Environmental Engineer Carolyn Wilke reflects on her hike through the North Cascade National Park in the Pacific Northwest, exploring the region's biodiversity and the potential dangers of climate change on the region.
Dive deeper in her feature article, The Changing Face of the North Cascades.
-
The author sets out on the first day of the hike. The sky is clear and we hope we will enjoy our 5 days on the trail in the North Cascades National Park, a US National Park renowned for its glaciers and biodiversity.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
A rushing stream through a forest in North Cascades National Park, near Portland Oregon.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
Sunset paints the sky over an enormous mountain lake in the glacial canyons of North Cascades National Park.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
When we wake up on the second morning at our camp near McAlester Lake, our tents are covered in snow, even though it’s only September.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
Fog floats above McAlester Lake. Steam fog arises when cold, dry air moves over a boy of water and interacts with the warmer, more humid air just above the surface.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
As the clouds clear, the next days are filled with sunshine that allows us to enjoy the beautiful scenery.The North Cascades have an abundance of mica - a metamorphic rock recrystallized from shale.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
The area surrounding the North Cascades range supports an amazing amount of ecological diversity in many different types of habitats, from coniferous forests to alpine meadows and temperate wetlands.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
This old-growth forest in the Pacific Northwest is home to trees which have been here for centuries, possibly even a millennium, and home to an immense range of inhabitants.
All images in this gallery belong to the author.
Carolyn Wilke North Cascades National Park is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. -
The whitebark pine is a keystone species in the North Cascades National Park that feeds many animals including bears and birds. It is threatened by the mountain pine beetle and blister rust, a non-native fungus. Climate change is expected to make these threats more severe.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
