North Cascades National Park

Transcription

1 October Where, when, and how to discover the best photography in America Published since 1989 Morning clouds above Diablo Lake North Cascades National Park Washington s North Cascades National Park has some of America s most beautiful mountain landscapes. Nature photographers who have not yet discovered this wilderness will find countless waterfalls dropping from ridges below jagged peaks and hundreds of glaciers, more than any other national park. Miles of trails through dripping rain forests connect jewel-like alpine lakes. Rainstorms blowing in from the Pacific are blocked by the North Cascades Range. Rain falls on the west side of the Cascades, creating a mosscovered rain forest. The highest point along the road through the park is called Rainy Pass. More snow falls here and piles up into deeper snow packs than in any other national park in the lower forty-eight states. A few miles east of the summit, ponderosa pine forests cover dry mountains rolling down toward the Columbia River Valley. Driving eastward, away from the Cascades, you ll see dry, rolling hills receding into the distance.

2 Issue page 2 Heavy winter snowfalls can close some North Cascades trails through the summer season. T he western entrance to the park is a three-hour drive north of Seattle on Interstate 5. State Route 20, also known as the North Cascades Highway, leaves I-5 at Burlington and climbs slowly for about sixty miles along the Skagit River until it enters the park. This only access into Washington s North Cascades National Park was completed in State Route 20 crosses some of the most rugged mountain landscapes in North America as it follows deep, glaciercarved river valleys, waterfalls dropping into mountain lakes and fast-flowing rivers. Away from the highway corridor, roadless wilderness extends all the way to the Canadian Border. Over four hundred miles of trails follow the ridges and streams, providing hikers with access to viewpoints overlooking alpine lakes reflecting snowcapped mountain peaks and high country meadows covered with spring wildflowers. Short seasons at these high elevations can bring out spring wildflowers and autumn colors in the same week. The first winter snows of late September or October will close State Route 20 at Ross Dam on the west side of the park to the village of Mazama on the east side. By mid-to late-april winter snows begin to melt and eventually the road reopens. Park Services If you hike from a trailhead on US Forest Service property, you may have to buy a Forest Service Parking Pass. If you have one, use your Golden Access Pass or Golden Age Pass. Just leave it on your dashboard in parking lots requiring a fee. If you will be backpacking and camping overnight in wilderness areas, you need to pick up permits at the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount. Since off-season staffing hours are sporadic at the Marblemount station, backpackers should stop at the Forest Service/Park Service ranger station at Sedro Woolley, for their permits. Lodgings are few around this national park. There are rental cabins in the Rockport area, and a motel in Marblemount, just outside the western entrance to the park. The small village of Mazama has lodgings on the eastern side of North Cascades National Park. Inside the park, twelve rental cabins float on the far side of Ross Lake. If you are camping or traveling in an RV, campgrounds are in Rockport and along the Cascade River Road on the west side of the park. The most convenient campgrounds are Goodell, just outside the park, Newhalem, near the Visitor Center, and Colonial Creek Campground on the edge of Diablo Lake in the middle of the park. Sites are available on a first-come basis. From Marblemount on the west side to the Washington Pass on the east, it s a forty-five mile drive through the park, mostly uphill with no steep grades or tight curves. Gas is available in Marblemount and in Mazama. Small grocery stores offer limited supplies in Marblemount, at Newhalem, and in Mazama.

