Terminus Surprise

Terminus Project: Surprise Glacier Royal Basin
Olympic National Park

In September 2022, I ventured into Olympic National Park to find and photograph a glacier named Surprise.
The image is part of Terminus: A Glacier Memorial Project supported by the National Park Service at Olympic National Park.

I walk lightly on the land and hold deep gratitude for the tribes of the region: Hoh, Jamestown S'Klallam, Elwha Klallam, Makah, Port Gamble S'Klallam, Quileute, Quinault and Skokomish.
The map below shows the overall route travelled.
>> Click through below to see the pinhole images and cyanotypes. >>

surprise glacier, cyanotype print

surprise glacier, type 55 film, pinhole

surprise glacier, pinhole

surprise glacier, looking at terminus

royal glacier, type 55 film, pinhole

royal glacier, pinhole

royal glacier, pinhole with my finger in the way

upper royal basin with tarn, pinhole

upper royal basin tarn, pinhole

The following is a visual timeline of the trip, divided by day.

Day One - Up to Royal Creek
I wasn’t drowning in my sleep; it was just my water bottle leaking in my tent, and the sound of the creek carrying away my dreams.

Don't lose your parking pass!

Turn on the Garmin!

let's go!

we follow royal creek all the way up

hello friend!

Day Two - Royal Lake & up up up to Upper Basin
The higher we hike, the harder and heartier the ferns grow. Under the shade of the pines and spruce, along the creek, up to the crags of the glacial terminus.

glimpes to the top from a break in the trees

climbing up and up

royal lake lunch break

frog song for lunch

we just missed the summer ranger station

the glacier is up in those spires somewhere

we're going up there?

we went up there. upper basin tarn

evening in the upper basin, camping on rocks

Day Three - Surprise Glacier
Flying grasshopper snap snaps. Tussle with the talus fields for hours. Marmot cries with rock fall. High altitude meadow descent. Glaciers barely there.

grasshopper love - iphone fuzzy

fuzzy plant - iphone fuzzy

talus and scree for hours

another valley and ridge of talus

yes, more talus

how much more talus? I didn't bring enough food for this.

the despairing first look of the glacial remnant

first view of surprise

surprise glacier -- glacial remnant

walking onto the snow field, the boulder is bigger than a double-decker bus

another big boulder that has no scale

active melting in the tarn

upper end of the snow field looking back at the terminus

framing back at the terminus

chasing light for these images

spot the person in the pink shirt on the left?

late afternoon last view of surpise

steep, fast descent accompanied by marmot cries

Day Four - Royal Glacier & Creek Sun Prints
A salamander saddles up to you while bathing in the tarn. Listen quietly to the dripping and cracking. Acutely aware that everything is always changing.

daily fauna visit

setting up the camera, framing the view, making the picture

the view

changing and loading film

counting seconds for a long exposure

afternoon encounter at the tarn

plein-air creekside sun printing

sun prints with local flora

taking stock of print collection

loading film for an evening view of the tarn

the color version of the tarn view

Day Five - Walking back to Royal Creek
Grasshoppers getting down. Brown and green in the boulders. Black and red in the scree. Green in the meadow. With me wherever I go. Like a queen in court… courtesans and controversies.