RHH's photos with the keyword: snoqualmie

Photographed along the trails at Snoqualmie Falls, these are the flowers of Indian Plum, a small tree which bears tiny and bitter plums later in the season.

We were in western Washington recently and on our way home stopped at Snoqualmie Falls and hiked the trails there. Snoqualmie Falls is on the Snoqualmie River and drops 268 feet (82 m) over granite cliffs. It is, after Mount Rainier the second most visited place in the state of Washington. The falls are used to generate electricity but the buildings (some of them) and power stations are only just visible from this vantage point. We had traveled through the area many times but had never stopped to see the falls.

Photographed near Snoqualmie Pass in the North Cascades, a long way from the Elwha River after which this derelict boat was named.

Photographed near the town of Snoqualmie Pass in what appeared to be a graveyard for old railroad cars, fire engines and other vehicles.

Photographed near Lake Elizabeth in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in the area of Skykomish, Washington. Keys to the identification of this species are the inflated spur and yellowish lip. This was published in the April, 2011, issue of Orchids, the magazine of the American Orchid Society, in an article titled "Taking Aim."

It will not be long now before the Fairy Slippers are blooming again. We have an outing planned for the beginning of May to see them at Deschutes Falls State Park. This is an older picture taken later in the year (at a higher altitude) along the Goat Mountain Trail in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It shows the Western Fairy Slipper which differs from eastern in that the "beard" or hairs on the lip are white, not yellow. nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwest.blogspot.com/2010/07/c...

In Explore May 4, 2012, #45. Last Saturday's hike on the Baker River Trail in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and North Cascades National Park produced few good views of the mountains, since the weather clouded over as we hiked. This was one of the only views we had of Mount Shuksan and even this was through the trees and was taken with a telephoto lens. Tomorrow we are snowshoeing up to Artist's Point and are hoping for some good views of Shuksan and Baker from there. We've never tried snowshoes before, so we are hoping it goes well. The round trip from the Mount Baker Ski Lodge to Artist's Point is 5.5 miles and we can follow the road up a good part of the way. The Artist's Point road is only open in the summer months, if at all (last summer it never opened because of the amount of snow we had the previous winter), but it is provides some fabulous views of Mount Shuksan to the east and Mount Baker to the west. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/04/baker-river...

Saturday, May 5th, my youngest brother was in town after working the previous week in Portland, and we, brother Tim, son Edward and myself, decided to go snowshoeing, something none of us had done before. We had been told that if you can walk you can snowshoe, and we found that to be true, and had a wonderful day, though the weather could have been better. Artist's Point is at the end of the Mount Baker Highway and at over 5000 feet elevation provides wonderful views of the surrounding peaks, Mount Shuksan, Mount Baker, Coleman Pinnacle and Ptarmigan Ridge. The three mile road from the ski lodge below is closed during the winter, however, and Artist's Point is accessible only by skis or snowshoes or some very hard work afoot. Mount Baker receives some of the greatest snowfall in the world and holds the world record for snowfall in a season, set in 1999 of 1140 inches (95 feet) / 2896 cm. This year there was well over 800 inches and last summer the road to Artist's Point was never opened because of heavy snow the previous winter. There was still over 20 feet of snow when we were there. The total trip was about five and half miles with a little over 1000 feet gain in elevation. The only disappointment of the day was the weather which was mostly cloudy, allowing only occasional glimpses of the surrounding peaks. The only clear views we had were of Mount Shuksan from the lower ski lodge where we stopped on our way out, but even then the clouds were still rolling in. This photo was taken at the top somewhere near Artist's point, though we could not tell exactly where the parking lot and bathrooms were, since they were completely buried. The view is of Mount Shuksan on the right, just visible through the clouds and Shuksan Arm on the left. We stayed at the top for about an hour hoping the weather would clear and taking time for a drink and a snack before heading down. More pictures can be found here: ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/05/artists-poi...

Thought I would post one of son Edward's pictures from our hike in the Twin Lakes area of Mount Baker Wilderness. This picture, taken from the trail to the top of Winchester Mountain, is certainly worthy of being posted and is one of the best photos from our hike. You can see in the picture our vehicle, our campsite between the two lakes and the road (gated) through Skagway Pass to the Lone Jack Mine, an active gold mine. We hiked down the road a ways one evening and found other evidences of mining activity in the area, including an old mine shaft. The photo also shows some of the autumn color in the mountains. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t... ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t...

This was taken looking down and to the north from the top of Winchester Mountain (6,500 feet). We had hiked the trail over High Pass to Pleiades Overlook the previous day. That trail is visible at the bottom of the picture and leads across the ridge of High Pass and up the mountain on the farther side of the pass. We also hiked down to the old abandoned Gargett Mine, the trail to which is visible in the basin in the center of the picture just above the shadows. The old mineshaft on the south flank of Mount Larrabee is in the trees that are visible just above the knob at the bottom of the picture. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t... ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t...

Taken from the trail not far from the top where the trail, having followed along the south side of Winchester Mountain, crosses a saddle and heads up the west side of the peak. The trailhead with cars parked there is visible near the lake. Our camp is also just visible above the reflections of the trees. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t... ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t...

An early morning shot from the High Pass trail as we rounded the shoulder of Winchester Mountain. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t... ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2012/10/hiking-in-t...

Several weeks ago my wife and I climbed Mount Si near Snoqualmie Pass. Mount Si is part of the Cascades Range but stand alone looming over the town of North Bend. We took the old trail, a much less busy route to the top and did around 3500 feet (1060 meters) in four miles (6.5 kilometers). There was not much to see on the way up and we hiked through snow the last half mile or so, but the views from the top were incredible. The whole of the Snoqualmie Valley, Seattle and Bellevue, the Olympics, Mount Rainier and the Cascades are all visible. This was taken from where we had our lunch and looks to the northwest. ronaldhanko-orchidhunter.blogspot.com/2013/05/mount-si.html