Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: flowers, Page: 5

06/02/14 - Hurricane Hill Trail Report The Hurricane Hill Trail is open. On slow days, we have been heading up to Hurricane Ridge to watch the snow melt and glacier lilies blossom. Usually this time of year, there are ten foot high ramparts of snow at the far end of the parking lot. This year, the area was almost snow free, so it was only a small surprise that the road to the Hurricane Hill trailhead was open. The big surprise was that the trail was relatively free of snow. There were some patches and a long stretch, a section of the trail shaded by evergreens was still covered. Still, we made it to the summit. The trail is open early. We usually don't make it to the top of the hill until late June or even early July, but this year is different. The alpine flowers are already coming out, and not just the glacier lilies. The trail is scented with phlox. The paintbrush is out and the lupines are starting to bloom. Even the marmots are up and about. If you are planning a trip to Hurricane Ridge, it might make sense to plan to come early. The high country can be hard country, so it pays to sieze the day.	The trail is quite clear here.
This shaded corridor is the most snow covered part of the trail, but passable.	The views are spectacular.
A view from the summit	Another high country view
Lupines	Phlox
A marmot	Another marmot
Bachelors, out grazing	Paintbrush

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

05/26/14 - Lake Angeles Trail in Bloom The trilliums are passing, but the Oregon grape is in bloom along with the pacific dogwood, tiarella and a few other flowers. This is the second wave, but it is coming right along. We've made it past the half way point to the lake, but we have a good bit of getting in shape ahead of us. Still, the high country beckons, so next time, excelsior.	We aren't sure what this is, but it's pretty.
Some latter day trilliums	Mahonia aka Oregon grape
Wild water at the crossing	More wild water
Pacific dogwood	... and more dogwood
Tiarella	... and more tiarella
New growth on the salal almost looks like flowers.	A sylvan collage

Keywords: flowers, high country, oregon, trillium

05/19/14 - Hurricane Ridge - Spring Report We drove up to Hurricane Ridge today to watch the snow melt and see if any flowers were in bloom. The road is completely clear, save for the usual runaway rocks. There was lupine in bloom at one of the lookouts, and as we approached the ridge proper, the first phlox of the season was in bloom. The snow is melting rapidly on the ridge. There were 57 inches of snow at the official snow stake, but there were plenty of clear patches, and there was less snow than we expected on the continuation of the road towards Hurricane Hill. Usually this time of year, there are eight or ten foot high ramparts, but this year they were much reduced. We wandered down the road a bit towards Hurricane Hill, and we're guessing that they'll open the road earlier than usual this year. Then we explored the parking lot and found them, glacier lilies. The first few were just buds with a touch of yellow, but a few were starting to open. The Hurricane Ridge flower season has begun.	Some mountains
Sunrise Peak	Melting snow
No ramparts here	The road to Hurricane Hill
Glacier lilies	Another glacier lily
A glacier lily starting to bloom	Yet another glacier lily
We aren't sure what this is, but it looks interesting.	Clouds and fog

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, hurricane ridge

03/31/14 - Late Currants

The currant blossoms are late this year, but better late than never.

Currants in bloom on the trail west of Morse Creek

Keywords: morse creek, flowers

11/11/13 - Seattle Conservatory Whenever we climb up to Volunteer Park we make a point of checking out the conservatory.	Something like a pineapple
More exotics	Flowers
Fruits	Orchids
The reflecting pool at Volunteer Park	A community garden

Keywords: flowers, seattle

09/25/13 - Hurricane Hill - After the Equinox Obstruction Point Road has already closed and the weather has been changeable. Instead of the usual September sun, our skies seem to be visitors from October. We hiked the Hurricane Hill Trail on a quiet day and watched Mount Olympus fuss with its wreath of clouds before vanishing. The marmots were out, but turning darker and browner for winter. Only their hindquarters were golden. We saw only a handful of flowers, dried yarrow, a few harebells, and the like. Instead we saw fall foliage with the grasses turning golden and leaves turning red and brown.	Golden fields and misty mountains
One of five marmots we saw	Another marmot in closeup - not very golden
A view	A misty view and changing colors
Mount Angeles	To the north, a touch of blue
The first bit of snow, near the summit	A band of gold
A mushroom	Last of the flowers

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, marmots, obstruction point, weather, winter

09/12/13 - Klahane Ridge - Late in the Season We were up on Klahane Ridge a few days ago. Summer is over. The lupines are long gone. In fact, there were only a handful of flowers left here and there. The hanging gardens are shutting down for the winter. It seems so soon.	View of Port Angeles
The Olympic Mountains	Along the ridge
More mountains	Towards Mount Angeles - Look closely, and you can see some lingering snow.

