Black Diamond NOW

Hiking to Greenlake, Mt. Rainier National Park

Great weather, great time to hike up to Green Lake from the Carbon River entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park.  Although it's January, Judy and I found the trails to be snow free except at the very top.  And sunshine too.

Even though the lake was frozen, there is always something special about being up here.  And you get some great views of Ranger Falls along the way.

Green Lake is at about 3,400 feet elevation and this is a good indicator of where the snow level is in the cascades right now.  For those not familiar with this popular hike, park at the park entrance where the road dead ends along the Carbon River.  Follow the old road for 3 miles and you find a sign on your right for the Green Lake trailhead.  In one mile, you reach Ranger Falls and another 0.8 miles to the lake.  9.6 miles round trip and 1,150' of elevation gain.  Always fun.

Salmon Fishing - Eagle Style

Having the opportunity to observe bald eagles feasting on salmon each December along the North Fork of the Nooksack River is one of those experiences not to be missed.  You'll find plenty of these beautiful birds hanging out in the trees along the river in no apparent hurry to go "fishing".  Given that salmon often outweigh eagles, finding a carcass floating downstream along the shore after the fish have spawned is the typical method of choice for landing an eagle's breakfast and dinner.  Occasionally, however, we do find an eagle diving out into the water to drag one to shore.  A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to be able to capture the sequence of one eagle eyeing it's dinner in the river and then diving down to "land" it.  

Following are a few of the highlights:

On the glide path.

Concentrate!

Splash down!

This was the easiest part so far.  Now you have to get really wet and drag your dinner to shore.

After a few minutes of really hard wet work, you can finally rest and savor your meal.

The only problem, however, is that once ashore, all the eagles who have been watching this spectacle would love nothing more than a free lunch.  Here they come.

One hates to eat and run, but that's the life of an eagle.  Fortunately, there's lots of food in the river this time of year.
 

Prime Time for Sunrises at Lake Sawyer

With the sun at it's lowest angle of the year and plenty of high clouds for color, early January is often the best time for us to see amazing sunrises at Lake Sawyer.  Not that we haven't had some nice ones already, but colder weather also brings a few less low clouds that tend to give us the grey days of December.  That said, here are a few sunrise pics from the last couple of weeks.

The above photo is a 5 image panorama stitched together taken on Dec. 22.  

Totally clear skies aren't what we look for either.  Even just a few high clouds can add so much color, amplified by lake reflections.

Too many clouds for a lot of color in the above photo but for some reason, we often get just a small "slit" of clear sky on the horizon directly across the lake from us as the sun rises to the southeast. This same view that we see above looked very different only about 10 minutes earlier.

What's so much fun is that you never know what you will see and it changes so much in a 15 to 30 minute period of time.  

The above photo (a single exposure using a 20mm wide angle lens) was taken just 4 minutes after the first one I showed.  Clouds drift so much in a short period of time and colors change from pinkish to more orange and yellows in a matter of minutes.  One more.

Good news too about sunrise in December and January.  WE GET TO SLEEP IN and not miss a thing.  Get up at 7 am on weekends and you're good to go.  Somehow I feel like I'm cheating when I don't have to get up at 4:30 am.

How Do Hummingbirds Make It Through Winter?

The short answer to this question is that most of them migrate to warmer climates in Mexico and the Caribbean in winter and even to South America.  That's a long way for such a small bird.  But, according to National Geographic, more hummingbirds are staying north these days as a result of both warmer winter weather and human activity.  Winters in the Puget Sound region are by no means severe and we have lots of people activity, so we find lots of hummingbirds here year round.  How many of us have hummingbird feeders that we dutifully keep full of nice sugary water?  Many of us I'm sure.  Watching them fly and feed is so much fun!  So is trying to photograph them while in flight.  This one was taken Christmas eve morning.

To capture this image, I took the photo through our kitchen window and had to use a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second.  What do hummingbirds feed on?  Of course, we all know that they love sugared water.  A concentration of 25% sugar is very similar to the high sugar content of flower and plant nectar that we typically see them feeding on in our gardens.  But hummingbirds are actually carnivores and feed on insects as their main food staple.  For some reason, the more people there are, the more insects and the better the habitat for hummingbirds.  Hmmm, some "food" for thought.  Sugar from plant nectar and people hummingbird feeders provide the fuel needed for them to catch their real nutritious food.

