Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: flowers, Page: 2

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Olympic National Park is a big park. Our trip planner lets you make the most of your stay whether you are here for a week or just out for a day trip.

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Little River Trail

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Elwha to Altair - Early Spring Flower Edition

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Archive

2004 - 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2005 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2006 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2007 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2008 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2009 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2010 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2011 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2012 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2013 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2014 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2015 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2016 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2017 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2018 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2019 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2020 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2021 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2022 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2023 - 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

2024 - 01 02 03 04

Month by Month History

Keywords

flowers
winter
spring
seattle
food
port angeles
kale
high country
hurricane hill
elwha
autumn
farmers' market
christmas
lake angeles
trillium
trails
spruce railroad
lake crescent
hurricane ridge
dungeness

All Keywords

Upcoming Hiking Tides

These are low tides of under three feet at least two hours after sunrise or before sunset.

Next tides for La Push
4/12/24 10:02 AM -1.26 ft
4/13/24 10:55 AM -0.62 ft
4/14/24 11:56 AM 0.08 ft
4/15/24 1:06 PM 0.66 ft
4/16/24 2:19 PM 0.99 ft
4/17/24 3:23 PM 1.12 ft
4/18/24 4:14 PM 1.17 ft

Next tides for Dungeness
4/12/24 12:46 PM -1.47 ft
4/13/24 1:36 PM -1.06 ft
4/14/24 2:32 PM -0.45 ft
4/15/24 3:35 PM 0.2 ft
4/16/24 4:44 PM 0.77 ft
4/17/24 5:52 PM 1.23 ft
4/20/24 8:57 AM 2.73 ft

Next tides for Cape Alava
4/12/24 10:40 AM -1.14 ft
4/13/24 11:34 AM -0.62 ft
4/14/24 12:35 PM -0.03 ft
4/15/24 1:43 PM 0.48 ft
4/16/24 2:52 PM 0.8 ft
4/17/24 3:52 PM 0.97 ft
4/18/24 4:41 PM 1.11 ft

06/23/21 - Hurricane Hill We've been getting an early start on the hiking trail and heading out along the Hurricane Hill Trail. The snow along the trail has melted, but the climb is as steep as ever. The rewards are the wildflowers, the marmots and the amazing views.	The view of the mountains, as spectacular as ever
Morning clouds over the Elwha	One of the marmots
Another marmot	Yet another golden marmot
Melting snow	The start of the little lake
Pask flowers	Other flowers
Across the high country	Another mountain view
Glacier lilies	Avalanche lilies
Mountains and mountains	Western wallflower
More glacier lilies	More avalanche lilies
Lots of larkspur	Early lupines

Keywords: elwha, flowers, high country, hurricane hill, marmots

05/16/21 - Mount Taylor Energized, the next day we climbed Mount Taylor. We drove a short way to Santa Rosa and started our ascent. This was quite different country from the redwoods. Everything was drier. The grass was already brown, and clusters of trees followed the drainage looking for water. The lower part of the hike was dry grassland, but here and there the trail passed through wooded areas. We climbed the broad grassy hill to the stile and then passed into a shaded forest with short knotted trees. The shade was a welcome relief from the brilliant sky. The trail turned, and we could see Pacific Ocean mist in the distance and the open land for miles around. Datura was in bloom in among the grasses, and there were ripe wild strawberries waiting for us in one of the shaded patches. We made it to the cairn at the summit. It was a pretty view. It was dry, and we were glad we had brought water. The descent was easier. We just followed the land. We used to be regular visitors to Napa and Sonoma Counties, but it had been years since our last visit. We were rewarded for our return with familiar sights and familiar land.	Dry grasslands and clustered trees
Datura	More flowers
A distant mountain	A shaded area
More shade and twisted trees	The trail
The forest	Back in the sun
More flowers	Another open field
A more distant view	More dry grass
The trail goes on	Still a touch of green
A summit view	Seen on the way down
Wild strawberries, a real treat	A California poppy

