Field Notes From the Green River Gorge Mountains to Valley Greenway
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conservation
The Grand Canyon National Park is an example of a conservation success that most people will be familiar with.
Closer to home, in our own backyard, is the Green River Gorge. While the Gorge isn’t on the scale of the Grand Canyon, it is, in its own right, a unique river-cut gorge.
The rain is coming down in the Pacific Northwest in sheets, for days, and is unrelenting. The grey skies threaten to send us into hibernation. We sit inside, in our warm houses, threatening to sit on the couch until spring. It’s winter here and, well, it’s depressing at times.
If you are willing to brave the weather, grab your umbrella and raincoat, then venture out the Green River Gorge or the lower Green-Duwamish River and step into an otherworldly riverscape.
Snow has a magical way of transforming the stark bareness of a winter landscape. A white blanket of snow covering the ground hides the decaying leaves and limp brown grass. The bare branches of trees dramatically contrast against the white. Red berries hidden in dark shadows of winter bushes pop as the shadows are now brightened by snow. The forest canopy is renewed below dark snow laden clouds. Quiet lingers between crunching sweeps of footsteps through the snow...
What does the Green River Gorge look like from above? That is the question I asked myself when I enlisted my friend, a pilot, to fly me over the Gorge in April of 2017…
If you are looking for something fun to do on a hot (very hot) summer day, a trip to Hanging Gardens in the Green River Gorge is one of those off-the-beaten Path adventures.
My time in the river helped me learn more about the rhythm of the river. The Green river isn’t just a river. It is a multi-layered story of currents, water, seasons, shorelines, habitat, stone, fish, wildlife, forests, and humans. All the elements that make up the watershed create the river. The story unfolds in the myriad of springs and streams that flow from drops of water that begin as snow or rain. The springs and streams flow into the river giving it shape and form. The water forms the carved sandstone edges, the forest around the river, and the currents that follow the channels downstream.
Through my passion to promote conservation of the Green River Gorge Greenway I developed a love of conservation photography. I bought my first digital camera in 2001 and began documenting the unique beauty and wildness of the Green River Gorge. It has been 18 years and I'm still surprised by something new or something that has changed along the river corridor. I've changed cameras over the years but not my mission to document and preserve the Gorge.
Hungry beaver along the Green River…
What does the Green River Gorge look like from above? That is the question I asked myself when I enlisted my friend, a pilot, to fly me over the Gorge in April of 2017…
Where the trail meets the river a giant rock spirals out of the deep green water like a whale. White foam speckles the surface of the deep green color of the water. At low water in July and August a rocky beach frames a deep green pool beneath the Whale rock. A large flat rock sits in the middle of the pool. Great for soaking up the sun on a hot day.
The road winds down a long hill. As it turns it passes a couple of houses, a spring spilling out of the hillside and what looks like an overgrown R.V. park. The blinking light is a stop sign to either stop or go for cars on either side of a one lane bridge. Only one car from either direction can cross the bridge at a time. The Green River Gorge Road (or Lawson Road as it is known in Black Diamond) crosses over one of the most beautiful sections of the Green River Gorge…and one of the more accessible areas outside of Washington State Parks.
Snow has a magical way of transforming the stark bareness of a winter landscape. A white blanket of snow covering the ground hides the decaying leaves and limp brown grass. The bare branches of trees dramatically contrast against the white. Red berries hidden in dark shadows of winter bushes pop as the shadows are now brightened by snow. The forest canopy is renewed below dark snow laden clouds. Quiet lingers between crunching sweeps of footsteps through the snow...
Outdoor Project adds Icy Creek Spring in the Green River Gorge hike to their website
Interactive Display August 25th & 26th
Take a journey from the city scapes of the lower Green-Duwamish river upstream to the wild Green River Gorge. I will be exhibiting video and photographs from my documentary The Green River Gorge, The Power of Place as part of an interactive display at Cabin 3 at Camp Long. As part of that display I will be leading interactive activities around salmon in our watershed. Interactive activities are kid and adult friendly. Please join me at the festival for a creative day of art and community.