3 Issue page 3 The Visitor Center For driving through the park, pick up a copy of the free map available at the Visitor Center. For more information, like names of streams and detailed trail information, buy a copy of the much larger National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map of the North Cascades and ask a ranger for a free copy of their one-page handout called the State Route 20 Day Hike Sampler. It lists fifteen easily-accessed trails. Most are rated as easy to moderate, with hiking distances and a few details about each trail. After shooting a new location with a name that I ll never remember, I try to get a photograph of a trail sign or some other reminder. Sometimes I open my map along the trail and get a close-up of my finger pointing to the location of the scene I just captured. It makes captioning easy and these reminders won t get lost like a notebook. In the middle of the Visitor Center is a very useful, large-scale topo map of the park. Press buttons next to location names and watch small lights mark the spot on the map. On the map, you can see hundreds of glaciers painted in white, the most glaciers of any park in the lower 48 states more than in Montana s Glacier Park. Start your park visit with a short hike around the River Loop Trail. It leaves the Visitor Center, right out the back door, and descends through an old-growth forest of hemlock, cedar, and spruce to the edge of the Skagit River, a two-hundred foot-wide, fastflowing glacier-fed river. Migratory salmon still return each year, late in the summer, to spawn. They are stopped by hydroelectric dams on Gorge, Diablo and Ross Lakes farther upstream, but are making a comeback in the shallows along lower parts of the river. If this is your first visit, drive through the park to get the lay of the land. If you are ready for a half-day hike to a fantastic overlook into the alpine landscapes across Cascades National Park, drive back out of the park a few miles west to the middle of the small town of Marblemount where State Route 20 makes a sharp turn at a bridge over the Skagit River. Cross the bridge and drive east to follow the Cascade River Road. Cascade River Road In the morning, sunlight filters through dense fog rising from the river. The first ten miles of the Cascade River Road are paved. Beyond, a graded gravel road follows the Cascade River to the Mineral Park Campground where the North Fork of the Cascade River crosses the road. Set up your tripod here and look upstream from the bridge for some beautiful cascades, photo below. The remote Mineral Park Campground sits in a dense old growth forest of hemlock and cedar on the edge of both these fast streams. A few miles beyond the campsites, this road enters the North Cascades National Park one of the very few roads that actually enter the boundaries of this park. In another few miles, the road ends at a parking lot and the trailhead of the Cascade Trail. You won t need a 4x4 to reach this trailhead. This trail is one of the shortest and easiest accesses to high alpine country in N. Fork of the Cascade River

4 Issue page 4 On the Cascade Trail the Cascades. It s a 1,700-foot elevation gain in 3.7 miles. The grade is not steep because there are at least thirty switchbacks leading up to Cascade Pass. Lower parts of the trail pass through old-growth forest. Up higher, the trail crosses talus slopes and, in the summer, meadows covered with wildflowers. From a wide rest area on the top of the pass, you ll see spectacular views across high country glaciers, rugged snowcovered peaks, spires (called the Tiplets) and tiny alpine lakes. Through the meadows near the pass, Stehekin Creek flows south to Lake Chelan. Cascade Pass Trail continues downhill along Stehekin Creek, twenty-three miles southeast. The trail follows the creek to a shuttle bus stop at High Bridge, a few miles north of Lake Chelan. Before the 1800s, this was one of the most-direct routes over the Cascades Range for Native Americans traveling from inland regions to the Pacific Ocean. If you are not ready to turn around and head back down the trail, continue climbing up to the rim above Doubtful Lake and follow the pass around the lake to the Sahale Glacier overlook, about two miles beyond the pass. There are incredible tripod locations everywhere along this trail. I made this hike with my raincoat rolled up in the bottom of my daypack. I needed it for the hike back to the trailhead. If you stay here for a week to photograph a rainforest, be ready for rain. I pack a waterproof rubber raincoat and rainpants, not a water resistant jacket. My high-top boots are waterproof. For these trips, I pack a supply of large zipup plastic bags and carry small cut-up sections of a large chamois I bought at an auto supply store. I pack a supply of Rainsleeves TM by Op/Tech USA to protect my camera in the rain. They are inexpensive, come two to a pack, and can be reused a few times. Several packs should last a week on the rainy side of the Cascades. I keep a pack in the bottom of my daypack. Handheld or on a tripod, a drawstring closes the front opening around your lens. Slide off the rubber ring around your viewfinder, pull on the Rainsleeve, and replace the viewfinder ring over the edge of the small hole in the plastic sleeve. I ve used them all day in steady rain and find that they keep my camera dry. Gorge Creek Falls Back inside the park, a few miles beyond the Visitor Center, the highway crosses Gorge Creek Falls on a narrow, grated metal bridge. Parking areas are at both ends of the bridge over a deep chasm. Park at either end of the bridge and walk across the road to a grated metal sidewalk. They are on both sides of the narrow bridge. Walk out to the middle of the deep (247 feet) and narrow gorge and get your photograph. Tripod legs would go right through the openings in the grated metal sidewalks, so handhold your camera with the strap around your neck and don t drop your lens cap. Use your widest-angle lens with a vertical composition and you still won t be able to capture the whole waterfall. I made four exposures and stitched them together later to cover most of the falls. Next to the restrooms in the parking lot, a paved trail climbs over the ridge to a viewpoint above Gorge Lake, downstream from Diablo Lake. From

