Clouded in Light

10/27/2026

Great blue herons are a familiar sight throughout the Skagit River Delta and the wider Salish Sea region. They hunt along sloughs, wetlands, shorelines, and riverbanks, often standing motionless for long stretches before taking a few deliberate steps in search of their next meal. 🍁

I’ve always enjoyed watching these birds. There’s an elegance to the way they move, from their careful steps across a log to the precision with which they position themselves along the water. They can be surprisingly tolerant of a quiet human presence, allowing you to observe them at close range if you move slowly and give them space. 🍁

This encounter took place at Wiley Slough, part of the Skagit Wildlife Area in Washington. Using my Canon R5 and RF 100–500mm lens, I was able to capture a closer look at the heron’s plumage, movements, and distinctive features in 4K. 🍁

A few minutes spent watching one of these birds is a good reminder of how much there is to see in familiar places, especially when you take the time to slow down and pay attention. 🍂🦅🕊

10/27/2026

There’s something fascinating about the way a great blue heron moves. Each step is slow, deliberate, and precise, with long toes that spread and curl around the surface beneath it. Watching one walk across a log, you can appreciate the balance and control behind every movement. 🌿

🌲🦢🌲

10/26/2026

The morning after the Hunter’s Moon, a great blue heron was hunting along the water at Wiley Slough in the Skagit River Delta. 🌿

Up close, the details really stand out: the blue-gray feathers, the sharp lines of its face, and the deliberate stillness of a bird that can wait patiently for the right moment to strike. 🌿

Late October marks the return of migratory bird season across the Pacific Northwest. With winter approaching and the first snow settling into the North Cascades, I’ll be spending more mornings out here watching the waterfowl, shorebirds, and other avian life moving through the delta. 🌿

🌲🦢🌲

10/26/2026

10/06/2026

Autumn is in full swing across the Skagit Valley. The trees are turning, apples are dropping from the old orchards, and pumpkins and squash are filling farms and markets with every shade of orange, green, cream, and gold. 🎃

Yesterday I stopped by Gordon Skagit Farms with my mom to pick out a few pumpkins for carving. Gordon’s is one of those Skagit Valley places that feels especially fitting this time of year—a working farm with dozens of varieties of pumpkins and squash, from familiar carving pumpkins to unusual edible and decorative varieties. 🎃

There’s plenty to photograph beyond the pumpkins themselves: old farm buildings, fields, trees, weathered structures, and the changing landscape around them. It’s a good place to slow down and take in the season, and a reminder that autumn here is more than a change in color—it’s a harvest unfolding across the valley. 🎃

10/05/2026

Filmed at the end of September, this final part of my Maple Pass Loop hike picks up on the high ridge above Lake Ann, where the trail opens into broad views across the North Cascades. Autumn was already beginning to show across the subalpine slopes, with huckleberry and other vegetation turning crimson, burgundy, and orange while the larches were still mostly green. 🍂🌲

From the shoulder of Frisco Mountain, the surrounding peaks stretch across the horizon, including Golden Horn and Tower Mountain, before the trail begins its descent and Cutthroat Peak and Whistler Mountain come into view. This is the part of the North Cascades that makes the climb worth it—the landscape keeps opening up as you move along the ridge, with a different perspective around every turn. 🌲🍂

This time of year has become known as Larch Madness, when the golden larches draw people from all over to the North Cascades. But Maple Pass and Blue Lake are far from the only places to explore. You can continue east toward Mazama and up Harts Pass Road, the highest road in Washington, with access to the Pacific Crest Trail and a whole network of trails farther into the mountains. Social media has helped introduce more people to these special places, but I think that makes it even more important to tread lightly, leave no trace, take only photographs, leave only footprints, and be kind to the landscape and to each other. 🍂🌲

10/01/2026

Maple Pass Loop Trail | North Cascades

Late September in the North Cascades, and autumn is beginning to take hold. This three-minute film follows the trail through old-growth forest and up into the subalpine slopes, where huckleberry and other low vegetation are already turning crimson, burgundy, and orange while the larches remain mostly green.

🍂🌲🍂

I started hiking around 8 a.m., with low fog and morning haze hanging over the mountains. As the sun climbed, the light gradually burned through the mist, revealing more of the landscape along the way. By the time I reached Lake Ann and the high ridge above the cirque, the fog had largely cleared.

🍁🌲🍁

09/28/2026

The Maple Pass Loop is one of the classic hikes through the North Cascades, climbing from old-growth forest to alpine lakes, open slopes, and a high ridge with broad views across the surrounding mountains. It’s a trail that changes considerably as you gain elevation, and by late September, those changes are especially visible. 🍂🌲

The landscape changes quickly here. The forest begins to fall away, the views open around Lake Ann, and the trail climbs toward Heather Pass and the broad ridge above it. Autumn color is already well underway across the subalpine slopes. The larches are still green, just beginning to lighten, while huckleberry and other low vegetation have turned deep crimson, burgundy, orange, and fading shades of green. 🌲🍂

From Heather Pass, the trail continues upward along the rim of the cirque, eventually reaching the high shoulder of Frisco Mountain. Lake Ann becomes increasingly distant below, while the surrounding North Cascades begin to unfold across the horizon. This is where the scale of the landscape really starts to change. 🍂

Looking across the mountains, the sharp profile of Golden Horn rises among the rugged peaks, with Tower Mountain and the surrounding ridges filling the skyline. Later, as the trail begins its descent through the open slopes and meadows, Cutthroat Peak and Whistler Mountain come into view and dominate the horizon. 🌲🍂

There is something about seeing all of this unfold gradually that makes the Maple Pass Loop so memorable. The mountains don't simply appear at the end of the trail. They become larger and more present with every step upward, while the autumn color spreads across the slopes below. 🌲🍂