Photographer: Kathleen Kiefer
Summary Author: Kathleen Kiefer
Seen above is Dutch Flat Lake on the Elkhorn Crest Trail in Northeastern Oregon. Having recently moved to the area, this trail made a fine choice for my first-day hike as it contours from pass to pass along the granite spine of the Elkhorn range. Generally, the weather here is dry and sunny due to the rain shadow effect of the Cascade Mountains to the west. The day of my hike was perfect for this 8.6 mi (13.8 km) round trip trek, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature warmed up to about 80 degrees. A rock-strewn, switch-back trail (left) kept us going up for the first 3 mi (4.8km) through forest to timberline of the Elkhorn Mountains in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest which are the central portion of the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon. Much of the rock here was created from Permian and Triassic mud and chert while today’s landscape is a product of the Pleistocene Ice Age glaciers. Gold mining has attracted settlers here since the 1860s. Dutch Flat Lake is one of over 30 lakes and ponds in the Elkhorns, mostly in cirques and tarns. Photo taken September 11, 2014.
Photo Details: Top - Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III; Lens: EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM; Focal Length: 35mm; Aperture: f/8.0; Exposure Time: 0.0080 s (1/125); ISO equiv: 100. Inset - same except: Focal Length: 40mm.
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