There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more”
Nothing connects me with nature more than witnessing an alpine scenery like this one, a boundless vista of mountains, lakes and greenery. Here is to one last whiff before winter takes over this life-giving landscape.
Banff National Park
AB USA
Once upon a time...
Once upon a time, I found myself roaming around the vast green fields of the Palouse, searching for pastoral scenes with rustic farmsteads, hidden barns and picturesque landscapes under a bluebird sky filled with sweeping white curves. That was earlier this year, and the summer I spent roaming in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest is almost over.
Here is one image to rejig my memory of the Palouse region of Cascadia.
Uniontown
WA USA
Oh Garibaldi
The thought ran in my mind on the seemingly endless rocky ascent. In the distance, I spied the summit, people like ants. The gentle sun sprayed warmth, while the draft from a nearby glacier spattered cool air. The trail disappeared into a rockfall, with nary a cairn to mark the way up.
It became steeper near what I thought was the end, but just like every black cloud has a silver lining, every steep ascent ends with remarkable views, like this one of Garibaldi Lake just outside Whistler.
Garibaldi Provincial Park
BC Canada
Bird's Eye Switzerland
Seven days of hiking up and down the mountains of the French Alps went without the occurrence of a single injury. And a mere 10 minutes after taking the historic cogweel to this magnificent vista near the town of Montreaux, I twisted my ankle while daydreaming and walking around. Cursing myself, I limped up to this ridgeline to capture this expansive view of the eastern terminus of Lac Leman .
Moral of the story: if you want to twist your ankle, wait until you finish your vacation so you can "work from home".
Rochers de Naye
Switzerland
Labor of Love
Sometimes, a long and steep climb can have it's own payoff.
I spied a tall peak nearby as I was resting in the refugio halfway through my Mont Black Circuit. It looked promising, and from a glance at the map, it seemed a hop, skip and a jump away. But was I proved wrong.
After an hour of climbing 1600ft (500m), I finally arrived at a saddle at the base of the peak, which was 1200ft up. I was almost out of breath, and just as I was about to give up and turn back, I looked around, and I knew what I would see up at the summit would be even more stunning than the amazing scenery I was feasting on at this saddle. I started climbing the grassy 40 degree slope in earnest, praying for an easier way down. And slowly but surely, by just focusing on the next step, I made the painstaking climb to the summit.
And there, the reward for this long and arduous climb redeemed all the labor that went into reaching this summit. The shrouded summit of Mt Blanc stood in all its glory, along with the rugged Val Ferret, with hanging glaciers descending down every valley.
Tour du Mont Blanc
Italy
Fire and Ice
The refugio was winding down for the night. And after the heavy dinner and a long day of hiking, the warm confines of a cozy bed seemed rather appealing. I peeked outside one last time an hour before the sunset, and the clouds seemed lackluster. But something egged me to wait till sunset.
It was my fourth day of hiking in the Mont Blanc region, and I was ready to call it a night in a beautiful alpine refugio in Val Ferret in Italy, , on the south-eastern flank on the Graian Alps. But my photographer's instinct made me stay behind. And my hunch proved right, as a bank of clouds over a glacier changed to orange, and set the Frebouze glacier on fire.
Courmayeur
Italy
The Sky On Fire
Enamored by another mountain top in the Pacific Northwest, I started hiking under less than ideal conditions: forecast of grey skies, cloudy weather, gale-force gusts and chance of summer rain. I didn't believe the forecasts, until I was hiking in freezing weather with wind spraying sand and rock on my face. Needless to say, setting up my tent in that unwelcome weather was less than an ideal experience.
I waited until the the wind died, until the clouds cleared up and until the sun peeked from behind. And in the magical moments that unfolded at sunset, all that effort in getting here no longer seemed in vain.
The clouds hung around the valley and on mountaintops, slowly drifting and dissolving into thin air, just while setting aglow in the last light of the sun. Peaks appeared and disappeared for an ephemeral instant, right while the sky above was turning a shade of pink. The scenery all around was a dance of clouds, light and the sky.
Sometimes, heading into the remnants of a thunderstorm can yield dramatic scenes...
Mt Baker Wilderness
WA USA
Dusty and Dusy
Four summers ago, I had embarked on what I was perhaps one of the most mentally grueling backpacks I had ever done, a solo 7-day trek into the mountains covering 55 miles and 3 mountain passes above 11500 ft (3500m). It was physically and mentally taxing, and my only escape from being trapped in my head with my own thoughts was photographing the surreal landscape I walked through.
The penultimate evening of my sojourn found me on the dusty shores of Dusy basin, a moonscape with very little vegetation situated at 12000ft. It was a stark landscape, with sun-burnt granite covered by patches of tiny shrubs and stubby grass, interspersed by deep-blue alpine lakes reflecting the wonderful scenery all around. Despite the long arduous days, I was sad that one of my best treks into the Sierras were coming to an end.
Dusy Basin
CA USA
Summer Sunsets
Fire lookouts in the state of Washington are built like the warning beacons in Gondor, perched atop craggy peaks with precipitous drop-offs, and with jaw-dropping panoramic views of the rugged surroundings. And this one, perched on a rocky outcrop just a hairs throw from Mt Baker, is no exception.
The steep climb to its summit is well worth for the jaw-dropping sunset views and panoramic vistas, and I'll never forget the night I spent eyeing the snow-capped summit of Mt Baker.
Mt Baker Wilderness
WA USA
Camping on the edge
Would you want to camp here?
There are some gnarly campsites in the North Cascades with jaw dropping views. And then there is Sahale Arm. Getting to the campsites here involve a 4400ft (1300m) climb from deep in the valley below up steep hiking trails ending in a glacial moraine with precipitous dropoffs. And even in this unforgiving terrain are scattered campsites with panoramic birds-eye view of the Cascades.
I can't wait to return to the high country once again.
North Cascades National Park
WA USA