Cascades

Photos from the Cascades region of Washington State, USA including Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier Sunset from Mt. Erie

View of a Mount Rainier sunset (elevation 14409 ft / 4392 meters), Whidbey Island, and Similk Bay at sunset.

view of a mount rainier sunset from mt. erie in anacortes

Mount Rainier at Sunset – from Mt. Erie in Anacortes (Purchase)

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   In my Top Photos of 2016 post I showed a previously unpublished photograph of the moon rising over the North Cascades I made from Mt. Erie in Anacortes, Washington. The Mt. Erie Park viewpoint(s) offer great views in many directions of the surrounding countryside, mountains, coastlines and ocean. One of the sights I was not expecting up there was the rather decent view of a Mount Rainier sunset despite it being 188km (117 miles) to the south. I have made a number of trips to Mount Rainier National Park, and it remains one of my favourite places in Washington State. This view from Mt. Erie Park was quite welcome. I’ll be posting a few of the other photographs from my trip to Anacortes soon – mostly of the view from Mt. Erie in other directions.

For more photographs of Mountains visit my Mountains Gallery.

Corn Lily (Veratrum viride) and Water Drops

Corn Lily or False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) covered in water drops in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA

sunset at blackie spit showing boundary bay and the coast range mountains

Corn Lily Covered in Rain Drops (Purchase)

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   Corn Lilies aka False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) are one of those plants that seem to collect raindrops on their leaves quite readily. I found this rather young Corn Lily plant at Paradise Valley in Mount Rainier National Park in the spring of 2009 which was well covered in water drops. Many photographers enjoy working with the Corn Lily as it also has some great patterns and textures to work with. I have also found Corn Lily plants at Mount Seymour here in British Columbia, but due to a dry summer I had to blow the dust off that one in order to photograph it!

For more photographs from Paradise Valley visit my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Historic Longmire Area of Mount Rainier

   I have been catching up on editing some older images I made in 2010 at Mount Rainier National Park. Below are two images of historic buildings in the Longmire Historic District. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ve been to Longmire since I made these photos back in 2010. I tend to enter the park from the Stevens Canyon entrance now due to its proximity to Tipsoo Lake, Sunrise and relatively quick access to the Paradise area. Sadly, Longmire gets left out most of the time now.

   This is the entrance to the historic Longmire Administration Building built in 1928.

the historic longmire administration building at longmire in mount rainier national park

Historic Longmire Administration Building

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   This is the Longmire Service Station which was built in 1927.

lower falls and gold creek with a flowering streambank arnica

Longmire Service Station

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   Between Longmire and Paradise lies a small loop road at Ricksecker Point. I have photographed many of the views from Ricksecker Point including this telephoto image of the peak of Mount Rainier itself. The glacier on the right hand side of this photo is the Kautz Glacier, which in part forms Kautz Creek many will be familiar with crossing if entering the park from the Nisqually entrance.

rocky snow and ice on the peak of mount rainier

Snow and Ice on the Peak of Mount Rainier

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You can find over 200 photographs from Mount Rainier in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Tipsoo Lake on a Cold Fall Morning

A cold October morning at Tipsoo Lake in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA

view of mount rainier and tipsoo lake from tipsoo lake viewpoint

View of Tipsoo Lake and Mount Rainier (Buy Print)

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   On the last day of my 2010 trip to Mount Rainier National Park I got up early and attempted to photograph sunrise at Tipsoo Lake. In what became a learning experience I did not confirm the hotel alarm clock was set to the right time. Consequently I got out of bed too late despite setting the right alarm time which made me miss sunrise. Well, if only I had – I was forced to watch the entire sky turn orange from my car before I had reached the lake. Despite this, I did enjoy walking around the lake, alone, in below freezing temperatures with frost on the now dying wildflower plants. I didn’t really appreciate how peaceful this was until I visited Tipsoo a few years later in the Summer during the peak of the wildflower season.

   This photograph was made from the viewpoint along SR 410 above Tipsoo Lake. On the right is the edge of Yakima Peak, the Cowlitz Chimneys, Barrier Peak and Governors Ridge can be seen in the center.

