One of my favorite regions in Washington is the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Growing up, my family spent many days camping here. My dad and his friends also set up a hunting camp somewhere in the forest for several weeks each year. I visited on weekends and, occasionally, on a school day I probably should not have missed.
Those years in the woods taught me a lot about being outdoors. They are also part of what makes this region so meaningful to me.
At the time of this trip, my opportunities to explore the Gifford Pinchot were often limited to day trips between 24-hour shifts at the fire department. That usually meant arriving later in the morning and making the most of the remaining daylight.
After stopping in Randle, I headed south from Highway 12 on Forest Road 25. Along the way, I passed places tied to earlier trips and family memories, including Huffaker Mountain, Woods Creek, and Kraus Ridge.
I didn’t have a particular photographic destination in mind.
After crossing the Cispus River, I turned onto Ryan Lake Road, Forest Road 26, and started exploring.
Quartz Creek Waterfall
When Ryan Lake Road crossed Quartz Creek, I stopped to look around.
That’s when I noticed a small waterfall upstream.
I hadn’t gone there looking for a waterfall. I simply saw enough from the road to make me curious.
After bushwhacking a short distance along the creek, I reached the base of the falls. I was surprised by how much water was still flowing in early September.
The mid-afternoon light was harsher than I normally prefer for moving water, but I stayed and worked with the scene. Eventually, I found a composition that included the rock face, falling water, and pool below.
That unexpected stop became one of the photographs from the day.
Sometimes that is all it takes. Stop the vehicle. Get out. Look around.
Green River Valley
I continued along Ryan Lake Road and drove Forest Road 2612 through the Green River Valley.
Because it was Labor Day weekend, the trailhead parking areas I encountered were busy. I eventually returned to Ryan Lake Road and continued higher, where I found a viewpoint overlooking the Green River Valley and Goat Mountain.
The width of the scene called for a panoramic composition.
I often work in a 4:5 aspect ratio, but sometimes a landscape needs more horizontal space. Here, the broad valley and distant ridges were more important to me than trying to fit the scene into my usual proportions.
Behind the Scenes Video: Photographing the Green River Valley
Meta Lake
Continuing over Norway Pass, I reached a viewpoint overlooking Meta Lake.
Meta Lake lies within the area affected by the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Snow on the ground helped protect some plants and animals from the lateral blast, and the surrounding landscape has continued to recover in the decades since.
Standing there, the contrast between disturbance and regrowth was easy to see.
Much of the forest had returned, while scattered standing snags still carried evidence of the eruption.
Behind the Scenes Video: Photographing Meta Lake
Mt. St. Helens
Ryan Lake Road eventually connects with Forest Road 99, which leads toward Windy Ridge and the northeast side of Mount St. Helens.
On this trip, I passed several viewpoints and continued toward the end of the road.
I’ve photographed Mount St. Helens many times, so I wasn’t interested in simply repeating an earlier composition. I chose a panoramic view that included more of the foreground ridges and surrounding terrain.
The atmospheric conditions softened the crater while the changing light helped separate the layers of the landscape.
Even when I return to a familiar subject, I try to remain open to a different photograph.
Spirit Lake
Only a short distance away was the viewpoint overlooking Spirit Lake and the Pumice Plain.
The landscape here was dramatically reshaped during the May 18, 1980 eruption.
The collapse of Mount St. Helens’ north flank sent an enormous debris avalanche into Spirit Lake, displacing the water and raising the lake level. Pyroclastic flows later deposited volcanic material across the area between the crater and the lake, helping create the landscape now known as the Pumice Plain.
More than four decades later, evidence of the eruption remains visible.
For this photograph, I concentrated on a section of Spirit Lake and the Pumice Plain rather than trying to include the entire scene.
Smith Creek Valley
With the sun dropping lower, I started working my way back.
Along the route, a view across Smith Creek Valley toward Oregon’s Mount Hood caught my attention.
The broad landscape again worked better as a panorama. The light-colored creek bed provided a path through the darker ridges toward Mount Hood in the distance.
Elk Pass
As daylight began fading, I returned to Forest Road 25 and turned onto Forest Road 2551 near Elk Pass.
This road has a much more personal connection for me.
In his later years, my dad often camped in this area. He loved this part of the Gifford Pinchot enough that he requested that his ashes be spread here.
His wish was honored, and the road and surrounding landscape remain especially meaningful to me.
It had been a while since I had traveled this way. With limited daylight left, I continued down the familiar road and stopped when I noticed the forest across the Elk Creek valley.
I’m often drawn to views across canyons and valleys where an entire hillside is covered in forest. From a distance, individual trees begin to merge into patterns of tone and texture.
The Moon
Farther down the road, the moon began rising over an unnamed forested ridge.
The sky was still clear enough to hold detail in the waxing moon, while the dark line of the forest gave me a simple foreground.
I stopped and made another photograph.
I continued until I reached the end of the road.
There was more I could have explored, but daylight was disappearing quickly. I would have to leave some of it for another trip.
Elk Creek Valley
On the way out, I stopped once more for a view into the Elk Creek drainage.
By then, the light was nearly gone.
The scale of the valley led me back to a panoramic composition. Rather than concentrating on a single feature, I wanted the photograph to hold the broader relationship between forest, ridges, and drainage.
By the time I reached Forest Road 25, it was dark.
I would have enjoyed staying overnight, but I had to return home for work the following day.
Always More to Explore
The Gifford Pinchot National Forest remains one of the places I return to again and again.
Part of that comes from family history. These roads and forests hold memories that go back long before I carried a camera.
But familiarity hasn’t made the region feel finished.
If anything, the opposite has happened.
There are still forest roads I haven’t driven, creeks I haven’t followed, valleys I have only seen from a distance, and places I’ve passed without stopping.
This particular afternoon began without a specific photographic destination. A stop at Quartz Creek led to a waterfall I hadn’t expected to photograph. From there, the day unfolded through valleys, volcanic landscapes, forests, and eventually moonlight.
That’s one of the reasons I enjoy exploring this way.
I may know the region.
I don’t necessarily know what I’m going to find.
Further Explorations
Twin Falls: A Cascade Through Time and Quiet
Cascading Serenity: An Encounter with a Hidden Waterfall
Forest Along Skate Creek, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Washington
