Van Patten

If there's one thing that Eastern Oregon has to provide to the world, it's the Blue Mountains. Though a prime destination for snow sports and recreation in the winter for travelers from all over the Pacific North West and beyond, I prefer to visit during the warmer, snow-less times of the year. Below are moments captured from my hike up to Van Patten Lake, in the summer of 2016. A short, spur-of-the-moment adventure up through the trees, over and around boulders, across small meadows—all leading up to a little, hidden body of water, that lies quietly between surrounding peaks.