Grandy Lake is a few miles north of the North Cascades Highway (Highway 20) along the Baker Lake Road. These images are from a few years ago, some really stunning clouds, reflections and colors…
Grandy Lake Sunset, Skagit County
Grandy Lake Sunset, Skagit County
These 4 shots are all from a trip I took to the Pasayten Wilderness 2 years ago. I went over 4 days in the first week of October to see the larch turn bright orange. What a sight!
Each shot is two images stitched using CS 6 Photomerge. Before I merged them I opened the two shots as RAW images, synchronized them, and made slight changes to exposure, lens aberration and then using brushes made mods to the highlights/shadows. Once merged I tweaked them a little, but not much. Overall I am pretty happy with them, they are a HUGE improvement over my earlier efforts.
These first two are Amphitheater Mountain from just east of Cathedral Pass. Interesting how the larch form a band across the slopes…
These last two are from the other side of Cathedral Pass, near Upper Cathedral Lake. This trail, known as the Boundary Trail (it runs parallel to the Canada border) is a part of the Pacific Northwest Trail.
The Enchantments is an area with in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, near Leavenworth, Washington.
Crammed into a small area there are myriad lakes, tarns and jagged peaks. One of the many allures of the Enchantments are the larches which turn bright orange and yellow in the fall. The juxtaposition of (hopefully) blue skies, green spruce, orange larch and as we encountered, white snow, is a wonder on the eyes!
To camp overnight requires a permit. To get a permit involves entering a lottery and hoping for good luck!
Earlier this year I decided to apply for the permits and was lucky enough to win a permit for October. However the weather at the start of October was horrific, high winds, a veritable deluge of rain and in the upper alpine zones, snow. By the time my allotted time came around things started to brighten up, and so, off I went.
Parking area
Foot Bridge at the start…
Fall Colors on the way up
I managed to recruit two hardy souls to come along and we headed over Stevens Pass to Leavenworth and on up to the Snow Lakes Trail head. the first days hike was a little more than 10 miles and 4,000feet of elevation gain and we camped out on a sand bar along the shore of Upper Snow Lake.
Upper Snow Lake
Day two brought partly sunny skies and we hoisted our heavy packs for the 4 mile hike up to Lake Viviane. The trail was steep in spots and there was much snow. The area around the lake was very windy, and it took some time to find a flat, sheltered place for the tent.
Lake Viviane
Lake Viviane
Lake Viviane
The snow was as much as 2 to 3 feet deep in places. But so many people had traveled over the path that hiking was relatively easy.
At night I tried a few starry sky shots…
The 3rd day we awoke early to more sun and clouds and headed further up, on towards the Upper Lakes.
The mix of clouds, sky, larch and snow was perfect.
Leprechaun Lake was especially photogenic!
By late afternoon the skies looked decidedly dark and so we made our way back down to Upper Snow Lake and back to the car the next day…
I am definitely planning on entering the lottery again for the next years hiking season!
Pumpkins, kids, sunny skies, warm fall day…what could be better? 
Mount Shuksan from Picture Lake
On the Road to Iron Gate Trailhead, Pasayten Wilderness
Horse Pasture, Near Big Rock on Highway in Skagit County
Blue Lake Larch
Trapped in my chair-bound servitude of financial slavery for the day, I venture out doors in the late afternoon and see the sky. My heart misses a few beats, its wondrous…the clouds are huge and full of detail. I pause a moment and looking west see that there are more on the horizon, headed my way.
Moments of missed opportunities from the past flood in, spurring me into movement.
I hurry home to fulfill my duties and, grabbing the camera, head out the door.
The big question is always: where to go to? My usual go-to spot is old now, overused. I yearn for a fresh new location with a wide vantage of the big, glorious sky, great foreground, no wires or roads…
I see that the sky is becoming a riot of beauty as I nervously debate which way to drive. Chiding myself for my lack or foresight in scouting some new vantage points, I robotically start driving towards my regular spot out on Highway 9…suddenly I swerve off course deciding to risk the sumptuous skies above on a gamble.
Recklessly making my way across town, I head down the final stretch of road, surveying the sky and weighing my choices. Things are looking better and better…
After what seems like an eternity I finally arrive, jump out of the car, grab my camera and tripod and set off across the green field.
Yes!
Field of Andy’s Dream
My doubts and anxieties vanish with a poof as I survey the scene: deep green grass, fantastical sky, a nearby hill covered with fall colored trees and the mountains up the valley.
Looking up the valley
My euphoria is tempered by the need to do my best to capture some small part of the majesty before me…
I move off, setting up the tripod, composing and shooting, changing the exposure, adjusting the polarizer, laying on the ground, jogging across the field for a closer vantage of the nearby hill.
Bright orange and electric blue: the combination starts my neuro-synapses firing frantically…
Orange and Blue…
There is a farmhouse and barn on the horizon, adding some scale to the shots, the colors don’t look in the least bit real. The sky envelops me…wow!
Sunsets in particular necessitate speed. the light is changing so fast that minutes seem like days…I dart here and there across the fields looking around I see that the western sky is also alive with bright color but I need a few more shots to the east, trying to get the perfect shot of the trees, grass and mountains…
Majestic Sky
As I near photographic over-saturation (or maybe color over stimulation?) the skies begin to darken. I welcome the break, smiling now, I stand still and just admire the valley.
Skagit County Sunset Oct. 16th, 2012
Mossy Trunk, Green Leaves, Blue Sky…Baker River Trail
North Western Images - photos by Andy Porter 