Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: autumn, Page: 1

Older Entries

09/26/18 - Dungeness Spit to the Lighthouse We are getting into the autumn tides which make it hard to get out to the Dungeness Spit. The walk takes from three to four hours, and when the tide is above three feet, it can be rough going. We managed to catch a good tide in late September and, much to our surprise, made it all the way out to the lighthouse for a ten mile round trip walk. As usual, the spit was hypnotic. It's a long narrow strip of beach that just heads out to sea. On one side of the path is Strait of San Juan de Fuca and on the other side there is a low rise decorated with driftwood and beach shrubs. The best walking is down towards the water. Above there is sand, rocks and pebbles.	An overview of Dungeness Spit
A hypnotic walk	More of the spit
Beach life	The bay protected by the spit
The lighthouse in the distance	The lighthouse as we approached
The spit on our return walk	Ribsy - one of our landmarks, about a mile out

Keywords: autumn, dungeness spit, tides

11/19/17 - Elwha River and Madison Falls Olympic Hot Springs Road along the Elwha has been closed at Madison Falls again. This time because of flooding. We took a walk up along the road. Indeed, there was a stretch of it under water. We made the most of our wandering and got some nice views of the river. We also checked out Madison Falls. This has been a wet autumn.

Keywords: autumn, elwha, olympic hot springs

11/15/17 - Lake Angeles Trail Rains The autumn rains have come. We took a rainy day walk up the Lake Angeles Trail. We only made it to the bridge about 700 feet above the parking lot, but, en route, we saw a host of waterfalls, signs of rain and a squirrel.	Water under the bridge
A small cascade	Tree trunk and friends
The trail was a river.	A squirrel
Fresh wood	Signs of rain
Water from the earth	Another view
More water on the trail	Rapids

Keywords: autumn, lake angeles, waterfall

10/12/17 - Fall Colors on Hurricane Hill The rainy season starts in the fall. That means autumn color and the start of the rainy season. The brilliant, almost crystalline summer sky is replaced by a sky of clouds and mists. Rivers of cloud snake their way through the river valleys and drape the mountain sides. The snows many come at any time and close the roads to the high country, so we try to get up as often as we can while we can.	Mountains and autumn haze
Some color	Mount Baker from afar
Port Angeles from above	Another mountain view
Snow on the north face	The season of the misty mountains and golden grasses
More golden fields	More grasses

Keywords: autumn, high country, hurricane hill

10/01/17 - Marmots on Hurricane Hill We've been watching autumn end and winter arrive on the Hurricane Hill trail. It has been hard not to notice all the new snow on Mount Olympus and the other great mountains for the Olympics. The grasses have turned golden and the marmots are out taking advantage of the late harvest to fatten up for winter.	A mountain view
More snow already	The fields below
Golden marmots ...	... in golden grasses
Autumn colors	Another marmot
Yet another marmot	It was like a marmot conference.
Another mountain view	A last harebell

Keywords: autumn, hurricane hill, marmots, winter

01/17/17 - Dungeness Spit - The New Year The Dungeness Spit is a five mile long sand spit that juts out into the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. It's basically a beach without anything inland. Unlike the littoral beaches of the east coast that parallel the mainland, the spit heads away from land and then turns east. Hiking the spit is always an otherworldly experience. There is salt water on either side and just a long, wild beach littered with driftwood that runs for miles. There are spectacular views of the the San Juan Islands, the Olympic Mountains and often the Cascades. Otherwise, it is sky and salt water. The spit varies greatly with the tide. The gap between low tide and high tide is often six feet of water. At low tide the beach can be broad and easy going. At high tide it is narrow, just a bit of sand and lots of driftwood to clamber over. In the autumn, the tides make hiking the spit difficult. There are some nice low tides, but only at night, but as winter sets in, the low tides cycle into daylight. By early February there are long low tides, under three feet, right in the middle of the day, so we expect to visit the spit more often as the season progresses.	A winter sky
More winter sky and driftwood	Definitely driftwood
The Olympic Mountains as seen from the sea	Another sand and sky picture
Rocks and driftwood	The spit from the climb out

Keywords: autumn, beaches, dungeness spit, winter

10/05/16 - Late Season Hurricane Hill The Hurricane Hill trail may only be open for another few weeks, so we’ve been heading up there to enjoy the autumn colors. They aren’t as spectacular as the brilliant red of the Fields of Mars out at Obstruction Point, but they nicely mark the season.	The last rose
More snow in the mountains	Fading colors
The side spur	Fields of gold
Another late fall view	Yet another field
Still some red below	Autumn colors
Where the red and orange come from	Late season yarrow

