August 2016September 2016 October 2016

09/30 - The Plains of Mars

Winter is coming to the high country. The greens are turning into browns and reds and golds. At Obstruction Point the colors are brilliant, and the fields of bright red foliage remind us of the plains of Mars. Of course, thanks to NASA we now know that Mars looks nothing at all like Lilian Ridge, but the colors still evoke the fantastic Mars of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The high country is always a bit otherworldly, but it is at its most spectacular and alien when the colors start to change.

The mountains of Mars

More mountains with Martian vegetation in the foreground

Red and a shock of gold

Fields of Mars

More Martian landscape

Seasonal color change

Changing colors from a distance

The red land encroaches on a dying sea

Lakes and seas of gold

More plains of Mars

Another Martian view

Keywords: high country, obstruction point

09/27 - Third Beach

There area three beaches near the mouth of the Quillayute River near La Push. Rialto Beach to the north is the most accessible. The road goes right to the water. Second Beach just south of La Push is a 3/4 mile hike from the parking lot and offers a broad expanse of beach to explore. Third Beach, a few miles south of Second Beach, balances coastal forest and beach walking differently with a smaller beach, but a full 1 1/2 mile walk from parking lot to water.

It is a pretty, easy path through forest and fern. There are ups and downs, then a descent to the sea. The beach is guarded by a barrier of driftwood, so be prepared to clamber a bit. You can head north to the headland there or south as we usually do. This means crossing the little stream that runs from the forest and across the sand to the sea. The best hiking is at low tide, below three feet at La Push, but we made our way south towards the high headlands there to see the little waterfall.

We didn’t make it as far as sometimes. The tide was a bit high, and we had left our shoes at the stream. We also had some company. A large cat had crossed the beach not long before us. That was our excuse at least.

The forest trail

The driftwood barrier

The mighty stream

Third beach, looking south

Our feline friend

The headland and seastacks

A hazy closeup of the waterfall

The view north

The forest experience

Green and twisted branch

Forest punctuation

Keywords: beaches, third beach, waterfall

09/22 - Sol Duc Falls and Beyond

We didn’t make it to Deer Lake, but we did get well beyond Sol Duc Falls. We crossed the bridge over Canyon Creek about 450’ above the falls and made our way to over 900’ above. It is a hard trail, not because it is steep, but because it is rocky and rough going.

The trail to Sol Duc Falls is relatively easy going, maybe 25 minutes of hiking with some ups and downs through old growth forest. There is a bridge across the Sol Duc at the falls, and then the trail begins a slow, rough ascent. It seems that half the climbing is up and down various rocks in the trail rather than up the mountainside. The air is often close, at least until one nears Canyon Creek.

Across the creek, the trail gets steeper, alternating between flatter stretches and challenging staircases. We managed to get a few glimpses of Canyon Creek, but we were tuckered out well before the lake at over 1600’. We’ll be back this fall. We’ll be in better shape and better prepared. We haven’t been up to Deer Lake in too long.

A typical stretch of trail

A glimpse of Canyon Creek

A curtain of drips

More drips

Even more drips

Another typical stretch of trail

A bit of autumn color

Canyon Creek from the bridge

A close up

Devil’s claw berries, probably inedible

Sol Duc Falls

Keywords: deer lake, sol duc

09/18 - Smoke in the High Country

The Cox Valley fire is still smoldering in the high country. We hiked the Hurricane Hill trail and could see the smoke filled valleys to the south. We also saw a number of blue grouse. The grasses on the hill sides have been turning golden, but it was the spectacular blue of the smoke and sky that caught our attention.

Autumn colors and smoke

More valley smoke

Smoke and clouds

Golden grasses and forest fire smoke

One of the grice or perhaps one of the grouses

More distant smoke

Smoke, sky and trail

Dried flowers

Even more smoke

A close up …

… and another one

Keywords: grouse, high country, hurricane hill

09/12 - Nearby Mist

We took a short walk through the mists recently. We didn’t even have to drive far. We hiked right along the waterfront trail starting at Morse Creek and had all the mist and mystery we wanted.

Mist and sky

Along the trail

The way back

Emerging sun

Sunny again

Keywords: morse creek, port angeles

09/07 - Hurricane Hill in the Mist

The weather in the high country is as changeable as ever. That means packing a light raincoat and making the most of whatever the mountains and clouds offer. We didn’t expect much from Hurricane Hill on a cloudy day, but the round trip walk takes over an hour and a half. That gave the clouds plenty of time to shift and change. At times we were wrapped in fog, but we still managed to discern a blue grouse and a marmot. We also had some spectacular scenery and a beautiful walk.

Mixed skies

Autumn colors

Mist

One of the views

A blue grouse

Autumn colors and autumn mist

The flooded foot path

A marmot in the mist

A closeup of that marmot

Some teasing blue sky

Another view

Keywords: grouse, high country, hurricane hill, weather

August 2016September 2016 October 2016