heather meadows

Bagley Lakes and Trails Through Heather Meadows

Two hikers make their way up the Chain Lakes Trail to the Heather Meadows parking lot in the Bagley Lakes/Heather Meadows area of Washington State, USA.

two hikers on the chain lakes trail at bagley lakes heather meadows

Two Hikers on the Chain Lakes Trail by Bagley Lakes (Purchase)

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   Almost every year I make a trip to the Mount Baker area to photograph during the fall season. At this time of year almost all of the snow has melted, the summer heat is gone as have the bugs that often come with it. Heather Meadows is one of the areas I always walk through and photograph. I stop and look at the wonderful view from Picture Lake, but I rarely photograph there. In recent years the behaviour of other photographers has helped me move on quickly

   The first photograph above shows two hikers heading up to the parking lot on the Chain Lakes Trail. The section of the Chain Lakes Trail by Bagley Lakes is one of the trails I frequent with many great views of the lakes and surrounding mountains. One of the difficulties of completing the Chain Lakes Trail in its entirety is where to park your vehicle. If you part at Artist Point, when you get the the area photographed here you still have a 250 meter (820 feet) elevation climb to the parking lot. If you park here at Heather Meadows, you start with that climb. Wishing to avoid that, many park at Artist Point but ask for a ride from those visiting the lower parking lot. I gave the first gentleman in this photograph a ride to his truck so he could drive back down and pick up his hiking companion at Heather Meadows. There was a small lineup of families and individual hikers wanting the same. I’m sure some were out of luck and had to make the climb back to the car.

mount herman and bagley lakes at heather meadows

Mount Herman and Bagley Lakes (Purchase)

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   The second photo was made from the Fire and Ice Trail which has a nice lookout over Bagley Lakes. This was the spot I made one of my favourite panorama photographs and this time made a few photographs of the colour in the water, fall foliage on the side of Mount Herman, and the peak near Herman Saddle. I’ve made the hike to the saddle before, and hope to do it again in the coming years when I have time. The view from up there is pretty awesome!

blooming subalpine aster eurybia merita at heather meadows

Late blooming Subalpine Aster (Eurybia merita) (Purchase)

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   One of the things I was not expecting along the various trails were some late blooming Subalpine Aster (Eurybia merita) flowers. This was fairly late in the fall season (at this elevation) and I had figured that any wildflowers would have been long gone. Perhaps this spot had much more snow to melt during the summer and consequently the flowers here were a bit behind the others in the area. I had planned on heading back to Artist Point and Heather Meadows the next week. Seasons change quickly in the mountains and this area had so much snow just a few days after my visit they closed to road to Artist point. I’m lucky I made it up there when I did, but I guess other opportunities for hiking there will have to wait until next July/August at the earliest.

For more of my photography from Heather Meadows visit my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Gallery.

Bagley Lakes Panorama

Panorama of the Bagley lakes in the Mount-Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington State, USA.

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Panorama of Bagley Lake (Purchase)

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You can see this view of Bagley Lakes from the Fire and Ice Trail in the Heather Meadows area of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. This lake lies between Table Mountain (left) and Mount Herman – the Chain Lakes Trail runs right past it on the way up to Herman Saddle. I still have a lot more in this area to explore with my camera, but I was quite happy to find the lake with these sorts of colours and water levels. On the right you can see where the Chain Lakes Trail goes over a rocky slope that extends right down to the water. Now that my new computer doesn’t choke on larger resolution files, I was able to make this image with two rows of vertical images (35 of them) for the extra resolution which is how I try to shoot all my panoramas now. This worked very well, and I hope to see this one printed in the future.

The talus slope in the middle of the frame is where I photographed an American Pika a few years back. I could hear a few cheeping their warning calls while I was shooting this panorama but I wasn’t able to spot any of them.

You can view more of my photography from Heather Meadows in my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Gallery.

Mount Larrabee in the North Cascades Range

A lone fir tree stands in front of Mount Larrabee in the North Cascades of Washington State, USA.

