#Tag · bonfire.cafe

Cascade Pass part 6. Photo 1: We're above the clouds now. Photo 2: panorama of the top with glacier. Photo 3: an unexpected visit from a Search and Rescue helicopter alighting on Sahale Arm as I was descending. Fortunately no one was hurt; it was a practice maneuver.
This is one of the prettiest places in the Cascades; visit if you can (mid July-early October). But go on a weekday as it's very crowded especially in high season (August).
6/6
#hiking #PNW #mountain #getoutside #nativeplants

Small helicopter on a treeless mountain ridge. Mist and cloud swirl around it as it's backlit by the sun. Hikers approach silhouetted against the light

Panorama taken with an iPhone showing 180
Degree view at the top. Small glacier on the left melting into a stream and a pool in the center foreground. A view off the mountain to the right showing row after row of mountains in the distance some with snow fields of their own. — Panorama taken with an iPhone showing 180 Degree view at the top. Small glacier on the left melting into a stream and a pool in the center foreground. A view off the mountain to the right showing row after row of mountains in the distance some with snow fields of their own.

Clouds flowing like a river through the valley while it's sunny up in the mountains

Eugene Parnell

@eugeneparnell@mstdn.social · 2 days ago

Eugene Parnell

@eugeneparnell@mstdn.social · 2 days ago

Cascade Pass part 5. It's autumn now and up in the meadows the blueberry foliage is turning red (photo 1). Photo 2: A lone scarlet paintbrush flower (Castilleja coccinea) is still holding out against the fall, surrounded by Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacia). Corn lilies are fading fast (the big leafed plant, Veratrum viride). Photo 3: there's a grouse in this photo, believe it or not. Sooty grouse? Ruffed grouse? I'm not sure.
5/6
#hiking #PNW #mountain #getoutside #nativeplants

Blueberry and Heather plants near a shady portion of the trail. In the center is a chunky largish bird the size and shape of a chicken but with speckled plumage that camouflages it almost perfectly so it's difficult to see

A single bright red clover like flower in a wide swift of tiny white round flowers. Nearby a plant with large pleated leaves is turning yellow in the fall.

A mountainside in autumn. It's mostly above the tree line so only a few tiny conifers are visible. The slope is covered with heather and blueberries. The blueberry bushes are very short here not much higher than ground cover. The dominate is reddish as fall is here. In the distance are jagged peaks with a little snow and some puffy white clouds.

Eugene Parnell

@eugeneparnell@mstdn.social · 2 days ago

Cascade Pass part 4: At the top of the pass you can look East and see the Stehekin River which flows into the Columbia, while the water behind you flows West into Puget Sound. The clouds will burn off around midday and let you see the mountains. But the real fun comes when you ascend the Sahale Arm, leading up to Sahale Glacier and Peak. It's only two more miles (3.2km), but an additional 2200 (670m) feet elevation gain. Let's go. 4/7
#hiking #PNW #mountain #getoutside #nativeplants

View from just a little way up Sahale Arm showing the clouds flowing through the valley like a river. Johannesburg Mountain, a huge peak with snowfields clinging to its steep
Sides, looms beyond. — View from just a little way up Sahale Arm showing the clouds flowing through the valley like a river. Johannesburg Mountain, a huge peak with snowfields clinging to its steep Sides, looms beyond.

Path leading away from arcade Pass to the East. The clouds are blowing through and obscure the trees nearby, which are hemlock trees, but through the mist you can see massive peaks beyond.

Eugene Parnell

@eugeneparnell@mstdn.social · 2 days ago

Cascade Pass part 3. Cascade Pass is like a vast funnel where moist air from the Pacific gets squeezed and pushed up into this gap between the mountains. It's right in the clouds and most of the year it's socked in like this. It's also quite windy, which you can tell by the way the way the trees lean. photo 2: Cascade mountain ash tree (Sorbus scopulina) in the fog. It's a close relative of the Rowan tree native to Europe and Asia. 3/7 #hiking #PNW #mountain #getoutside #nativeplants

A large shrub looms out of the fog Ali g the trail. It has small compound leaves, each leaflet oval shaped. Some leaves are yellowing because its fall. There are red berries on the end of each branch

A path in the mountains but it is so foggy all you can see is a dirt trail lined with stones leading into blank white nothing. On either side are small stunted co gets that lean to the uphill side, from the co start wind.

Eugene Parnell

@eugeneparnell@mstdn.social · 2 days ago

Cascade Pass part 2. Some plant life: photo 1-2: Parnassia fimbriata, new to me. Growing off a mossy rock, it's watered by the constant drip of water off the bluff above it. Sorry I missed the flowering stage. Photo 3: A saxifrage called Leptarrhena pyrolifolia, a favorite that I spot in cool damp rocky places all the time.
2/6
#hiking #PNW #mountain #getoutside #nativeplants

A small plant with leathery ovate leaves, slightly shiny, with just the slightest serrations in the edges, in very pretty basal rosettes. Brown flower stems lift from the center of each rosette. It is growing beside a stone.

