Tag Archives: alpine

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Trees, Alpine Terrain

September 21, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

A group of small trees stands on the edge of a deep valley, Cascade Mountains, Washington

This is another photograph from my brief visit to Washington’s North Cascades at Artist Point, high in the mountains at the end of the road between Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker. I had a free day, a rental car, and a forecast to relatively clear weather, so I went. The location is both popular and spectacular. The road ends at a very high point where snow still lay on the ground, and nearby are many trails, including the popular Artist Point trail that ascends a small rise nearby and offers excellent views in all directions.

There is a lot of intriguing stuff in this spot. Obviously the nearby alpine peaks with their extensive glaciers are impressive. Below there are two deep valleys leading away in opposite directions — one to the south towards a very large lake and the other to the north and leading to peaks on the Canadian border. The immediate terrain is alpine, with rocky areas (though less so that in the Sierra Nevada), small tarns, many plants, and small stands of beautiful trees that I believe are mountain hemlock. In this photograph one of those stands is positioned above the upper reaches of the valley that eventually leads south, and across this valley there are a few more trees, deeply eroded terrain, and some meadowy areas.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Lupine-Filled Meadow, Evening

September 20, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Lupine blooms carpet and alpine meadow against a backdrop of evening light on Sierra Nevada peaks

This was an unusual and exceptional year in the Sierra Nevada, primarily because the range finally — after five years of drought! — had not only good winter precipitation, but record-breaking precipitation. After watching the range dry out in very scary ways for the paste half of a decade, it has been tremendously gratifying to see a summer season that felt more normal. Because of the heavy winter storms, the high country snow melted out later than usual, and many places that typically might open by June or earlier were still closed well into July. And when the high country did open, there was still snow everywhere and creeks and rivers continued to run high well into the summer.

A side effect of all of this was that the short high country season of growth was delayed and extended, as we clearly saw during our week-plus backcountry photography excursion at the end of August and into the first few days of September. In a typical year I usually begin to sense autumn coming on by this point in the season, but this year it felt like full-blown summer: the creeks were still flowing strongly, there were snow fields in the higher mountains and we still had to cross them to get over passes, meadows were lush and green, and there were wildflowers everywhere. this meadow was a wonderful example. Located only a short walk away from our camp, it was absolutely filled with flowers, but especially with one of the largest displays of lupine that I’ve seen in the range.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nevada, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alpine Tarn, Ridge

September 17, 2017 G Dan Mitchell 4 Comments

A Sierra crest ridge reflected by the surface of a small alpine tarn in early evening light

This photograph came near the end of a special day on our weeklong (and then some) backcountry photography visit to the John Muir Wilderness area. From our campsite in the trees on a moraine near a lower-elevation lake we took off in various groups to explore higher country. Above us was a large alpine basin that rose gradually to the head of the canyon at just above 12,000′ of elevation, with higher peaks on all sides. As we walked we left the forest behind and entered the landscape of rock and sparse trees. Some headed toward a higher lake; I struck off by myself to arrive at the top of a gentle ridge of glaciated granite slabs, from which I could see further up there valley and down into some rock-bound lakes.

Eventually it was time to leave since the sun was dropping behind peaks to the west. I worked my way back down the slabs, eventually spotting Patty coming across from a different portion of the ridge. We joined forces and continued our descent to the creek at the bottom of the valley, making a small tarn our target destination. I had the idea that I might get there just in time to make a few photographs before the shadows reached the lake. As it turned out, I cut the timing a bit close, and almost as soon as we arrived the first shadows approached the left side of the lake. I had to work quickly, so I found a composition that included the jagged rocks half-submerged along the shoreline, the lake itself, and the reflection of the 12,000′-plus ridge still in full sun.

Photographs: Cascades, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Pacific Northwest

Trees, Volcanic Terrain

September 14, 2017 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Tree line groves in the volcanic alpine landscape of the North Cascades

I’ll continue to alternate between photographs from several recent photographic projects — the late-August Sierra backcountry photography, a recent trip to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, and perhaps a few other things. Today’s photograph comes from the Seattle visit, from which I returned just a few days ago. I spent most of the visit in the Seattle, specifically Ballard, where I did some street photography. However, I did get one day to drive out a bit and do some landscape photography. After considering the “big three” options (Rainier, Olympics, and Cascades) I decided to head north, almost to the Canadian border, and the Mount Baker area.

I went to the understandably popular Artist Point area, just beyond the Mount Baker ski area, where there are a number of trails heading out in various directions to visit this spectacular country sitting between the summits of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker. While my experience with this county is limited — it is a long ways from home! — I love the character of these mountains. They feature dark and rugged volcanic peaks, large glaciers, forests fed by the significant precipitation in this part of the world, and a rather abrupt transition between the world of the forests and that of the glaciers. Artist Point sits very close to this boundary — there are beautiful trees, but much of the country is open and rocky, and not far above are those glaciers.

G Dan Mitchell Photography

Tag Archives: alpine

Lupine-Filled Meadow, Evening

Alpine Tarn, Ridge

Trees, Volcanic Terrain

Photographer and visual opportunist. Daily photos since 2005, plus articles, reviews, news, and ideas.