Some of the most interesting and scenic hikes tend to be the ones done at odd times of the year. (Whichever times those are.) I missed out on the Natural Bridge in July, so on November 29, 2002 I thought I would go back, this time hiking up from the Carbon River side. Usually there is skiing in the mountains at this time of year, but this year there was hardly any snowpack. An extreme temperature inversion had set up, resulting in temperatures in the 50's and 60's F up in the mountains (and it definitely got warmer the higher I hiked) while it was foggy and in the 30's in the lowlands. This was a solitary hike and truly one of the most fantastic I have ever been on. I took over 100 pictures; here are some of the best.
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Near the Carbon River Bridge. |
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The Yellowstone Cliffs. The low sun angle enabled me to get some cool pics with foreground silhouettes. |
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The Yellowstone Cliffs again. |
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The low November sun. |
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Crescent Mountain from just below Windy Gap. Snow lingered on north facing slopes, where the sun never reached, but south facing slopes were bare. However, lakes were still frozen solid from a cold period in early November. |
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Sluskin Mountain from near Windy Gap. |
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The Natural Bridge. A 1971 book describing hikes in the park says to hurry and see the bridge because it might not be standing another year! |
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Mt. Rainier from Tyee Peak. |
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Stunted trees on the top of Tyee Peak. Tyee Peak is about 6,100' elevation but it had no snow on it, and the temperature had to have been at least 55°F. Glacier Peak, Mt. Baker, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, and the Olympic Mountains were all visible. |
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The Yellowstone Cliffs (left) and Tyee Peak (right). I'm not sure if that lake has a name. |
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A frozen lake, with the cliffs of Mother Mountain in the background. |
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A final look at Mt. Rainier just before sunset, from the Carbon River bridge. |
Several panoramic pictures, which would have come out better if I had firgured out that the pictures on the sides should be taken in line with the sky rather than the horizontal. Oh well, live and learn I guess.
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Mt. Rainier from Tyee Peak, with Crescent Mountain (center, in front of Rainier) and Sluskin Mountain (left). |
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A panoramic of Rainier from Tyee Peak. At right you can see the blanket of fog covering western Washington, with the southern slopes of the Olympic mountains behind (very faint). |
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The Yellowstone Cliffs in the morning, with the foreground shaded by Crescent Mountain. |
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The Yellowstone Cliffs in the afternoon. The foreground looks less interesting, but there are more shadows on the cliffs. |
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