Forum Index > Trip Reports > South Coldwater Ridge - Blastzone Butte 12/7/17
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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostMon Dec 11, 2017 8:45 pm 
I was able to take advantage of the good weather window for a quick sunrise hike near home. This was also an opportunity to test out a new camera, Light's L16!
L16 camera
L16 camera
I drove to the Hummocks trailhead and hit the road at, I'll guess it was 5:30 I can't really remember. The first mile is along the closed-for-winter road that heads up to Johnston Ridge Observatory. From there you start up the official South Coldwater Ridge trail. It was pretty easy to navigate and snow coverage was thin. At one point the snow got ~8 inches deep and I put on snowshoes only to take them off five minutes later when the snow got thin again. They stayed on the pack the rest of the trip. As the dawn colors emerged I looked for a spot to take a few low light photos. I had just purchased a new tripod, but when I went to use it the quick release plate screw didn't fit the L16. Gonna have to find a fix for that. So... I just had to shoot hand held. There were no clouds in the sky so the atmospheric colors of dawn were really pronounced.
Saint Helens at dawn
Saint Helens at dawn
Blastzone Butte and Coldwater Peak at dawn
Blastzone Butte and Coldwater Peak at dawn
Atmospheric colors
Atmospheric colors
Lone tree
Lone tree
Minnie Peak
Minnie Peak
Coldwater Lake
Coldwater Lake
Tatooine?!?
Tatooine?!?
Melting and windswept snow
Melting and windswept snow
It was quite windy on the ridge and I had to put on my puffy to keep warm. I continued hiking up towards Blastzone Butte enjoying the variations in the melting and windswept snow. Soon, the sun peaked over the ridge and illuminated the landscape.
Sunrise
Sunrise
Blastzone Butte
Blastzone Butte
Melting snow patterns
Melting snow patterns
Blastzone Butte
Blastzone Butte
Blastzone Butte with windswept snow
Blastzone Butte with windswept snow
The final little but up to the butte is steep class 2+ which can be tricky depending on the snow conditions. Last year I used crampons, but this year boots were fine. I picked a class 3 line up to the summit where I could. After reaching the summit, I took off my pack and started eating some food. Soon there after I was joined by a crow. He'd hop closer and closer, probably looking for a handout, before taking off and flying circles around me a couple times only to land and repeat the process. The L16 isn't exactly a fast action camera, but I managed to capture a couple decent shots.
The crow 2
The crow 2
The crow 1
The crow 1
The crow 3
The crow 3
The crow 4
The crow 4
Minnie Peak from Blastzone summit
Minnie Peak from Blastzone summit
I didn't stay too long. The way back was pretty uneventful. I had to stop and get a couple pictures of the abandoned logging equipment, of course.
Dozer 1
Dozer 1
Dozer 2
Dozer 2
Yarder
Yarder
Parting shot
Parting shot
I got back to the car without seeing another person and I was still the only vehicle at the trailhead. 10 miles 2500 ft gain in a leisurely 6 hours car to car.

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Brushbuffalo
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Joined: 17 Sep 2015
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Location: there earlier, here now, somewhere later... Bellingham in between
Brushbuffalo
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PostMon Dec 11, 2017 10:28 pm 
Splendid!
awilsondc wrote:
The crow 2
The crow 2
Your curious bird is a raven, the "big brothers" to crows. One way to tell is the thick beak of a raven, plus their overall size, significantly larger than a crow. Ravens are masters of flight and watching their rolls and other aerial acrobatics, especially with each other, is fun. I'm convinced they are just playfully frolicking. In our area crows frequent beaches, lowland forest, city parks.....and my daughter's neighborhood in Wallingford. smile.gif Ravens seem to prefer the mountains and deserts, although we have ravens here at home 6 miles east of Bellingham and almost no crows. The mighty ravens scare off the wimpy crows. Good! Ravens are cool, crows are just plain annoying..

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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awilsondc
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awilsondc
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PostMon Dec 11, 2017 10:42 pm 
Brushbuffalo wrote:
Your curious bird is a raven
Son of a... I knew that. Not sure how I got it mixed up when writing the report, but whatever. I'll just leave it as is. I was surprised how big that bird was! If he were any more aggressive I might have been a bit freaked out. He did "buzz the tower" several times when flying circles around me, coming with just a few feet on a couple occasions but never really appeared threatening. It was kinda cool.

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Gimpilator
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Location: Edmonds, WA
Gimpilator
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PostTue Dec 12, 2017 9:37 am 
Lovely. Always enjoy your photos.

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Fletcher
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Fletcher
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PostTue Dec 12, 2017 10:10 am 
Really cool. I've always wanted to check this area out.

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Sculpin
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PostTue Dec 12, 2017 10:12 am 
Great images! "St. Helens at dawn" looks like a calendar candidate. Yours is the first mention I have seen of begging ravens here in Washington State. While I love to see ravens, you have to be careful with your food in Yosemite. My wife and I wandered away a short distance from our lunch spread to take in the view, and the ravens got into our food while we were gone and made quite a mess. mad.gif

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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