5 Issue page 5 this viewpoint, you can look down on Gorge Dam. Stay on the trail as it loops around through the woods and heads back to the same parking lot. On a wet day, everything in this canyon drips. Wait for a break in the clouds and a little sunlight will light up every drop of water. Thunder Creek Trail This trailhead is at the south end of the Colonial Creek Campground. I found an easy walk on an almost level trail through an old-growth forest along the west side of Thunder Creek, a fast turquoise-color stream carrying a heavy load of rock flour, ground into dust by all the glaciers at its headwaters. Before turning around, I got about two miles up the canyon to a point where the trail crosses a suspension bridge and continues upstream on the other side of the fast-flowing creek. A quarter mile past the bridge over Thunder Creek is the Fourth of July Trail junction. Follow this trail up three miles of switchbacks to the Fourth of July Pass and you ll find more views of alpine landscapes. Wild mushrooms on the Thunder Trail It had rained overnight and wild mushrooms were everywhere. Along the trail I concentrated on some unusual fungi that climbed tree trunks (above). Using my camera on my tripod at eye level was easier than ground-level photography in the mud. Classic rainforest scenes are everywhere along the Thunder Creek Trail. Much of the forest is old-growth hemlock and red cedar and many of the trees are over ten feet in diameter. Pacific yew, with purplish-red bark and red seeds, thrives in this dark rainforest. Sword ferns cover the trailside. I avoided stepping on mushrooms popping up in the middle of the trail. Fog and low clouds diffused the morning sun and it was difficult to make a bad exposure. Diablo Lake Back on State Route 20 and heading east for a quarter mile, there was enough space to pull over and park on the east side of the low bridge over Diablo Lake. This viewpoint is just beyond the Colonial Creek Campground. From the edge of the lake next to the bridge, I shot down the lake and looked up Thunder Creek canyon where I spent the morning on the trail. The same fog and low clouds over the canyon were reflecting in Diablo Lake, giving me a different view of the same location. This photo is on page 1. Ross Lake Resort Trail Gorge Lake, Diablo Lake and Ross Lake were created back in the early 1900s by damming the Skagit River. Hydroelectric stations below the dams generate 25% of all the electricity needed by the Seattle area. You can see these lakes from several lookouts along the Cascade Highway. The best view is from the Diablo Lake Overlook. Get a good view of Ross Lake by walking down the Ross Lake Trail from the well-marked parking area at Milepost 134 on State Route 20. From a large parking lot at the top, a trail switchbacks down eight hundred feet, crossing Happy Creek, to the edge of Ross Lake. The walk down takes less than twenty minutes without photo breaks. The falls on Happy Creek, just upstream from the bridge, can wait for your climb back up the trail when you might need a few rest breaks.

