fall color – NATIVE LENS

Gibson Jack Trailhead

October 21, 2018March 30, 2020Tagged fall color, fall hiking, forest, hiker, hiking, hiking trails, landscape photography, mountain biking, mountain trails, mountains, outdoor photography, photography, trail system, treesLeave a comment

By Marc Bowen

Last Fall Hike Of The Year

I did a late fall hike several days ago near Ririe, Idaho but didn’t want that to be my last hike of the year. See my blog post Cress Creek Rim – Fall Hike

My son and I did a hike together in the Sawtooths in August (see the blog post at Alice Lake Sawtooth Wilderness ) and we have been trying to get together for another hike ever since. He lives in Pocatello Idaho about an hour away from me. Pocatello has some great trail systems one of which is just one canyon over from where my son lives.

Gibson Jack

Trailhead Elevation – 5148
Highest Elevation – 6443
Elevation Gain – 1305
Difficulty – intermediate/difficult

This area has just recently been updated with new parking area, facilities and signs.

The highlighted area of the map is the area we hiked today

One reason the Gibson Jack Trail system is so popular is that it connects with almost all of the major trail systems on Pocatello’s west bench.

The trails in this area are clearly marked.

Weather was very nice for a late October day as we headed up the trail. This trail system is open to horseback riding and mountain biking as well as hiking. There is also a half-mile ATV trail that ties into the Gibson Mountain Trail or South Fork Gibson Jack.

The first section of trail was in pretty open country with sage brush and cedar. The further up the mountain we went we saw more trees. Mostly aspen and pine. Some of the aspens still had some leaves left on them, a few with fall colors.

As we got higher up the canyon the trees grew thicker and it’s been cold enough up here that the leaves have all fallen off the trees.

There is alot of Elderberry bushes in this area. Probably the best picking is in late September or early October.

As we headed back down the trail we passed several other hikers and some trail-runners.

I don’t think my son realized how many photos I shot of him on the way down the mountain. But hey, he was in front of me so why not be in my photos.

Fall colors were almost gone but still enough on the trees and brush to make it beautiful.

We kept our eyes open for wildlife. We saw a few birds and squirels but didn’t see any bigger game on this hike. Deer, elk, moose, wild turkey and mountain lions are seen frequently in this area.

Some great views down into the valley and the parking lot could be seen in the distance.

Looking back up the trail as we finished our hike, and with the sun low in the evening sky I relected on how grateful I was to get out and hike one last time before winter sets in. I’m glad I was able to have my son with me on this one.

I will surely be back to this area in the future. Lot’s of trails still to explore.

Cress Creek Rim – Fall Hike

October 19, 2018July 9, 2019Tagged agriculture, fall color, foothills, hiking, landscape photography, landscapes, nature trail, outdoor photography, photography, river, river overlook, trees1 Comment

By Marc Bowen

Off The Beaten Path

Not far from Ririe Idaho and next to the south fork of the Snake River is a well known and very family-friendly trail called Cress Creek Trail. This trail is definitely ‘the beaten path’. I’ve written about this popular hike several times so won’t talk about it much here. If you would like to know more about Cress Creek please read my post from 2017 Cress Creek Nature Trail and from 2018 Late Winter Hike – Cress Creek Trail .

There are other ‘unofficial trails’ or paths that will take you to the top of the hill and along the rim overlooking the Cress Creek area. Early this morning I drove over to the Cress Creek Nature Trail parking lot to see what kind of photos I could get from that rim.

Up the trail a ways where the trail forks left I stopped at this little pond to capture the reflection of the trees glowing from the light of the early morning sun.

I then headed up the left fork of Cress Creek Trail which climbs about a 100 feet before looping back around and down along the river. At the top of this loop I left the official trail and followed a game trail worn by both animals and humans.

This trail is a scramble at times and takes a little more effort then any part of the official trail but covers less than a quarter mile to the hilltop rim.

Once on the rim I could easily walk out on all the finger ridges and look down into the valley and enjoy the sweeping views.

The view was beautiful on this cool fall morning and the sunshine felt good.

(Above photos) From here I could look south over the Cress Creek area to the south fork of the Snake River and farm land near the town of Ririe.

