Category: River

North Fork Skokomish Fire Before and After (5)


The Olympic National Park opened up the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail on July 8th for the first time since the fire in 2025 devastated the area. The valley of the North Fork Skokomish was one of my favorite locations and I went to take photos of the area on the 8th. Each set of photos shows the same location before and after. Some images aren’t exact matches … but I did as well as I could with the images I had. The Staircase Loop Trail leaves from the Staircase Ranger Station, runs 1 mile (1.6 KM), crosses the river (on a bridge that was protected from the fire) and returns back to the parking lot.

These images are from the Staircase Bridge … a concrete bridge that runs across the river to the ranger residences and the return trailhead of the Staircase Loop trail … (well, the return trailhead depending on which direction you choose to hike).

Upriver View from the Staircase Bridge Before
Upriver View from the Staircase Bridge After
Downriver View from the Staircase Bridge Before
Downriver View from the Staircase Bridge After

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North Fork Skokomish Fire Before and After (3)


The Olympic National Park opened up the Staircase Rapids Loop Trail on July 8th for the first time since the fire in 2025 devastated the area. The valley of the North Fork Skokomish was one of my favorite locations and I went to take photos of the area on the 8th. Each set of photos shows the same location before and after. Some images aren’t exact matches … but I did as well as I could with the images I had. The Staircase Loop Trail leaves from the Staircase Ranger Station, runs 1 mile (1.6 KM), crosses the river (on a bridge that was protected from the fire) and returns back to the parking lot.

Staircase Loop Bridge Before

In order to save the bridge, the Park wrapped the bridge in fire protective material. The bridges further up the valley were mostly all lost to the fire. It will be years before they are all replaced.

Staircase Loop Trail Bridge After
Upriver View From the Middle of the Staircase Loop Trail Bridge Before
Upriver View From the Middle of the Staircase Loop Trail Bridge After
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The Elbow of the Columbia

The Columbia River at Lincoln, WA

I had friends drive me up to the bluff behind their house in town of Lincoln, WA (just right of center, on the river). The Columbia River takes a hard left and heads north to Canada just on the east side of town. I used a digital camera on this, but didn’t have a wide angle lens with me, so took a series and then pieced them together for the pano using Lightroom. I added contrast which emphasized the clouds … they weren’t quite so dramatic in “real life”.

I have a book available on the Kindle site. It is a memoir titled 60 Years of Hiking in the Olympics. It has over 100 photographs and covers more than 100 different hikes and backpacks. I have it priced to share at $2.99 (US).

Here’s the link: (Click the Get Book button)

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Cambridge

Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics

I went to England in 1999 to see the total eclipse of the sun (it was cloudy). But while I was in London, my brother and I spent the day going up to Cambridge where we visited the University and I was thrilled to come upon the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics … one of the hangouts of Stephen Hawking.

We later walked over to the river Cam and I poled a punt (skiff? … ?) on the river. My brother was a little nervous with my poling … not having been with me during any of the hours I had spent poling my canoe. This was lots easier … not nearly as tippy. It was fun to pole under a bridge on the Cam.

Poling on the River Can
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The Dosewallips

The Dosewallips River

The Dosewallips River is one of the major rivers draining the east side of the Olympic Peninsula. The photo above was taken from the old car campground that is now backpack in only, since the road washed out over 20 years ago. (it’s about 6.5 miles – about 10.5 km) It is in the Olympic National Park, but the access road is in the Olympic National Forest. So, who’s responsible for fixing the road? Let’s argue about it for another decade or so…

Below shows the trail not far outside of the campground. It’s beautiful country and it’s too bad that it is so much harder for seniors to access these days.

Dosewallips Trail
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