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge

07/31/13 - Obstruction Point They just opened the road to Obstruction Point, so we drove out to take a short stroll. As it turned out, we hiked all the way to the "rim", the start of the big descent to Grand Lake. There was much less snow on the trail than usual, despite the early road opening. There was still some phlox and lots of lupines, and, if you looked carefully, you could see a few avalanche and glacier lilies about. The lakes in the valley have already filled, and at least one of the tarns has already dried out. Still, there are patches of snow and a host of late season flowers including pink and red paintbrush, yarrows and hampers of dirty sock plant. We weren't sure we could make the climb from the parking lot to the plateau, but it turned out we could. We double dog dared each other at the staircase and descended warily, expecting a hard climb back up. Then, how could we not cross the meadows and check out the view of the valley where the melting snow fills seasonal lakes for our entertainment. From there, we were called to climb a bit higher and continue down the trail. We made our way to the rim. Grand Lake beckoned, but enough was enough. We slowly and ever so regretfully made our way back to our car.	Heather and sky
Heidi country	Mountains and valleys
Phlox	Lupines
Melting snow along the ridge	More melting snow
Flowers, lots of these	More melting snow, more mountains
Paintbrush	Lakes, or perhaps tarns

Keywords: flowers, obstruction point

07/18/13 - Hurricane Hill in Season Hurricane Hill is in season. Even the roses and corn lilies are out. The hills are thick with marmots, and the scenery is spectacular. If you can't reach us at home, we'll be hiking the trails.	A marmot surrounded by dirty sock plant
A buck on the snow	A marmot beating the heat
Melting snow	A rock garden
The mountains	The snow really does melt faster on the sunny side.
A mountain plover	Pasque flowers and corn lilies - yes corn lilies
One of the first roses	More mountains and flowers

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, marmots, trails

07/11/13 - Klahane Ridge - To The Top We made it to the top of Klahane Ridge the other day. As usual, it was a serious hike, but we pushed ourselves onward and made it to the ridge. The view north was cloudy, but the view south was spectacular. We rested a bit, and while we sat, we could watch the clouds to the north getting thicker and thicker. We rested longer, and then the clouds thinned and parted giving us a fairly good view north. The lower reaches of the trail are lined with lupines, larkspur, paintbrush, turk's cap lilies and a host of others. The upper reaches are scented by patches of phlox. The middle range of the trail has yet to blossom, and the trailsides lined with green. We'll have to climb again and see how the alpine summer progresses.	Imagine our disappointment. This was the view north.
Luckily the south view was fairly good.	Snow patches and lifting clouds
Mount Angeles	Phlox
Fields of phlox scenting the air.	The crags
A very green trail with flowers to come	Snow melting and feeding a stream
Flowers	and more flowers

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge, summer, trails

07/04/13 - Back to Hurricane Hill Yes, we've already been back to Hurricane Hill - twice in fact. It is really beautiful up there. There weren't as many marmots this time, but we did see some other wonderful things.	The snow melt lake is forming below the peak.
The mountains - well, what can we say?	Green shoots
An early corn lily	We saw a mountain goat on a rocky hill side, at a good safe distance.
A marmot	The snow is melting quickly.
Glacier lilies blooming by the melting snow	Avalanche lilies growing in the shade
A little rock garden	Lupines

Keywords: hurricane hill, marmots, flowers

06/24/13 - Hurricane Hill - Part 2 - Summit and Flowers The summit of Hurricane Hill was surrounded by clouds. Our view degraded as we made our final ascent, scaring one poor marmot from his or her perch. Port Angeles and points north were invisible, hidden beneath the clouds. The entire north slope before us, sheltered from the sun, was covered in a thick layer of snow. It was quite dramatic. The marmots were still out as we descended and the fields were starting to blossom with glacier lilies, phlox, paintbrush, lupines and even some dirty sock plant. We didn't see any avalanche lilies, and the phlox didn't have its usual sweet scent. Still, it was a spectacular hike through the high country.	Another view north
The mountains shrouded by clouds	Fields of flowers
Yet another marmot	A snowshoe hare
The clouds would come and go.	A marmot with glacier lilies
Lupines and paintbrush	Larkspur
Lupines	Phlox

