10/12/09 - Some Autumn Color on the Spruce Railroad Trail

09/28/09 - Fall Color in the High Country

We drove out to Obstruction Point to see if this year's dry spell would deprive us of our anticipated reds and golds. As it turned out, we had no reason to worry. The trail crossed quite a few patches of bright red. It was like walking the Field of Mars.

We also had a great marmot sighting. One of the little guys was right by the road. We just had to stop and roll down our window for an amazing close up view. All told, 2009 has been a great year for marmot watching.

09/23/09 - The Elderberry Bushes of Hurricane Ridge Road

09/22/09 - Klahane Ridge and the End of Summer

09/13/09 - The Hoh Rain Forest

08/25/09 - Obstruction Point: Late Summer

12/02/08 - Magnificent Madrona Berries

12/01/08 - News Flash - Winter Has Been Postponed

11/09/08 - Patience and Persistence Rewarded

We huffed and puffed our way past The Hamper. That's around the half way point. It gets that name because of all the dirty sock plant that grows there. We kept on climbing to the very summit, and there we were, surrounded by gray cloud. We could make out shadows of trees in the near distance, but of the far mountains or the strait, there was no sign.

We started back down, and the first bit of blue broke through the cloud. The fog was lifting. By the time we checked out the corn lily side spur, we could see some of the nearby cliffs. As we passed Marmot Rock the sun burned through a blue hole, and soon we were rewarded with fantastic glimpses of the far mountains through the parting clouds. On a clear day the distant mountains are beautiful, but there is an even greater grandeur when the mountains are awash in clouds.

11/04/08 - Lake Crescent

11/01/08 - Port Angeles Farmers' Market - Harvest Edition

We make a lacinato kale salad by removing the stems and cutting the kale into thin strips. Then we add about a half lemon worth of lemon juice, a few tablespoons of good parmesan cheese, a tablespoon or two of olive oil and a teaspoon, to taste, of hot red pepper flakes. It's a great salad, and it's finally in season.

10/27/08 - A Quick Trip Into Seattle

10/25/08 - Last Call For Klahane Ridge: This Time For Sure Rocky

10/15/08 - Hurricane Hill Dusted

10/10/08 - Duck Confit

10/05/08 - First Snow on Hurricane Hill - Part 1

We could see fresh snow on the distant hills, but we didn't see much by the road side until we were at the Hurricane Ridge parking lot. The trees were frosted, but the road was clear. We headed on to Hurricane Hill, and we were rewarded for our persistence. This had been a wet summer, so the alpine vegetation was lush and the grasses higher and fuller. There had been a profusion of flowers. In September, temperatures started to drop, and the autumn colors came in. There were the golds and reds and browns. Now, an early snow had come, and highlighted all this rich color.

10/05/08 - First Snow on Hurricane Hill - Part 2

09/29/08 - The Hoh Sun Forest

We hadn't been up this way for about a year, so we did notice a few changes. In particular, one of our favorite trees was gone, or at least severely damaged. That's the One Arm Tree which is not far from Five Mile Island and served as a landmark for years. There were a number of damaged trees along the trail. We have one or two suspects which might have been the One Arm Tree. In one case, the main branch is doing fine. In the other, the tree has fallen. We suspect the damage was from last November's violent wind storms which damaged so many trees around the peninsula.

The season is changing too. We spotted some autumn leaf color, mainly in the little maples along the river. We could see how the river has changed its flow, shoveling gravel and drift logs this way and that, and biting chunks out of the trail along the banks. For the most part, the trail is the same, but it changes with the years and seasons. That's one of the reasons we go back again and again.

09/21/08 - Hurricane Hill As The Summer Ends

Just a few days ago it was cloudy in town, but the webcam showed fairly good weather. We drove up Hurricane Ridge Road which is almost completely repaved now. We pulled into the parking lot on the ridge, and the conditions were nearly whiteout with thick white fog. Despite this, we decided to press on to the Hurricane Hill trail which starts about a mile and a half past the lodge. We made our way, cautiously, to the far end of the big parking lot. The road dropped and the fog lifted.

Hurricane Hill was spectacular. The white fog had returned at the start of the trail, so we couldn't see any mountains until we made our way up to The Hamper, noted for all its dirty sock plant. Then, the views began with high, snow topped mountains rising out of a sea of cloud. Clouds pressed in from the Pacific, spilled through valleys, and washed up against mountain sides. Not everything was perfectly visible, but the views were spectacular none the less.

09/13/08 - Autumn Comes To Obstruction Point

Hiking Obstruction Point always does feel like something out of science fiction. Mount Olympus looms grandly across the valley. With the clear air, it is hard to believe that it is perhaps 20 miles away. It feels almost like walking through a diorama, except here everything is real. The rocks and plants, the distant cloud of Mount Baker, the alpine lakes and their patterns of surrounding vegetation, they are all fantastic, but very real.