So, the following adventure takes place in the middle fork snoqualmie river valley, about 50 miles north of I-90, in an extremely remote location. it was a very early start for myself, i headed out of the house, packed with camera, snacks, water and a few other things. i accessed this area via FS-56, and then FS-5630, it took well over an hour driving down a dirt road to access this
icicles hanging from a cliff on the side of the forest road.
this was the only section of the road nice enough that i could take a picture. it is still a washboard.
middle fork river, it had snowed the night before clearly, the whole valley was in a freshly frozen state.
mushies!
frozen cliffs, but the scenery is all still very green. its the magic of the northwest.
ice crystals, they formed all kinds of amazing shapes.
they seemed to grow from the ground like any other native species in the magical cascade mountains.
the sheer rock wall face leading up to nine mile lake. maybe on a warmer day i will attempt this.
frosty ferns. the crystal growth is amazing.
the rock wall that leads to nine mile lake.
the trees that have spring up on the boulder field on the mountain side.
boulder field
kinda strange this happened, but this whole mountain side is composed of loose rock and decomposing trees. some areas are very unstable from underground streams as well.
speaking of underground streams, you can find gold in them, just in little flake form. this is one of those flakes.
trail magic.
fungal growths.
feeder streams of crystal clear water.
cascades.
one of the runoff streams from nine mile lake, running down this extremely steep ravine.
Birches and cedars.
walking like this is like walking on mattresses, just be careful where you step, as this mossy coating can decieve. it is made up of decomposing trees and has varying density, from solid, to ankle breaking holes.
there are these little guys covering the mossy areas too!
some clear cut areas i ran into.
another ravine that heads up to nine mile lake.
and the beasty vehicle that get me deep in the forest, my lifted 91 subaru.
so, basically, if you live in the northern hemisphere, there is a good chance you are experiencing winter right now. the pacific northwest is no exception, as temperatures are dropping. however, since the temperature is fairly stable due to the ocean's proximity. the beaches still maintain amazing views from the puget sound.
weather is clearly not that winterly, as many people with free afternoons migrate to any one of the king county parks year round. no reason make nippy weather stop you.
HA.
paradise contained.
the winter is just as green as the summer in the evergreen state. these red cedar giants love the moist climate.
stopped for a doobie break.
street parking.
GETTIN' UP.
if you ask me, that is a pretty good view to be stuck watching in traffic.
the world's famous beth's cafe. marvelous greasy-spoon fare, and legendarily large omelets. nearly everything is served on a bed of "neverending" hash browns. the cafe is well known among seatllites for having the best breakfast food in the city. i myself like to go regularly on saturday mornings. pictured below is my country benedict breakfast consisting of eggs, a biscuit, sausage patty and sausage gravy, served over a the neverending hash browns. complemented with toast and coffee, this is truly the breakfast of champions, no matter the time of day. (open 24 hrs!)
below is a view of the puget sound and the other side of the sound. it was quite windy, the sea was far from calm, i didnt stay very long because i was underdressed for the cold wind, but i did manage the capture the unrest in the sea before i left.
