Last two nights and two sets of photos, first on Friday night, Sept. 19th, at the Diablo Lake Overlook, on the North Cascades Highway…
Milky Way over Colonial and Pyramid Peaks
Starry night over Diablo Dam
and then on Saturday night at the Samish Overlook near Blanchard Mountain.
Skagit Valley, Northern Hemisphere, Planet Earth, in the outer rim of the Milky Way Galaxy
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
Spider Meadows
Spider Meadows
Spider Meadows
Spider Meadows
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
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
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
Glacier Peak, wildflowers
Glacier Peak, wildflowers
All in all one the most satisfying loop treks I have done in Washington!
Glacier Peak Wilderness
Park Butte Lookout Under the Big Dipper
Park Butte Lookout
View from inside
Mount Baker. The ridge on the right is Railroad Grade
Lookout at Sunset
Twilight
Park Butte Lookout and Bellingham
Mount Baker and the Milky Way
Mount Baker and the Milky Way
Lookout at night
A very satisfying night!
A friend invited me along for a trip to Crystal Mountain Resort, to camp out under the stars and see if we could capture images of the milky way over Mount Rainier.
The drive to the resort is itself, a beautiful ride. Arriving we purchased a gondola ticket ($22.00) and rode up to the restaurant.
We stayed overnight, taking pictures of the resort, sunset, gondola and of course, Mount Rainier. Here are a few images.
Gondola and Mount Rainier
Admiring the sunset
Mount Rainier and the Milky Way. The lights on the mountains flanks are headlamps of climbers headed for the summit.
Mount Rainier from Crystal Mountain Resort
Mount Rainier and flowers
Riding the gondola
Crystal Resort, at night
This image was taken at the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. We rode the gondola up, stayed the night and got some wonderful pics. The two lines of lights on the mountains flank are climbers going up to the summit.
Mount Rainier from Crystal Mountain
Liberty Bell from the Washington Pass Overlook along the North Cascades Highway, Washington
Capturing nighttime images along the coast is a challenge, so much moisture in the air cuts down star visibility. However this image from Shi Shi Beach came out okay. The glow on the horizon is the small town of Neah Bay. And there are several campfires along the shore. 
Zion National Park is famous for its night skies, this image is taken on the bridge along the main park road, looking down the Virgin River. Orion really shines in this shot!
The Baker River is a wild river, its northern end far away from any signs of civilization. The streaks in the sky are satellites.
This last image is from Palouse Falls State Park, in eastern Washington. The campfire in the canyon illuminated the walls with a wonderful orange glow…
I drove the 5+ hours to Palouse Falls with the intent to capture an image at night. the forecast called for mostly clear skies and the moon was just past new, so I reckoned that I had a good chance to get some nice shots.
There is a camp ground at Palouse State Park, first come, first serve, so I arrived at about 10:30am got a spot, set up the tent and headed out to explore the Palouse.
I arrived back in the late afternoon and started to explore the view points from which to capture images. Soon the sun began to go down and I started shooting.
Once the sun dropped low enough there was nice lighting on the canyon walls and the clouds started to perk up.
Once the sun set I crawled in the tent and zonked out, setting my internal alarm clock to awaken when the stars were out! At about 1am my eyes popped open and, peering out of the tent I saw stars! I was quickly at the edge of the canyon with my gear.
The Milky Way was visible, arcing above the basin! I was in luck!
I was surprised to see light emanating from the bottom of the canyon, at the base of the falls…wondering if someone was there with flash lights, I hurriedly got set up and started shooting…the canyon walls were aglow with colors.
Then I realized the light source was a camp fire! Some wonderfully prescient people had started a fire on the waters edge! The effect was better than any I could have imagined.
After clicking away for some time I finally retired to the tent, exhausted from the driving and little sleep. But I did not sleep long! I awoke again at about 4:30 am when the morning light was just giving a glow to the horizon to the east. I figured that I didn’t drive all this was to sleep, so I popped up and got out to try my luck at capturing some of the delicate morning photons bouncing off the cliff walls. 
After about 2 hours of ogling I was done. By 6:30 I was back in the car staring the long drive back across the mountains to my home…
North Western Images - photos by Andy Porter 