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North Bend Hiking | Rattlesnake Sunrise

Zach Hodgson

Happy weekend, everyone! The last time we visited Rattlesnake Ledge, we encountered more than a little opposition from the weather in our attempts to witness and capture the sunrise from the top. This time, however, clear skies greeted me at the top and the sun put on quite a show for us. CLICK ABOVE FOR LARGER VERSION Click on the image above if you’d like to see a larger, interactive version of this in a zoomable format on an external site. I’m very pleased at how this turned out. There’s a little of distortion along the tree line, but I can live with that. Sunrises like this don’t come along every day, especially in this part of the country. I can’t wait to see how she looks printed and framed. I should be able to get a solid eight foot print out of it.  Spectacular.  

Defiance at 5580′

Zach Hodgson

Like the bleached skeletal fingers of a long-buried giant, the burned carcass of once mighty evergreens push upwards out of the remains of a decades-old forest fire. The place is Mount Defiance and is one of the most beautiful trails in the Snoqualmie region. The trail begins at the end of FR-9031 which is exit 45 off of I-90 in Washington State. As of this writing the road is passable. However, there is still a small washed-out portion to be wary of. Ample parking is available at the end of the loose gravel road but a Northwest Forest Pass is required. Before entering the trail, be sure and fill out a registration card at the small stand. Permits are free but are required for trail use. The trail that leads to Mason Lake has been recently renamed the Ira Spring Trail in honor of the late nature photographer and naturalist. A plaque is visible at the crest of the saddle leading down to the lake. In Summer, be sure to bring plenty of bug repellant and sun screen as both are plentiful this time of year. This is what you will find on most of the Ira Spring Trail—the end […]

Snow Lake

Zach Hodgson

I got the chance to go check out a new trail on Thursday as part of my day off and I must say that I am extremely pleased. Snow Lake is out in the Snoqualmie Pass in North Bend, WA and I must say, it was a welcome treat after the day leading up to it. The day started innocently enough with a planned trip to Talapus Lake. I woke up around seven in order to get an early start with hopes of catching up with a friend for lunch. I hit my first snag when I discovered that I needed a parking pass to even get to the trail head. After driving twenty minutes west back to the ranger station and twenty minutes back to the trail head, I discovered that the road to the trail head had been washed out in three places and there was no way to access the trail. So, I turned around. Well, I would have turned around if there had been room do so. There wasn’t so I backed down the hill most of the way until I found a bend that I could use to turn around. I drove out to the […]

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