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06/14/09 - Angelcrest Farm

We recently needed a new hanging basket, so we stopped at Angelcrest Farm on route 112, west of Port Angeles. We had driven by quite a few times, but never had occasion to stop in. Now we had an excuse, and we were well rewarded. They had a great variety of hanging baskets, and a good selection of plants on sale. We bought a white fuschia, and we plan to return.



Keywords: port angeles, farms, flowers

06/12/09 - The Marmots of Hurricane Hill

Not only is the trail to Hurricane Hill nearly free of snow, but there are a number of golden marmots there including a baby. The flowers are all in bloom, so this is the time to go.

A marmot at the summit

View from the hill

Lingering snow on the north slope

The trail is lined with phlox.

Another view

The flowers are out.

Flowers from the stone

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, marmots

06/11/09 - Pacific Dogwood and Tiarella

Pacific dogwood and tiarella are blooming along the lower parts of the Lake Angeles Trail. Only a few trilliums are left, but a new season has started.



Keywords: lake angeles, flowers, trillium

06/06/09 - Hurricane Hill

We haven't made it all the way up Hurricane Hill, but we have been making progress. The road from the lodge at Hurricane Ridge to the trailhead for the Hurricane Hill hike is still closed, though most of the snow has melted. The road isn't in very good shape, so the park service may be reluctant to use their heavy plows on it. So, we hiked from the lodge the to the trailhead and then a fair ways uphill.

Our efforts were well rewarded. The high country flowers are coming out in spades. The trail is lined with phlox, lupine spikes, glacier and avalanche lilies, paintbrush and a host of other flowers we haven't bothered to look up yet. Even with a stuffed nose, we couldn't miss the sweet scent of the phlox. We usually aren't big on sneak previews, but this year looks like a great year for the flowers on the Hurricane Hill trail.

Phlox in the rock garden

We aren't sure of what this plant is, but that butterfly seemed to like it.

Lupines and paintbrush

Some deer in silhouette

This is where we turned around. This is usually the last part of the trail to melt, so if we had pushed on we could have made it to the summit.

Glacier lilies - Look closely and you'll see a small blue butterfly.

An avalanche lily

Mushrooms seem to be doing well this year.

The view - The mountains seem to have made it through another winter.

Keywords: flowers, high country, hurricane hill, hurricane ridge, spring

06/03/09 - First Climb To Klahane Ridge For 2009

We made it up to Klahane Ridge today. Thanks to the warm spring weather, most of the snow on the trail has melted, and even we, the Klumsy Kalebergs, managed to make it up the Switchback Trail to the ridge. There was some snow on the trail, but we managed to clamber through it with our trusty Yak Trax. At this rate of melt, if you tried the trail tomorrow, you'd wonder what all our fuss was about.

The trail was lined with furious alpine growth, and there were already some summer flowers, including avalanche lilies, lupines, and wonderfully scented phlox. The views were stupendous, and even as we climbed, we could sense the snow melting. On our way down, we noticed that the band of snow nestled in the corner of Mount Angeles was melting into a series of cascades. The high country is open, and the Switchback Trail is as spectacular as ever.

The trail and the mountains

Phlox in the foreground, Sunrise Point in the mid-ground and the Olympic Mountains in the background

North slope, south slope

More mountains, of all things

Port Angeles and the Strait below

The ridge and the mountains

A mushroom

An avalanche lily

Lupines

The snow melting - Click to enlarge, and you can see the waterfalls.

The band of snow

Keywords: flowers, high country, klahane ridge, spring, kale, waterfall

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

04/30/09 - Elwha Update

Spring is coming to the Elwha Trail which starts at Whiskey Bend. There are more people, more trilliums and even some other flowers around. The male grouse are lekking, setting up bachelor pads to attract les femmes. Their deep, booming cry, almost a glottal stop, apparently does something for the ladies. There must be a good number of grouse about judging from the sound of things.

An obligatory trillium shot

Looking downstream

A local orchid

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring, trillium, grouse

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

10/07/08 - Enterprise Rent A Car Park, Follow Up

We wrote to Enterprise about their little park near Seatac airport, and here is the response we received:
Thank you for your inquiry. Officially, we call our park a Japanese Rock Garden. We wanted to beautify the un-useable area infront of our business, so we developed this area into the garden about 3 years ago. Thank you for noticing our efforts improve the Sea-Tac strip, and I hope you continue to enjoy it!
It was nice to get such a good answer so quickly. Then again, we've always had good luck when dealing with Enterprise Rent A Car. We won't suggest taking a trip to Seattle just to see this park, but it is worth a peek if you are in the area.

Keywords: seattle, flowers

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

It wasn't much of a snow by mountain standards. Last year we had over 40 feet, and the record fall was over 60 back in 1999. It was just a dusting, but it was enough to set off the autumn colors, and enhance the other worldly beauty of the mountains.











Keywords: autumn, flowers, high country, hurricane hill

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

There was a dusting of snow in the hills the other night. When we woke up there was a fresh coat of snow on the mountains. We weren't sure if we could get up to Hurricane Hill, but we called 360 565 3131. They had the update from the previous afternoon. The webcam had been down since around 4:30 on Saturday. A little after nine we got the word. The road was open, so we set out for the high country.

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.











