Washington Trails: Hike the Gorge, Again

The new May/Jun issue of Washington Trails is out this week, featuring my 3-page article recommending the best hikes in the Columbia Gorge for spring waterfalls and wildflowers. WTA asked me to come up with my top picks - not an easy thing to do. What, with 100s of miles of trails and over 40 named and accessible waterfalls, where does one even begin. It took me several days just to narrow down my selections, choosing from both popular and lesser-known trails. It wound up almost being split down the middle - or split down the river, you could say - with the best waterfall hikes on the Oregon side and the best wildflower hikes on the Washington side. The article also features four of my photos from several of these hikes. Check it out on WTA's website.

Going Wide.

In anticipation of all the stunning landscapes I'll be hiking thru this summer on the John Muir Trail - as well as numerous other locations I'll be covering up until then - I've added a new lens to the inventory to capture as much of the scene as possible - the Nikkor 10-24mm ultra-wide angle lens.  It provides a big 110º photo angle using two ED and three hybrid aspherical lens elements, and features the exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor.  At a recent photo seminar I attended, this lens came highly recommended by long-time photography professionals.  I'm eagerly looking forward to getting this lens out in the field and generating some dramatic landscapes - keep an eye on my site for new photos coming soon.  Purchased at Adorama.com.

Facebook and Other News

Lots of little bits and pieces going on lately...

• Added a Facebook page for BoscoMountainPhoto where I'll be posting mini-blurbs, updates, features, travel plans, etc.

• Was contacted by the photo editors of Canada's Explore magazine with interest in some of my Banff imagery. This might be the start of another good association.

• The May issue of Backpacker is out now. During the winter months, they polled the map correspondents team for our favorite picks in our home regions. See what we offered up for the Northwest.

• Editorial for WTA and Washington Trails continues. The geology feature was apparently very well received by readers. I've completed my feature piece on hiking the Columbia River Gorge and that will be appearing soon in the May/Jun issue. Next up is backpacking in Olympic NP for the Jul/Aug issue.

• A random search the other day returned a posting of a photo I had licensed to the Experience WA project over two years ago. It has now shown up on the website of the Central Cascades Geotourim Project.

• Spring in the Northwest has been iffy so far. A late season storm added more snow to the mountains that will extend the wait to get back to the high country. Lower elevation locations are starting to dry out however, trees and flowers are blooming, and waterfalls are gushing - so it's time for some hiking! The most recent was a nice day trip along the Siouxon Creek trail in Washington's Southern Cascades. A new track will be going up on Backpacker.com soon, as well as photos on my own website.

• And finally, JMT plans are still in the works, however there's not alot new happening. All permits and reservations are done, and itinerary is finalized. Most gear has been acquired, and I'll continue to review some of the items I'll be taking. The next big task will be organizing and sending each of my four food drops, but that won't occur until mid-July. In the meantime, there's lots of conditioning hikes planned on the local trails.

• Some of this summer's hikes on the itinerary: Olympic's Enchanted Valley, Glacier Peak's Spider Gap, Garibaldi Lake in B.C., and summiting South Sister in Oregon's Central Cascades...

Lots Happening with WTA

The Mar/Apr issue of Washington Trails has been out for a little while now featuring my contribution to the Exploring Washington's Geology special feature. I was given a full page to highlight five hikes exhibiting unique geologic significance throughout the state. I wanted to show the diversity of Washington's geology, so selected hikes that display volcanic – Mt. St. Helens and the Columbia Gorge's Beacon Rock; tectonic – the Olympic coast and alpine regions; and glacial/erosional – the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. The article, as well as the entire geology feature, can be viewed on WTA's website.

Coming soon in the May/Jun issue I will have a three-page feature in the Northwest Traveler section highlighting waterfall and wildflower hikes in the Columbia Gorge. It wasn't easy trying to narrow down my favorite hikes in this area since there are so many spectacular trails and things to see. In the end, I went with a mix of popular and lesser-known trails – Upper Latourell Falls, Eagle Creek, Cape Horn, Dog Mountain and Coyote Wall, to name a few. All of them are outstanding hikes. Several of my photos will be accompanying the article, as well as several stunning wildflower photos by another local photographer. This issue should be available around the end of the month.

And big news that just came in today! WTA contacted me to let me know that one of my photos (previously used for a small, promotional piece) was selected to be used again for WTA's annual Backcountry Expo poster. The photo is of my wife, Mitzi, atop Maple Pass in North Cascades Nat'l Park, peering down at Lake Ann far below. That will be a nice addition to the website portfolio.