6 Issue page 6 The view from Ross Lake Resort cabins I spotted a black bear in the woods near the bottom of the trail. Grey wolves live in the wilderness to the north, but stay far from the trails of humans. A sign at the bottom points right to the water ferry landing where you can use the phone at the landing to call for a water taxi to take you across to the resort. Another sign at the bottom of the trail points left to the trail leading across the top of Ross Dam. On the far side of the dam, the trail veers right and follows the other side of Ross Lake for about a mile to a marked side trail down to the Ross Lake Resort. Keep walking and it s two miles farther to a great viewpoint looking north, up Ross Lake. From the marked junction with the side trail down to Ross Lake Resort, it s a short walk to a shoreline trail behind a long line of floating cabins. Side-by-side, they all face the lake. In the distance, above a notch in the Skagit River Valley, are Pyramid Peak and Snowfield Peak, surrounded by the Colonial Glacier and Neve Glacier (below). Twelve rustic cabins, modernized with plumbing, electricity, and kitchens, float on cedar logs anchored on the edge of Ross Lake. There are no other lodgings inside the park. The Ross Lake Resort, a fishing camp in the 1950s, is open from mid-june through the end of October and is popular with fishermen, hikers and photographers who take advantage of a water taxi service that drops you at any trailhead along the shore of twentymile-long Ross Lake. Those with lodging reservations will be transported to the resort by water taxi. You don t have to carry your luggage down the trail. Bring everything you ll need. There is no restaurant at Ross Lake Resort. Check current guidebooks or do an Internet search for up-to-date information about a stay at Ross Lake Resort. Each morning I was out on the boardwalk in front of the cabin well before dawn to catch the first rays of the rising sun reflecting from the peaks and lighting up the dark lake. If the rocking of the floating cabins and boardwalk blurs your images, there are several spots for a tripod on the more stable shoreline. Happy Creek Forest Walk For a short and easy trail, watch for the Happy Creek Trail sign near Milepost 135. Take this twenty-minute walk following a raised wooden boardwalk on a slight uphill grade through the woods and return as it loops back to the parking area along a stream, the same stream that crosses the Ross Lake Trail. Carry your tripod. This is a dark forest, especially in the afternoon. A rainy day will provide soft, low contrast lighting in these forests. Canyon Creek Trailhead A short distance beyond the Happy Creek Trailhead is the Canyon Creek Trailhead. It s on the other side of the highway. From the highway, I spotted bright red vine maple at the confluence of Granite Creek and Canyon Creek. I pulled off the road, parked and got out my gear. The trail from the parking area heads south along Granite Creek for about a quarter mile before making a sharp turn and crossing the creek on a new steel span footbridge. The trail then winds through a young hemlock forest for few hundred yards before reaching the remains of an old log cabin that was

7 Issue page 7 originally built in Twenty years later a gold prospector named Frank Beebe bought it, disassembled it, and moved it to this location. For many years, it served as a forest ranger station. Just beyond the cabin is a beautifullydesigned footbridge made from one large cedar log with hand-made handrails and hand-cut steps up and onto the bridge. After crossing Canyon Creek, I returned back to the confluence, the way I came, and spent several hours shooting the two streams meeting in the forest. I made exposures with long and short lenses. My most successful image was later merged together from a series of nine vertical frames covering almost 180 at a point where the streams met. Film is cheap but pixels are cheaper. Rainy Lake Trail At milepost 157 on State Route 20, a sign marks the parking area and the trailhead for another easy trail, a one-mile walk to Rainy Lake. Paved and almost level the whole way, this wheelchairaccessible trail winds through the forest to the edge of a small mountain lake. Called a glacial cirque, Rainy Lake sits in a steep-sided bowl below Frisco Peak and Lyall Glacier. Climb over the far end of the small, paved viewing area at the end of the official trail, and follow a narrow, unmarked and unpaved trail to more viewpoints around the west side of the lake. The trail becomes overgrown before reaching the far end of the lake. On the walk back from the lake, I photographed snow-capped Whistler Mountain, photo above, through several openings in the forest. Mid-day light was fine on the south-facing slopes. Late afternoon light would be better. Cutthroat Pass Directly across the road from the Rainy Lake Trailhead is a short, unpaved road to the Pacific Crest Trail parking area. This parking lot, like others at trailheads in these National Forests, requires parked cars to display prepaid parking permits. They are available at most visitor centers and ranger stations. If you have a National Park Golden Access Pass or Golden Age Pass, just leave it on your dashboard. The Pacific Crest Trail is America s longest trail, stretching 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada. In North Cascades Park, the PCT crosses the Cascades Highway at the Rainy Pass. This trailhead marks the last sixty-mile stretch of the trail before it reaches the next paved road just north of the Canadian border. Starting from the Rainy Pass Trailhead, this trail begins with gentle switchbacks through a forest of hemlock, spruce, and fir, with a few views across the upper valley of Granite Creek to several nearby peaks. The trail up to the Cutthroat Pass is five miles long, and rated as moderate on the difficulty scale. Except for several switchbacks near the top, the trail is not steep. Porcupine Creek crosses the trail twice as it climbs about two thousand feet to the Pass. I used my tripod as a walking stick to cross the creek on wet stones. Whistler Mountain The annual Cutthroat Classic foot race is held here every year in late August. You don t want to be on this trail when over two hundred runners sprint more than eleven miles from the Rainy Pass Trailhead to the Cutthroat Pass Trailhead.