Keywords: autumn, hurricane hill

10/23/15 - Autumn Phlox at Hurricane Hill This has been a strange year. We hiked up to Hurricane Hill the other day and couldn't help noticing that there was phlox blooming by the trailside. Phlox are usually one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring, not long after the snows have melted, so seeing it in the autumn was a surprise. There was enough of it to scent the air here and there. As we said, this has been a strange year.	Phlox in bloom
A real surprise	Also, a dramatic mushroom
The scenery is getting paler.	The view
A bit of frost in the shade	Still some color here
More snow in the distant mountains	A last harebell
More phlox	Pine cones

Keywords: autumn, flowers, hurricane hill, spring, trails

11/06/14 - Whiskey Bend and the Elwha We took a short walk from Whiskey Bend down to the Elwha River. Despite the recent rains, the river is far from flooded, but the trail was pretty. The foliage color is nothing like the glory of a New England autumn, but we could see definite signs of fall. We also saw the new viewing station for the river where the old dam used to be.	A bit of autumn color
A bit more autumn color - still kind of subtle	Trees and late season light
The Elwha	A bit of snow on the foothills
Whiskey Bend Road - It's not that scary.	The new viewing area where the old dam was

Keywords: autumn, elwha

09/15/14 - To The Lighthouse The walk out to the the Dungeness Light is one of the amazing hikes of the North Olympic Peninsula. It's not completely obvious from the pictures, but it's a walk out to sea along a narrow strip of land. There is salt water on either side, but one walks for miles along the outer beach as it curves away from the mountains and out into the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. We've been watching the tides at Dungeness Spit. There is usually a period from mid-autumn into mid-winter when the tides are just too high during the day to hike all the way out to the lighthouse without pulling oneself across soft sand and clambering over driftwood. Worse, during the winter, the sand washes away leaving a rocky beach behind. We decided to take advantage of this prime hiking time for our hike. As you can see in the photos, we made it to the light. We did the full ten mile round trip in excellent time, well under four hours, thanks to a sandy beach and beautiful weather. We kept an eye on the sea and saw seals, seagulls, plovers, and sea ducks. The sky really was as blue as in the photos. Our next chance is not until February, and then only if the spit has some sand. Otherwise, it might not be until next summer.	The Dungeness Light
The curving spit	Our first view of the light
Beach flowers	A common flower
On the way back, mountains	A plover
More mountains and sea	Driftwood fashioned into a shelter

Keywords: autumn, ducks, dungeness spit, flowers, tides

09/12/14 - Fall Colors at Obstruction Point We always like the Lilian Ridge hike out of Obstruction Point in the autumn. In truth, this hike has its charms in every season, but in the fall the wild, high country foliage starts changing color. There are bright yellows, pale silvers, and some amazing brilliant reds. The high country is exotic enough, but sometimes we feel like we are on another world, hiking the bright red plains of Mars.	Bright reds set off by deep summer greens
One of the many crickets about	More brilliant red
Red fields and red stairs	More early autumn color
A few last harebells	Cedums and dried flowers
More alpine flowers	A patch of red
Red grasses	More red fields

Keywords: autumn, high country, obstruction point

01/10/14 - Dungeness Spit The autumn tides at Dungeness Spit are terrible for hikers. The day time low tides are often as high as the high tides which leaves just a narrow strip of rocky, gritty beach for walking. Winter, however, is different. Already, we are getting real low tides during daylight hours, and unlike some winters where most of the sand gets washed out to sea, this year there is a fair bit of sand which makes for good footing. We haven't made it all the way out to the lighthouse yet, but anything is possible in the new year.	A very clear view of Mount Baker
The tide was out and the beach was walkable	An even better view of the mountain
The Cascades to the north, beyond the San Juans	The view south, the Olympic Mountains

