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04/16/15 - Barnes Creek

We've been getting out to the Marymere Falls a fair bit lately. This time we decided to head up Barnes Creek a bit and see how spring is progressing in the valley. The whole area is a riot of green with the trees, ferns, mosses and undergrowth all contributing to the wild forest scene. There were also trilliums in bloom, another sign of the season. If you do get out to the falls, consider following the creek a bit and checking out the spring scenery.

A trillium

A moss covered rock

The green scene

A little waterfall along the trail

That waterfall again

More green

Another trillium

Barnes Creek

Yet more trilliums

Another view of the creek

And another

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls, spring, trillium


03/23/15 - A Sunny Day at Barnes Creek

One of the great things about visiting Marymere Falls on a sunny day is the way that brilliant sunlight filters to the forest floor making it look like an exotic jeweled jungle. We almost expect to see an allosaurus or triceratops dashing through the ferns and foliage. The falls are pretty too.

Right out of a museum diorama

A view down

Barnes Creek with sun on the water

A side stream from the falls

Yes, heartwood really is that lurid purple color.

More jungle

An obligatory picture of the falls

Keywords: marymere falls


02/11/15 - Marymere Falls

We recently went out to Marymere Falls to stretch our legs and see how our winter rains have been affecting the falls and Barnes Creek. Well, there was lots of water, but there were also a lot of downed and damaged trees. Even before we could hear the creek, we started noticing the winter's toll on the forest.

One tree split vertically, with half remaining upright while the other half had fallen across the trail. The park service had cleared the trail, cutting out a section of the fallen tree. We stopped to take a closer look, because the inner wood of the fallen tree looked particularly smooth and fine grained. It was heartwood. It has a different look, a different feel and even a different sound when struck, as opposed to the younger wood in the outer layers of the tree. We could even see the color gradient as the outer layers were paler, almost yellow, but the inner layers were increasingly dark before turning into heartwood.

There was also lots of flowing water. Marymere Falls was in full spate. Click on the picture to check out the movie. Barnes Creek was roaring. This is a great time to check out Marymere Falls.


Marymere Falls - Click the picture for a video.

Barnes Creek

The rainforest

Tree damage

The park service at work

An old stump shattered

Rain drops - They add up.

Heartwood - Note the color gradient from the outside in.

The split tree

Barnes Creek

More tree damage

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls, winter


01/17/15 - Marymere Falls

We were out at Barnes Creek and checked out Marymere Falls. Often in the winter the falls are surrounded by an array of ice crystals in spectacular patterns, but we've been having a warm winter, so all we saw were the falls. We took a slow motion video with our phone camera. Click on the picture of the falls to play it.

We took the usual Marymere Falls circuit, no climb up to Storm King for us today, but we did wander a bit up Barnes Creek proper and enjoyed the views of the creek and the walk through the forest. We went as far as a little waterfall right along the trail.


A bald eagle perching en route to Barnes Creek

Click the image for a slow motion view of Marymere Falls.

Sunny day

A little waterfall

Water below

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls, winter, waterfall, eagle


05/12/14 - A Short Way Up Barnes Creek

When we head out to the Barnes Creek area on Lake Crescent, we usually just take the loop up to Marymere Falls. This time we were more energetic and went a ways up Barnes Creek proper. There was a lot of water in the creek, and we really got to appreciate just how much of a wonderful rain forest there is in the area.

We also got to see the new bridge over the creek. It's a bit more rustic than the bridge it replaces. It's just a big log with a single railing attached on one side of it, but it looks passable. We might even try it if our general clumsiness and associated fear of heights doesn't stop us. Oh, and did we mention trilliums?


Marymere Falls - We did stop for a look.

Trilliums

More trilliums

One of the side streams

The creek

Rain forest

Another little side stream

Another view of Barnes Creek, blue against the green of the forest

More of the creek

The new bridge

The new bridge has just one railing.

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls, trillium


02/01/14 - Marymere Falls - Rainforest for Rainy Days

The skies this winter have been rain skies with gray clouds and a menacing air. That's perfect weather for exploring, of all places, the rainforest. We checked out Marymere Falls. It's a perfect threatening-rain hike, just 45 minutes, so one can dash back to the car if the heavens open.

The falls

A classic national park stairway

Logs in Barnes Creek

Keywords: marymere falls, weather, winter


11/27/13 - More Signs of WInter

We were out at Barnes Creek to check out Marymere Falls. It was a cold day, and the sun was low. The falls weren't surrounded by frost the way they sometimes are in the winter, but there was frost on logs, on ferns and on the salal near the parking lot.

The unfrozen falls

Frost on logs

Frost on logs and the river bank

Frost on ferns

More frost on ferns

The frozen rain forest

Frost and the river

Frost near the parking lot

More frost

Frost on - well, we aren't sure

A dangerous stretch of route 101 - Here be black ice in winter.