8 Issue page 8 A late September snow Nearing the pass, the trail climbs above tree line as it switchbacks through the Porcupine Creek headwaters. The most spectacular panoramic views, seen from the top at 6,837 feet, are well worth the two-hour climb for those who love alpine mountain landscapes. I packed a polarizing filter to reduce haze and darken blue skies. Morning light is best for photographs of glacier fields on the peaks to the west. To the east are Silver Star Mountain and The Needles, best photographed in afternoon light. Storms blowing in from the Pacific drop their rains on the west side of this summit, leaving everything to the east of here in a dry rain shadow. It was cold at the top. Recent snows still covered slopes not far above the Cutthroat Pass. As I stood in the wide saddle on the pass, I saw quick glimpses of incredible views through openings in low clouds that continued to blow through the pass. I stood in dense fogs for a few moments and then clouds would part, revealing distant mountain ranges. The weather changed from moment to moment. Remnants of dried wildflowers covered meadows below the pass. Larches below the summit were beginning to turn yellow. Up there, the season between spring and autumn is very short. On higher peaks, I spotted several mountain goats that thrive in this alpine terrain. Washington Pass Beyond the Rainy Pass, State Route 20 starts its descent to the east. Along the road, there are several marked viewpoints where photographers can photograph a circle of peaks arranged in a panorama from Stilleto Peak to Early Winter Spires to the Snagtooth Range. In locations like this, pick out individual peaks with your telephoto or capture the whole scene with a wide-angle lens. This was a perfect place to shoot a series of exposures to be stitched together. After leaving the Washington Pass Overlook and driving east for about a quarter mile, watch for a very small lake on the right side of State Route 20. There is no place to park because of steel guardrails that line the pavement. Continue driving for a few hundred more yards. If there is no traffic coming in either direction, make a u-turn into the first wide spot on the other side of the highway. Be careful making the turn and be careful walking the narrow highway shoulders back to the lake. Pack a wide-angle lens to capture both sides of an alpine pond that s circled with young blue spruce on the near side and an old forest on the other. Try different lenses, both on the edge of the pond and way back near the edge of the highway. Walk around the right side of the pond to the far end and you ll find a different perspective. Autumn color was beginning to appear on the far side. In early summer, the meadows around this pond are a good spot for wildflowers. Dry remains of summer wildflowers still dot the meadow. Photo to the right.