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Mount Larrabee in the North Cascades (Purchase)

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   After I photographed the Heather Meadows area in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest last year, I vowed to spend a bit more time there during my next visit. So a few weeks ago I photographed several compositions I had my eye on last year, but which conditions were not right for at the time. This is one of those scenes – a large fir tree standing out against the sky with a backdrop of Mount Larrabee in the North Cascades Range. I photographed this view from the short Fire and Ice Trail in the Heather Meadows area which shows great views of the Bagley Lakes, some of the North Cascade peaks, and Table Mountain.

For more photography from this location visit my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Gallery.

Table Mountain from Heather Meadows

Table Mountain and Heather Meadows area near sunset at the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington State.

table mountain at sunset from heather meadows

Table Mountain at Sunset from Heather Meadows (Purchase)

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   This photograph of Table Mountain was first published here on my blog back in 2009 but has since been reprocessed to bring out a few more details in the sky and the foreground. The path here leads down to the Bagley lakes and trails that lead further up towards Herman Saddle and the lakes to the west. One of my favourite spots to stop while visiting the area as there is a wide variety of subjects to photograph.

You can view more of my photography from this and surrounding areas in my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Gallery.

Heather Meadows Fall Foliage

   During my recent trip to the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington State, I photographed a variety of scenes around Picture Lake, Heather Meadows and Artist Point/Kulshan Ridge. In my previous post I showed a few of the photographs from the Heather Meadows area that included peaks of the North Cascades. In this post I have a few more images of fall foliage colors from Heather Meadows, but these scenes are not as wide in scope and in the case of the first image here (my favourite), a bit abstract.

sky reflection in austin pass lake at heather meadows in the fall

Austin Pass Lake Reflections at Heather Meadows (Purchase)

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   I think the above photograph of Austin Pass Lake is my favourite of these four images. I had already photographed a wider view of the the area and then tried to isolate the details at this end of the lake. I liked how the clouds looked a bit like they were flowing from the inlet out into the lake.

mount herman fall reflection in austin pass lake at heather meadows

Mount Herman Reflecting in Austin Pass Lake at Heather Meadows (Purchase)

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   A similar angle on Austin Pass Lake to the first photograph but this time with the reflection of Mount Herman.

photographer and fall colour heather meadows

Photographer/Hiker at Heather Meadows (Purchase)

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   Can you spot the hiker/photographer in this photograph? I don’t photograph all that many people but when someone stands still in a place like this it is a good way to show the scale of the scene. Reminds me a bit of my photograph of Silver Falls in Mount Rainier National Park where someone standing in the scene really gave an indication of its scale.

terminal lake panroama at heather meadows

Terminal Lake below Table Mountain (Purchase)

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   I liked the fall foliage colors in this landscape around Terminal Pass Lake in Heather Meadows (below Table Mountain). Everything here almost seems to be going westward (to the right). The water looks to be flowing into the lake, and the rocks look a bit like they are flowing down the talus slopes. The trail (the Fire and Ice Trail I believe) is leading you in that direction as well.

You can view more of my photography from this and surrounding areas in my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Gallery.

Heather Meadows and the North Cascades

   I made a number of photographs in the Heather Meadows area of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington a few weeks ago – too many for one blog post. So, these are the images from Heather Meadows showing some of peaks of the North Cascades looking north. I’ll follow up with another blog post showing some different details in the Heather Meadows area soon.

austin pass lake in heather meadows north cascades

Austin Pass Lake and Mount Larrabee (Purchase)

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   Driving up the Mount Baker Highway (SR 542) brings you to the Mt. Baker Ski area, and then to the Heather Meadows Visitor Center Parking lot. From there a short walk will give a great view of Table Mountain, the Bagley Lakes, Austin Pass Lake and the North Cascade Peaks to the north. The above photo shows Mount Larrabee above Austin Pass Lake. My visit was in early October and the fall coours in the Mountain Ash, Mountain Heather and Blueberry bushes were better than I had seen before.

bagley Lakes in heather meadows north cascades

Bagley Lakes in the North Cascades (Purchase)

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   This view of the Bagley Creek/Bagley Lakes in Heather Meadows shows Mount Larrabee as well as some of the more dramatic American Border Peak to the west.

