RHH's photos with the keyword: alpine

Avalanche Lake was one of our hiking destinations when we were in vacationing with family near Glacier National Park. We hiked there early in the morning to avoid the crowds on this easy and popular trail, and arrived before sunrise, though we stayed long enough to watch the sunrise.

My wife and I hiked to Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park one of the days we vacationed near Glacier with our family.

Taken on a July 4th hike with brother Tim. We had an early start and were at the lake and on our way back down before the rush. The trail to Lake Serene is a popular trail anyway and on a holiday can be very busy. On another note, we've not only done this hike before but have done the scramble around the lake as well, in this shot, as far as the end of the snow and up the gulch on the far side.

This is Lake Serene, the lake brother Tim and I hiked to on the Fourth of July. I've been to this lake many times and there is always snow on the far side of the lake. On one occasion we hiked to the far side of the lake, to the end of the snow in this shot, but that was a half day of scrambling and bouldering.

This is the Tall Mountain Shooting Star, Dodecatheon jeffreyi, a rather rare wildflower found in alpine areas. We photographed these near Lake Serene where quite a few wildflowers were still blooming. At lower elevations the Shooting Stars are spring wildflowers, but there is little distinction between spring and summer at higher elevations.

Lake Serene is a small alpine lake lying at the foot of Mount Index in the Cascades. It is a very popular hike, though a fairly steep trail and a bit over seven miles round trip. We hiked there with the Washington Native Orchid Society looking for a rare orchid, but the hike is worthwhile for its own sake. This was our first view of the lake with the steep sides of Mount Index looming above the lake. There is also a side trail to some beautiful falls, but for lack of time we did not visit the falls. Instead we made our way around the lake as far as we could go, though the trees and across the scree and snow in the picture to the other side. The photo below is from an earlier hike to the lake when the day was not as sunny and beautiful as this. The lake is on the west side of the Cascades near the town of Goldbar and off Highway 2.

In Explore July 26, 2009, #178. Photographed in Whitehorn Basin, Mount Robson Provincial Park.

Thanks to gravitywave for the id. This was photographed growing in the scree around Robson Glacier and on the moraines above the glacier in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia.

Thanks to Eric in SF for the id on this plant.

We followed this stream across the tundra to Snowbird Pass and the icefields that lie beyond the pass.

This plant was identified by Upupa4me. It was photographed on the tundra above Robson Glacier and on the trail to Snowbird Pass.

I believe this to be correctly identified as a sedge, but which one I do not know. Perhaps someone who sees the picture can tell me, but I understand that the sedges are exceedingly difficult to distinguish. This was photographed on the tundra along the trail to Snowbird Pass in Mount Robson Provincial Park, but was also seen at lower elevations (alpine and sub-alpine).

In Explore August 4, 2009, #386. Thanks to gravitywave for the id on this flower. We found it growing on the tundra in the stones near Snowbird Pass in Mount Robson Provincial Park.

I am unsure of the species on this Ranunculus - the species listed is the closest match I could find. This was photographed on the tundra at about 6000 feet, growing in the wetter areas.