Look at those tiny little feet!  Hummingbirds need lots of sugar to survive and consume up to 1/2 their body weight in sugar each day.  A hummingbird's metabolism is the highest of any endothermic animal on earth and thus the need for lots of fuel.  To conserve energy during extreme cold weather, a hummingbird's heart rate can plummet from 1,260 beats per minute down to fewer than 50 beats - entering a state of torpor.  Even then, however, they can still lose 10% of their body weight over night.  They need food and lots of sugary fuel to find it.

Following is our latest addition of hummingbird feeders, this one made of blown glass by an artisan at a farmers market.  Pretty fun and holds plenty of sugar water.

Some people caution about making hummingbirds too dependent on people during the winter.  Fair enough.  Probably the best thing we can do is grow more plants that bloom in colder seasons - like hellebores.   And a couple of feeders properly attended will do just fine.

Now, if only I could find a way to increase my metabolism while eating all of that sweet holiday food, instead of going into torpor.  

Posing for the Camera Circa 1899

Darius Kinsey and his younger brother Clark were pioneers in the true sense of the word in the field of photography.  Because of their herculean efforts dragging hundreds of pounds of camera equipment around in the woods and using fragile and weighty glass plates to capture images, we know much more about the history of early logging in the northwest than any book could tell us.  They weren't just technicians, however, they also knew what it took to bring an image to life.  It's one thing to take a picture of a huge Douglas Fir tree lying on the ground.  It's a whole nother thing to capture how big it really is.  A quick look at the photo's taken by Darius Kinsey and now available on line at the U.S. Library of Congress show how much a pro he was at "posing" and giving context to logging and forest photographs.

Photo courtesy Library of Congress, Darius Kinsey photographer, circa 1889

Take the man out of the picture and you just have a log.  As we can see, however, it's a really big log.  Add women, young children and a ladder to the photo and you gain a whole lot of context and character.

Photo courtesy Library of Congress, Darius Kinsey photographer, circa 1899

Now we see a really big log on a rail car - certainly big enough to crush us all.  Want to show what a log that is supposed to be 129 years old looks like?

Photo courtesy Library of Congress, Darius Kinsey photographer, circa 1907

The picture wouldn't mean much without the man.  

We know that steam donkey's with cables and spar trees were used to haul and load large logs onto railcars.  Just how big were these logs and how powerful were the donkeys?

Photo courtesy Library of Congress, Darius Kinsey photographer, circa 1901

With the log dwarfing the donkey engine, I think that we would all agree that steam donkey's were pretty darn powerful and important to the logging industry of the time.  Impressive photography and quite the legacy to leave us.

So, next time you are out taking a photo of Mt. Rainier, don't just focus on the mountain.  Put it in perspective with it's surroundings.

 

 

A Walk in History

Inspired by the work of local photographer Robert Dobson, I decided to head out and see if I could "see" history as it was and is today.  Bob's style of using old cameras and dated film to capture images that tell a story is unique and to be treasured - and well beyond my skill level.  But perhaps it's possible, using digital technology, to catch a glimpse of the past in the present that is also pleasing to the eye.  Following is an image that first caught my attention.  Can anyone guess where and what this is?

The mix of colors, textures and shapes is what made me look twice and with barnacles growing we get our first clue as to where this might be.  Would it help if I told you that this structure is over 100 years old.  Maybe this image will help.

Oops, we've got a leak.  Things do wear out after a century of use, but it's still functional and a vital link for Puget Sound commerce.  It's also a place to view salmon as they make their way on up to the cedar river to spawn.  Here's another glimpse.

Hmmmm, we have moving parts.  Old moving parts. 

Even on this day with no salmon passing through, the cormorants still delight in seeking fish for dinner.

Here's a photo showing modern day structures at the site with all their shapes, sizes and "muscle".

Well, if you haven't guessed yet, these photos are of the Ballard Locks connecting Lake Union to Puget Sound, first built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1917.  If you haven't visited the locks, it is well worth the trip.  They have a nice park, gardens and good trails.  Some historic buildings too, still in use. 

This nearby railroad trestle must also date back to the early 1900's.  Still using the big weighted end to lift the bridge for opening.

On my way out, I had to stop and take a picture of one of my hiking buddies - always begging to have his/her picture taken along with a snack.

