Anybody who does not believe that the North Cascades are the most bad-ass mountains in the lower 48 should take a look at John Scurlock’s online gallery of aerial photographs of that rugged mountain range. Flying low circuitous routes in his homebuilt airplane and shooting though a plexiglas canopy, John has amassed an amazing collection of photos of the mountains of the Northwest. In the spirit of Bradford Washburn, John’s photos are both documentary and flat out stunning at the same time.
Check out his article “Flight to Desolation”, published in the NorthWest Mountaineering Journal (which by the way is great website). Also be sure to browse through John’s own online gallery.
Here’s a picture of John Scurlock’s homebuilt plane, along with a GPS track of one of his flights. Looks like fun!
Amazing – Very inspiring photography and an awesome article! Gotta go for a long walk there…..
Hi John,
Just missing the Pacific NW, as I often do this time of year. Thanks once again for reconnecting me through your photos.
Best, Beth
I am looking for an aerial photo of a massive log jam on the Skagit River in BC about 3 miles north of where it runs into Ross Lake. Last month my bother and I put our pontoon boats on the river about 3 miles north of the log jam. It took the two of us four trips and about 2 1/2 hours to crawl over the log jam and during that time we seriously considered calling search and rescue to lift us out as the Silver Skagit Road was over a mile to the east of the river and the terrain was so heavily wooded and so difficult that it appeared that we had no alternative. If I had a aerial photo of the log jam, I would forward it the authorities who are responsible for the road to seek their help in adding signage at drop-off points to alert others to the hazards of floating the Skagit River. I searched Google Earth but there are no photos of this log jam there.
Wow, that sounds crazy! Maybe you should go to John Scurlock’s website and contact him directly.
John is one of a kind he’s also was a great medic u owe me coffee now #200