Closer view of the plant in photo 1. It looks like an undersea creature

A small plant growing on a mossy boulder. It has small round leaves and long stems that reach out from the rock like tentacles. Each holds a spent flower now becoming a seed bead

Eugene Parnell

@eugeneparnell@mstdn.social · 2 days ago

So the other day I went up to Cascade Pass, one of the premiere sights in the whole Pacific Northwest. It's pretty remote, even though it's in North Cascades National Park--you'll spend an hour going 26 miles on a one lane gravel road just to get to the trailhead. After that, the first leg looks mostly like this, over and over, for 4 miles (6.5 km) and climbing 1800 feet (550 meters). But it gets better. A lot better. A short thread.
1/5
#hiking #PNW #mountain #getoutside

A trail leading through a forest. This is a switchback, a hairpin turn where the trail approaches the viewer then turns away again sharply in order to go uphill without becoming too steep. The undergrowth is lush and teeny and the trees above are hemlocks and other conifers and they are covered in moss and lichens

jaz :twt: :wales_flag: boosted

Charlie McHenry

@CharlieMcHenry@connectop.us · 3 days ago

We’ve got this sweet little patch of adorable miniature Asters just inside our deer-fenced garden gate. Had to share. #Oregon #SouthernOregon #PNW #gardening #BloomScrolling

A dense patch of small white Aster flowers with yellow centers, surrounded by green leaves, growing in a patch of dirt.

Charlie McHenry

@CharlieMcHenry@connectop.us · 3 days ago

We’ve got this sweet little patch of adorable miniature Asters just inside our deer-fenced garden gate. Had to share. #Oregon #SouthernOregon #PNW #gardening #BloomScrolling

beka valentine boosted

nullagent

@nullagent@partyon.xyz · 3 days ago

#FYI #Alerta #Seattle #WhiteCenter

FYI local authorities say a National Gaurd training excersize will be taking place today and tomorrow 10am to 2pm in Seattle's White Center neighborhood.

The drill is claimed to be planned between WA National Guard and the Seattle Fire Department and local first responders say the low flying helicopters are NOT working in conjunction with any Trump immigration raids etc.

#PNW #NationalGaurd

nullagent

@nullagent@partyon.xyz · 3 days ago

#FYI #Alerta #Seattle #WhiteCenter

FYI local authorities say a National Gaurd training excersize will be taking place today and tomorrow 10am to 2pm in Seattle's White Center neighborhood.

#PNW #NationalGaurd

Raven (she/her) 🏳️‍⚧️

@sparklepanic@infosec.exchange · 7 days ago

Aurora from Oregon

#pdx #oregon #pnw #astrophotography #northernlights #auroraborealis #landscapephotography

northern lights from the Columbia River Gorge

Heidi Li Feldman boosted

Kevin Freitas

@KevinFreitas@mastodon.social · last week

Appreciate you, Governor Ferguson. Well done.

#WA #PNW #FlagLowering #PoliticalViolence

An official document titled "Flag Directive - September 11, 2025," discussing the lowering of state and U.S. flags to half-staff in memory of victims of political violence, including specific individuals beyond recent headliners. It outlines the directive's purpose, dates.

Kevin Freitas

@KevinFreitas@mastodon.social · last week

Appreciate you, Governor Ferguson. Well done.

#WA #PNW #FlagLowering #PoliticalViolence

Alex, the Hearth Fire and 1 other boosted

Ian Kluft ✅🖥️📡

@KO6YQ@pnw.zone · last week

"First powered light rail vehicle crosses I-90 floating bridge" by Sound Transit (Seattle) - With overhead catenary lines powered, a Link Light Rail vehicle tested crossing the I-90 floating bridge on Lake Washington between Seattle and Bellevue in preparation for early 2026 opening of the full 2 Line. It crossed at increasing speeds from 5mph to 55mph. Testing at night allowed observation where electrical arcs occur, for adjustment of the lines. https://www.soundtransit.org/get-to-know-us/news-events/news-releases/first-powered-light-rail-vehicle-crosses-i-90-floating #Seattle #transit #PNW

drone image by Sound Transit
Link Light Rail test vehicle on the Seattle I-90 floating bridge at night
source: https://soundtransit.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000dOV.xbwsT0c/G0000i2CPCkKcIyA/I0000FdyRGE0d8lY/Crosslake-Livewire-Testing — drone image by Sound Transit Link Light Rail test vehicle on the Seattle I-90 floating bridge at night source: https://soundtransit.photoshelter.com/galleries/C0000dOV.xbwsT0c/G0000i2CPCkKcIyA/I0000FdyRGE0d8lY/Crosslake-Livewire-Testing

Ian Kluft ✅🖥️📡

@KO6YQ@pnw.zone · last week

Alex, the Hearth Fire boosted

Brian Davis

@intrepidhero@vmst.io · last week

#pnw #hiking #olympicnp

Folks probably want to hear the bear story first. In the first mile of the first day I was warned by some day hikers that there was a bear with a cub ahead. The black bears of the Olympics tend to be very unconcerned with people but I still try give them plenty of space. This bear was cruising alongside the trail gobbling the alpine blueberries. I stopped and talked to her for a while until she moved upslope away from the trail. I don't think she ever looked directly at me. Never saw the cub.

Then there was this doofus of a buck licking the dust off people's cars. Why?!?

A buck in velvet licking the back bumper of a SUV.

A black bear with head down in the low blueberry bushes moves slowly up an alpine meadow.

Brian Davis

@intrepidhero@vmst.io · last week

#pnw #hiking #olympicnp

Then there was this doofus of a buck licking the dust off people's cars. Why?!?

Ed Summers boosted

nullagent

@nullagent@partyon.xyz · 3 weeks ago

This is what the Meshcore map looks like now in the Pacific Northwest. My little node can see over a hundred repeaters on the mesh.

We now regularly have chat conversations that span several cities and we have frequent posters from Canada. A typical day sees HUNDREDS of posts in the public channel. Whole sentences and thoughts, not just "ping".

Meshcore is really taking off!

#meshcore #pnw #seattle #lora #radio