Conrad Basin at the end of August, 2008

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rjlittlefield
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Conrad Basin at the end of August, 2008

Post by rjlittlefield »

I've shown this place before. But it's worth showing again. Here's the view as of last weekend, August 30-31.

After my summer on the road, this was probably my last chance to do any serious hiking. It was so late in the year, I expected the place to be pretty much dried up and gone by. That's what I've seen before at this time of year. But hey, it's the Washington mountains. They're pretty nice anytime, at least as long as you can walk in and back out again. :wink:

But I was greatly surprised by what I found. Due to heavy snow last winter, this place wasn't even accessible until early July, and quite a bit of snow remained in shaded gulleys. Most of the streams were still running, and danged if there wasn't a good supply of flowers still out! :D Hardly any insects, though. I have mixed emotions about that -- no mosquitoes was nice, but at the cost of no neat flies or wasps or beetles... :?

Anyway, here's what it looked like.

Image

Image

It should be noted, however, that all these flowers are obviously frost-tolerant in the extreme. I don't know exactly how cold it got overnight, but the tube on my water bottle froze solid inside the tent, and in the morning, there was a lot of this interesting ice form covering the hillsides. A closer view can be seen here.

Image

By the way, here's a good illustration of why it's a good idea to pay attention to that stuff they tell you about weather being unpredictable in the mountains. The bottom panel is about an hour after the first, at very close to the same place. Yes, that white stuff blowing around is snow -- roughly 1/4-inch clusters of the stuff. A brief flurry, fortunately, though I was prepared to be snowbound a few days if it came to that.

Image

Hope you enjoy the pictures. I sure enjoy the place! :D

--Rik

Technical: Canon A710 IS camera, no accessories. The top panel of the fourth image is a two-frame panorama, assembled with PTGui.

Ken Ramos
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Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:12 pm
Location: lat=35.4005&lon=-81.9841

Post by Ken Ramos »

As deadly as it can be, I would love to hike in an area like this with the snow falling all around. I used to, back many years ago, hike the mountains here during a snowfall. The tranquility resulting from such an event cannot be put into words.

Our mountains here are very beautiful also and with the grass always being greener on the the other side of the fence, I am quite envious of yours. I hope to retire "again" here, after about four more years. Maybe if the cost of gas does not skyrocket anymore than it already has, I can take a drive out to your "neck o' the woods." I have seen very little of the US and a drive along I-70 W, I think it is I-70, I only have driven it once eastbound from Nevada to just the other side of Kansas I believe, before hitting I-64, would be enjoyable. :D

Geat photos Rik, good to see 'em! :D

Mike B in OKlahoma
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Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 10:32 pm
Location: Oklahoma City

Post by Mike B in OKlahoma »

An impressive place well-photographed....I complain about the excessive heat in Oklahoma sometimes, but I'm glad we don't have to deal with that sort of snowfall in the Summer!
Mike Broderick
Oklahoma City, OK, USA

Constructive critiques of my pictures, and reposts in this forum for purposes of critique are welcome

"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul....My mandate includes weird bugs."
--Calvin

rjlittlefield
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Location: Richland, Washington State, USA
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Ken, I have the same feelings about your mountains that you have about mine. "Hey, those look interesting! I'd like to go hike those!" Perhaps we can trade guide services sometime. :lol:

--Rik

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