04/10 - Elwha to Altair - Springwatch

Along the detour route, we spotted some park people redoing the trail a bit. They were carrying some heavy boards to shore up parts of the trail. There were sections where the trail had been recut since runs along the face of a ridge. It looks like they are doing serious maintenance which is good to see. For example, there was an extremely muddy section of the trail, and, some time back, they set up a new route on higher ground.

From the Altair Bridge we saw a couple of park workers doing some kind of measurement. This involved setting up a rope and wading across the stream a bit downriver of the bridge. We've seen this before. We still aren't sure what they are doing. Measuring the flow? Setting up to count fish? Again, it was good to see them wet and at work as yet another sign of spring.

04/07 - Dungeness Spit

The Primitive Trail is a less used, slightly longer route, but it takes one through forest, so we were rewarded with birds and trilliums. There was some early mock Solomon's seal with just a few leaves, so we'll have to come back later in the season. We avoided the nettles and had a lovely springtime walk.

04/01 - Elwha to Altair

We were well rewarded. Our goal was skunk cabbage, and there was lots of skunk cabbage, especially past the ranger station as we approached the bridge. It grows in the drainage ditches and flooded areas of forest.

We also saw the fawn lilies. The first few are out with their delicate stalks and lovely hanging flowers. There were also a few trilliums, not many, but enough to convince us that spring has come.