Using my new camera around town

Recently I got a new camera body as my old one had a short on a circuit board. I shopped around for different cameras and finally decided on the Canon XSi. With it's 12mp capabilities this camera can produce larger images than my last one. An improvement over my last camera is the 3" LCD screen. My last one had a 1.8" screen, so this one feels like sitting in front of a movie theater screen!!

As my abilities with photography improve (slowly) I'm trying to expand my photographic prowess into other areas aside from landscapes. Utilizing black and white can really express an emotion if done right. It is my hope to be able to convey that emotion in my shots. Enjoy.







I will never turn my back on color photography though....

Kendall Peak & Alaska Mt

I was once again joined by my friend Adam for a beautiful day hiking in the mountains. We decided to stay a bit closer to home this time and head to Snoqualmie Pass and hike to Kendall and Alaska.
We left the trailhead at 7:10am with skies still a bit dark. We followed the old Cascade Crest Trail, which is now abandoned, for about 2.5 miles until we connected with the Pacific Crest Trail, or the PCT. It wasn't long before the views opened up and we enjoyed clear skies too.



We found the cutoff for the faint route up to Kendall Peak and were at the summit by 9:25am.



We didn't spend too much time up here as we still had more miles and one more peak to summit. Back on the PCT we made it to the "Kendall Katwalk". This section isn't for the faint of heart as it was literally blasted from the side of a steep mountainside.



Once past the Katwalk we passed a few lakes, Gravel, Ridge and Alaska. They were all very pretty and we stopped for a few moments at Gravel and passed by the others. With virtually no breeze, the reflections on the water were wonderful.



We followed along the trail as it flanks the lower section of Alaska Mt until we reached the eastern ridge. With direction from another hiker we headed up this ridge and encountered some really "fun" spots as we maneuvered around some rocks which reminded us of our ridge traverse from Mt Daniel a few weeks ago.
At last we made it to the summit where I rewarded myself with a great snack.



Oh, did I mention the views!!!!!!!









After enjoying the summit for a while we made our way back down the ridge and onto the PCT for our return voyage.







As usual I have a full set of pictures on Flickr with a link here.
I also created a video which unfortunately has a few small editing glitches due to my Windows Movie Maker software..... that video can be found on YouTube, or at the link here, or below.

Mixed weather on Scorpion Mt

My friend Adam and I went for a short hike up to Scorpion Mt. The route is 8 miles round trip with about 1800' elevation gain.
The forecast was for rain below 4000' and snow above. Our trailhead sits at 4100' which put us where I wanted to be, above the rain!! The views were abundant even at the trailhead.



We were lucky enough to be in a hole in the weather and enjoy a few sun breaks!



As we neared the summit the land opened up and the colors of fall became more apparent.





We finally reached the windy and cold summit and we had fun taking in the disappearing views as the clouds rolled in and snow started falling.



A link to a full but small set of photos can be found here.
A link to a video with a few shenanigans in it can be found here.

Mt Clifty hike on a snowy day

For this hike I drove east on I-90 to exit 62 and headed west on the Stampede Pass Road #54. Drive towards Stampede Pass for 3 miles and turn left (south) on Road 41. Proceed 10 miles and turn right (south) on Road 4110 and drive 10 more miles to the trailhead on the left for the Blazed Ridge Trail #1333.



The trail is "mixed" use and is shared with dirtbikes. It is very easy to see the wear that a trail used by dirtbikes as it was more like a deep "V" than a trail. The first mile or so was up this "great" trail before it levels out more and the trail condition improves.



The trail runs the top of the ridge for another 2 miles or so before connecting with the junction of Manastash Ridge, trail #1388.



The views along the ridge were great!! I could look across the Greek Creek Basin and see North Ridge.



The winds were picking up and a few snowflakes started to fall from the sky.



I made my way up to the summit and climbed the 10 foot summit block.



Winds and snow continued on my entire way back down to the trailhead where I found about 1/2 inch of snow covering my car.





A full set of photos can be found here.
I also made a video from this trip too, that can be found here.

