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02/13/10 - Lake Crescent: Salamander Alert

We know this has been a mild winter, but we didn't expect to see salamanders out and about in February. There they were, right in the middle of the Spruce Railroad Trail. They can be tricky to see, so it is a wonder we didn't step on one. We spotted two or three of them. (We may have spotted the same salamander twice.) We also noticed that the big logs that had been blocking the trail had been removed, clearly by the hand, and most likely chainsaw, of man. The trail is in great shape, and rain or shine, it is a beautiful trail.

Salamander #1

Scenery

Salamander #2

More scenery

Salamander #3, or possibly Salamander #1 spotted again on our way back along the trail

Keywords: salamander, spruce railroad, winter


12/09/09 - Return of the Icicles

The icicles along the Spruce Railroad Trail are back. We last noticed them back in March. They are as beautiful as ever, especially with the lake's blue waters behind them.











Keywords: spruce railroad, winter


12/03/09 - Another Tree Down

There's another tree down on the Lake Angeles Trail. This one was quite a piece of lumber. Mind you, this isn't really news. Trees fall in the forest all the time, though quite a few choose late November or early December. There were a few trees down on the Spruce Railroad Trail at Lake Crescent as well, but both trails are still passable.

Keywords: lake angeles, lake crescent, spruce railroad, trails



12/01/09 - The Last Salamander of the Season

This has to be the last salamander of the season. It was an awfully cold day for salamanders when we spotted him on the Spruce Railroad Trail.

Keywords: salamander, spruce railroad



11/27/09 - Repairs on the Spruce Railroad Trail

The little board bridges near the start of the Spruce Railroad Trail have been repaired and reinforced. We aren't sure who does these things, but thanks for keeping the trail in good shape.

Keywords: spruce railroad


11/22/09 - Wild Waters on the Spruce Railroad Trail

Lake Crescent is as high as we've ever seen it. Despite this, we decided to take the Spruce Railroad Trail out a bit and see how far we could get. It wasn't too bad at first. There was a lot of mud and standing water on the slope up to the first tunnel, but otherwise it was easy going to the Punchbowl. The little bridge was a little flooded, but it was just a giant step over the waters separating the trail from the bridge. On the far side of the bridge, however, the entire trail was flooded for a ways. There were actually breakers there. With a bit of timing, we managed to follow the rocky ledge and leap back onto the trail at the far end.

The trail was dry for a bit, though there were a few trees down. Still, there was nothing we couldn't crawl under, clamber over or slink around, but then we got to the little creek. Usually, we can just step over the little creek, but today was different. To start with, there was a little river running down the trail as a warning. We skirted this and made our way to the creek. It was a torrent with quite a waterfall. It was also fast, deep and wide, filling its channel and overflowing a bit. We puttered around deciding if it was worth fording, for there was no way to leap it, and no visible rocks mid-stream. In the end, we decided that we had had enough water for the day. It was time to turn back.

We'll be keeping our eyes on the Spruce Railroad Trail. The high waters can't last forever, and aside from some muds, logs and high water, it is still quite hikable.


A piece of the trail underwater - That's the bridge down around the corner.

More flooded trail - We hugged the rocks and timed the waves.

The "little" creek

The little creek has overflowed a bit.

A lovely waterfall

Someone put this mushroom up here in a niche in the rocks.

A fish caught high and dry

The bridge - That gap is leapable, even by us.

One of several fallen trees

Keywords: lake crescent, spruce railroad, trails


11/08/09 - More Snow on the Mountains

Storm King on the south shore of Lake Crescent got its first dusting of snow recently. The sky wasn't sure if it wanted to be blue or gray. That's typical in the autumn. The snow line on the mountain adds to the drama.

Storm King

The trail
The Spruce Railroad Trail itself is covered with leaves, and in places, it is turning into mud. It is as beautiful as ever, but expect muddy shoes and cuffs. That again is typical for this time of year.

