The 2011 summer in the Pacific Northwest has held consistently – warm days and mostly sunny skies, cool evening breezes and wonderful sleeping weather – beyond perfect for the call of ‘photo-camping’ in the Cascades.

A much needed and highly appreciated reprieve from the tedium of the daily geriatrics grind in the southeastern desert of Washington State allowed a long-postponed rendezvous with good friend and fellow photographer Deigh Bates in our old Forest Service haunt – Packwood, at the foot of magnificent Mt. Rainier. This long-term favorite high mountain destination is always full of fresh mountain air and never-ending inspiration for image making.

This fish-eye image of Deigh was made a short trek above Paradise Inn at the foot of the old volcano, which would have been heather and wild flower covered, instead of under 6 feet of spring snow pack, in any other normal August. Explore further in this more ‘well-rounded’ QTVR immersive view, or in this 360º Flash Player version, if you prefer.

We found the otherwise missing wildflowers further around the mountain on the road up to Sunrise where snow had melted off of all the south facing slopes and roadsides.