Keywords: california, flowers

05/12/21 - West Ridge and Prairie Creek Trails We woke up in Orick with elk in our front yard, as advertised. We were in the redwoods, so we did a forest hike, a loop combining two trails starting not far from our cabin. We took the high road out and went north on the West Ridge Trail and returned on the low road via the Prairie Creek Trail. We crossed a small stream, possibly Prairie Creek itself, then climbed into the redwood forest. We were surrounded by great trees, woodland flowers and enclosure of the forest itself. The trail climbed quickly at first, then more slowly. Some of the trees were immense. There is no way to capture their size in a photograph. We have some big trees back home in Olympic National Park, but the scale here was different despite the familiar ferns and flowers. We descended on the appropriately named Zig-Zag trail, then entered an overgrown section with high bushes and some swamp land. We headed back on the Prairie Creek Trail which followed the road at some distance. We crossed a few bridges, but one bridge was completely out. Luckily, the stream wasn't high, so we stepped from rock to rock and crossed dry shod. The trail was busier as we neared the end. Since it followed the road, people could stop at one of the parking lots and head a short way to see some fantastic trees. There were several fallen trees as we neared the end of the trail, each carved with a tunnel high enough and wide enough for the trail to pass. It was a wonderful, exhausting hike. Dinner was takeout, a pair of New York strip steaks from the The Larrupin Cafe. We started with a salad, roasted garlic, tapenade and toast points. Then there were the steaks with mushrooms and marsala and a blue cheese dressing. It was a great meal to celebrate a great hike.	One order of elk
Not shamrocks - Though, given the size of the redwoods, they are appropriately huge.	More undergrowth
False Solomon's seal	The dappled forest
More trilliums and their forest friends	One of the big trees
More forest	A banana slug
The swamplands	One of the bridges

Keywords: flowers, trails, california

05/10/21 - Cape Perpetua and Heceta Head We drove down to Cape Perpetua just south of Yachats and climbed the St. Perpetua Trail for a fantastic view of the coast. There is a road to the summit, but we much preferred hiking. The trail started from the visitor center, followed a stream, then started ascending with a long series of switchbacks. It was a wonderful trail with trilliums, irises and other flowers in bloom. As we neared the summit, we started getting the views of the Pacific Ocean and the rocky coast. We drove a bit farther south and explored Heceta Head with its beach and lighthouse nestled in the crags. There were roses in bloom, and the rocks were covered with gulls and cormorants. Dinner was takeout from Ona's: excellent burgers and fries and a fried calamari appetizer. We had considered dining at Ona's, but their "outdoor" dining terrace was almost a greenhouse. It was much more fun dining in our room with its wide open view of the sea.	A bit of the St. Perpetua Trail
The little stream	An aging trillium
Our first bit of a view	A better view
An iris	More flowers
No tiarella	A peephole view
Looking down	A showy iris
Heceta Beach	Another view of the beach
Cormorants	Seagulls
A rose by the sea	A view south
The ocean at play	Another look

Keywords: flowers, oregon, trails, trillium

03/12/20 - Morse Creek West When we are feeling lazy, we'll often take a walk along the Olympic Discovery Trail starting at the Morse Creek parking off route 101. It's a gentle popular trail, but it's nice and wide, so there is plenty of room for social distancing. It had been closed for a while after it was damaged by the wind and rain. We could see some of the damage at the east end of the dike, and the dike itself is in rough shape. One can follow the trail into Port Angeles and continue west, but our "just enough" walk is usually about a half an hour out and another half an hour back.	The pale area is where they had to rebuild the dike.
Trees along the trail	Along the dike
Looking east	Rough water
More along the trail	More salt water
Heading back	Little blue flowers, a sign of spring

Keywords: flowers, morse creek, port angeles, spring

Keywords: flowers, morse creek, port angeles, spring

02/19/20 - Seattle Winter We took a short trip into Seattle for the SIFF Noir City Film Festival. We took our usual trip up to Ballard Locks where the water was running at full force. The fish ladder was closed for repairs as was one of the locks, but the winter and early spring flowers were already in bloom. As a bonus, there was a tree full of nesting herons. We've never seen them there before, but this time there were at least six and possibly more.	Seattle in the evening
Daphnes in bloom	Early crocuses
Water at full flow	A more distant view
Herons in the tree	More herons and their nests
Herons and nests from a distance	Frothing water
An empty lock	The view downstream
Edgeworthia chrysantha with a wonderful scent	Berries
Evening in Seattle	Another evening view
Post Alley at night	Pike Place Market at night
Another market view	Seattle streets