Mt Daniel attempt Oct 5-6

My friend Adam called me to go on an overnighter and said that his friend Craig had wanted to try for Mt Daniel. I said sure and Monday afternoon we left Seattle and headed east. After a long forest road drive we were at the trailhead and took to the trail at 5:00pm.



It didn't take too long before we were hiking in the dark with the assistance of our headlamps. Our goal for the night was Peggy's Pond and we got there and set up camp near some other nice people. After a quick dinner is was time to get cozy in the sleeping bags and get rested for our try at the summit in the morning.
We awoke and there was breeze in the air but the skies were clear and we saw patches of snow on the mountains high above.



I ate some nice warm oatmeal and we got ready for a great day. We left the pond basin and started up the southeast ridge and the winds gradually got stronger as we gained more elevation. Luckily the air wasn't too cold as I was in short sleeves. We hopped to and from boulder trying to keep off the snow as much as possible.
By this point Craig's stomach was giving him some problems and he was lagging behind a bit. We'd stop and let him catch and then give him a chance to rest before heading further up.
We finally made it to the top of the ridge and could see for miles in almost any direction. The views we spectacular and the winds were howling!!





At about 7500' Craig decided to stop and head back to camp. Adam and I decided to push further on and see how far we could get. At this point we decided to don our helmets as the route was getting more rocky.
Very quickly the route got pretty sketchy and the snow and ice didn't make things any easier. The winds were racing up the side of the mountain and blasting us with loose snow and ice pellets from below making our faces feel like they were getting sandblasted. There was one very tricky manuveur that I hope to never encounter the likes of again. We basically had to hug this big rock with a hand on either side of it and shift our body around it with no footholds at all. A slip of a hand would have meant a certain fall with some painful consequences. Had we not both felt comfortable with this situation we certainly would not have tackled it. I was very surprised though that even with the danger I was calm and my adrenaline was not pumping and my anxiety was low. Now don't think that I wasn't a bit scared, I was scared and very cautious!! I must say that it is indeed a very intense feeling to be holding onto a rock for dear life with no footholds and all the while getting blasted by upwards of probably 50 mph wind gusts!!!! WOW!!!!
Finally we were through the tough stuff and at a saddle below the east peak. We decided to press onward towards the true summit, the west peak. Traversing under the east peak was no easy feet either. there was loose talus on top of hard dirt on a very steep slope and didn't offer too many good footholds to enable a safe passage. There was one section that I really did not like. Adam helped me navigate my way through until I got up to a better section of "trail". Wrapping our way around the east peak we finally got a view of the middle peak and the smokestack to the north.



At this point we decided to throw in the towel for the day as we still had to get back to camp, pack up and make 6 more miles back to the car. We headed back to the saddle and from there we dropped below the ridge and traversed a snow slope back to a lower part on the ridge before heading back down.





We rejoined Craig on the ridge as he was taking his time getting down while enjoying the views and such. Got to the pond in good time and took down our camp and continued on our way back to the car.



Oh, and can I say how much I love the colors out here this time of year!!!



To watch the video that I made on this trip click here.
A full but small set of pictures can be found here.

Iron Goat Trail

East of Seattle is an old section of railroad grade that was abandoned in 1929 after the new Cascade Tunnel was completed, making for an easier passage below Stevens Pass. This old section of railroad was converted into a trail years later and is now a popular trail for short dayhikers.



The trail has many snow walls that were erected to help hold back the mountainside from collapsing onto the tracks.

In 1910 just (50 Feet) outside of the rail town of Wellington there was a nasty tragedy. A terrible snowstorm essentially closed down the tracks and two passenger trains were trapped on the western side of the original Cascade Tunnel until the snow stopped and the tracks could be cleared. With passengers hearing avalanches off in the distance they feared that one would come down onto them and was their train into the valley below. The train folks said not to worry since there had never been an avalanche on this section of track before. Well the train folk were wrong and an avalanche came down and swept the two trains off the tracks. I think it was 96 people that died because of it. Quickly the rail company erected a concrete snowshed in the very spot those poor folks perished.



I have many pictures that I took of this section of trail and the signs along the way that tell the story much better than I ever could. The photographs can be found here.

I hope that you all enjoy the photos and the beauty that I was able to enjoy on a nice and sunny day.