…) to snag a permit. Also, one little known tip is that you can get a permit one day before you start your trip, so if you can arrive and get a permit to camp at Selesia camp the next night then on your first night you can camp at the site just west of Hannegan Pass (which is not in the park, no permit needed).

From the trail junction you head north and up to Copper Ridge. Its another 3 miles until you reach Selesia Camp which is perches out along the ridge commanding fantastic views east towards Whatcom Peak and Mount Challenger and south towards Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker.

No matter which wy you look from here the views are smashing.

Continuing the hike north along the ridge (2 miles and 1,000 ft EG) soon brings you to the Copper Ridge Lookout, the highest point along the route commanding a sweeping view in all directions.

The lookout is regularly manned with Park Rangers. Make sure to have your map available to spend time locating peaks all around.

After soaking in the sun and views at the look out the trail now traverses over some rocky slopes for another 2 miles as it heads down to Copper Lake. Nestled in a nook along the ridge the lake sports a small island/peninsula offering a wonderful place for a swim. There is an official campground here, the last one before you exit Copper Ridge and plunge down to the Chilliwack.

From Copper Lake your ridge hike continues another 5 miles of spectacular views. Waterfalls, meadows and gorgeous vistas abound.

At about 11 miles from the start of the Copper Ridge Trail (16 miles from the car) the ridge hike ends and the trail plunges down more than 3,000 feet in less than three miles to the Chilliwack River with its sparkling waters and levitating salmon, but that’s a story for another day!

Barn Project

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Andy Porter

The generally dull, gray and wet winter months do not afford as many colorful photogenic opportunities as the other three seasons prompting me to come up with a new idea of what to capture.

Recently I had posted a few images of old barns and several people commented that they just loved them and wanted to see more and so the Barn Project was born.

A simple search turned up a Skagit County Heritage Barn web site, complete with images, descriptions and directions to each barn.

I am just getting started but here are a few images of Barns of Skagit County!

Sahale Glacier Camp Panoramas

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Andy Porter

These two shots are from Sahale Glacier Camp in North Cascades National Park. Each image below is composed of 2 shots photomerged in CS 6. I opened the two images to be connected in Camera Raw and synchronized my changes, lightening and darkening the sky and foreground with brushes and then used the automated photomerge option. A first for me and I am pleased with the results!

Wildflowers of the Goat Rocks Wilderness

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Andy Porter

The Goat Rocks Wilderness lies along the spine of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. Nestled between Mount Rainier to the north and Mount Adams to the south, the vistas from the Goat Rocks most always include an awesome backdrop.

I visited there for the first time this July. The flowers had just bloomed/were just blooming and the colors were so vibrant…

Happy New Year to anyone viewing and/or reading here…thank you for Being There and Communicating! May you visit and enjoy many amazing places in 2014!