 

Eagles of the Nooksack

About this time each year, two large runs of pink salmon return to the Nooksack and Skagit rivers to spawn.  Pinks are reasonably small, averaging 4 to 5 pounds with a few 20 pound lunkers thrown in for excitement.  With a total of 6.8 million fish on average returning each year to all Puget Sound rivers, it's by far the largest run of salmon we have here.  But the Skagit and Nooksack are the places to see them in numbers - and also the large number of eagles they attract.  

Though perhaps a little early, I headed up to my favorites spots along the Nooksack last week hoping to see some eagles and I wasn't disappointed.

For me, it doesn't get much more fun than trying to photograph eagles while in flight.

You won't find eagles diving for fish like we do here at Lake Sawyer or at Wolf Lodge Bay in Lake Coeur 'd Alene while kokanee are spawning.  Trout and kokanee are much smaller than even small pink salmon.  Salmon are much too big and heavy for eagles to lift.  Instead, eagles feed on salmon carcasses that lie in the water after they have spawned and no longer flapping about.  

The "action", when it occurs for photographers, is when eagles engage in disputes over who gets to feed first.  Then, it's all about a display of power and threat in an attempt to chase other eagles from feeding on their favorite carcasses and territory.

Watching them feed is not a pretty sight.

Only when enough meat has been removed from the carcass will an eagle attempt to claim it and lift it away to a more private dinner spot.

They do seem to really like feeding on the skin too.  Always fun to watch even when just performing a fly by.

More eagle pics in a future post.

 

Return of our Lake Sawyer Feathered Friends

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are beginning to see quite a number of our feathered friends at Lake Sawyer.  Some, like bald eagles, pied-billed grebes, ring-necked ducks, bufflehead, hooded mergansers and cormorants often winter-over here (I've seen each of these so far this year).  Ospreys will soon join them.  Others, like common mergansers, coots, western grebes, wood ducks, gadwalls, wigeons, teals, northern shovelers, golden-eyes and pintail ducks generally pass through heading south after a short rest.  And of course, we have our year-round resident great blue herons, Canadian geese and kingfishers.  If only we could induce the geese to migrate south.

Following are some photos from last week.

Also saw a juvenile eagle making the rounds yesterday.  With their old nest in Lake Sawyer Park badly damaged in past storms, let's keep an eye out for where they might build another nest or repair the old.  

These cute little pied-billed grebes are great fishermen and we see them diving near our dock year after year.

This male hooded merganser was hanging out with a group of ring-necked ducks at the south end of the lake.  The following shows a ring-necked duck on takeoff followed by his/her buddy merganser.

This time of year, you will often find a heron standing atop the outlet weir in the morning hours.  

The above photo was taken at Nisqually showing the bird's reflections.  Still working on getting a good recent shot of our Lake Sawyer herons.

More reflections taken at Lake Sawyer park of Mr. & Mrs. ring-necked ducks along with more heron reflections that follow.

It's a fun time of year for birders.

 

Sunrise at Lake Sawyer

My goodness, we've had "photographable" sunrises at Lake Sawyer for 6 out of the last 7 days - and this is November!  With morning fog drifting in and out, it has been particularly fun and challenging to capture.  In no particular order, here are a few examples.  Which one is your favorite?

Tuesday Nov. 13

Wednesday Nov. 7

Thursday Nov. 8

Monday, Nov. 12

Saturday Nov. 10

Sunday Nov. 11

 And one more from yesterday.

Not exactly tough duty getting up in the morning.  Don't forget to get your 2019 calendars.  $20 each with all proceeds benefiting the Black Diamond Community Center.  You can get them at the Smokehouse & More next to the Black Diamond bakery or let me know - I'll deliver or mail free of charge.  Tax deductible too!

2019 Calendars

Yeah, 2019 calendars are now available for purchase ($20 each) with all (100%) proceeds benefiting the Black Diamond Community Center.  Initial reviews are "awesome".  

Calendars are now available in Black Diamond at the Smokehouse and More next door to the Black Diamond Bakery or directly from yours truly and I am happy to mail or deliver free of charge.  Photos included this year are from around the state and include plenty of mountain pics, wildlife and fun landscapes.

