The alpine forest is a quiet refuge of winter splendor, great drifts of snow bury everything in quilts of downy powder. The mist draws in to cloak the valleys and peaks in frigid fog. Ravens part the clouds with their dark wings and mournful call, breaking the silence of the ice and cold. This frozen wilderness slumbers in anticipation of the spring.
A day out in the Cascades after a blizzard can be as fine an adventure as any to be had during summer. It's far more peaceful, and you can visit fantastic places that in other seasons would be quite dull and easily overlooked. Snow does that to the forest - trees are coated and twisted into amazing shapes like scenes from a Seussian landscape.
Flying overhead through the icy fog turned out to be a dangerous yet worthwhile endeavor - the photography was spectacular, but ice buildup caused my drone to behave erratically. I was amazed how much of the mist had frozen to the propellers, yet the mavic 2 still managed to land safely.
It's a fine way indeed to spend an afternoon; snowshoeing, drone flying, and photo taking in the wild winter woodland of the cascade mountains.
