The O-Tographer: Sunset & Sunrise @ Hurricane Ridge

In September 2020, I made two trips in two weeks to Hurricane Ridge: one in the late afternoon, one in the early morning. Both were primarily photographic ventures for the Otter site, but also scouting runs to gather information. In both cases I camped at Heart O’ the Hills, arriving early in the week and grabbing a good site. September is a fine month to camp on the peninsula, and it becomes more difficult to find “the perfect campsite” after midweek. Heart O’ the Hills is just 12 miles downhill of Hurricane Ridge, where overnight camping is not permitted.

Heart O the Hills, Site E-89

TUESDAY, SEPT 1

I arrived at Hurricane Ridge at 5pm just as the visitor center was closing. It was a clear beautiful day and the lowering sun provided excellent lighting of the eastern ridges.

5:06pm, 09.01.2020

This was my second trip to the Ridge, having visited in July 2019 in similar conditions and same time of day. On both occasions I was excited to see Mt Olympus, which cannot be viewed from any other parking lot or visitor center. The view is stunning, as always. Now looking due south from the visitor center patio, one sees the vast center of the Olympic National Park down the Lillian and Elwah River Valleys.

5:06pm, 09.01.2020

But I now noticed the obvious: afternoon is not the best time to view Mt Olympus, or at least not from here. This far north, the sun creates backlighting for all south-facing views, and more so to the west as sunset approaches. In the previous photo you can see crisp detail of the distant peaks on the left (to the southeast) and opaque silhouetting of those on the right (to the southwest.)

Now we look at Mt Olympus and surrounding peaks to the distant southwest. While I still find this a stunning vista, as do many, the deep silhouettes blot out any detail of the ridges and treelines that usually underline the structure of mountain photography.

5:07pm, 09.01.2020

Further along the road and down the hill from the visitor center, one finds some north-facing views from the Ridge. Here can be seen a sliver of Port Angeles, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Canada beyond. With the sunlight coming from the behind left, we get high definition and warm lighting in the northern vistas.

5:19pm, 09.01.2020

Later, looking back south again to the Olympus peaks, the effect is more exaggerated as the sun has lowered further. Nearby vibrant greens contrast with the vague blue-greens in the distance. As a result of this revelation, I resolved to return for a morning photo shoot.

THURSDAY, SEPT 10

Accompanied by Patrick, I returned to Hurricane Ridge just over a week later for a sunrise photo session and morning hike up Hurricane Hill. Unfortunately we were faced with a new problem: forest fires in Central Washington were pushing smoke in all directions, and while the Olympic Peninsula was receiving the least of it, the end effect was a strong hazy layer seen even up on the Ridge, at 5600ft (1706m.)

Arriving just before sunrise, I was quickly out of the car and aiming southwest for the early pictures, looking to get as many shots of Mt Olympus as I could.

6:47am, 09.10.20

Then, looking east before the sun cleared the range, I captured some deep silhouetting, which in this case worked very nicely with the brown patina of smoke hovering on the horizon. The sun appeared a moment later.

6:48am, 09.10.20

6:50am, 09.10.20

Looking due south, the smoke layer was most visible now; it would become less distinct as the sun rose higher, creating the overall hazy effect you will see in later photos.

6:51am – 7:01am, 09.10.20

With all the best pics coming from the east, I waited a little while before shooting Mt Olympus again. The sun was high enough now to provide nice illumination of the eastern slopes, but the smoke would thwart us on the day. We would have to look elsewhere for nice photos.

7:05am, 09.10.20

Returning to the car, we moved past the visitor center to the picnic area and tried again. I believe this time and location would have provided spectacular photos under different conditions. Unfortunately, we had to settle for ‘“pretty good.” As you can see, at this altitude the air seems clear and the foreground is quite crisp, but between us and Mt Olympus was nearly 15 miles (24km) of smoke, creating a pinkish hue early on, fading later to lavender, but always obscuring any fine detail.

7:30am, 09.10.20

We moved along to the Hurricane Hill trailhead then onto the trail itself, where we got around to the north side of the ridgeline. Looking back east I captured a second sunrise over the treetops.

7:46am, 09.10.20

Up we went, reaching what appeared to be one trail apex only to see another further along to the northwest. We decided this was far enough, stayed to take a few gorgeous photos, then turned back toward the trailhead.

8:12am, 09.10.20

This panorama spans from southeast to southwest across the central ONP.

8:13am, 09.10.20

Heading back downhill, I tried one last photo of Mt Olympus, knowing I would need to return yet again to get better sunrise shots on a more lucid day. By this time the smoke had taken on the look of a smog layer hanging over a busy city.