Give me a call or text me at 253-405-6564.  They make great Christmas gifts and benefit a good cause.  All checks should be made out to the Black Diamond Community Center and are tax deductible.  Thanks for your help in reaching out a helping hand to those in need in our community.  Get yours early before we run out!

Hiking to Comet Falls

Although many of the roads are now closed in Mount Rainier NP and you will find snow at Paradise, there is still time to do some hiking at lower elevations - such as the trail to Comet Falls.  As the days cloud over, it can be a good time to visit some of your favorite waterfalls.  According to Waterfalls Northwest, Comet Falls ranks as the 8th "best" waterfall in the northwest, including Washington, Oregon and northern Idaho.  Why does it get ranked so high?  A whole lot of water falls (no pun intended) and it has a 462' drop in three sections with the biggest 392' among the farthest drops in our state.  The trailhead at an elevation of about 3,600 feet is well below the snowline for now and to the falls, you climb 1,250 to 4,875, which was right at current snow levels.  Just some traces. Here's a view from the base of the falls.

As you can see, it was overcast but not raining.  Perfect, but....  There was plenty of mist blowing around which makes it a challenge keeping your lens clear, especially for long exposures.  The exposure I used for the photo above was 1/60th of a second and I was able take the shot hand held and protect my lens from the mist.  With my camera mounted on a tripod, I was able to slow the shutter speed down even more, to 2 seconds.  The effect is to "feather" the falls while keeping the background in focus.

Too much mist on my lens in these conditions to get a really clear photo with a 2 second exposure. 

The hike to the falls is 3.8 miles round trip with 1,250 feet of elevation gain and some stair climbs along the way.  The good news is that there is a lot to see along the trail both going up and going down.  For a change, following are some pics taken on the way back down.

As you can see, there are three tiers to Comet falls, two including one at the top and this third tier as the stream levels out some.  Note the snow - easily navigated.

Before you reach Comet falls, there are several other falls to see, including this one, just before you climb over the ridge to get your first view of Comet falls.  Here, you cross a bridge and see water cascading down what is called Bloucher Falls.

Continuing on down the trail, there are easily 6 to 10 places where you can get some pretty neat views.  Some are close ups.

Some views are a little further away.

Water everywhere.

And just before you get back to the trailhead, you cross a bridge with a great view of Christine Falls.  You can also see this falls just off the road as you head on up toward Paradise.

Great way to spend a day when the sun and mountain are hiding.

 

 

Hiking to Blue Lake

Where are your favorite places to go hiking in the Cascade mountains of Washington?  Mt. Rainier National Park, Chinook Pass corridor, Snoqualmie Pass corridor or maybe Stevens Pass?  How can you beat the Enchantments or the Alpine Lakes Wilderness areas?  Well, you can't but then you can't leave out Heather-Maple Pass Loop and Blue Lake along the North Cascades Highway either - especially in the fall when larch begin to turn yellow and shed their needles.  Though we had already visited Blue Lake earlier this summer and it was a bit late for larch, I headed up to Blue Lake last week to get a last look before the snows came.  First views of the lake always make me smile.

Certainly one of the better lakes for reflections that you'll find.  Sheltered by the surrounding peaks, there are still traces of snow from last winter.  A few larch still showing off their colors too.  In an attempt to protect the lake from the impact of man, significant areas along the shoreline have been roped off limits - particularly those areas right on the lake shore.  However, National Park Service staff this year added a short loop trail on the west side of the lake, providing access to a mountain tarn surrounded by larch.

You might note that the tarn was frozen over and a few traces of snow from a week or so ago remain on the ground up here.  Looking back down over the ridge at Blue Lake offers some neat views.  No trail to this higher view point but a reasonably easy scramble from the tarn to gain another few hundred feet of elevation.

Back down on the trail, quite a few larch still showing their colors.

Though there were perhaps a couple dozen hikers, they seemed to stay clustered at the north end of the lake - avoiding the tarn loop trail and perhaps the best view of all from the south end of the lake.  I must have hung out on a rock formation just a foot or two above the lake for an hour or more and I had it all to myself.  An easy side trail takes you down to this vantage point off the loop trail.

Incredible place.  Just 4.4 miles round trip, excluding the tarn loop trail and scrambles, and just over 1,000 feet of elevation gain.  If you haven't been there, this is a must do hike and accessible for most of us.  The trailhead is also easy to find with excellent signage and located just west of the Washington Pass summit along the North Cascades highway.

