It was a very warm second day of summer when I met up with this lovely couple at the trailhead for our hike up to a beautiful lake in the Cascades. The warm weather always brings out the crowds to just about any trail you might conceive of in WA, even on a Monday, but we lucked out and managed to get parking spaces and then once we got up there, things thinned out considerably for us as sunset approached. We originally had planned to head to the North Cascades, but since all of the trails we were considering up there are above 4000 feet, there was still too much snow to navigate. So we settled for something quite a bit lower (and closer to home) and it worked out beautifully! Once we got to the lake, we kept hearing loud crashes every 10-15 minutes from giant boulders tumbling down the cliffs on the opposite side as the warm temperatures melted the snow. You could see over a dozen waterfalls trickling down as well! One of the things I love about the Pacific Northwest is that such places are literally everywhere! Between the Cascade and Olympic mountains, there are thousands of amazing lakes, peaks, overlooks, forests, and things to explore, all within a short drive from Seattle! And so for every adventure engagement session, I try to take couples to a new place that I’ve never been. I prefer it that way. I thrive on the excitement of photographing couples at new places that I’ve never been and that excitement in turn rubs off on the couples that I photograph. And we have an absolutely awesome time!!!

And so the three of us made our way up to a beautiful lake in the Cascades. Avid hikers themselves, Emma and Isaiah have been on quite a few hikes in the area and are looking to summit Mount Adams sometime soon! So, an adventure session was perfect for them! Keeping our elevation below 3000 feet, we got a bit a multi-season experience, with the sunnier parts of the lake full of vegetation and starting to look like Summer, and the shadier side of the lake still covered in snow or just emerging into Spring. It was quite cool, both literally and figuratively because the breeze blowing off the snow fields was about 20 degrees colder and very much welcome! We had so much fun wandering around the lake and exploring the beautiful area. At the end, Emma and Isaiah got to cool off by wading into the water!

Congratulations Emma and Isaiah! I had such a fun adventure with both of you! Enjoy a peak at a ‘few’ of the many highlights!!! 😉

Doesn’t this look like paradise??!!

The trail stays relatively close to this little river, with numerous waterfalls cascading down.