I took two days off this past week to head down to the Columbia River Gorge. My goal was to re-shoot some photos of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot blooms atop Dog Mountain (this thread) and to explore some of the creeks that empty own into the Columbia from the "waterfall belt" on the Oregon side of the river.

My first and only previous visit was back in 2001 and at that time, I had a 2 megapixel camera. More recently, I've been eager to capture the impressive displays of Balsamroot that carpet the upper slopes with my 10 megapixel SLR. This year, the weather and peak blooms coincided so off I went.

The hike up is tough- the trail is steep and cuts to the chase. Once you do make the upper slopes, the rewards are plenty. Although these photos only highlight the wildflowers, the views of the Gorge and Mount Hood are also top notch!..

1. Weird photo. Tried for a panorama & got a fisheye effect (DA12-24mm)


2. DA55-300mm


3. DA12-24mm


4. DA55-300mm


5. DA12-24mm


6. DA55-300mm


7. Creeping Phlox DA55-300mm


Thanks for looking..

Really nice series Steve, the first one is weird but interesting. I like the way it has the FE effect without the FE effect, if you know what I mean.

I think #5 is my favourite, thanks for posting them all.

[Jimbo]

Great images. Love the last two. Thank you for sharing. JIM

[scole]

Thanks, guys. One thing I do want to clarify about #1- it's actually a panoramic of 4 vertical photos (taken with the 12-24) stitched together. If that was a single image, I'd need to send in my 12-24 for a warranty repair!

[dazman]

Wonderful series. #5 is my fav

[Scottnorwo]

Great series. I like the fourth and fifth best.

[stevebrot]

Wow! What a wonderful reward for a strenuous hike. I have been up Dog Mountain many times, but have never seen the balsamroot so dense. It looks like you caught the flowers at their peak.

Thanks for sharing.

Steve