 

Fall Colors - Why & Where

So many people we know identify the fall as their favorite time of year in the northwest.  Cool but comfortable temperatures, often sunny days and bright intense colors as the leaves turn.  It's a great time of year for taking pictures too.

Why the color change?  During the spring and summer, leaves serve as factories producing the food needed for plant growth.  Leaf cells contain chlorophyll which absorbs energy from sunlight used in transforming carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates.  Chlorophyll contains pigments with a variety of colors including green, orange and yellow.  Green is dominant most of the year but as the days shorten and temperatures cool, chlorophyll begins to break down and the other colors come to the fore.  Other chemical changes cause the development of red anthocyanin pigments adding to the color palette. 

Dry weather and cool (not freezing) temperatures are best.  It's a great year so far.

Along the trails up in the mountains, we also are seeing quite a few low growing bushes and plant leaves with some really intense colors.

These trail pictures are on the way up from Eleanor Lake to Grand Park.  The leaves on huckleberry bushes are among the brightest red we saw here.

And no surprise for photographers, colors are the most intense during the first couple hours after sunrise and before sunset.  The angle of the sun brightens without blowing out the colors.

Almost predictably, we find color wherever a trail goes through an area of a previous rockslide or washout.  The trees that grow here are generally deciduous, including the "pioneer tree" Red Alder.

Where to go right now?  Most anywhere in Mount Rainier National Park is great right now and along the Chinook Pass highway.  The very best I've seen so far - Hwy 23 between Randle and Trout Lake.  The Trout Lake side is absolutely amazing.  One word of caution, however, about Hwy 23.  It's 60+ miles of logging road including about 40 miles "bumpy paved" and the rest gravel.  The good news - the road is recently graded.  Great views of Mt. Adams too.

Hiking to Lake Eleanor and Grand Park

Fall colors are showing well right now and should peak over the next couple of weeks in the central Cascades.  Time to take a hike to Grand Park via the backdoor through Lake Eleanor.  Starting from Sunrise to get to Grand Park can be a slog for many - 14 miles roundtrip and a bit of a climb back up through Berkeley Park.  Starting at Lake Eleanor is shorter at only 8 miles round trip and moderate, gaining just 1,100 feet in elevation.  You can also be at the trailhead in less than an hour from Black Diamond.

Lake Eleanor is a beautiful destination itself and only 2 miles from the trailhead.  It also has a couple of campsites, though they are currently closed due to concerns about the health of some trees.  How would you like to wake up to this morning view?

Crystal clear and just like glass.  Back to the trail and on to Grand Park.  As you begin the last 1/2 mile up to Grand Park, you begin to see lots of color.  The trail is surrounded by it.

If you can, hiking in the morning is best to get the sun before it is overhead and the colors become too harsh.

When we reach the high point of the trail, I never cease to be in awe.  Grand Park is huge and the views amazing.

Going a little further, the expanse becomes even broader.  I had to stitch 5 pictures together to get this one.

Depending on the lens you are using, it's pretty hard to fit all of the mountain in the photo.

Now visualize these huge meadows full of wildflowers blooming, particularly lupine which seem to thrive here.  Late June and early July are typically best for wildflowers at Grand Park.

On the way back, hiking model Vanna (aka Judy) posed for a picture.

To get to the trailhead, take Hwy 410 through Greenwater, take a right at Forest Service Road 73 and continue on 73 for about 10 miles.  You will pass Huckleberry Creek after 6 miles and then reach the trailhead at Eleanor Creek where there is a pull out for about 5 or 6 cars.  The sign for Eleanor Creek is easily seen as is the trailhead on your left.  Hike for about a couple 100 yards before you reach the official boundary and enter Mt. Rainier National Park.  Signs very visible.

Photos of the Week

Fall officially began on Saturday Sept. 22 and the signs of change are in the air.  As our evenings cool, we still have flowers blooming but they are just hanging on.  Our sunflowers and cosmos seem to be the hardiest of the lot right now.

Sunflowers bring a smile to my face every day while cosmos may have invented the colors in the pastel palette.

It's a little early for birds to be migrating through or bald eagles and osprey to begin building their nests, but old faithful great blue herons continue to hold down the fort.  This one was practicing his/her "fancy dancing".