The Border Peaks and Mount Larrabee from Heather Meadows Picnic Area

Austin Pass / Heather Meadows Picnic Area View (Purchase)

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   On the way into the parking lot at Heather Meadows one passes this picnic table in the Austin Pass Picnic Area with an excellent view of Canadian Border Peak, Tommyhoi Peak, American Border Peak and Mount Larrabee.

heather meadows visitor center volcanic rocks view

Heather Meadows Visitor Center (Purchase)

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   This is a view of the Heather Meadows Visitor Center from the Bagley Lakes trail. As this area is quite near to Mount Baker itself, there is a lot of volcanic rock of various forms around the area. Viewing the larger version of this photograph you can see the top of some Andesite columns. There are many other columns to view in the area especially on the Mt. Baker Highway between Heather Meadows and Artist Point.

You can view more of my photography from this and surrounding areas in my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Gallery.

Picture Lake and Mount Shuksan Sunset

Mount Shuksan’s reflection during Fall in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington State, USA

reflection of mount shuksan in the silhouette of picture lake

Mount Shuksan Sunset (Purchase)

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   This is one of my newly processed photos from Picture Lake in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest – featuring the iconic Mount Shuksan. In October 2011 I again photographed this location and now that I have my website gallery organized I have finished off the processing of images from that trip. This photo (and the horizontal version) has a bit of a different look to it than the others I processed from the same evening.

   More photos of Mount Shuksan and the surrounding area can be found in my Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Gallery.

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Mount Shuksan Reflections

Sunset on Mount Shuksan at Picture Lake in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington State, USA

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Sunset at Mount Shuksan and Picture Lake (Purchase)

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   A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of doing some hiking and photography in the Heather Meadows area of the Mount Baker Wilderness with Alan Majchrowicz. We hiked to the top of Herman Saddle along the Chain Lakes Trail which had a fantastic view. Clearly I had been riding my office chair for too long because my lungs didn’t quite handle the hike as well as I had hoped. Most of my familiarity was with the Picture Lake and Artist Point areas so to see a few of the other sights was an eye opener. I know a few hikes I want to do next summer!

   Back at our vehicles we were talking a bit about how the “good” light can come and go rather quickly. I know I’ve seen the light turn to something fantastic as I am in my car driving away from my recent shooting location. I have also seen it disappear as I am trying to reach a viewpoint. I have learned through some recent experiences that staying until the light is definitely gone is always a good idea. You never know what might develop after you leave! So it was not without a touch of irony that this conversation ended quickly as we noticed great light appearing on the mountains. A quick drive and a hurried jog up the boardwalk later and I made these images of Mount Shuksan.

reflection of mount shuksan in the silhouette of picture lake
Mount Shuksan Alpenglow
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   Photography for me is usually a very relaxing endeavor, which is part of my enjoyment of it I think, but sometimes when you know the light will go at any moment this can be accompanied by some adrenaline. Years ago when this would happen I would rush and make a lot of mistakes because of the urgency, which does not happen now. I still feel the excitement though! I have been at this location many times, but I have not seen good light on the mountain while it had this backdrop of a subtle purple/mauve cloud coloration. It was colorful enough to give a nice contrast with the snow and ice of the mountain, unlike a simple grey cloud background (which I have seen many times).

   I am often a bit torn at this location between trying to get foreground detail or just creating a silhouette of the foreground trees. I think this silhouette version was quite successful but I also like the other version. Which do you prefer?

EDIT (November 2013) – Having had 2 years to think about it I now much prefer the first image over the silhouette. I may even prefer a variation on that image ( Mount Shuksan ) over the version posted here.