Fine art landscapes, featuring: Yellow Aster Butte in Washington State.
There are few things better than hiking to celebrate the transition of summer into autumn. As I settle into the PNW, I continue to discover the seemingly endless access to wild spaces.
This hike took me to Yellow Aster Butte – a 12 mile roundtrip climb, with an elevation gain of +2,000 feet.
I’ve never consider myself a landscape photographer, but some places reflect light differently.
As a photographer, breathtaking scenery invited deeper inquiry about an image. Is it a beautiful photo or a picture of a pretty thing?
Often the latter, when the ability to freeze time in a snapshot is literally at the tip of everyone’s fingers.
Composition, lighting, out. That, and of course, storytelling. A picture is worth a thousand words, but is that true when the average attention span is less than that of a goldfish?
I’m not sure, but I believe that the value of eloquent storytelling is on the rise, in spite of the increasing over-saturation of the digital world.
It’s the narrative of the over-saturation that has been on repeat in my mind, paralyzing my own expression of art. Here, behind the scenes, and on my website and newsletter, I’ve been working to rewrite that narrative.
This week, we’ve been in prep mode to climb Heliotrope: a big bike-hike-camp adventure, courtesy of a road washout since 2021.
This, after a couple weeks ago when I hiked Yellow Aster Butte (pictured). Needing a mental health break, I climbed 2,200 feet over 6 miles and scrambled back down again.
Adventures like these refresh my perspective of the gratitude I feel for the foundation I’ve built for my body: at the ready to spontaneously say yes to a physical challenge at a moment’s notice.
Whispers of intimidation sometimes pop up: am I ready? But I learned from my first Milruck event that if you aren’t ready a week before, any last days of training won’t make a positive difference.
The solution? Train every day like your life depends on it (it does!), and the next great adventure will always be in the scope of possibility.
Photos featuring Manfrotto, Kula Cloth, and GoRuck.