We no longer have to get up in the wee hours of the morning or stay up late to catch sunrise and sunset.  The angle of the sun is also flatter, leading to more and more colorful displays at Lake Sawyer.

Sunrise and sunset have both moved further south and rise at about 90 degrees to the east and set at 270 degrees to the west.  I guess that signals the start of fall.  Weather has also remained warm and nice.  It's not often that you will see sunrise reflecting on  Mt. Rainier in the morning without a cloud in the sky.

We also had a rare event with the moon setting right behind Mt. Rainier and the Milky Way also right over the mountain at the same time.  I had to hike up to Dege Peak to stay above the clouds initially.

And then the moon set and you can see some of the Milky Way behind it.

Looking forward to some great fall colors in the weeks ahead.

 

 

Got Goats

Finally, the third time was a charm and I was able to photograph mountain goats at Mt. Rainier - except, they're not really goats.  Instead, according to the experts, they are Bovidea in the same family as antelopes, gazelles and cattle and not true goats of the Capra family.  No matter, they sure look like goats.  I finally found two groups feeding along the hillsides of Berkeley Park about a mile past where the trail from Sunrise splits three ways: (1) to the Burroughs, (2) to Fremont Lookout where goat sightings have been frequent lately (except when I'm there) and (3) following the Wonderland Trail on to Berkeley Park and Skyscraper Mountain.   I found two groups in Berkeley Park with about a dozen animals total, including 4 youngsters.

The youngsters looked a lot younger than I would have thought given that fall and winter are rapidly approaching.  Staying close to mom still, except for a few wandering about.

Fortunately, I was carrying my long lens and was able to get decent views.

A few of them posed as if they wanted to have their portrait taken.  I was only happy to oblige. 

Profiles too.

It still astounds me how they are able to find enough food up here to survive. 

The clan sticks together.

There seems to be a significant symmetry about where and how they sit or stand in pairs.

These are all females tending the herd.  Males live a solitary life except during mating season.

Twins?  They could be.  One of the bigger challenges to the herds' long term viability is to limit inbreeding.  Fortunately, it seems as though the herds at Mt. Rainier are fairly healthy, with 72 counted in one group last week by rangers on the hillsides of Freemont Mountain.

This female was apparently unimpressed by my camera.

Lots of fun.

 

 

Summertime in Black Diamond

As summer wanes, it's time to look back over my wanderings around town and pick out a few highlights, starting with from whence our community came.

Although a wayward automobile crashed the "party" this summer, damaging several exhibits at the Black Diamond History Museum, our miner stood strong and continued to oversee happenings in old town.  Thanks to Mira Hoke and Patty Moss, another part of local history also received a wonderful new face lift. Thank you Mira and Patty!

Other historic parts of town, like Lawson Hill, continued to stand tall after over 100 years.

St. Barbara Church continues to look like new.  Other places like this old gas station in Morgansville - not so new.

Across the street, though, signs of change with a new roof and paint job in the offing.

Less than a half mile from here, a whole lot of new is beginning to take shape.

This time of year, we find mountain bikers and road bikes all around town as they ride some of the best biking roads and trails that you'll find in King County.

Trails for young and old and all abilities - and pets on a leash too.

And some of the best fishing around.

Spectacular views of Mount Rainier in all its splendor.  You can go sight seeing and fishing all at the same time.

You just can't beat our local fishermen.

I guess that's why Osprey are also called Seahawks.  Don't mess with these guys either, part of our police auxiliary to slow down speeders.

Not all of our local wildlife are so aggressive.

Lake Sawyer is a great place to cool off too.

Fall is fast approaching.

Back to school beckons.

Enjoy Labor Day festivities today and tomorrow!  See you there.









 

Best Backpacking Campsites

If you are looking for a campsite for your next backpacking adventure, I've got three "must do" recommendations.  My criteria include (1) the campsite must be a site specifically permitted by either the Forest Service or National Parks, (2) must have a privy, (3) be located along either a designated Forest Service or National Parks trail and (4) have a "spectacular" setting. 

