I proposed an outing for later in the week to my photography chums down here and the response was deafening silence except for Dave Hill who said he was more interested in spring flowers. Going back into the cold and snow was just not a great choice for him right now – can’t say I blame him.
It was foggy and cold here this morning and my first choice was to go back out to Golden Garden park but about 1/2 way down the street I heard the weather forecast for the mountains and it was for sun. Adjusted my route. The sun did not break out until after I drove past Vida. The valley looked a lot like this:
One of my favorite walks is the nature trail at Delta Campground. The trail winds along and crosses the S. Fk. of the McKenzie River and while the campground is currently closed necessitating a walk in it is a very nice route that offers such divergent photographic opportunities with each season.
Today it was 25 degrees when I left the car and it was fun to hear the crunch of the snow underfoot as I walked along. The two shots below were taken at the 2nd bridge crossing. The cold and snow make such a difference. The last shot just starts to catch the sun lighting up the large old-growth.
I was chilled deeply as I got back to the warmth of the car and headed back down the valley. The fog had burned off a bit but we are still pretty socked in down here and it is very cold.
And apparently we’ll be somewhat socked in for the next several days, as well. I couldn’t help but notice the overall cast to the photos: blue. Blue, as in “cold.” The lower third of the last image looks more inviting than the rest, don’t you think? For us with Wed. morning bird group, the hike up the east side of Pisgah had plenty of ice…us oldsters, ever fearful of falling and breaking a hip (now THAT never was an issue 20 years ago!), turned back a ways into the climb, but hikers coming down said the top of Pisgah was sunny!