Keywords: autumn, flowers, high country, hurricane hill

10/04/08 - Enterprise Rent A Car Park

When we stay near Seatac airport in Seattle we often walk by a small vest pocket park on International Boulevard near 190th Street. There is a big Enterprise Rent A Car sign, a driveway and this park surrounded by a high metal fence. International Boulevard is the main airport strip, so it is mainly hotels, fast food restaurants, convenience stores, long term parking lots and the like. None of this is much to look at, but Enterprise has this peaceful looking little park, right on the main drag. In fact, their main operation is a half a block down that driveway, which might have something to do with this little park. Granted, we have never seen anyone in this park, and we can't figure out how to get in ourselves without the key or climbing the fence, but it still offers an oasis of calm and peace, right along the main frenetic drag.

A place of peace, kind of

Keywords: seattle, flowers

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

We really appreciate the the Hurricane Ridge webcam. Even when the weather is cloudy and rainy down in town, it is often quite nice up at the ridge. Without the webcam, there is no way to tell, but with the webcam, we often decide to drive a mile up and above the clouds to get some sun in the Olympic Mountains.

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.

Some final summer flowers and early autumn color

One of many blue grouses (grice)

Another blue grouse

Autumn color and a sea of clouds

Mount Olympus (we think)

The sea of clouds

Brilliant colors

Keywords: autumn, flowers, hurricane hill, birds, grouse

09/02/08 - Klahane Ridge and The "Kick In The Ass"

There are several ways to get to Klahane Ridge. One way is to start at the Hurricane Ridge Lodge and head along the trail via Sunrise Peak. Another way is to come up from the Heart of the Hills Trailhead, either via Lake Angeles or Heather Park. The way we usually get there is from the Switchback Trail from a crook in Hurricane Ridge Road. You can also die and go to heaven.

This year the Switchback Trail has been open and closed. Sometimes the parking lot is simply closed. Sometimes it is open, but you have to share your parking spot with a big pile of gravel. Other times, such as this Labor Day, it was open. We took the trail up, watching the sea clouds heading up and inland, and hoping that we would reach the ridge before our view was spoiled. We made good time, and were rewarded with a spectacular view of Mount Olympus to the south. To the north, there were clouds, but we could see the bowl of the mountain below us with only a few patches of snow remaining.

The flowers are heading towards autumn, with more asters, yarrows and possibly coreopsis. We wanted more, so we went for what one hiker called the "kick in the ass". We took the trail towards Lake Angeles, which heads up about 150 feet, before it begins its 2000 foot descent. This trail heads along the open ridge face for a ways, then it passes through "the gate", along a magic carpet of what appear to be frosted plants, and then through a second rocky "gate" to the high castle. This area is always slow to thaw and early to freeze, so here, the lupines lingered in masses among the eerie stones.

There are views north and south, and a bit past the "castle" there is an overlook of the bowl of Klahane Ridge. Shortly after here, the trail begins its descent in earnest. We weren't quite that earnest, so we turned back. It was afternoon, and the view was getting cloudier. Mist ran across the trail, hiding trees, and playing games. Then came the sun again, as the mist blew by. By the time we returned to the parking lot, the trail looked sunny and clear again, ready with its spectacular views for another group of hikers.

Lupines were still blooming in the "castle".

A magic carpet

One of many rock gardens

Mount Angeles and some lingering snow

A caterpillar and quite a big one

Insouciant


Keywords: autumn, flowers, klahane ridge, lake angeles

08/31/08 - Hurricane Hill

We were up on Hurricane Hill, looking for the last signs of summer and the first signs of autumn. We found both. There were patches of late blooming lupines, a blue grouse, and corn lilies, but there were also the seed pods, asters and golden grasses of fall.

We were pleased to see that the corn lilies were in bloom. We had been up on Hurricane Hill earlier in the year, but with the road reconstruction and rain, we had not been up for a while. We were afraid that we would miss their subtle green blossoms. As you can see in our photo, we had time to spare. There is something to be said for a cool summer.

The scenery, as usual, was spectacular.

The grasses are turning golden.

Lupines are still around, if you know where to look.

These are the late season flowers in late season colors.

Pink paintbrush of summer

The corn lilies are in bloom.

A corn lily flower

Fall flowers and mysterious shrouds

White eyed lupine

Another mysterious shroud

A blue grouse

Keywords: autumn, flowers, hurricane hill, summer, grouse

07/22/08 - Lake Angeles, At Last

We never made it all the way up to Lake Angeles in 2007, so we were determined to do so this year. Our early attempts were blocked by fallen trees, particularly a long stretch just after the stream crossing. Now that those trees have been cleared by our noble park service, we can report success. The Kalebergs have landed, or something.

The climb was 2380' from the parking lot to the camp site by the lake. There were a few downed trees in the camp site, but we managed to get to the lake. The lake is in a deep bowl surrounded by mountains, so the views of the high ridges above were spectacular. These photos do not do it justice. We waded into the lake a bit. The water was quite cold which was not surprising for a lake fed by melting snow. Though most of the snow has melted, we could still see patches of it, and waterfalls of icy water making their way lakeward.




Downed trees at the Lake Angeles camp site

Indian pipes

Keywords: lake angeles, flowers, kale, waterfall

07/18/08 - Hurricane Hill Update

This is just a quick update on Hurricane Hill. It has been a spectacular year for flowers. The phlox is passing, but the roses are out and the corn lilies are getting ready. As for the trail, the snow is gone, and the views are amazing.

There is no more snow on the trail. Just two weeks ago there was over a foot of snow here.

The hanging gardens are near their peak.

You can't get away from the lupines.

Even more lupines

We aren't sure what these are, but they are pretty.

The roses are out.

The corn lilies are not blooming yet, but they show promise.

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill

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