9 Issue page 9 Cutthroat Lake A jewel of an alpine lake sits below Cutthroat Pass on the east side of the ridge. Heading east on State Route 20 over Washington Pass, drive to Cutthroat Creek Road (Spur Road 400) near Milepost 167. Turn left onto this paved road and drive just over a mile to the Cutthroat Lake Trailhead at the end of the road. From there it s A small pond near the highway an easy, gradual, mile-and-a-half trail to the lake where you ll find reflections of the surrounding peaks. It s one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the area with easy access on the east side of the mountain. Cutthroat Lake is in a deep bowl. The best views are from the trail above the lake looking toward peaks visible to the southeast. Heather grows around the lakeshore. Larches, deciduous conifers that love cold weather, begin turning a golden color by late September. Leaving the park to the east Fifteen miles east of the Washington Pass is the small town of Mazama, hidden off the road in a forest of ponderosa pines. You ll find gas and a deli at the rustic General Store, and a selection of lodgings nearby. When you are planning a photo trip to the Cascades, you might want to stay a few nights on the west side of the park in the Marblemount area and a few nights on the east side in Mazama, a ski area with year-round highway access. Thirteen miles east of Mazama, Highway 20 passes through Winthrop, an old town restored with a Wild West theme. You ll find some good restaurants, several motels, a KOA campground, and a gas station in Winthrop. For a few more days of photo explorations in the Cascades, drive south through Winthrop and follow the signs along the most direct route to the town of Chelan, seventy miles south. The last twenty miles follow the Columbia River. Along this drive, most of the flat land on the east side of the Cascades has been planted with apple orchards. Irrigation water from the Columbia River keeps everything growing in the mineral-rich volcanic soil. Not just apples, but peaches, pears, blueberries, and vineyards. Central Washington is becoming part of America s Wine Country. Roadside fruit stands are adding tasting rooms. Lake Chelan Low hills surrounding the town of Chelan, on the east end of Lake Chelan, are almost desert-like. Chelan is a twoblock-long town that attracts summer tourists who enjoy the warm water at the shallow east end of Lake Chelan. There are upscale lakeside homes and rental lodgings on the lake, but no fast food outlets. The other end of Lake Chelan reaches far into the Cascades Range and is surrounded with steep cliffs reaching up to peaks hidden by clouds. Ponderosa forests climb the slopes and waterfalls If Cutthroat Lake is too far, walk the level one-mile trail to Rainy Lake. If the alpine view from Cascade Pass is beyond your hiking abilities, drive to the end of the road at Artist s Point to photograph Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan, where minimum walking is necessary. If waterfalls are your favorite, take the boat up Lake Chelan to Stehekin and ride the shuttle bus to the base of Rainbow Falls.

10 Issue page 10 Morning light on Lake Chelan The Stehekin River drops from the Cascades Range into Lake Chelan which drains into the Columbia River at a point in the very center of the state of Washington. drop hundreds of feet from alpine meadows hidden beyond the canyon rim. It s fifty-one miles by boat from the resort town of Chelan at the east end of Lake Chelan to the village of Stehekin at the west end of the lake. Stehekin is an Indian word meaning the way through, referring to an ancient route Native Americans took through the Cascades Range to the Pacific Ocean. Mountains around the lake are of volcanic origin. During the last ice age, glaciers scoured out the gorge to a depth of fifteen hundred feet. The bottom of North America s third-deepest lake is four hundred feet below sea level. The widest spot in the middle of this lake is one-mile across. It s long, narrow, and deep. Strong winds blowing down the lake can whip up six-foot waves that can make for an uncomfortable boat ride. Two ferryboats make the run from Chelan to Stehekin every day of the year - the Lady of the Lake II (larger and slower) and the Lady Express (smaller and faster). Sign up for a day trip with an early departure on the faster boat. You ll have a layover of three hours in Stehekin. You ll get back to Chelan at 6:00 PM. Make overnight lodging reservations at the Stehekin Landing Resort or one of the rental cabins in the area and you ll have more time to explore and photograph the remote west end of the lake. There are a few cabins along the Stehekin end of the lake and more along the road up the canyon. No roads reach the outside world, only the daily boat. Residents give the captain of the boat a grocery list and a blank check to deliver to the grocery store in Chelan. Groceries are delivered by boat the next day. An old yellow school bus waits at the Stehekin ferry landing for arriving boats. Its driver offers visitors an inexpensive guided tour of the Stehekin Valley with a stop at Rainbow Falls, an impressive, three-hundred-twelve foot waterfall. For about half the going fare, you can ask to be dropped off at Rainbow Falls and walk back to the ferry. This was how I spent my afternoon at Stehekin. Since everyone on the bus wants to be photographed at the base of Rainbow Falls, you won t be able to line up your composition without people in your viewfinder. Wait about fifteen minutes, until everyone leaves, and you ll have the whole place to yourself. You can wait for a cloud to blow across the sun while you search out the best spot for your tripod. If you can t frame the full height of Rainbow falls, make two or three exposures using a manual meter reading and merge these images later. You might spend an hour waiting for the best light while you perfect your compositions of Rainbow Falls. Take your time, because the walk back to the ferry is all downhill and only three miles, one-way. Along the way, there are some nice views of the Stehekin River, the original Stehekin School House, and afternoon light on the far side of the lake. You might have time to stop for lunch at a small bakery in the woods along the road. If you pack your own lunch for this hike, there is a picnic table and a bench on the edge of the lake. From this spot, it s a twenty-minute walk to the ferry landing. Don t miss your boat back to Chelan. Read your return ticket and remember the departure time.

