Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I've been heading to the mountains to hike one day most weeks this spring and summer, and as the snow retreated from the mountains, they got more interesting and I started taking some photos (those winter hikes in the low foothills mostly don't have much of photographic interest to me). I have here a few shots from several hikes I've done in the last six weeks. Sometimes I carried a camera, sometimes just my phone. Granite Lake A fairly well-graded hike of just over 8 miles RT, with a 2300' gain. I did this May 30. We started early, so the light was dim enough on the way in to use a slow shutter speed for some smooth water photos.   Lake Angeles & Hurricane Ridge The next weekend, I headed to the Olympic Peninsula and did the very popular hike to Lake Angeles. Being free to do these hikes on weekdays makes them a lot more enjoyable. This one was just over 7 miles and 2400' of climbing. I never saw such pale banana slugs before.  After hiking to the lake, I felt ...

This it the last post about my trip to Utah back in April. But no fear--summer outings have commenced, so I'm not without photos to share! On the last morning of the trip, I got up extra early and headed out solo. No one else wanted to tackle a hike advertised as nearly 10 miles (it was actually barely 9), and I wanted to go fast and early both to beat the heat and crowds, and to have time to make some mileage toward home afterwards. The start of the trail. I believe I was the 5th or 6th car in the parking lot when I started hiking about sunrise. I hadn't gone far before I met two parties coming back, presumably from a very early hike to the Hickman Natural Bridge (less than a mile each way). After that, I saw no one for a very long time. Just the way I like it. Me for the distant goal, something I never had time or will to do before.   A little further on I reached the Hickman Bridge overlook, and enjoyed seeing the bridge for once with no people around it. Look carefully to s...

I'm nearing the end of my photos from the April trip to Utah, but I still have a couple more posts' worth. After spending the early morning at the Devil's Garden , we headed into the town of Escalante for  snacks and  showers (about $9 with tax at the Escalante Outfitters, so one of my pricier showers but much overdue--as some will remember from my May IWSG post ). We promptly undid much of the effect of the showers by launching on a late-morning hike up the Escalante River to Escalante Arch and Cliff Ruins Arch. I usually avoid hiking in the desert at mid-day, but the trail was flat and promised at least some shade, so we went for it. Spoiler alert: it was hot. Overlooking the Escalante River. The line of trees following the curve of the cliff shows where the river runs. Cottonwoods and red cliffs. The Escalante River. The word "river" is an elastic term; in the desert things are "rivers" that in Western Washington would barely qualify as "streams...