Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

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ChromaKey
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Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by ChromaKey » March 28th, 2020, 12:12 pm

I've decided to pursue an ambitious project post Covid-19.

Pre-Covid self isolation, I successfully and somewhat unintentionally captured two gigapixel-sized panoramas of Mount Hood and Mount Saint Helens, both approximately 6 miles from the summits. They are far and away the most impressive photos I've taken to date (I can see climbers on the top of Mount Saint Helens, so if you summited on March 22, around 1pm, I have a picture of you) and I now want to complete my collection of PNW volcanoes.

Mount Hood:
_DSC3730-Edit-HalfSize.jpg
Mount Saint Helens:
_DSC5563-Edit.jpg

Rainier: Doing some scoping on Google Earth, Skyscraper Mountain near Sunrise looks to be the best spot.
Rainier from Skyscraper Mountain.JPG
Mount Adams: there's a rise and clearing at 46.278856,-121.436295 (Edit: called Glaciate Butte?) but it's pretty far off trail (Edit: even though it's a relatively flat trek). I'm less certain that is a good idea. Otherwise, I don't know.
Adams from Glacial Butte.JPG
Mount Jefferson: has a great view from the ridge above Jefferson Park, but I'm unsure I can get a properly framed shot to stylistically match the rest of the pictures. (Edit: Alternative idea: the unnamed? bald ridge east of the mountain)
Mount Jefferson from East Ridge.JPG
Three Sisters: Is there a clear viewpoint around 6 miles east or west? I'd love to get them in one shot with all 3 lined up.
3 Sisters from Broken Top.JPG
3 Sisters From East of Rim Lake.JPG
Newberry Crater: isn't prominent enough to warrant a photo
Crater Lake/Mount Mazama: isn't prominent enough to warrant a photo either

Mount Shasta: I know nothing about. Probably will get this later. (Edit: from The Whaleback maybe?)
Mt Shasta from the Whaleback.JPG
Glacier Peak: I know nothing about. Probably will get this later too. (Edit: Maybe from Portal Peak)
Glacier Peak from Portal Peak.JPG
Mount Baker: Some promising shots online, but it's so far away from Portland I'll likely get this one later too. (Edit:From Table Mountain or Artist's Peak?)
Mount Baker from Table Mountain.JPG
If anyone has some insight they'd like to share, I'm all ears. Certainly with most trails closed I'm not the only one endlessly planning right now.


Stay safe!
Last edited by ChromaKey on March 28th, 2020, 4:20 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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retired jerry
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by retired jerry » March 28th, 2020, 12:47 pm

this sounds like an excellent project, good covid19 planning

with Three Sisters you probably have to be further back than 6 miles to get all three, they're so far apart. You could go to Broken Top maybe, or start at the pass north of Green Lakes, then go east from there, easy cross country, some faint trails

or on the west side there's a trail to Eileen Lake, maybe go up towards The Husband

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ChromaKey
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by ChromaKey » March 28th, 2020, 1:20 pm

Good idea! I wonder if the ridge just east of Rim Lake is accessible. If not, the Tam McArthur Rim Trail or just off trail near there looks promising.

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retired jerry
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by retired jerry » March 28th, 2020, 1:56 pm

Tam Mcarthur Rim trail - the Broken Top ridge is between you and the Three Sisters

But, it's easy to find places where you can hike up to the ridge. I'm pretty sure you could find a good spot. Maybe you'd have to go west of Broken Top. One way to do that would be to go to that pass, then walk towards Broken Top

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ChromaKey
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by ChromaKey » March 28th, 2020, 2:45 pm

FYI I'm updating my original post with screenshots from google earth.

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kepPNW
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by kepPNW » March 30th, 2020, 6:38 am

Triangulation Peak is just under 7 miles from Mt Jefferson and offers this perspective...

Image


If you went out to Park Butte (only 3 miles away), rather than shooting from Park Ridge, you might capture something closer to what you'd hoped for with all of Jefferson Park laid out before you. This is almost there, but not quite -- just a bit further out to the right, maybe...

Image
Karl
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adamschneider
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by adamschneider » March 30th, 2020, 2:42 pm

The view of Jefferson from the end of Park Butte is mind-blowing. The only hitch is that it might be TOO close (3 miles) for this project, if all of the images are intended to be from a similar perspective.
20090811-130958.jpg
For a wider view, Triangulation Peak is probably the best bet, or maybe North Cinder Peak. (Forget about the east side, it's in the Warm Springs Reservation.)


For Mt. Adams, the most obvious choice is Sleeping Beauty. It's 10 miles away from the summit, but it's a great view. To get a little closer, you could try bushwhacking up from the PCT to the ridge overlooking Forest Road 23 and the White Salmon River (near 46.139,-121.638).


