Heaven in the Forest

The heart of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest from Bird Mountain in the Indian Heaven Wilderness of Washington state.

The forest surrounding the uncut wilderness is a patchwork of clear-cuts and mature forest. The major volcanic peaks essentially define the natural boundaries of the forest ranging from Mt. Adams in the east to the gray, decapitated cone of Mt. St. Helens in the west and from the foothills below Mt. Rainier in the north to the Columbia River Gorge in the south near Oregon's Mt. Hood.

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of the older National Forests in the US. This area was originally part of the Mt. Rainier Forest Reserve established in 1897. In 1908, after several administrative changes, the area became the Columbia National Forest. The forest was renamed the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1949 in honor of Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the US Forest Service from 1905 to 1910.

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest covers 1,368,300 acres (5500 km^2) in SW Washington state. The forest includes five wilderness areas covering 195,220 acres (790 km^2) and the 110,000-acre (445 km^2) Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

---

USA-Canada / USA-Washington

Lat: 46° 2' 41.35" N
Long: 122° 47' 32.83" W

Elevation: 5600 ft.

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: High. Pinpoints the exact spot.

PENTAX K20D, PENTAX DA 10-17mm at 10mm, Nodal Ninja 3, PTGui Pro.