Keywords: autumn, lake crescent, spruce railroad, storm king


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

The North Olympic Peninsula is not noted for its spectacular autumn colors, but this year, the trees, notably the maples, are doing their bit. We were on the Spruce Railroad Trail the other day and saw a lot of maples turning bright yellow. It's probably the cold nights. It also might be the brilliant blue of the lake's water. In fact, the maples all over the north peninsula are quite impressive this year.

Some maple color

The blue water

More color, more water

One of the spooky maples getting ready for Halloween

Bright red

Keywords: autumn, spruce railroad, lake crescent


08/30/09 - Mystery Worm

We saw this curious looking worm on the Spruce Railroad Trail along Lake Crescent. At least we think it was some kind of worm. It was wriggling along and not getting anywhere quickly.

UPDATE 07/16/10: According to Alena, this is most likely a lizard's tail. Apparently, they'll drop their tails to escape from predators. They'll sometimes wiggle for quite a while after being dropped.


Keywords: lake crescent, spruce railroad


06/02/09 - Good To Go To Lake Crescent

The latest word from Good To Go is that the oven is up and running. They're still experimenting and getting used to the new equipment, and they hope to have their first batch of test cookies in the next week or so. It may take a bit longer for bread, because they need some more equipment, but bread is still the goal.

As for the picture, that's one of their hummus wraps being eaten on the Spruce Railroad Trail.


A hummus wrap in its natural habitat

Keywords: good to go, spruce railroad


05/09/09 - The Spruce Railroad Trail

There are more flowers coming out on the Spruce Railroad Trail. There is even a bit of salmonberry, which is supposed to bloom in February or March, so we are having a late spring.

We'll also note another tree down, so it may be tricky getting by on horseback. It wasn't too bad on foot. The fallen tree is a bit west of the metal bridge at the Devil's Punchbowl.


Paintbrush

We love the way this just grows out of the rock.

A fallen tree

Keywords: flowers, spring, spruce railroad, salmon


05/04/09 - The Spruce Railroad Trail - Watch Your Step

Watch your step on the Spruce Railroad Trail. We've been spotting our share of salamanders, snakes and slugs. That's the three S's. Then again, it's always worth keeping one's eyes open on the trail.

Salamanders

Snakes

Slugs

Spooky maple trees

Some flowers

Keywords: salamander, slugs, spruce railroad


04/19/09 - Flowers Along The Spruce Railroad Trail

We are finally having a few real spring days, and that means that April showers are at long last yielding April flowers. Of particular note, the trilliums are coming out along the Spruce Railroad Trail. These three petaled flowers are a bit hard to spot, at least at first. Our experience is that we don't see any trilliums until we are a mile or two down the trail, but then, once we see our first blossom, we start seeing lots of others. On the final leg of our hike it seems like every other plant is a trillium, and we can't help but wonder how we missed a veritable carpet of these lovely flowers.

There are also a lot of other flowers blooming, including some of the succulents growing out of the rocks in the sunnier parts of the trail. If you crouch down and look carefully you can see lots of little flowers in the sunny patches. We aren't sure of what all these flowers are, but the ones here were growing out of gravel, which is probably why they are blooming so early, where "so early" is strictly comparative.






Keywords: flowers, spring, spruce railroad, trillium


04/15/09 - First Flowering at Lake Crescent

If we seemed fixated on blossoms this season, blame it on the long winter and slow spring we've been having. The good news from the Spruce Railroad Trail along Lake Crescent is that the flowering currant is flowering, and the first paintbrush flowers are coming out in that sunny area near the footbridge.

Flowering currant, actually flowering

The first paintbrush of the season

Lake Crescent, as ever

Keywords: flowers, lake crescent, spring, spruce railroad



03/26/09 - Another Sign of Spring, We Hope

We'll admit it. We're getting pretty hard up for signs of spring around here, so this salamander picture taken on the Spruce Railroad Trail is going to have to do. Yes, we know that we post an awful lot of pictures of these little fellows, but they are only found on the Olympic Peninsula and they are pretty neat. Watch out, we might get a salamander-cam and offer live coverage. Or, better yet, spring might come.

Keywords: salamander, spring, spruce railroad


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