You can find over 200 photographs from Mount Rainier in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Cowlitz Chimneys and the Sarvant Glaciers

The Cowlitz Chimneys and Sarvant Glaciers at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State, USA.

cowlitz chimneys and the sarvant glaciers in mount rainier national park

Cowlitz Chimneys and the Sarvant Glaciers in Mount Rainier National Park

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   I have most often viewed the Cowlitz Chimneys in Mount Rainier National Park from the eastern side of the park near Tipsoo Lake. I photographed this panorama of the Chimneys from the Sunrise area of the park along the Silver Forest Trail. The Cowlitz Chimneys are the remains of a rhyolite plug at Mount Rainier and the highest Chimney (South Chimney) has an elevation of 2318m (7605 ft). I had thought when I made this photograph that the patches of snow and ice below the chimneys were just that – the remaining snowfall from the previous winter. However, upon some research it seems that these are the Sarvant Glaciers and are “permanent”. From comparison photographs it seems these glaciers may have melted beyond their usual ebb and flow in recent years due to lower snowfall levels in the winter and warmer temperatures.

You can see more photographs from this area in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.

Ohanapecosh River Fall Foliage

Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) fall foliage colors along the Ohanapecosh River at the Grove of the Patriarchs – Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA.

ohanapecosh river fall foliage colors in mount rainier national park

Fall Foliage at the Ohanapecosh River in Mount Rainier National Park (Purchase)

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   I first photographed this scene at the Ohanapecosh River in Mount Rainier National Park in the fall of 2009. This spot is right next to the small suspension bridge that crosses the Ohanapecosh River on the trail to the Grove of the Patriarchs. I liked the fall foliage colors of these Vine Maple (Acer circinatum trees along the blue waters of the river. I have visited this spot a few times since during the fall and have either been there when the leaves are still green, or after they have turned brown and begun to fall off – but it is always a nice spot to eat lunch. I’d love to photograph this scene again with a fuller extent of oranges and reds in the foliage, but that will be a matter of getting my timing right. Now that I’ve discovered what the park is like when the wildflowers are in full bloom which is usually in August, exploring Rainier for fall foliage colours may have to wait a few more years.

For more photographs of this area including other versions of this scene please visit my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery in the Image Library.

Mount Rainier from Sunrise

Mount Rainier and the White River Valley in late Summer from the vantage point of the Sunrise Rim Trail in Mount Rainier National Park. Foreground flowers are Alpine Aster (Aster alpigenus) and Paintbrush (Castilleja parviflora).

mount rainier and wildflowers from the sunrise rim trail

Wildflowers at Mount Rainier’s Sunrise Rim Trail (Purchase)

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   Back in 2012 I was on a trip photographing Mount Rainier National Park. This was the first time I had visited at a good time for the wildflower display at Rainier. I had already photographed some great flower displays at Tipsoo Lake, but was visiting the Sunrise area as Paradise was fogged in. You can’t see any of the clouds in this photograph but on the other side of the mountain visibility was very poor all day. From Paradise you could barely make out the Tatoosh Range through all the clouds. This is one of the reasons I enjoy the fact they have web cameras at various areas of the park – I can scout the locations ahead for time for weather that might be a problem. On this day I opted for the Sunrise area over Paradise (due to what I saw on the webcam) so I would be able to see Rainier itself. This photo is from the Sunrise Rim Trail on the way back from Shadow Lake.

For more images of this area visit my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery in my Image Library.

Tatoosh Sunset from Mazama Ridge

Wildflowers and the Tatoosh Range from Mazama Ridge in Mount Rainier National Park, Washington State, USA.

sunset at the tatoosh range on mazama ridge in rainier national park

Wildflowers on Mazama Ridge (Purchase)

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   A slightly different version of some previous photographs of the Tatoosh Range from Mazama Ridge in Washington State’s Mount Rainier National Park. I had a great evening hiking from the Paradise area, and this sunset was a big part of that. This area remains one of my favourite places in the park, and the near constant view of the Tatoosh Range is one big reason why. Wildflowers also help. Next time I will hike from the Paradise Inn, not from the bottom of Paradise Valley, however. Not a forgiving trail in the dark!

You can view more of my photography from this and surrounding Mount Rainier areas in my Mount Rainier National Park Gallery.