I'd been to Diablo Lake before, but not for sunrise. I would stop on the way to and from sunrise at Washington Pass, so the pictures were either in the very dark before dawn, or mid-day boring sun. This time I stayed for sunrise, and it was great. The North Cascades is amazing, there are so many mountains and scenic things to see.
Sunrise was right around 8 AM, and it's only a bit over 2 hour drive to get to the Diablo Lake viewpoint. I leave around 3:30 AM, and take my first picture at 5:51 AM. At first I was disappointed with how things looked. In the darkness 2+ hours before sunrise it's kind of boring. I did manage to catch something interesting though.
The Ursid meteor shower was supposed to be happening, but I only saw one. I did see a very bright and fast satellite moving overhead, and the Orbitrack app says it was the International Space Station.
6:03 AM. This is looking east, so that's probably Venus, and the ISS. 3000x2000
That was image 6600, by the way (I've taken that many pictures since I got the camera). I move from the Diablo Lake viewpoint down to the Colonial Creek campground area. There is a bridge with views of the water and mountains.
6:41 AM. It's gotten quite a bit lighter in the sky in the last half hour, but can still see stars. Looking north. 3000x2000
6:46 AM. Looking south, Thunder Creek comes out of those hills. To the naked eye these colors were barely visible. 3000x2000
6:49 AM. Looking west. I think that's Pinnacle Peak (R) and Paul Bunyans Stump (L), and I think that's a faint meteor on the right side. 3000x2000
7:11 AM. I get a few different views of this and the water. 3000x2000
7:29 AM. Getting close to sunrise. I like this one showing the bridge (it's small), water, and mountains. 3000x2000
7:34 AM. Frozen shoreline on Diablo Lake. Soft, almost dawn light on the hills. 3000x2000
7:43 AM. Here you go, what do you think of this? Finally some sunrise colors. 3000x2000
7:44 AM. I like this one showing the clear water. 3000x2000
7:53 AM. Close to sunrise, but I don't see anything on the peaks yet. 2000x3000
8:02 AM. Here we go. This is a 100% crop. Maybe I should show the full image too (more snowy trees). 3000x2000
8:06 AM. Similar to an earlier shot, but with sunrise. 3000x2000
8:10 AM. Close-up shot. That might be 'Paul Bunyans Stump' lit up. 3000x2000
8:13 AM. This one kind of looks like a painting. I like the steam rising off the peaks in the sun. 3000x2000
8:14 AM. Another one. 2000x3000
8:22 AM. Sunrise colors have ended. After this I move back up to the viewpoint. 3000x2000
9:01 AM. Back at the viewpoint. This is looking east. I think that's Jack Mountain. I got a few shots of it. 3000x2000
9:10 AM. Miata with the top down. My car said it was 29F. 3000x2000
9:12 AM. Some photos look good converted to monochrome. Jack Mountain again. 3000x2000
9:17 AM. Wider angle, and color version of Jack Mountain. 2000x3000
Twenty pictures done. We're halfway there. I had a good day.
9:25 AM. 'Diablo Lake Overlook - North Cascades'. Of course you can't see the lake in this picture. 3000x2000
9:30 AM. Stupid trees blocking the view...or good trees framing the view? Diablo Lake and Davis Peak. 3000x2000
9:32 AM. Tried leaving the railing in. 3000x2000
9:33. Clear view is better. Nice morning light and wispy clouds. 3000x2000
9:44 AM. Looking south. Previously was looking west. 2000x3000
9:53 AM. No sunrise color, so I go with monochrome again. Great detail in the mountain and trees, I could do a 100% crop version. 3000x2000
10:11 AM. I leave the viewpoint and go up the road, to where it ends (closed for the season). Wispy clouds. Nice. 3000x2000
10:14 AM. More zoomed in shot. Just mountains and trees. Could work as monochrome. 3000x2000
10:18 AM. I made this one kind of 'soft'. Dreamy winter wonderland. 2000x3000
10:25 AM. I moved to near John Pierce Falls. I get some shots of the bridge. 3000x2000
10:34 AM. Closer to the bridge. I didn't go over the railing, I swear! I'm not that crazy. 3000x2000
10:37 AM. Zoomed on just the bridge. 3000x2000
10:42 AM. Now I'm almost out on the bridge. 3000x2000
10:49 AM. Looking straight down at John Pierce Falls. This is looking upstream, so the water is flowing down towards me. 2000x3000
10:50 AM. I went to the other side of the bridge. This is looking downstream, the water is flowing away from me. 3000x2000
10:59 AM. The other end of the bridge, looking back. 2000x3000
11:04 AM. Just some icicles. 3000x2000
11:09 AM. Ross Lake Ferry Landing. 2000x3000
11:12 AM. The best part of John Pierce Falls. It's a big falls, just not a big drop. 2000x3000
11:20 AM. Last picture of the day, both camera batteries were dead. I was tired. Car was dirty. Good day. 3000x2000
A couple videos. Sound warning.
8:12 AM. 20 seconds of steam rising off the mountains. https://streamable.com/j5pxup
10:48 AM. 30 seconds showing the scale of Pierce Falls. https://streamable.com/czpti7
