(Click pictures for full size):

The view during the daytime

After work I bundled up, put on my Sorel boots, filled my backpack with a tripod, camera and some liquid refreshment and trekked up the road that, on the best of days, my car has a heckuva time getting up. It’s probably about 3/4 miles straight up that rutted gravel road to the viewpoint overlooking Sekiu and Clallam Bay Corrections Center.

The beginning of the grade had much evidence of sledders and other merry-makers, but before long, my tracks were the only ones in the powder. When I moved down from Alaska, I had a pair of Sorel boots that were rated to -100°. I’m not sure I’d like to test that claim, but I can tell you that trudging around in the snow while the temp hit the low teens, my feet stayed warmer than any other part of my body. Those boots have been sitting in my closet for at least 10 years, but they got some use this night.

20 Second Exposure

Once to the top of the overlook, the valley opened up below and the prison lit up in the yellow sodium glow from the perimeter lights. I set up the tripod, and took off my gloves to set up the camera.

Medium Security Complex

I don’t have a fancy SLR, but my camera does have a 2 second shutter delay which is really nice for preventing any movement happening during the exposure. Another thing that bugs me is even in manual mode I don’t have that much control over the f-stop. There was a lot of light this night and I really would have liked to narrow the aperture a bit, but I had to instead reduce the exposure times in order to prevent the lights from overtaking the whole picture. (Kind of like below):

30 Second Exposure

Before long my fingers became so cold that I could barely operate the camera anymore. My feet stayed toasty warm, but my upper body was starting to feel the chill as well. I wrapped it up, put my gloves back on and set off down the hill. Of course it took only a fraction of the time to get back to the bottom.

Tower in the trees

All in all it was a fun time. Quiet, alone time that I enjoy so much. I learned quite a bit about my camera; some things I’ll do different in the future, like using the manual focus. I didn’t even think of that at the time and a great many of the shots were effectively ruined due to the auto-focus not having anything to “latch” onto in the darkness.

I’m going to have to do more of this in the future. Maybe start bringing a tripod on my hikes. There’s some places I have in mind that would be absolutely gorgeous as the sun is rising or disappearing over the hills.

So, last night after work I bundled up and hiked up to the hilltop above CBCC and took some long exposure shots.

I think they turned out pretty good for what I had to work with. Preview below:

Full write-up and pics to follow later.

I set out this morning hoping for snow. I was initially disappointed. However, before long the flakes started falling and by the time I got back to the highway, I was wondering if I was going to make it home without going in the ditch.

The Spruce Railroad Trail is a 4 mile point to point stretch connecting the end of Camp David Jr. Rd to East Beach Rd on the north side of Lake Crescent. The trail itself is almost exclusively flat and follows the shoreline closely. It is also one of the few trails in the park that allows mountain bikes.

I set out from the Camp David Jr. side of the lake, my clothes layered up more than I have ever been bundled. I never get cold, but I figured, if I get too warm I can always take off some. Before I was done though, I wished I had another layer.

The trail was clear. Not a trace of snow, but the breeze was biting at my nose before I even reached the 1st tunnel at about 1 mile in. Shortly after that, a couple snowflakes fell and gave me some hope that I’d get to play in the snow before the day was done.

There are 2 tunnels on this trail. The 1st is, in my opinion, the most impressive. You can walk right through it, it has several railroad ties laying around and you can just imagine a train, cars loaded with old-growth logs barreling through. The other tunnel has more timbers intact, but it doesn’t connect all the way through.

Shortly after the first tunnel is a nice little flat spot along the lake, perfect for a family picnic on a nicer day. (That is where I took the family earlier this year on a nice little outing).

The trail follows the shoreline closely, but it rarely gets within 20 feet or so to the water. Like the name implies, it follows the route of the old rail road that was built here in WWI to haul out the big spruce trees for the aviation industry. However, the war ended and the need for the railroad disappeared before it was able to pull a single load.

The other tunnel is about 50 yards south of Devil’s Point and Devil’s Punchbowl. There’s a steep climb up to the mouth of it and a steep climb down into it. The other end is completely closed off and it’s quite dark in there.

Devil's Punchbowl

About 3 miles in, (about 1 mile from the Peidmont side), is the Devils Punchbowl. This is the best spot of the whole trail. There’s an iron and wood bridge spanning the mouth of an inlet, about 50 feet square, and there is speculation that it’s in the area of 300 feet deep.

On nicer days, daredevils can be seen jumping from the cliff on the south side of the cove and the bridge itself. Today, however, I never saw another soul on the trail.

The trail continues another mile or so the the Piedmont side of the lake, but I decided to turn around here. (The rest of it is kind of boring after the awesomeness of the punchbowl).

By this time the snow was accumulating on the bridge and leaves along the trail. It was nice. Apart from the breeze, and the waves lapping at the shore, it was dead quiet. Strangely, also, it seemed no matter which way I was walking, the breeze was straight in my face. On the way out it was biting my nose and then, on the way back, it was right in my face again.

Barkface

Also, I noticed more of the little things on the return trip as well; There is still old telegraph wire hanging here and there, small birds nested in between the multitude of boulders along the trail, and mushrooms all over the place.

There are little viewpoints along the trail where you can look straight down into the water and see the cliff face extend indefinitely down into the blue-green depths. On warmer days, this trail is a haven for picnickers and swimmers.

As chilly as it was, I was quite comfortable. A couple months ago I won some gear from Merrell on Twitter. It was quite a surprise; Merrell tweeted “It’s Merrell Monday! Submit a pic of you in your Merrells outside and win free gear.” I figured what the hell and posted a pic of my boots on the last trip I took them. A couple days later I got a message saying I won, and they sent me a $110 gift card. I was stoked. So I got an $80 shirt (Merrell Cairn) and some $20 socks. I didn’t care, they were free. (In fact, it’s Merrell Monday right now)

I tell you what though, that shirt is nice. I don’t think it’s $80 nice, but it’s close. It keeps the wind and the water off of me, out here and at work. If nothing else, it shows that Twitter isn’t just a bunch of idiot teens tweeting that they got wasted on 4loko last night, it’s quite a powerful tool for businesses if used wisely.

Before long I was back at the car and there was a light dusting of snow on the roads. My little “Mario Kart”, (my nickname for my Geo),  is quite an adventure on the roads. On the 4 mile trip back to the main highway I was, intentionally, spinning the wheels, and sliding around the corners: You have to have fun when you can. Once I hit 101, though, I was sliding around UNintentionally. Heading up Fairholme hill I was lucky to get up to 35 MPH.

Lovin' the snow

Before long, though, I made it home and the kids were playing in the driveway. Every year it’s like this. You’d think they never saw snow before. It’s all good though, they love it, so I love it. No, wait, I love it anyway.

All in all, the Spruce Railroad Trail is a great, easygoing trail suitable for the entire family. You can go as far as you like or turn around where you like. There’s plenty of little spots to stop and fish, have lunch or go swimming.

You can see some interesting photos of the construction of the railroad here: http://bit.ly/cIIATf

Additionally, this section is supposedly in planning to become a paved section of the Olympic Discovery Trail. I can’t find any definitive on the timeline, but I do know that it’s already in use connecting the ODT between Piedmont and Camp David Jr. Rd. I don’t know how I feel about it becoming paved, but I think I like it best as it is.  On the converse, the 2 mile stretch of paved trail leading to the Olympic Hot Springs are vetted to be removed and turned to dirt in the near future. I know that a dirt path is easier on the legs to walk on, and a mountain bike is built for dirt, and horses like walking on dirt better.

What do you think?

Picasa album here, including a video of one of the tunnels.