Just a Peek by BryanSwan

Peekaboo Canyon was actually a little bit anti-climatic for me. It was the first of the three slot canyons I visited in the Escalante area, but the light was absolutely horrible at the time I got there, so it was put on the back burner in favor of nearby Spooky Gulch instead. On the way out, we swung back to Peekaboo via the upper entrance to avoid the “oh, guess what, you’re out of shape” scramble up from the bottom of the canyon, and by then the direct light had shifted to a subtle, cool glow from the rim of the canyon that ended up casting some rather unique color on certain shaded portions of the bedrock. I’m still not entirely convinced I didn’t just underexpose too much, but I’m pretty pleased with the result, even if it did end up a little too exaggerated.

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On the Arm by BryanSwan

Overlooking the rugged peaks of North Cascades National Park from the high camp area along Sahale Arm near Cascade Pass. Always a classic (if demanding) hike during wildflower season, but unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to get up there this year before the flowers got baked to death. The recent heat wave in the Pacific Northwest has not exactly inspired a lot of motivation to haul myself several thousand feet up a mountain, so I’ve been reprocessing a few older shots – this one is from two years ago. Fortunately I should get my first extended fix of the high country this coming weekend…hopefully the weather decides to cooperate for once.

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Fleeting Away by BryanSwan

So, first and foremost, if you are expecting to see the Wildflowers in the Pacific Northwest at the usual time of year (end of July to late August), you better start re-evaluating your plans real quick. Thanks to the absurdly low snowpack the Cascades got this past winter, the flowers started blooming in early June, and are essentially hitting peak right about now (the constant string of 90-degree days Washington and Oregon are in the middle of right now are certainly hurrying things along too).

I may have been just a tad early in hitting Indian Henry’s Hunting Ground in Mount Rainier National Park a couple weeks ago, because most of the meadows were more grass than flowers (though there were some real good patches – just in places where trees blocked views of the mountain). I horribly miscalculated my start this afternoon, and basically ended up power-walking up the last mile and 1,000 feet of gain on the trail, just making it to the meadows with maybe 15 minutes to spare before sunset. Naturally the best light was in the opposite direction, but the clouds over the mountain were pretty decent, for once.

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