Recent Galleries

Pine Cones :

Pine Cones

Anna Marie

Updated: Sep 08, 2008 7:54am PST

Parc national du Mercantour : Colmars, Val d'Allos, Lac d'Allos...

Parc national du Mercantour

Anthony MAHIEU

Colmars, Val d'Allos, Lac d'Allos...

Updated: Sep 08, 2008 7:44am PST

Small Creatures :

Small Creatures

Auburn Images

Updated: Sep 08, 2008 7:14am PST

Missouri Nature : Insects, spiders and flowers

Missouri Nature

johngirt

Insects, spiders and flowers

Updated: Sep 08, 2008 5:20am PST

Woodpeckers and smaller birds :

Woodpeckers and smaller birds

slopoki1

Updated: Sep 08, 2008 4:57am PST

Birds :

Birds

MikeinTyler

Updated: Sep 08, 2008 4:33am PST

Green Leaves :

Green Leaves

Daniela Caneschi (foto)

Updated: Sep 08, 2008 2:07am PST

Sunrises and Sunsets :

Sunrises and Sunsets

David Hutchison

Updated: Sep 07, 2008 10:28pm PST

Strathcona Provincial Park BC (Augerpoint Traverse) : I just returned from backpacking (some may call it mountaineering) for 3 days around Strathcona Provincial Park on BC's Vancouver Island.  This was a much anticipated trip for me as this is relatively close to my home and my present captive photography market.  My guide and partner for the trip, Cliff Umpleby did a perfect job of navigating around the park, especially when we left "the grid".  Sometimes, the trail would disappear but Cliff knew where we were.  Perfect for me.  I just took photos and did not worry about getting lost.  Well done Cliff.<br>
So here is the brief story.  On Saturday morning, we left the Mt. Washington (Raven Lodge) parking lot at about 8:20am.  The parking lot is at about 1,200 metres elevation.  We reached Circlet Lake, a popular designated campground (charges $5 a night) at 11:37am.  After that some harder work started as we headed to Mt. Albert Edward.  Unfortunately, a combination of bad weather (hail, and yes snow) and fatigue (I had not done 6-7 hrs of exercise in a day for a long time) stopped us just short of the summit at 1,920 metres.  Sunday morning, we left our weathered camp spot at 7:40am and headed for the Albert Edward summit.  Energized from a good night sleep (ya right with snow and 30-40k winds beating the tent) and a short 40 minutes later I reached my first summit at Mt. Albert Edward.  Felt rewarding to see such a beautiful viewin any direction ... and the storm long gone.  We could not hang around too long as we had a moderate day of ups and downs through cols, around ponds and lakes, over creeks, to reach Ruth Masters Lake (1,420 metres) at 1:30pm.  An early day as we made good time on the hiking and now had more time to make some images.  I personally loved this spot and will plan to spend 2 days in the area next time as there are some other stunning vistas that were I was not able to photograph due to time of day and sun angles.  Another time!!!  Monday morning we left Ruth Masters Lake, after photographing a nice early sunrise, at 7:40am.  This was the toughest hiking of the trip as we both had to "pay" for the free 1,200 metre gain we got at Mt. Washington driving to the Raven Lodge parking lot.  The descent down Jack's Augerpoint Trail was about 1,200 metres (3-4 hours) and tough to say the least.  Both Cliff and I were feeling the effects on our feet with a few hundred metres still to descend.  We reached the vehicle on Hwy 19 (at Buttle Lake - 200 metres) at 3:30pm and headed out to Campbell River to eat.<br>
Hope you enjoy the images.

Strathcona Provincial Park BC (Augerp...

David Hutchison

I just returned from backpacking (some may call it mountaineering) for ...

Updated: Sep 07, 2008 10:28pm PST

Seascapes (BC, Oregon, & Washington state) :

Seascapes (BC, Oregon, & Washington s...

David Hutchison

Updated: Sep 07, 2008 10:14pm PST