Keywords: flowers, high country, hurricane hill, marmots

06/16/13 - Klahane Ridge The Switchback Trail to Klahane Ridge is a demanding trail, but one of the prettiest in the park. It is a 1500' climb, so the trailhead is usually free of snow well before the ridge itself. This time was no exception. We climbed the first 1000' before running into our first real wall of snow, which means we didn't make it to the top. Still, it was a wonderful climb, and this was probably the earliest in the season we had ever climbed this far. Usually, by the time we can climb the first 1000' it is late June or early July, and the phlox is in bloom, scenting the air. The lupines will be coming out along with so many other flowers. This time, there was a lot of green, and there were lots of little yellow glacier lilies. We did spot some phlox, some paintbrush and a few other flower, but the hanging gardens are just starting to come into bloom.	The view from about 1000'
Our wall of snow - It extends for some way.	A snowy view from 1000'
Mount Angeles is still snow covered.	Some phlox
Some glacier lilies	The trail
A fritillary	Some paintbrush, just coming out
We aren't sure what this is, but it was pretty.	More flowers

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge

04/28/13 - Spring Changes on the Elwha Trail We were back on the Elwha Trail out of Whiskey Bend and couldn't help noticing a lot of changes. To start with, there were trilliums everywhere, or at least everywhere with enough water. (Trilliums like streams and drainage ditches.) There were also a lot of other flowers, but the real change was the light. The Northwest isn't noted for its sunny days, but when we have them the forest floor is transformed. The tree trunks are steely pillars and the undergrowth just glows.	The usual view of the Elwha Valley from the trail
Trilliums	More trilliums
Even more trilliums	The trail in sunlight
One of the orchids	More of the trail in sunlight
Another orchid	More of the trail
Violets and a strawberry flower	Sap running from a tree

Keywords: elwha, flowers, trillium, spring

12/18/12 - Christmas at the Volunteer Park Conservatory One of our favorite places in Seattle is the Conservatory at Volunteer Park. It takes a bit of climbing up Capital HIll to get there, but the display there is always amazing. It's even more amazing around Christmas.	A winter scene in Seattle with the Space Needle in the distance
There are always orchids at the conservatory	But, around Christmas, they do the place up proud.
Christmas trees, poinsettas, and a model train set	More Christmas flora, decora, and wonderful, steamy greenhouse warmth
We dropped by to visit the cactus.	A nautical scene
Another view - so cozy	A plethora of Christmas trees - our kind of place
Winter foliage	There is always something even more amazing at the conservatory, like these flowers growing from the edges of this air plants leaves.

Keywords: christmas, flowers, seattle, winter

10/18/12 - Hurricane Hill in the Autumn Unlike New England, the Northwest is not known for its autumn colors, but Hurricane Hill tends to put on a good show. The fields turn a rich gold, and there are bursts of red and gold. The flowers of the alpine summer are now dried specimens waiting for their winter covering of snow.	Golden fields and - oh yeah - mountains
More golden fields	Another view to the west
Red gold	More gold
Red and gold in the valley	More red and gold
Dried flowers	The hanging gardens, ready for winter
A touch of gold	A touch of red

Keywords: autumn, flowers, hurricane hill

08/12/12 - Klahane Ridge, Hurrah! This time we made it up to Klahane Ridge. We were horribly slow. We kept having to stop and rest, but then we pushed on. The hanging gardens were lush and green with lupines, turks cap lilies, yarrow, cow parsnip, larkspur, paintbrush and even some phlox in bloom. The usual summer drought has not set in yet, and might not this year. The view from the top was as spectacular as ever. To the north we could see the Dungeness Spit, the San Juan Islands and Mount Baker rising above the Cascades. To the south were the grand Olympic Mountains clad in their glaciers. Like many things this year, we were late in our return to Klahane Ridge, but we did it.	Mount Angeles and a bit of snow
The view north	The view to the east
A view north	Another view north
The trail through the green	Lupines
Did we say lupines?	More of the trail
More wildflowers - an amazing season	The little waterfall near the trailhead

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge, mount baker, summer, waterfall

07/25/12 - Hurricane Ridge and Sunrise Point We are usually more adventurous, but now and then we need to take it easy. We just weren't up to a real serious hike, so we parked at Hurricane Ridge and climbed Sunrise Point. That's maybe a 200 foot climb, and we never got out of key clicker range of our car. This year spring came late and summer came later, and that meant that the rains lingered into July. Cool wet weather make for lush green vegetation and lots and lots of alpine flowers. Some years the lupines barely grow as they race to bloom before drying out in the summer heat. This year, they've grown and grown, and while they are blooming now, they are still early in the cycle with many flowers yet to come. It's like this for all the flowers: a late start, a lot of green, and a lot of flowers. This may be one of the best years in a while for high country blossoms, and you don't even have to walk very far.	A great view of the mountains and the fields
Lupines in the foreground	Lingering snow
Avalanche lilies	Phlox
More avalanche lilies	Guess
A very lush field of lupines	We aren't sure about these, but they're pretty.
Another lupine view	A lot of lush green means more to come.

Keywords: flowers, high country, hurricane ridge, summer, weather

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