I was also able to look west and follow the south fork of the Snake River winding down the valley to where it eventually joins the Henry’s Fork north of Rigby with the Menan Buttes in the distance.

It was nice to get away from work for a few hours and enjoy some beautiful fall weather. Winter comes early in this part of the country and is just around the corner. Those who follow my blog know how much I like to hike. And…I’m going to hike while I can!

Grand Teton NP Fall Photo Shoot

September 27, 2018July 10, 2022Tagged autumn, camping, clouds, fall color, grand teton national park, hiking, landscape photography, landscapes, mountains, national park, nature photography, photography, reflections, river, sunrise, sunsets, trails, treesLeave a comment

By Marc Bowen

My favorite time of the year is fall. It’s also one of the busiest times of the year for me. So I don’t always get the opportunity to get over into the parks to photograph fall color. In Grand Teton NP the autumn colors usually peak the 2nd, 3rd or 4th week in September and unless you live in the valley near the park the timing can be difficult. I live about 60 miles from the park. It’s a beautiful drive over the mountain from home but it’s still a 2-hour drive each way.

In late September my friend Scott and I spent all day, sunrise to sunset shooting different areas in the park. Two months ago in July we were here for about three days photographing some of the same areas. If you are interested in reading more about our summer photo shoot go to Grand Teton NP Summer Photo Shoot.

AnselAdamsOverlook2 — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Snake River Overlook

One of the first locations we stopped to photograph was the Snake River Overlook, a scene made famous by Ansel Adams. The texture of the clouds in the sky added interest to this scene as the early morning light brought a rosy glow to the Teton range.

AnselAdamsOverlook — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Snake River Overlook

A lot of the trees in this area had already lost most of their leaves especially those along the river.

AnselAdamsOverlook3 — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Snake River Overlook (late fall)

I thought it would be fun to compare the two photos (above) which show the change of seasons.

From the Snake River Overlook we moved on up the river to Oxbow Bend.

OxbowBend2CROP — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Oxbow Bend

It was interesting to see that most of the trees in this area still had their leaves and some of those leaves were still green. The above image was captured from the ridge above the highway. Mt. Moran is the most prominent peak on the horizon.

OxbowBend3CROP — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Oxbow Bend

As we hiked that same ridge east we had several different shooting angles of the bend in the river. In the above photo you can just see a sliver of Jackson Lake at the base of Mt. Moran in the distance.

(Above photo) looking southeast from that same ridge.

OxbowBendpullback1Crop — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Oxbow Bend

From here we dropped off the ridge, crossed the highway and walked the shore of the Snake River.

Oxbowbend1CROP — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Oxbow Bend

The air was fairly cool with little to no wind. This enabled me to get this shot (above) of the river with a nice reflection of the mountains and autumn color.

OxbowbendEvening — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Oxbow Bend (summer shot taken 2-months ago)

Similar shot (above). But this was shot two months ago in July just before sundown.

SchwabacherLandingFALL — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Schwabacher Landing

Next we drove back down the river to Schwabacher Landing. The colors were not as bright here but you can still see the contrast in color between the above photo taken in September and the photo below taken in July.

SchwabacherDay1 — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Schwabacher Landing (taken 2-months ago)

In the afternoon we drove east up towards Lower Slide Lake for a different view of the Teton Mountains.

A nice drive and a short hike later brought us to what is called the Wedding Tree by the locals in the area. In the lower right-hand corner of the above image above you can see a bouquet of flowers left there from the last wedding ceremony performed under the tree.

ScottWeddingTree — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Scott under the Wedding Tree

We had a little fun with the wedding bouquet (above) and yes we did keep with tradition, placing the bouquet back at the base of the tree when Scott was finished mugging with it.

In the evening we headed back to Oxbow Bend to wait for the sun to set.

OxbowBendSunset — Photo by: Marc Bowen – Oxbow Bend at sunset

While sitting on the ridge above Oxbow Bend we enjoyed watching the changes in light and color at sunset. Like sunrises, sunsets are always different and we never really know what we are going to see. This sunset didn’t disappoint…a fitting end to an enjoyable fall day in the Tetons!