Visiting the Cascades |
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| North of Seattle is the city of Bellingham. I thought this was a small town but it is actually larger than the capital with a population of 75,000. Bellingham’s most interesting place is its historic Fairhaven district. |
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| Fairhaven was originally a separate city from Bellingham, and was a port and commercial district. Eventually Bellingham grew enough to consume Fairhaven, so they are pretty much the same place now. It’s a good place in the area to get ice cream in the summer or have a beer in one of the small bars in the evening. Going to the bar for a drink was actually the first thing I did after a long outdoor trip I did. Also in Bellingham is port for the ferry to Alaska! |
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| Just an hour east of Bellingham are the cascades, a large range of volcanos and snowy mountains that have some of the best skiing in the country. The snow here is very deep, so skiing can last late into the spring. |
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| Mt. Baker forest which is in the northern part of the cascades has some of the most amazing scenery I have ever seen. Most areas are easily topped with over 10 feet of snow! As a matter of fact, this region has the world record for most snowfall ever received in a year. |
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| I found it amazing that plants can survive in the extreme cold and deep snow in Mt. Baker forest. I’m curious to as what this place looks like in the summer when most of the snow has melted away. On the upper left is a small tree that is found in the deep snow, on the right is some thick moss that has learned to live at 5,000 feet in the cascades. |
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| On the left is Mt. Baker itself at 10,778, the 4th highest mountain in the state. The photo on the right shows some of the deep snow that blankets the surrounding mountains, you can also notice trail marks from cross country skiers. |
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| One of the most amazing mountains I have ever seen, Mt. Shuksan. The mountain is only 9,127 feet tall, but because of it’s large rise and dramatic glaciers it looks like it could be a 20,000 foot peak in the Himalayas. I could stare at this mountain all day, and it’s no surprise it’s one of the most photographed mountains in the world. Above is a photo taken in the middle of the day, and another as the sun began to set. I am trying to raise funds for an expedition, you can help me out by purchasing the above photo as a small gift card to a large framed version. |
 My main reason for visiting the cascades was for a mountain climbing course that lasted a full week. The course was an excellent way to experience the cascades as well as learn several climbing skills. This course was focused on Denali, so we had to carry large packs and drag heavy sleds from camp to camp. Below is one of the tents dug in the snow with an ice wall built around it to protect from high winds. On the lower right is our cook tent in one of the first camps we set up. With my luck, we had record breaking cold temperatures for the month of March in the cascades. Temperatures dropped below 0F and it was absolutely miserable! I can’t imagine what -40F will be like on Denali, but I feel more prepared now. |
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The Northwest Trek |
 While driving around Washington I stumbled across the Northwest Trek, a wildlife park that has most of the wildlife found in the state. The wildlife park also has nature trails, a tram, and some interactive research centers. Unfortunately I got kicked out because a large rainstorm came in that knocked down a tree in the middle of the park so I wasn’t able to see everything. I missed the tram which takes you by moose, elk, goats and other large animals. On the left is one of the trails going through wildlife viewing area, but it is not the nature trails which I believe pass by some lakes and other scenery. Below are some birds native to Washington; a golden eagle on the left and an owl on the lower right. |
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| On the left is the common red fox which lives across most of North America, I even have seen a red fox in my neighborhood in Virginia. The lynx on the right is much more rare and lives in colder northern climates. |
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| Some of the more dangerous animals that still live in Washington, the gray wolf and the grizzly bear. Both of the animal’s habitats are reduced to rural parts of the states so they aren’t often encountered. The gray wolf lives only in the northern extreme of Washington, while the grizzly bear is found throughout the state and as far south as California. |
