View Full Version : The great waterfalls (in far West) to drip, not gush this spring?
Heroique
15-Mar-2015, 12:04
Amazing – it's late winter, and the mountain snowpack in my local Cascade mountains is only 5-10% of normal.
Check-out the darkest red spots on the map below, the March 2015 update from the USDA's Nat'l Water and Climate Center:
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I couldn’t believe it, but this weekend, in a fit of curiosity, I drove into one favorite area – southeast of Mount Rainier – and went up, up, up above 5,000 feet until I finally saw traces of snow in the dry road. And the road wasn't even south facing! Normally, I have to wait until mid-June to get up here. It was all quite disorienting, since I've never explored these well-known forests in winter time, early or late – not even before Memorial Day.
Naturally, some of my favorite springtime waterfalls are in this region. (They call these mountains "The Cascades" for a good reason!) I've posted them here over the years. Even more beloved – the snow-melt streams, which wind through mature Fir-and-Hemlock woods where owls call, cougars snarl, and black bears roam...
Looks like my personal shooting habits might trend away from the water's edge and waterfalls this spring (though dry waterfalls could provide new image opportunities) – and I might concentrate more on rocks and trees :cool:. Well, at least the "shooting season" in these higher elevations will start a lot earlier this year. I should say the season has already begun, unless the snow starts falling fast, furious, and late.
And if the map is any indication, it looks my LF peers in Oregon and California might be thinking along similar lines...
John Kasaian
15-Mar-2015, 16:07
I've got my waterless waterfall shot of the year already planned out.
Drew Wiley
16-Mar-2015, 10:26
Bring you own extra water bottle. You'll need it if you even want to photograph a trickle!
Old-N-Feeble
16-Mar-2015, 10:31
Better be prepared when a quick thaw comes.
Heroique
16-Mar-2015, 11:45
I've got my waterless waterfall shot of the year already planned out.
Now that's thinking outside the waterfall! :)
-----
Below is a form letter still in draft stage, all comments/additions welcome:
Dear Fellow LFers in Idaho/Montana,
Please consider shipping some of your bountiful mountain snow to your needy friends in the Cascades/Sierra-Nevadas.
We will gladly pay all collection and shipping expenses!
Sincerely,
Waterfall mourners of the West Coast.
John Kasaian
16-Mar-2015, 13:58
The rock, water worn over the span of the millennia even when dry can make for interesting and very rarely seen compositions.
Heroique
16-Mar-2015, 14:26
An excellent idea, and I like the optimism.
Yes, this will be a great season for creek-bed geology studies. ;^)
I'm also looking forward to hiking up dry creek beds, normally gushing in May and June, where forests are too thick to explore.
With sharp eyes, it's a great way to find fossils, arrowheads, and gem-encrusted rocks, too. (Plus multi-colored salamanders where there's a bit of moisture left.)
Gary Tarbert
16-Mar-2015, 16:37
I am in the States late May early June , We have a conference for about 4 days in Detroit , We fly into JFK on the 27th of May , I was thinking of shooting streams and waterfalls ,on the way from New york to Michigan maybe i need to rethink
Preston
16-Mar-2015, 17:20
Gary,
I don't think you'll have a problem finding water in the Northeast US this year. The region has experienced the heaviest snowfall in years. The West, however, is a whole different ball game!
--P
I am in the States late May early June , We have a conference for about 4 days in Detroit , We fly into JFK on the 27th of May , I was thinking of shooting streams and waterfalls ,on the way from New york to Michigan maybe i need to rethink
You will see the opposite. All the snow that normally goes West has gone East this year. Keep in mind how geographically big this country is.
Kent in SD
Heroique
16-Mar-2015, 18:49
Here's a favorite melt-water stream, the kind that meanders through N. Cascade forests from May to June, feeding the great waterfalls that give these mountains their name.
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Pitching a tent alongside these streams is a springtime joy. The murmuring is, well, therapeutic after a winter in Seattle's urban jungle. By late June, it's gone with little trace, much like a pleasant dream.
It ain't happening this year. :(
Tachi 4x5
Fuji A 240mm/9
Astia 100F Quickload
Epson 4990/Epson Scan
John Kasaian
16-Mar-2015, 20:29
An excellent idea, and I like the optimism.
Yes, this will be a great season for creek-bed geology studies. ;^)
I'm also looking forward to hiking up dry creek beds, normally gushing in May and June, where forests are too thick to explore.
With sharp eyes, it's a great way to find fossils, arrowheads, and gem-encrusted rocks, too. (Plus multi-colored salamanders where there's a bit of moisture left.)
I almost got bit by a little snake while hiking up a dry creek bed in the Ansel Adams about ten years ago. The snake is probably a lot bigger now!
The rock, water worn over the span of the millennia even when dry can make for interesting and very rarely seen compositions.
You'll be able to take photos like this without waiting until October like I had to!
Base of Bridalvail Fall
Yosemite national Park
8x10 Carbon print
John Kasaian
16-Mar-2015, 22:58
You'll be able to take photos like this without waiting until October like I had to!
Base of Bridalvail Fall
Yosemite national Park
8x10 Carbon print
LOL! I was at Bridalveil in October!
Jim Fitzgerald
17-Mar-2015, 06:40
I just got back from Yosemite and the falls are running right now. The run off has begun and it is not going to be long before they are dry. Two weeks ago when we were here we got a trace of snow but going home on 41 we saw minimal snow at 6,000 feet.