3.  Lake Ingalls - The hike to Lake Ingalls is a fun adventure, 4.5 miles one way with 2,500 feet of elevation gain and a real "scramble" the final 1/4 mile up to the lake.  Fortunately, you won't need to carry your full pack up to the lake since there is no camping here.  The designated camping areas are located along a side trail right after you summit Ingalls pass and before you reach the lake.  They are spread out over a fairly large area providing lots of privacy and making it not feel crowded.  Here's the view from my campsite.

The views of Mt. Stuart and North Cascades are pretty amazing.  As a destination, the lake is impressive.

The only disadvantage is that camping is located about 1/2 to 3/4 mile from the lake, making it somewhat inconvenient to go back and forth.  On the other hand, you will often find mountain goats in the area - a real treat and good reason for keeping campers some distance away.

2.   Snow Lake (Mt. Rainier NP) - There are several lakes named Snow Lake in the area, including the one in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness trail out of Snoqualmie Pass and my favorite camp site of the same name in Mt. Rainier National Park.  There are only two campsites here, so you have plenty of privacy.  These campsites are also located at the north end of the lake and away from the main trail crowds.  At jsut 2.5 miles roundtrip with only 610 ft of elevation gain, the hike is perfect for young families.  What impressed me most about this site is the amazing view looking south across the lake from one of the campsites.  My mouth dropped when I first saw it.

The biggest advantage to camping here, I believe, is all of the area around the lake available for exploring - including Bench Lake and all the area around the Snow Lake.  There is not much of a view from Snow Lake of Mt. Rainier.  To get a glimpse, you have to work your way around to the southeast part of the lake (upper left in the above picture).

The real bonus is Bench Lake, only 0.7 miles from the trailhead.  This is one of the best views of sunset you will find in the Park.

1.  Shriner Peak (Mount Rainier NP) - This is my all time favorite backpacking camp for Judy and I.  Just 8.5 miles roundtrip, you climb 3,434 ft. to an old fire lookout.  Given the climb, this trail is one of the least traveled in the park but the views are spectacular.  Here's the view from our tent at sunrise.

In addition to Mt. Rainier not shone is this pic, you can see both Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens to the south.  We were blessed with great weather and views staying just above the clouds.  Here's the view at sunset.

If you are into night photography, this is a must do location.  The Milky Way as I opened our tent flap:

Another panorama above the clouds.

On this night, we even got a little of the northern lights.

One other advantage to camping here is that it won't be crowded.  There are only two campsites.  However, you won't find any water up here either and by late July and August, the closest stream is nearly back at the trailhead, so you will have to carry a heavy back.  It's well worth it though.

We are blessed in the northwest.

 

Bald Eagles - So Much Fun to Watch

This year has been a banner year for watching eagles, be it at Wolf Lodge Bay in Lake Coeur d'Alene, along the Nooksack River, Skagit Flats and here at Lake Sawyer.  Lots of birds including youngsters and adults. There is something special about bald eagles that really grabs my attention.

Maybe it's seeing sheer power on display.  Look at those talons.  My curiosity about their habits and behavior led me to do a little research. 

• Why are they called bald eagles?  They are named for their white head (not lack of head feathers).  
• How big are they?  Females are typically larger than males, 35 - 37" long with a wingspan of up to 90".
• They can weigh from 8 to 14 lbs.

This is what I call a wingspan.

Their feathers weigh twice as much as do their bones, which are hollow and very light weight.  Their feet are actually tendons and as a result, cold resistant.  Eagle beaks, talons and feathers are made of keratin, the same material as in our hair and nails.  

• How do they stay warm when it's cold outside?  Their 7,000 or so feathers have several layers and can be rotated to increase or decrease insulating effect.
• How do they cool off in hot weather?  Eagles have a body temperature of 106 degrees.  To increase cooling, since they don't sweat, eagles pant or fluff their feathers.

Looks like he or she is having a bad hair day!  Eagles are known for their incredible vision.  They can be flying several hundred feet above the lake and see fish below the surface.  How do they do it?

• Eagle eyes are larger than eyes of adult humans.
• Each eye has two "fovea" or centers of focus allowing them to see both forward and to the side at the same time.
• Eagles also have binocular vision, allowing them to maintain depth perception while diving.

Despite being at the top of bird power ratings, their lives are far from easy.  Chicks stay in the nest after their eggs hatch for 10 to 12 weeks before taking flight and leaving.  Those early test flights can be interesting.  The following photo taken here at Lake Sawyer shows a juvenile taking some test flights outside the nest.  Look at how big they grow in such a short period.