Keywords: autumn, dungeness spit, tides, winter

10/20/13 - Olympic National Park Is Open Again - Hurricane Hill The park is open again, and about time. As soon as we got the word, we were heading up Hurricane Ridge Road, and we weren't alone. There was a short line up at the entry station and a short wait where they are still repairing the tunnels, but it didn't take us long to return to the high country. Hurricane Hill was spectacular. There are a few spots of snow on the ground, but the trails were clear and the air almost crystaline. The grasses are turning golden brown. It was only two weeks, but it was way too long.	The fields are golden brown
More color, more mountains	A spot of snow below
That snow on the north face is there until next summer.	The side spur
The Strait of San Juan de Fuca	A view north
Golden hills	Some autumn color
Fields, snow and mountains	Mount Baker, a distant meringue

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, autumn, trails

10/15/13 - Salmon Homecoming on the Dungeness River

This is the season that the salmon come home to the rivers to spawn and die. It's great news for the fishermen, and for salmon in general, but not so much for the fish themselves. We noticed the scent near the Dungeness Dike parking area on Towne Road. The lot was full of fishermen, or rather, their trucks with their permits in the window. The fishermen themselves were out along the river.

One always hears of the great salmon homecoming adventure with heroic tales and desperate struggles upstream. Indeed, the river was full of fish fighting their way against the current. There were also the predators, mostly gulls, of course, and the above mentioned fishermen. It is most definitely autumn, with the leaves starting to turn and nature itself lush, but preparing for the frost.

A side channel full of fish

A silver salmon

A closeup of salmon fighting upstream

The silver river

An early autumn field

Keywords: autumn, dungeness, salmon

09/13/13 - Obstruction Point Autumn is coming to Obstruction Point. It is always dry at the end of Obstruction Point Road, and the high country is always wild and open here. Already, the foliage has started to turn red, so part of our hike feels like crossing the Plains of Mars.	Another view of the mountains - We will miss them when the hiking season ends.
The Plains of Mars	Striking red foliage
Red fields and mountains	More of the plains
High country, dry country	Still some melting snow
Resin on the pine cones	Mountains and another lake
Harebells	We call these mock dandelions, but we're sure no on else does.

Keywords: autumn, high country, obstruction point

10/22/12 - Port Angeles Farmers' Market Report We had a very slow summer this year with just about everything coming in late, but now the market is in its harvest bloom with the autumn squashes, chard, potatoes, carrots, cabbages and the like coming. There are a few summer treats, like tomatoes, left, but this may have been their last week. Farmers' markets are about reflecting the seasons, so we are welcoming autumn and its bounty.	Johnston Farm potatoes
Johnston Farm squash	Nash Huber's stand, as pretty as ever
The Korean Garlic Lady's stand (That's not her.)	Clark Farms was selling sausages. We really liked the brats and kielbasa. They were lean and delcious.

Keywords: autumn, farmers' market

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

10/14/12 - Elderberries

With the drought this year, we weren't sure if the elderberries near mile 13 of Hurricane Ridge Road would ripen. Well, they did, and they're looking pretty good. If you do stop to admire them, keep a weather eye on your rear view mirror. There's a lot to look at on the road to the ridge, so keep your eyes open.

Some ripe elderberries

Keywords: hurricane ridge, autumn

10/10/12 - Late Season Klahane Ridge Climbing the Switchback Trail to Klahane Ridge is always special this time of year. The intense mountain light comes in at a lower angle, so shadows and contrasts are much darker and stronger. The vegetation has turned from green to gold, and everything seems to sparkle in the thin air.	Standing stones
Mount Angeles and the last bit of snow	Dark castles
High castles	The dusty trail
Golden meadows	More of the trail
Fading green	A distant stream through a golden meadow

Keywords: klahane ridge, autumn

11/13/11 - Port Angeles Farmers Market Report The autumn market is here. There are potatoes, in red, brown and blue, squashes, pumpkins, celery, lacinato kale, garlic, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, baby turnips, bok choy, savoy cabbage and all of our fall favorites. The four stalwarts, Nash Huber, Westwind Farm, Johnston Farm and the Korean garlic lady are all there along with a number of other sellers. It isn't just vegetables either. You can also buy beef, pork, lamb, cheese, salmon, halibut, steelhead, oysters, bread, and an array of seasonal mushrooms. If you search a bit, you can find a last few tomatoes, arugula, coriander and a few other hold outs, but the cold weather is coming. Don't miss out on the prime of the harvest. Drop by the Port Angeles Farmers' Market this coming Saturday.

Keywords: autumn, farmers' market, johnston farm, nash huber, oysters, port angeles, salmon, weather, westwind farm, garlic lady, kale

Older Entries