Just for the record this is a digital shot of lower Yosemite falls on Sunday.
seabee1999
17-Mar-2015, 08:15
I just got back from Yosemite and the falls are running right now. The run off has begun and it is not going to be long before they are dry. Two weeks ago when we were here we got a trace of snow but going home on 41 we saw minimal snow at 6,000 feet.
Just for the record this is a digital shot of lower Yosemite falls on Sunday.
The season started out so promising but then just died. Really sad about that.
R/
Dave
Jim Galli
17-Mar-2015, 08:30
Things are normal in Tonopah.
I just got back from Yosemite and the falls are running right now...
I'll be there mid-April...the light is always nice, and I really do not need to make another waterfall image, tho I undoubtably will!
Real-time view of Yosemite Falls: http://www.yosemiteconservancy.org/webcams/yosemite-falls#.VQhcy2ZNLM8
(not much to see at night!)
LOL! I was at Bridalveil in October!
I had the 8x10 set up again in about the same spot two Februaries ago. I was looking at the image of the water coming down on the GG, then it was not there. I took the darkcloth off, and looked straight up to see the falls coming straight down at me...the wind had shifted. Cold water, a cold, but sunny, day -- dried the equipment out on the rock wall along the road just after the Wawona Tunnel. The negative was not well enough seen to print, but an interesting experience!
Jim Fitzgerald
17-Mar-2015, 10:36
Vaughn, when in April? BTW checked out the Yosemite Renaissance while we were there.
Vaughn, when in April? BTW checked out the Yosemite Renaissance while we were there.
Monday nite to Friday morning, April 13 to 17. Upper Pines Campground, site #67. Drop on by! (anyone, not just Jim!) I'll probably have the 8x10 and the 11x14 if there is room in the van...I'll have the Boys and my ladyfriend with me!
Can't believe I let another YR pass without entering! Well, things were too crazy to have attended the opening anyway (if I got into the show, lol!)
Heroique
17-Mar-2015, 13:18
So little snow means getting to skimpy waterfalls is easier than ever! :cool:
The NPS has just reported that in Washington state, Cayuse Pass (next to Mount Rainier) is set to open in 10 days (March 27). This dramatic pass usually opens in late May or June.
Records go back to 1935, and it has never opened in March. Never.
Another miracle – nearby Chinook Pass is set to open one week later.
Just don't let a sudden snow storm catch-and-trap you way up there!
Jerry Bodine
17-Mar-2015, 13:47
Just don't let a sudden snow storm catch-and-trap you way up there!
Good advice. It'd be a VERY long drive back to the west side (provided one of the Cascades' passes is open).
Drew Wiley
17-Mar-2015, 16:26
Here in Calif there has been some record heat. Usually even in a dry year the mtn temps will suddenly surge upwards in late May and early June. Since there is
always a comparatively substantial amt of snow at high altitude, even drought years tend to have a very dangerous brief runoff in June. This year it might be
a lot earlier and more gradual. Even around here where we get a lot of moisture from coastal fog, the streams already are almost dry. Unless there's a serious
forest fires (if anything is still left to burn that hasn't in the past few years), I still plan to head up into Kings Can this summer. With headwaters well up above
13000 or even 14000 ft, even in this driest of dry years there will still be plenty of drinking water in those canyons and lakes - just less mosquitoes and dangerous stream crossings. Horse dust on the main lower trails, however.... %$#$@@@!! (hoping for some good afternoon thunderstoms)
Jim Fitzgerald
17-Mar-2015, 19:20
Monday nite to Friday morning, April 13 to 17. Upper Pines Campground, site #67. Drop on by! (anyone, not just Jim!) I'll probably have the 8x10 and the 11x14 if there is room in the van...I'll have the Boys and my ladyfriend with me!
Can't believe I let another YR pass without entering! Well, things were too crazy to have attended the opening anyway (if I got into the show, lol!)
Well, June is after me to enter again as well. Let me see if we can squeeze another few days in the park. Might be tough but you never know.
...I still plan to head up into Kings Can this summer. With headwaters well up above
13000 or even 14000 ft, even in this driest of dry years there will still be plenty of drinking water in those canyons and lakes...(hoping for some good afternoon thunderstoms)
If I am to get back up into the Yolla Bollys, it will have to be late May, perhaps early June. Always water around, but can be hard to find. I'll be heading up into the Trinity Alps for a couple of nights soon (first weekend in April)...at least there will be plenty of water around still.
John Olsen
18-Mar-2015, 22:31
About waterfalls in the Northwest: I just spent two days at the Quinault N.P. on the Olympic Peninsula photographing waterfalls and cascades. Right now they're great, but then there was 4+ inches of rain the day before. If there was any more water I would have to have shot from further away. Go now, no reason to wait!
Here's a quick digi-sample: my film is waiting to be developed tomorrow.
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Heroique
19-Mar-2015, 05:49
Go now, no reason to wait!
Your timing was perfect after the sudden rain, and your image in the Olympics is quite refreshing!
And your tip – "Go Now!" – is well heard.
For our governor (in Washington state) has just declared a drought for the Olympic Peninsula – and for a gigantic swath of the North Cascades too. (The declaration opens funding to address hardships for people due to so little snowpack and, as a result, so little water come spring and summer.)
I haven't heard if the funding will help LF shooters find waterfalls this season, but any assistance would certainly be welcome. :D
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