Dodging the Sunshine

Though it might have been the sunniest day of the year here in Tacoma, I saw very little of it as Bob and I spent the day hiking up in the woods just north of Mt. Rainier, woods so tall and so dense that it was nearly impossible to get a decent picture.

On our first attempt we ran into so many downed trees that we were forced to turn back because the trail looked like was going to be impassable. It’s pretty clear that serious hiking or backpacking in the Pacific Northwest is going to be awfully rugged this year, and probably several years into the future as I doubt there is going to be nearly enough money available to clear all the fallen trees off the trails for many years.

Our second attempt was turned out much better, though, as the trail was nearly clear of fallen trees. It was a beautiful, if steep hike, though we only went about one and a half miles up to the first big falls.

We ate lunch by the falls and I tried desperately to get some decent shots of it, though the light was terrible and I ended up setting the camera’s ISO to 1600 at one point to try to capture something worthwhile.

Despite the sunshine, it was quite cold at 2,500 feet and it wasn’t long before I needed to get moving again because my legs and fingers were getting extremely cold, not surprising since there was still a dusting of recent snow on the falls, not to mention icicles.

Still, it would be hard to imagine a more enjoyable day testing the muscles I’ve been building at the Y, and discussing whether it was possible to capture the feel of a mature Douglas Fir forest because of the sharp contrasts in the light reaching the ground.

4 thoughts on “Dodging the Sunshine”

  1. Well done! I’ve been told that overcast days are the BEST for photographing waterfalls. Certainly that first picture looks like you did everything right. (Second one, too, I just like the first one better.)

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