This image is another taken from the area around Deer Park in Olympic National Park. The campground is at about 5400 feet (1646 meters), so you can enjoy the high country without having to backpack up to it … although the road is narrow, winding and unpaved. You can see the area that was burned a few years earlier. Fortunately, the campground was protected and not damaged by the fire. The ‘skirts’ about the base of the trees are distinctive.
The removal of the Elwha Dams drained Lake Mills. One of the concerns was with the huge amount of sediment that had been trapped behind the dams and the impact that would have on the ecology downstream. A lot of careful planning has resulted in a rapid recovery … salmon and steelhead trout have already returned to the river. Not in the huge numbers that once were present … but quicker than many thought likely.
From the photos below (less than a mile below the upper dam), you can see that the river is now running clean and clear.
Recently my friend Gary and I rode our eBikes up the Dosewallips Road past the washouts and up to the Dosewallips Campground … a distance of about 6.5 miles (each way). We had great weather and were just doing a day trip … although regular readers may note that another friend and I have made several trips up the road backpacking.
I carried my camera and the day was a great success, based on how much fun we had. During the bouncy ride, I lost my lens cap, but that’s why they sell extras, isn’t it?
This was along the Highway outside of Haines, Alaska. There had been just a dusting of snow, then it cleared off and some heavy frost locked the snow in place. This is along the river valley, so these are poplars, alders and such. The river meanders across the valley, favoring quick growing varieties of tree. No 400 year old cedars growing along there.
A final view from my recent trip to Mt Walker, where you can see the road cut just above the center of the image. The low angle of the sun during the fall and winter months accentuates the contours of the hills.