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring, winter

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring, winter

08/22/19 - Klahane Ridge - High Summer Once again we put on our hiking boots, grabbed our hiking sticks and hauled ourselves up to Klahane Ridge by way of the Switchback Trail. We didn't set any speed records, but we made it. The climb was sunny with a blue sky, but by the time we made it to the ridge, clouds were rising from the sea and shrouding peaks and valleys. We rested a bit and watched the clouds rise with the warmth of the day. By the time we made it back to the parking lot, the sky was mostly blue again. It was a late summer hike. The lupines and larkspur were long gone. Vegetation was thick, but only a handful of flowers remained, mainly in microclimates. Many plants had gone to seed, but the yarrow was near its peak.	Clouds and Mount Olympus
Brilliant sun	Another bright scene
Two butterflies	Those two again
A last bit of phlox	More clouds at the ridge
Clouds seeping in from the north	A view of the Olympic Mountains
Asters	Another spectacular view
Larkspur and paintbrush	Late summer blooms
A view from on the way down	A bit of the trail now that the sun had returned
Paintbrush	A hawk we had seen soaring earlier
A last few lupines	More paintbrush

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge, summer

08/05/19 - Obstruction Point - Flowers and Criters Here is that post full of flowers, marmots and a butterfly mentioned in the next post.	A happy marmot - Look at that smle.
Another happy marmot - Look at that banquet of lupines.	A resting butterfly
Late phlox	Pink paintbrush among others
Another assemblage of flowers	Some lupines, some snow
More phlox	Some asters among the rocks
Rock plants	Flowers and scenery
Dark headed grasses	Lupines and snow, again
Seen by the trail	Harebells

Keywords: flowers, marmots, obstruction point

07/20/19 - Obstruction Point, First Look Obstruction Point Road has been open for a while now. We finally drove out and took our usual walk along Lilian Ridge to check out the wildflowers, the marmots, the snow melt fed lakes and the beautiful scenery. Most of the snow had melted, but there were still scraps of it around. We caught some of the last glacier lilies and first lupines. We weren't used to the altitude, so even the 200' or so initial climb from the parking area was a bit of a struggle, but we made it.	Clouds in the sky, color on the ground
Another look	Fields of red and green and melting snow
Distant mountains, descending the staircase	A last patch of snow on broken rock
Glacier lilies	Harebells
The trail	One of the lakes
Phlox	Ripples on a lake
Rock garden	Striking red paintbrush
Four little lakes	Lupines
The trail again	A bit of the view
Another field of color	One of the marmots

Keywords: flowers, marmots, obstruction point

07/02/19 - Klahane Ridge and More Here are some more photos from our first climb up Klahane Ridge in 2019. The good news is that the alpine flowers are in bloom. The bad news is that there were goats still around. We met a ranger armed with a paint gun who went after them. Then, she had to race off to get to a meeting at headquarters on time. Being a ranger is a job. We walked down from the ridge in a more leisurely manner and took our time admiring the flowers.	The bowl to the north and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca
The goats heading towards the ridge	The goats scampering away after a warning paintball shot
Pasque flowers	Wall flowers
A green collage	Lingering phlox
Larkspur and wall flowers	Larkspur and paintbrush
Some lupines	An assemblage
A close up	Bog orchids by the stream near the trailhead
The little waterfall near the trailhead	A close up of some carnivorous plants

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge

06/28/19 - To the Altair Bridge Again We took another walk along the Elwha from Madison Falls south to the Altair Bridge. We actually went a bit past the bridge to take a look at the waterfall across the river. The roses are all gone, but the summer flowers have been coming in.	If you make it past the Altair bridge, watch for this little waterfall across the river. It is visible just a bit past the gate.
A waterfall closeup	Another closeup
Olympic Hot Springs Road where we turned around	Olympic Hot Springs Road towards the new branch of the Elwha
The Elwha below	Another Elwha view
Elderberries	Elderberry closeup
Fern forest	More fern forest
One of the summer flowers	Ocean spray
The detour	Tiger lilies
A butterfly	That butterfly again
That persistent butterfly	A bellflower

Keywords: elwha, flowers, summer, waterfall

06/26/19 - Hurricane Hill - Last Visit for a While With the construction, Hurricane Hill is only open a few days this summer, but we managed to get up there one more time. We were pleased to see the lupines in bloom but a bit worried by the advanced state of the snow melt. Still, the flowers were beautiful. We are going to miss the corn lilies, but we could see them coming up. We are also going to miss the marmots, but they seem to be do fine without us. If we manage to synchronize our schedule and the construction schedule, we'll try for a visit later this summer, but it doesn't look promising.	An amazing sky
Two marmots	The same two marmots sparring
The Olympic Mountains	Another view of the mountains
Alpine flowers	That's the little seasonal lake in the background.
Field of corn lilies	One of the corn lilies
Another view, so very green	A view north and west
Soft skies	Blue and green
Another marmot amidst the dirty sock plant	A view through the trees
Avalanche lilies	We are sure we looked these up once.
A floral arrangement	Larkspur and wallflower - if your browser supports the SCENT tag you should smell the wallflowers.

