A Solo Summer River Walk and Photoshoot

When: July 2019
Where: Pratt River Connector trail in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley
With: solo
What: day hiking
Accompaniment: Levitate by the Palms

As the trail climbed away from the river, I quickly realized I should have read the trail description before heading out. I’d gone upriver on the trail before, a lovely mellow trail with beautiful plants, but it had been closed for a rockslide for several years. I assumed the trail downriver would be the same. I’d picked a river walk for the hot day, something that wouldn’t have too much elevation gain, where I could stay close to the water — but this trail kept going up.

I brushed off my irritation and trusted in the trail to return to the river eventually. It wound through beautiful forest with lush ferns and undergrowth. Though it was hot, the shade kept it manageable. Sunlight shone through the leaves of broadleaf trees, turning them electric. Red berries called out from delicate huckleberry bushes. I shot photo after photo. When I’m hiking with other people, I’m constantly pausing to take photos and running to catch up, but hiking on my own lets me take all the time I want on photography without worrying I’m bugging my companions. A family rounded the corner and caught me squatting at the base of a tree to get an angle up its twisting trunk.

A narrow stretch of the trail hugged a moss-covered boulder, and I indulged myself taking photos of moss sporophytes even though I don’t have a macro lens. The trail hadn’t seemed busy until I stopped, then awkwardly had to press myself against the rock to let party after party pass while I tried to get a shot in focus.

The trail crossed a small creek and descended a steep gravelly slope. Finally, it reached the valley floor again. I caught a glimpse of the river and decided to follow a dry rocky wash down to the water’s edge, where I wanted to be. I found a shady spot on the river’s edge with a view downriver to an unknown mountain, and took a snack break. Light glittered on the water’s surface.

Being an antsy person, I couldn’t bring myself to relax long — plus the spot wasn’t that comfortable — so I headed back to the trail. Even though I’d taken photos the whole way, I still noticed new things on the way back, like a gigantic boulder slab overhanging the trail.

Back at the stunning bridge to the parking lot, I dropped down to a small rocky beach and forced myself to relax more. I don’t make it out to the mountains that often, once or twice a month in the summer, so I try to max out my nature fix when I’m there. I spread out a beach towel and pulled out my kindle to half-heartedly read a cookbook on learning how to taste and season your food. Two drunk women drifted by on inner tubes, surprised to see me. I made it another half an hour before my butt went numb on the hard ground, then it was time to head home.