Though they get their size early, the growing up process is a long one - 2 to 3 years before they reach full maturity and are able to mate. It has been estimated that 50 to 70% of all juveniles die in their first year and maybe 90% before reaching full maturity.  Learning to hunt for fresh food takes skill and practice.  Catching a fish for juveniles often takes quite a few passes and more often than not ends in failure.  This is one reason, perhaps, why juveniles rely more on eating carrion (dead animal carcasses) than do adults who feed mostly on live prey.

Following is a picture taken this summer of a juvenile "fishing" as the sun rose at Lake Sawyer.  Note the color of the bird's feathers.  They are just now turning into the familiar black with white head pattern of mature eagles.

It's so much fun watching them fish while competing with other eagles for territory.

How old do eagles live?  When in captivity, eagles have been known to live for 40 to 50 years. but when in the wild, 15 to 20 years would be more typical.  Life is tough out there.

Best time to observe eagles at Lake Sawyer seems to be in the morning during the first couple of hours after sunrise and late afternoon before sunset.  You can also see them in the middle of the day soaring high above the lake riding afternoon thermals, scoping out their territory - usually not fishing if they have already fed.  They eat between 1/2 to 1 and 1/2 lbs of food each day (6% to 11% of their body weight) and can gobble down a 1 pound fish in just 4 minutes. discarding what they don't want.

Following is a photo from a recent fly-by taken from our deck.

You can observe eagles at Lake Sawyer most anywhere on the lake, including at the boat launch park and the regional park at the south end of the lake.  Enjoy the spectacle!

 

Hike to Strawberry Beach and Breath Some Fresh Air

Our strategy this week for hiking and breathing fresh air was to head to the Olympic Peninsula and explore the beaches accessible in the La Push area.  Hopefully, the air here would be relatively free of the smoke that so limits our time in the mountains and if we were lucky, we might get some sun and 70 degree temps too.  We were lucky.  After hiking around Rialto beach when we first arrived, we decided to explore the Third Beach to Strawberry Point trail the next day.  It was a good choice. 

For those not familiar with the trails in this area of Olympic National Park, La Push/Mora offer four points of access to the beaches.  Furthest north about a stones throw from La Push across the Quillayute River is Rialto Beach.  This is a beach you can drive to with easy access to the beach.  Next comes First Beach which is right in the tribal fishing community of La Push and also accessible by car.  Then comes Second Beach, the most well known and photographed of them all and which requires hiking just under a mile to get to the beach, with some scrambling over logs before you can take your shoes off and feel sand between your toes.  Finally, on to the trailhead to Third Beach if you are up for an even longer hike. Keep in mind, there are miles of beach hiking once you get there. For many hikers, however, these are just the beginning points and you can hike many more miles south.  In fact, if you are up to it, you can hike all 73 miles of what is known at the Wilderness Coast trail.  It's called a wilderness hike for a reason.

Our goal this day was not to embark on such a long adventure, but to do some exploration of both Third Beach continuing south along the beach and then up and over Taylor Point, on to Strawberry Bay and just short of Strawberry Point.  The views seen in the photo above and the one that follows were taken just as we reached the beach after climbing up and over Taylor Point.  Though we have been to Third Beach before, this was new territory for us.

Lot's of sea stacks including our first view of what is known as Giants Graveyard to the south.

Anyone notice the blue skies and clear air?

Continuing on south we had an opportunity to meet some more beach buddies, including our friend Sandy.

Sandy appears to be a Sand Piper but might be a Dunlin instead.  Pretty bird and very curious.

Tides are something to be aware of.  It's easy to get stranded between points of access during high tide.  Another view as we headed back before high tide.

One additional word of caution - these hikes are typically rated moderate with elevation gains of just 200 feet or so.  However, hiking the trail to get up and over Taylor Point and down to Strawberry Bay requires the use of up to 11 rope climbs.  A few of these steep and often slippery inclines can be scrambled up or down without having to use the ropes by those hardier than we, but these segments are definitely not in the moderate category.  Much fun though.  The total distance from the Third Beach trailhead to Strawberry Point and back is 10 miles.  We chose not to climb up to Strawberry Point this trip given the tides but still got in about 8 miles of some really fun hiking - and fresh air.