Hatcher Pass is a recreational area about 20 minutes from my house. It is a summer and winter playground and is home to Independance Mine. We cross-country ski, hike, mountain bike and drive the pass to Willow. It used to be a well kept secret to locals until recently. You no longer need a 4 wheel drive to get up there, they paved the road a couple years ago.

This is one of the trails we hike.

It was a cloudy day with just a few moments of sun(like our summer so far).

This is Meg and Mo illustrating the steepness of the trail. Above you can see Dash, our daschound, taking the lead.

I turned around on the trail and snapped 3 exposures for this shot. I have been playing around with HDR and used automatic bracketing for this shot.

I combined 2 differently exposed shots for this image. I did not use any HDR software, just Photoshop and masking.

Lots of flowers on the hike up. Tried to get a few shots when the sun poked through.

Here is Mo on the trail. He sure is an athletic dog! He always enjoys a good hike.

Here is Meg, Mo and Dash checking out the scenery.

If you visit this area, email me and I will be glad to share some out of the way places to visit. Hatcher Pass is a family favorite.

Mike