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, marmots, summer

06/11/19 - Hurricane Hill - Up Close We were so excited to be getting back to Hurricane Hill, that we took a lot of pictures, so many that we need a double post. This post has the close ups.	The setting
Golden marmot	A seasonal pond frequented by bears, but not today
Early stage corn lily	Pasque flower
Spot the chipmunk	Chipmunk posing
Phlox and some more drama	Avalanche lilies
Lupines	Wallflower
Yarrow	More lupines
More avalanche lilies	More phlox
A rock garden	Lupines up close, with beads of water

Keywords: hurricane hill, flowers

05/25/19 - Hurricane Hill - To The Summit We went back to Hurricane Hill again, and this time we made it to the summit. The trail is still closed every other week and never open on Wednesdays, so it if you want to enjoy it, check the Olympic National Park website. Be prepared to walk maybe ten minutes from one of the two picnic area parking lots to trailhead proper. The road there is closed. On the plus side, there are bathrooms at both parking areas. The alpine flowers were spectacular. There would be waves of sweet scent from the phlox as we walked by. All of the snow on the trail has melted, but there is still snow in the shade and on north faces. There isn't much more to say. Enjoy the pictures.	One of the many views of the Olympic Mountains
A view from the summit	As the season progresses, this snow on the north face melts and fills a little lake, now visible as a few blue spots.
Another view	And yet another
Still another view, follow that strip of white down ...	... and at its base, the snow melts and forms a stream.
It's hard to know where to look.	Patchy snow in a bowl below the trail
Glacier lilies	More glacer lilies
An arty view	Sweet smelling western wallflower
We looked these flowers up once, but forgot what they are.	Phlox
More phlox	Even more phlox
Paintbrush	Yarrow

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill

05/06/19 - To the Altair Bridge We've been slowly reclaiming the Elwha, hiking farther along now disused section of Olympic Hot Springs Road. This time we made it all the way to the Altair Bridge, sort of a breakthrough for us. The bridge is still there. It's just farther away. It was great seeing the view of the Elwha from the bridge again, and we're hoping to go farther, perhaps to dam site overlook. Meanwhile, we'll enjoy the river and the flowers.	Along the detour
Paintbrush	Flowers
An orchid	Mahonia
Trilliums	More flowers
The view of the Elwha from the Altair Bridge	The view in the other direction
Skunk cabbage	One of the Elwha's new branches
A view of the old Elwha campground	Another orchid
Tiarella	More flowers
Forest	Dogwood

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring

04/15/19 - Spring Flowers on the Elwha Detour We finally followed the Elwha detour from where it leaves Olympic Hot Springs Road about a half mile past Madison Falls to where it rejoins the road past the old Elwha campground. It's a 250 foot or so climb, but it goes through forest, and the forest is full of columbines, trilliums and other spring flowers. The detour trail heads up past a work area at the end of the service road and then heads higher to a junction with the Cascade Rock trail. There are glimpses of the Elwha along the way as it follows the ridge past the washout. After the junction the trail goes down a bit, then up a bit, then slowly descends behind the old campground. There is a sturdy tributary of the Elwha running between the trail and the collapsed campground pavilion. The trail lets out a bit past the washout but before the ranger station and work area. It took us about 45 minutes from Madison Falls, so it would be another 15 or 20 minutes to the Altair bridge. We didn't make it that far, at least not this time.	A perfect place for columbines
Columbines	and more
and more	and even more

Other spring flowers	The trail ahead
One of the many trilliums	and a pair, overlapping,
and another	and yet more
Skunk cabbage, a sure sign of spring	The old campground pavilion across the new Elwha channel
More of the trail	We forget what this is called
Mysterious rock overhangs and mysterious caves	A glimpse of the high country

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring, trillium

03/29/19 - Cherry Blossoms at UW Spring is here or at least in Seattle. We made a quick day trip to Seattle to check out the cherry blossoms at the University of Washington. They were in full bloom, and the quad had the air of a festival with hundreds of people out admiring the flowers, taking pictures and celebrating the arrival of spring. We joined in and took lots of pictures.	Cherry blossoms - We're not going to have a lot of captions here.
	Califlory - flowers growing out of the tree trunk







A sign of thanks	A magnolia tree joining the fun.

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring

01/10/19 - Flowers in Bloom

It’s awfully early, but we saw some salmonberry flowers, and it’s barely the middle of January. These usually bloom in early February.

Salmonberry flowers

Keywords: flowers, port angeles, weather