11 Issue page 11 Mt Baker Road After exploring and photographing North Cascades National Park, there s a nearby side trip that s worth an extra day while you are in the area. Sixteen miles south of the Canadian Border, State Highway 542 leaves Interstate 5 at Exit 256 in Bellingham, Washington. Follow the signs eastward and drive a paved road along the Nooksack River to the town of Glacier where the road climbs twentyfour miles to Artist Point for great views of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker, the fourth-highest point in Washington State. Located near the northwest corner of the Northern Cascades National Park, this area is called the Alps of North America. Near the end of State Highway 542, a one-way road circles a pond where photographers must stop, after driving halfway around so your car won t be in your photograph of Mount Shuksan reflecting in Picture Lake. A wooden boardwalk leads to several platforms with different viewpoints. Late afternoon light on a clear day works best here. You can photograph this scene in any weather. It s a few miles farther to Artists Point at the end of the road where the summit of Mount Baker, at 10,781 feet is visible about eight miles to the southwest. Four miles east of the end of the road sits Mount Shuksan, at 9,131. The boundary line around the North Cascades National Park was drawn to include Mount Shuksan. Mount Baker sits a few miles outside the park, surrounded by the Mount Baker Wilderness Area. Several trails lead off in different directions at the end of the road. Starting at the far end of the parking lot, Chain Lake Trail circles the edge of what looks like an ancient volcanic caldera along a long, narrow ledge that drops away for a thousand feet to the Swift Creek valley far below with views into the remote interior wilderness of the Cascades. Even on an overcast day, you can see distant peaks through a blue haze. It s a two-mile level walk along the Chain Lake Trail to the junction with Ptarmigan Trail, which climbs to a viewpoint much nearer the summit of Mount Baker. At the junction, bear right on the Chain Lake Trail for another mile to several small lakes with reflections of the snow-covered summit. Small patches of last winter s snow still dotted this alpine landscape and the entire north slope of Mount Baker was covered with snow in late September. Alpine wildflower season is short this close to the Canadian Border. The first week of August usually sees the peak of wildflower color on the higher meadows. Photographers who enjoy hiking will find beautiful trails leading to breathtaking views of alpine wilderness in the North Cascades National Park. Have a great trip! Mount Shuksan from the Chain Lake Trail

12 Internet Resources U. S. NATIONAL PARKS / STATE PARKS North Cascades National Park: National Park Passes: LODGING Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Burlington, WA Best Western College Way Inn, Mt. Vernon, WA Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Burlingon, WA CAR RENTALS WEATHER CONDITIONS The Weather Channel: The National Weather Service: SPECIALTY CLOTHING CAMERA EQUIPMENT My life-long career in photography began at San Jose State University in After college, I enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, serving as a photographer and darkroom technician. In Germany, my skills and experience with equipment and lab work were developed and polished. I took the opportunity to photograph the beauty of nature in the Black Forest. Returning to California in 1965, I produced industrial and military training films for Raytheon Electronics and began showing my color nature prints. From 1969 through 1981, my photography was exhibited and sold in West Coast galleries. During the early 1980 s, I taught color darkroom workshops, then expanded to include field trips. Former customers, who had purchased my framed photographs, wanted to learn photography. My Pacific Image Photography Workshops offered adventures to the Pacific Coast, the Southwest deserts, national parks, Hawaii, New England, Canada, England, and the South Pacific. The workshops evolved into writing and sharing my adventures with others. Photograph America Newsletter provides information on where, when, and how to discover the best nature photography in North America. Photograph America Newsletter is published quarterly (four issues/year) by Robert Hitchman assisted by technical associate/wife, Katherine Post Office Box 86, Novato, CA All contents of this newsletter copyright Robert Hitchman Please don t make copies for your friends. This is a violation of Federal copyright laws. This newsletter survives on subscriptions.