North Cascades Summer 2012

An Assortment of Images Gathered Over the 2012 Hiking Season
  • My favorite playground...
  • Traditional start to my alpine hiking season: a solo ski at the base of the Black Buttes and Mt. Baker.
  • A monochrome image take during a pause on my telemark descent along side the Coleman Glacier.
  • On my way to Ruth Mountain, I like how the foreground ridge frames Shuksan and Nooksack Tower.
  • Two climbers ahead make a very nice boot track up past Rest Rock and the Ruth Mtn false summit.
  • A black and white conversion helps reduce the hazy look to Mount Baker.
  • A Look back at my tracks (and Hannegan Peak) after a "sporty" shortcut up a nasty gulley.
  • Snow scalloped by wind and rain and sun.
  • Mt. Shuksan across the Nooksack Cirque from the top of Ruth Mountain.
  • False hellabore is a welcome site after being on snow all day.
  • Climbing above Hannegan Pass, mixed terrain ice ax work can be quite sketchy...
  • Yvonne takes a brief break to let me catch up. Each gain in elevation reveals peaks by the dozens.
  • Hannegan Peak. Not a bad view, even on an overcast day.
  • Mt. Shuksan and Nooksack Tower catch a bit of light on a mild, overcast day. Seen from our lunch spot on Hannegan Peak.
  • Exiting the forest as I approach Cascade Pass. I enjoy the fog, knowing skies will clear soon.
  • This pika seems a bit skinny, but it was a big snow winter...
  • Glacier lilies above Cascade Pass.
  • I almost stepped on this buck while pushing my way through a stunted pine thicket...
  • A male Spruce Grouse pumps out love notes all day long...
  • At my high point for the day: above the scenic tent sites, below the hordes of climbers on the summit 1000-ft above.
  • Sahale Peak -- avoid the crowds and climb mid-week.
  • The last 1000-ft up the glacier moraines is tough!
  • A monochrome look deep into the North Cascades.
  • Sahale Arm retains a bit of snow in late July.
  • The classic, astounding view after the 2-mile hike up to Skyline Divide.
  • Carpets of Glacier Lilies bllom as the snow melts back.
  • A White-tailed Ptarmigan, in full summer plumage, watches me watch her.
  • Paintbrush, isolated and missing its flower beaks.
  • Dwarf lupine -- the most I've seen anywhere. Blooms are only ~1-in wide. Only grows at higher elevations.
  • The painbrush "flower" is actually the protruding green beaks, whereas the red portion are bracts (leaf structures).
  • White heather, also known as Merten's mountain-heather.
  • Coleman Glacier icefall from the end of Chowder Ridge.
  • Another detailed view of a Cliff Paintbrush.
  • A cap cloud forms quickly on Baker's summit. The forecast predicted a change, but the cap melted away soon after this shot was taken.
  • Traversing below Hidden Lake Peaks provides a nice view of Snowking Mountain.
  • The avalanche chute below Sibley Pass offers dense summer flowers...
  • Close-up of a Rosy Spiraea bloom -- popcorn size.
  • Columbia Lily.
  • Former fire lookout now mainatined and run by volunteers. First come, first served get to spend the night.
  • One of the nicest Cascade panoramas I've experienced; the image doesn't do it justice.
  • Why does the "Lightning Stool" only have room for one?
  • Boston Basin: Sahale (R), Boston (C), Sharkfin Tower (L).
  • The most dense watermelon algae I've ever seen; it was all over the snowfields below the peaks.
  • Overhead view of a paintbrush bloom.
  • A front approaches and clouds begin to build to the east. Time to retreat back to Marblemount...
  • Capturing the rising sun over the Coleman Glacier as it highlights the flower-covered Hogsback (ancient moraine).
  • Surpised to find such color as we leave the Heliotrope trail and head up to the Coleman Glacier climbers' camps.
  • We have never seen flowers like this at this spot before; it rivaled the Mt. Rainier meadows.
  • The Hogsback is usually a dreadful part of trail, but the flowers were so amazing that it was one of the best bits of hiking we ever experienced (except for my brand new back injury).
  • Varied colors of the Coleman Glacier ice in late summer.
  • Yvonne watches a marmot family at the edge of the Coleman Icefall.
  • There's a very special spot above Bagley Lake where the melt water seeps allow for an amazing garden bed of moss and monkey flower.
  • Yvonne stands at a familiar spot: Herman Saddle.
  • Lewis's Monkey Flower, up close.
  • Mountain Monkey Flower. Fairly uncommon as it grows in seeps at mid-elevations.
  • While I photograph some blooms, Yvonne makes herself at home with the pikas...
  • A different angle to give more depth to the 1-inch blooms.
  • A very nice alpine garden that appears for just a couple weeks per year... if the seasonal snow melts out.
  • A dusty Mount Baker looms as Yvonne takes a look toward 14 Goat Lake.
  • Yvonne continues on above 6000-ft, rounding the backside of Coleman Pinnacle.
  • Classic panorama: Camp Kaiser and the Portals, in front of the Park and Boulder Glaciers, below Sherman and Grant Peaks.
  • Grant Peak, covered in dust, looks like a volcano this time of year.
  • Close-up of Sherman Peak. A huge icefall two years ago has filled in nicely with new snow.
  • Heading to Maple Pass for our traditional end of season October hike. The Golden Larches were beautiful, if not a bit dry from 80 days of missing rainfall this summer.
  • Forest fire smoke slowly fills the valleys in North Cascades National Park as the morning warms...
  • Golden Larches stand out nicely against the shadowy backdrop of Frisco Mountain.