For Baker, you should aim higher (literally) than Artist's Point. Hike from the AP parking area up to the west edge of Table Mountain. Another possibility is the Park Butte lookout on the southwest side of the mountain, which might be a more wide-open view than from the northeast.


Glacier Peak will be tricky; it's pretty remote. Maybe the Meadow Mountain Trail, up the White Chuck River?


Three Sisters will be tough because, like someone said, there's three of them, and there are no decent high points far enough away to the immediate east or west. You might try for the unnamed off-trail 7586' peak east of Rim Lake (44.1077,-121.6745). Or, on the west side, maybe take Forest Road 2649 up to a ridge overlooking Highway 242 (44.1843,-121.9192).
Last edited by adamschneider on March 30th, 2020, 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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jessbee
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by jessbee » March 30th, 2020, 4:15 pm

Hmmm maybe I don't understand the question. I can think of a bunch of excellent viewpoints of the Three Sisters that captures all three.

I do a ton of exploring out there so maybe connect with me via PM and I'll help you out.
Will break trail for beer.

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adamschneider
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by adamschneider » March 30th, 2020, 6:01 pm

A few more thoughts:

For Mt. Rainier, Skyscraper Mountain is probably too close; it's practically a PART of Rainier, and Burroughs Mountain is sort of in the way. The Tatoosh Range (south) isn't really any farther away, but the view from there is more expansive; Pinnacle Peak might be a good choice, if you enjoy scrambling. On the southwest side, Mt. Wow is a hard hike, but the view is appropriate to the name. Finally, the view across Spray Park from Mt. Pleasant on the northwest side is also pretty good (pictured below).
20190806-150453.jpg

For Mt. Shasta, the no-brainer option is Black Butte, right next to I-5 between Mount Shasta and Weed; the only drawback there is that the foreground isn't very interesting. The Whaleback (which you found already) gives you a dramatic side view of Shastina and might have the vista with the fewest anthropogenic scars; I'm not sure what access is like over there, but it is on USFS land.

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ChromaKey
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Re: Seeking: Volcano Viewpoints

Post by ChromaKey » March 30th, 2020, 11:58 pm

A note if you want to know more, I shot the first two with a Sony a7r2 and a 200mm lens. Hood's panorama used about 125 photos and Helens' used approximately 70. As for style, I just want them to be about the same size and prominence in frame (no foreground trees, nothing cluttering the shape itself, so each peak is recognizable and distinct from one another) and at a resolution/aspect ratio I could print at 5'x15' each.


Some thoughts:

Jefferson: Park Butte looks great! The perspective is good and will match the rest stylistically. It's a smaller mountain so maybe being closer will be better (Helens' picture is about 2/3 the resolution of Hood's because of the size difference) From everyone's photo references, Triangulation peak is a little far away.

Adams: The view from Sleeping Beauty is great, but I think it might be too far away. The Bushwack option is promising, but it will 100% depend on if I can find a good clearing. I hope that is the case. Has anyone made it to that Glaciate Butte before?

Sisters: This is obviously going to be one of the more tricky ones I can already tell. I like the view from FR2649, especially with Linton Lake in the foreground, but if Google Earth is anything to go off of, it's pretty heavily forested and I'm not sure if there's a clearing. It's likely easy enough to get to to be worth checking out, though. The off-trail unnamed peak is the one I'm most excited about. I like the shape of the mountains from that spot. I wonder how difficult it is to get there... @jessbee, I will definitely take you up on your offer!

Shasta: If I can access it, the view from The Whaleback is definitely going to be my choice. It's unmistakably "Shasta-like", with that swirling glacier/lavaflow foreground and Shastina perfectly proportional. I'm most excited to get this one.

Rainier: I don't necessarily mind that Skyscraper Mountain is so comparatively close. It will mean that photo is significantly bigger than the rest, which is sort of fitting. I've actually been up to Pinnacle Peak before, and my only reservation is that you can see Paradise pretty obviously and it just doesn't look as prominent from that perspective. Mt. Pleasant looks great though! Very distinctive, with the tree pattern. If Skyscraper fails, that will definitely be the fallback. I think the best best shot would be Wallace Peak, with that massive glacier in the foreground, but I think that might be next to impossible to get to. Unless someone knows otherwise...

Baker: That's a good note. Table Mountain via Artist's Point it is.

Glacier: I rescind my comment about the Sisters being the difficult one. I don't even know where the best road access to this one is. Meadow Mountain Road is an option, but it will be far from stylistically fitting. Maybe if I walked up that ridge to 48.170866, -121.217427? I've hiked Hardergrat, but that's probably phenomenally stupid. I don't want to die doing this. What are the logistics in chartering a helicopter? haha
(Edit: Holy crap North Fork Sauk Trailhead is the answer, from there it's "only" a 10 mile hike to Portal Peak)

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