I decided to start 2011 out by going on a hike with a bunch of strangers, and what a great decision that was! I joined 10 other people from the MeetUp.com group, Portland Hiking Group, for an 8 mile hike in the new Stubb Stewart State Park off Hwy 26 in Oregon's Coast Range. It was cold with lots of ice, frost and snow, but we quickly warmed up and were rewarded with lovely sunshine on this first day of the year. A good omen, I'd say, or at the very least, a wonderful way to start the year out.
The trail is built on an old logging railway, and the trestle we crossed was pretty in the late morning light. The frost added to the sparkly beauty of the day. There were also several good-sized groups of riders on horseback, a couple of runners, and a woman slowly winding her way up the trail in her recumbent bike, all of which added interest to the day. Horses are such beautiful animals to begin with, and they were wearing their thick Winter coats and looking fine against the snowy backdrop.
I enjoy the juxtaposition of deep greens with frost that you can see here in Oregon, and I just loved the ferns with their frosty dressing.
Some photos from the day (simply click to see larger, if you'd like):
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| Railroad Trestle we soon crossed. |
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| Long Winter/Morning shadows |
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| Icy day for a run! |
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| One of many groups on horseback. |
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| Starting our climb to the lookout point. |
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| Man from Snowy River? |
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| Our group enjoying lunch at the lookout point. |
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| Nice, nice folks - Grace and Dave |
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| She goes by "STK". |
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| Enjoying hot toddies! YUM. |
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| The whole group (but the photographer.) |
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| A sparkly, fantastically sunny day! |
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| Saw a lot of this. |
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| Topo Map Ice! |
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| Silhouettes and Color |
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| Loving that Sunshine |
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| Grass and ice crystals make me wish I had a macro lens. :) |
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| Fern Rainbow |
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| Frosty |
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| Those NW Ferns |
2 comments:
Nice group. And group of shots. I especially liked several starting with the "topo map ice", but the "man from snowy river" shot is especially good. Love the color of the horse.
Thanks, Scott. The "man from snowy river" shot is my favorite. I, too, like the warm shock of color the horse provides,and was also happy with the composition. I only wish the man's eyes were more open! "Topo Map Ice" and "Icy Day for a run" are my other favorites, but I probably look at the people shots the most, because I liked everyone so well!
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