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Snowfield
While much of the snow had already melted from Hurricane Ridge when we visited in June, there were still large patches here and there, especially in areas that didn't get as much sunlight. This little chipmunk was hunting for seeds that had blown into the snow from the nearby trees.
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Backdrop
One of the great things about Hurricane Ridge is the ability to photograph the blacktails against the backdrop of the Olympic Range. This picture was taken in June, when the wildflowers had started appearing amidst the rapidly retreating snow.
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Shoo Fly
This buck on Hurricane Ridge was lagging behind several other deer when a large biting fly began hassle it. At first the buck tried casually moving his head and neck, then biting the air trying to catch it as seen in the first picture. When that failed, it eventually decided it was time to leave and bolted off after the other deer.
These pictures were taken in June, so his antlers are still growing. |
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Sign of Sanity
My wife and I escaped the crowds and walked down the lovely Hoh River Trail. When you spend time photographing something as common as a squirrel at a place as special as the Hoh Rainforest, some of the other tourists look at you with a mixture of curiosity and pity, as though you're either slightly mad or slightly a moron.
Both of which might be true, but I enjoy photographing squirrels and will do it no matter where I am, especially species like this one that I see less often. |
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The little creek was a resplendent green in one section, and the resulting picture looks more like an impressionist painting than a photograph. |
For our vacation, we visited Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and Mt. St. Helens. It was a wonderful week and we visited a lot of special places, and Hurricane Ridge was one of my favorites.
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Views into the World
Hurricane Ridge is easily accessible by car (if the roads are not closed due to snow), and you can take really short hikes or longer day hikes that have the feel of thebackcountry. I was awed by sweeping panoramas where the hillside falls down below you into the distant valley, then rises up in the distant foothills and then further up to the snow-capped Olympic range. I felt at once very small, but also connected to the creation all around.
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God's Own Goalpost
You can easily hike the Hurricane Hill Trail as a day hike (easily being a relative term, there is some elevation change here), but the trail does maintain a feel of being in the backcountry. You spend a lot of time hiking across and up hills, with great views of the surrounding valleys and the Olympic mountain range. A black-tailed buck popped out of the forest a few feet from me at one point before jumping back into the trees.
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Night Fishing
Two fishermen heading out onto Lake Crescent as the sun sets. I was standing on the dock of the Lake Crescent Lodge, a beautiful and historic lodge on the shores of the lake. We spent several days there as our base point for visiting the various points of the park.
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Rainbow
Sol Duc Falls is split into several arms that go plunging down to the stream bed below. Since the falls were partially bathed in blinding sunlight, I focused instead on just the top of one of the arms, which sat amongst lush greenery and a gorgeous rainbow, both owing their life to the mist that continually drifts from the falls.
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