I have BIG plans for hiking adventures this summer, and there might come a time -- though I honestly hope this is not the case -- when I post words and images here that come off sounding like I’m working for my state's Chamber of Commerce, doing a PR campaign for the part of the country where I live. I mean, if my plans play out in the way I’d like, I’m going to be making my way to and photographing some really cool places in the not-too-distant future: The North Cascades; the wilderness beaches where Washington meets the Pacific Ocean; the deserts in Eastern Washington and Oregon. It might be hard not to gush.
Today, however, there's little or no chance you'll think I'm "selling" life in the Pacific Northwest or the Seattle area. Just check out the weather forecast (above) that I viewed on my phone this morning. Rain, rain, and more rain...yuk, yuk and more yuk. The intense green and lushness that will probably be visual elements in my lowland forest photographs this summer, result from all the damned rain we get during the winter.
Once in a while though, we Pacific Northwesterners DO get lucky. It is true that occasionally -- even in winter -- the sun does show itself. And on those rare days we mossbacks make a dash for the door and head outside. We bask in the sunshine, we revel in it.
The images below were made during the past several weeks on two different hikes I did with friends near Hood Canal on a trail only a few miles from my house. One day was gloriously sunny, even warm. The other day offered soft sunset light and a sweeping view of the Olympic Mountains and the twin-summitted peak called The Brothers.
Even now, as I type these words and glance toward the window, I see what might be a patch of blue in the sky. Maybe the weather forecast was wrong...
Maybe it’s time for some revelry?
