Duffey Lake has always been my top recommendation for a secret photographic sanctuary near Vancouver. Despite the three-hour drive (comparable to the journey from Vancouver to Seattle) implying a late-night start, when the clear weather forecast appeared at ten that evening, I decided immediately to set off and spend the night by the lake.
Near 5 AM, though the pre-dawn darkness had not completely lifted, I was already setting up my tripod by the shore, patiently waiting. That sense of ritual in silently awaiting the light was, in itself, a reward.
As the first ray of dawn pierced the east, a soft, warm, golden light precisely struck the peaks of the west-to-east facing snow-capped mountains. The untouched snow was bathed in a delicate tone, forming a breathtaking vista of white revealing pure gold. In the instant I pressed the shutter, all the cold and the exhaustion of the long journey vanished. In that single moment, the entire dedicated trip, and every ounce of effort, was profoundly worthwhile.
