Hardangervidda
Our trip has been challenged by wild weather, including the remnants of Tropical Storm Gabriella and Hurricane Dorian. The day we drove up to the Hardangervidda Plateau was no exception. We spent the night in Eidfjord (at sea level) and awoke to overcast skies. At least the constant rain from the night before was over. It rained on and off throughout the morning as we toured a couple local sights before heading up toward the Hardangervidda Plateau. When we reached Voringsfossen (about 700 meters above sea level), the weather started to break.
Voringfossen is an amazing set of waterfalls; reportedly the best known waterfall in Norway. The falls are about halfway up to the mountain plateau. Here water tumbles over 180 meters from several sides down into a narrow canyon. The view is amazing. The photo above does not do the scdne justice (even with capturing a bit of rainbow).
Leaving Voringfossen the road continues to up to the Hardangervidda (at an average elevation of 1,100 meters above sea level). This broad mountain plateau is above the tree line and is a land of high tundra hills and studded with lakes of all sizes. It is the highest plateau in Europe and home to a large wild reindeer herd (which we did not see). The drive across the plateau and back was spectacular, with the landscape changing with the changing weather conditions of overcast, light rain, snow storms, and sun breaks. I could have spent the whole day there with my camera, but the near freezing temperature and strong wind (plus a need to get to our hotel in Flam, several hours away) had us only staying on the plateau for a few hours. Here are few shots from Hardangervidda; enjoy!
Small lake on the Hardangervidda
Another lake on the Hardangervidda
Typical scene on the Hardangervidda
Old stone bridge on the Hardangervidda
Fall’s Come and Gone at Heather Meadows
I went with a friend and my trusty dog Carson (just over two weeks ago) to Heather Meadows at the end of the Mount Baker Highway (in a earlier post, I gave a Quick Shot from the trip). The fall colors were fantastic, as I hope these images show. Want to go for the colors? You may be too late. The fall color season was short at Heather Meadows this year (though it’s probably short most years). A trail report on the Washington Trails Association websitedidn’t mention fall colors on September 30th, nor did the accompanying photos show much. And as of October 22nd, according to the US Forest Service website, all the Heather Meadows trails are now snow-covered, the lakes have started freezing over, and the road is gated at the ski area’s upper parking lot – a good distance below Artist Point were about half of these photos were taken. Winter has come to Heather Meadows. Fall lasted about 3 weeks.
Though on the Mount Baker Highway, the real star of the Heather Meadows area is Mount Shuksan. The view of Mt. Shuksan from Picture Lake (the featured image above) is one of the most photographed scenes in Washington State. Unfortunately, when we were there, there was a breeze, ruining the reflection in Picture Lake, but it still made a great scene.
Besides Picture Lake, we drove up to the end of the highway at Artist Point and did the short hike along Artist Ridge. Again, Shuksan is the star here – though the view of Mount Baker is good too. We were there in the afternoon (and later, at sunset), and the light was much better on Shuksan than Baker. I venture that Baker looks better in morning light (but with a 5+ hour drive from Tacoma, I wasn’t about to get there early).
Unlike the northeastern United States, the Northwest is not know for its autumn colors. This is not surprising, considering the primary tree cover in the Pacific Northwest is composed of firs, pines, and other evergreens. But, there are some spots where fall color can be found. The Heather Meadows area is one – you just have to be quick to see it.
Grass patterns in Picture Lake
Fall color along the Mount Baker Highway below Artist Point
Another shot of Mount Shuksan at Picture Lake
Color along the Picture Lake shoreline
Mount Shuksan from the Artist Ridge trail
The Mount Baker Highway just below Artist Point
Close up on red huckleberry leaves – I love how the backlighting brings out the color.
Mt Shuksan from the end of the Artist Ridge trail
Carson hanging out, enjoying his hike
Mount Shuksan from Artist Point at sunset
It’s impossible not to point the camera at Mount Shuksan. Even the clouds point to at it!
Quick Shot
At last the rain hit today, ending perhaps the longest dry spell in western Washington history. Luckily, I spent the last day of the dry weather (yesterday) up at Mount Baker in the Heather Meadows area. The fall colors were fantastic. Tomorrow, in the morning, I’m heading off to eastern Washington for the weekend to go to a football game. I wanted to leave you with a blog post before I go, so here’s a quick shot I took yesterday. This is Mount Baker, as seen from Artist Point. More from my trip up to Heather Meadows later.
Fall’s in the Air
Autumn colors along Manastash Creek in the central Cascades
I wore a light jacket to work the other morning, spider season has started, and the teachers are on strike – summer is not officially over, but you sure can feel fall in the air. Autumn is a favorite time for many photographers, me included. However, fall in the Washington State is typically not very colorful, at least compared to large portions of the United States. It isn’t nicknamed the Evergreen State for nothing. We have a wet side and a dry side, but both sides are full of evergreens – fir and cedar in the west and pine and sagebrush in the east. To find fall colors here, you have to hunt a little bit harder. However, you can find some if you look around. I hope to find a bit of fall color on the upcoming trip. And when I return to Washington in early October, perhaps we will start having a little here too.
Oh, you may be wondering what I mean by spider season. We have a lot of orb weaver spiders around here. Most the year, you don’t see them; but in late summer, the young spiders start spreading around making small webs seemingly everywhere. On my early morning walks this time of year, I typically walk through several webs strung across the sidewalks around town. Later in the fall, these young spiders grow up and make large, beautiful orb shaped webs.
I’m not sure when my next posting will be. I hope to post once or twice during the trip, but am not sure if I will be able to. Meanwhile, here’s a couple of images from the past couple years to whet your appetite for fall.
Fall colors on Denny Mountain, near Snoqaulmie Pass
Fall along the Snoqualmie River west of Snoqualmie Pass
Japanese garden scene, Point Defiance Park, Tacoma
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