RHH's photos with the keyword: mount baker-snoqualmie

Here's a trail I've done many times and that is also one of the climbers' routes for Mount Baker. This hike was with a group of schoolkids, 6th-8th grades, and we were very near the end of our hike when this was taken. The inset shows Mount Baker from just below the ridge.

This is Mount Baker from the east bank of Baker Lake. One of our first hikes of the year was along the east bank trail and this was taken from the farthest point to which we hiked before turning back and retracing our steps.

This is where we were yesterday. We hiked the east bank of Baker Lake to the point from which this photo was taken and then backtracked. Baker Lake is formed by the Upper Baker Dam which provides flood control and hydroelectric power to the Puget Sound area. It is ten miles long and lies to the south of Mount Baker at about 1000 feet elevation (most of the higher trails are still snowed in). Our hike was typical. We left at 7:30 am and were on the trail at 9:30. We hiked 8-10 miles stopping often for pictures and at noon for lunch. Lunch was cooked over a backpacking stove and consisted of a freeze-dried meal, which we shared, ramen noodles, Starbucks instant coffee, small bottles of wine and chocolate. We were back at the car at 5:30 pm and home by 7:30.

This was a hike with brother Tim in the area of Winchester Mountain - we were on the shoulder of Winchester looking east when the photo was taken. Not a great day but we were able to get some very good pictures.

The Lake Ann trail follows Swift Creek for part of its lengthand crosses the creek a couple of times. This photo was taken at one of the crossings while hiking on a wet and rainy day with brother Tim. The Lake Ann trail is a very popular trail that takes you to an alpine lake at the foot of Mount Shuksan in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. We never saw the lake, however, since the area was completely fogged in while we hiked there.

This was taken on one of the hikes I did recently with brother Tim. We hiked the Lake Ann trail in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on a very wet and rainy day. I believe this is the dead branch and needles of a Sub-alpine Fir. My apologies for the delay in responding to recent comments. I was on an overnight camping trip with fifteen 6th-8th graders and had no opportunity to be on Ipernity. In fact, there was not as much opportunity for sleep as I would have liked.

This is a close up of the native orchid I posted a few days ago. Listera banksiana or caurina, the Northwestern Twayblade, has flowers around a half inch (1.5 cm) in size. The species is common here in the northwest, but because is small with small green flowers it often passes unnoticed. This example was photographed at Lake Elizabeth. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/11/n...

This was taken at Lake Elizabeth in the North Cascades on one of several visits there last summer. The lake is at 3000 feet in the Skykomish District of the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and is rich in native plants and native orchids. The Western False Asphodel or Sticky False Asphodel blooms during the summer with a head of white flowers followed by these attractive seed capsules. It grows primarily in bogs and wet meadows and is native to Washington, Oregon and BC. The photo was taken by my wife as were many of the photos on our trips to Lake Elizabeth, in this case because I was busy hunting for a rare native orchid. She usually gets better photos than I do, in any case. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/another-vis...

This is another of my wife's photos from Lake Elizabeth. The lilies are Yellow Pond Lilies, Nuphar polysepala, also known as Spatterdock or Cow-lily, one of our native wildflowers. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/another-vis...

One more of my wife's pictures from Lake Elizabeth. She managed on one of our excursions to get a whole set of these stunning shots, and that in spite of it being a cloudy and dull day. This is the south end of the lake. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/another-vis...

This is another photo from Lake Elizabeth, this time of one of our native orchids, the Hooded Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthese romanzoffiana. The braided appearance of the flower spikes is the reason for the name "Ladies' Tresses" and these flowers are also distinctly "hooded." The plant flowers late in the summer and there were an abundance of them at Lake Elizabeth this past summer, though I've been told that in other years they are hard to find. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/09/c...

This photo was taken by my wife. She took most of the landscape shots the times we were at the lake. I was too busy looking for a rare orchid to bother with a lot of photography, though later I was sorry I hadn't taken more, especially because she was able to get some very beautiful shots. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/another-vis...

Listera banksiana, the Northwestern Twayblade, is another of our rather nondescript native orchids. The plant is six inches to a foot tall and the flowers are around half an inch. It is quite common in the northwest, though this is a rare three-leaved form. Almost always it has two opposite leaves and I have not even seen a notice of a three-leaved form. This, too, was photographed at Lake Elizabeth in the North Cascades. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/08/t...

Lake Elizabeth is the headwaters of Money Creek which empties into the Skykomish River. The Forest Service road that goes to Lake Elizabeth follows the creek for much of its distance. This photo was taken along that road by my wife. The creek was named by miners who prospected for gold, silver and copper in the area, but who were, as someone said, "more optimistic than successful." ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/08/lake-elizab...

This clump of Hooded Ladies' Tresses was photographed in situ at Lake Elizabeth. They bloom late in the summer and like wetter but exposed areas. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2012/09/c...

The silver-mining operation at Monte Cristo included three main mine complexes, the Mystery Mine, Justice Mine, and Comet Mine as well as many smaller mines. These, if I am not mistaken, are the ruins of the old ore processing plant, or concentrator. They lie in the woods along '76 Creek above the town and the trail to Poodle Dog Pass and Silver and Twin Lakes passes them. This is another of my wife's photos. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/poodle-dog-...

This is an old sign from the ghost town of Monte Cristo. For some time after mining activities ceased in the late 1800's the town continued to operate as a tourist resort and I believe the sign is from that period in the town's history. The photo was taken by my wife. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/poodle-dog-...

This is Pedicularis ornithorhyncha, an uncommon wildflower of alpine meadows in the North Cascades and the Canadian Rockies. We found and photographed this example in the Henry M. Jackson Wilderness near Silver Lake and above the town of Monte Cristo. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/09/poodle-dog-...