We took advantage of the warm(er) weather and headed up to the mountains for a picnic lunch by the river. After eating we had a nice little wander through the woods and spotted a trillium! Bleeding hearts and shoots of false solomon’s seal were just sprouting from the ground, another two, three weeks and it’ll be covered in wildflowers. The river valley still feels winter-y and open, the deciduous trees yet to leaf out. Dustings of snow lingering on the ground in the shade!
Went out and confirmed for ourselves that the world is still there. Drove up the Dutch Miller Gap, which we haven’t done in years because the road is crappy and there’s not a lot to do, but today we just wanted to see more from the warmth and safety of our car.
Getting close to Solstice so even at 1:30 in the afternoon the sun was near to setting in the high valley. We stayed below snow level but the puddles in the potholes were rimmed with ice. Tree branches sparkled with frost, and in cold pockets white dusted the plants on the ground too. Didn’t stop some intrepid locals from setting up camp with a roaring fire. Gonna be a long cold night, already 32 degrees at midday.
Driving up there brought back memories of the year we backpacked in to Goldmyer hotsprings, all the way from the Middle Fork, in February, probably 2011? Terrible road march. The road made for dull walking scenery but it was more interesting from the car at least.
Hopping with people out at the Middle Fork today, dozens of cars at every trailhead. Only a handful of people in masks. This is why we’re not even hiking. But it was good to get a glimpse of the wide world, even as we insulated ourselves from it. The Middle Fork is kind of a family lodestar, a reference point we keep returning to, with us from the very start of our relationship.
In early summer, the forest floor in the western Cascade mountains is lush with sprightly young growth. Last week I took a hike on the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River, 45 minutes from Seattle. After ten or fifteen miles on a gravel road as pockmarked with potholes as an english muffin with ‘nooks and crannies’ (sorry, car!), I reached the quiet trailhead. I indulged myself and photographed as much as I wanted (oops, 350 photos later…). Experience early summer in the Cascade Mountains in this forest walk photo tour.
(Also see my free texture collection from the Snoqualmie River Valley.) Continue reading