Keywords: barnes creek, winter, marymere falls


10/01/13 - Marymere Falls

We were lazy today, so we took a short hike at Marymere Falls which flows into Barnes Creek not far from the south shore of Lake Crescent. Despite the government shutdown, the Barnes Creek parking lot was open, though the ranger station and bathrooms were closed. The rain forest and the river, however, were in full operation and, with today's peep of sunlight, quite beautiful.

We have never seen Marymere Falls so full and flowing, even at the peak of spring melt. The recent rains have filled the watershed, and the falls put on a real show in consequence. You can even check the video (Play), as seeing is believing.

We saw a bit of snow on the higher peaks over the Barnes Creek valley, but the real snow is in the high country. Hurricane Ridge reports ten inches of snow, most of it fallen in the last day or two. Winter has come early this year, so barring a pineapple express, we may not be up on the ridge until the snowshoe and ski season starts.










Keywords: barnes creek, high country, lake crescent, winter, marymere falls


02/27/13 - Marymere Falls

We've been recovering from a cold, or perhaps a pair of colds, one for each of us. It's probably the same thing everyone else seems to have or has gotten over, but it has slowed us down. Marymere Falls is a great hike for someone getting over a cold, but not quite back to full strength. It's not a very long hike, maybe 45 minutes, and there is some climbing, but not all that much. The hike passes through rain forest and along Barnes Creek, as well as to the eponymous falls, so there is plenty of moisture which is good for the sinuses.

We weren't disappointed. The Barnes Creek Valley is pretty dark in the winter, so some years the snow falls and stays. This year, the snows melted quickly, so the hike was easy going. The river was running briskly, and the falls were going full force. We panted and wheezed and coughed our way up to the lower and upper overlooks and spent some time enjoying the falling water. Then we made our way back.

As we said earlier, it wasn't much of a hike, but it was more than sitting around the house coughing and wheezing.


Snow above (on Mount Storm King)

Marymere Falls

More snow above

Rain forest down below

Barnes Creek

More rain forest

More rain forest

Keywords: barnes creek, winter, marymere falls


08/29/12 - Storm King - A Little Bit Goes A Long Way

We weren't up to much, but we needed to get out and do something, so we planned a hike along Barnes Creek, but wound up climbing nearly 500 feet up Mount Storm King. That's not really that impressive, as it's 1350 feet to the overlook, but it was more than we had intended. We also walked a bit along Barnes Creek, but by this time we were too exhausted from our climb to go far.

It's easy to drive along the south shore of Lake Crescent and do nothing but admire the scenery, but it is well worth pulling into the Barnes Creek parking lot and exploring the area. The lodge is there, if you are planning to spend the night, and there's a boat ramp if you happen to have a boat on hand, but there is also the Barnes Creek trail. Most people take it to see Marymere Falls. We do often, but there are two other trails there. One heads south along Barnes Creek while the other heads up Mount Storm King. The latter is a brutal climb, but well worth it if you have the stamina to climb 1350 feet to the overlook which offers views of Pyramid Peak, the Strait of San Juan de Fuca and Canada beyond.

Well, we didn't have quite the necessary stamina, but we had a great workout, and the scenery was terrific.


This little buck was climbing a log beside the trail.

Madronas in the rain forest

The trail - It is steeper than it looks.



Barnes Creek

Another view of Barnes Creek and an argument for HDRI (high dynamic range imagery)

Keywords: barnes creek, lake crescent, storm king, trails, marymere falls


01/24/11 - Marymere Falls

Marymere Falls is one of our "too lazy" hikes. It's about 45 minutes round trip, including gawking at the falls. As usual in the winter, the falls were roaring. See the arty pseudo-panorama to the right. Eventually, they'll get cameras for taking pictures of stuff like this, but for now we can be arty.

The top of the falls

The full falls

Middle falls

One of the side waterfalls

The bottom of the falls

Barnes Creek down below

The new bridge over Barnes Creek

Keywords: barnes creek, winter, panoramas, marymere falls, waterfall


10/20/10 - New Bridge at Barnes Creek

If you've been to Marymere Falls lately, you'll remember that the foot bridge over Barnes Creek was starting to go. The log itself was twisting and the surface matting, necessary for traction, rusting away.

Well, that old bridge is gone, and a new metal truss bridge now spans Barnes Creek. It is quite a change from the old one. The walk from the parking area to Marymere Falls always reminds of Adventure Land. There's the tunnel under the road, the forest full of great trees, the little beach by the river side, a bridge over the creek and another with a view of the falls, then the crazy twisting pathway up among the tree roots to the falls themselves. It's not a particularly long walk, but there's a lot of outdoorsy stuff packed into it.


The new bridge and its proud construction team.

The bridge as seen from the little beach

Tree roots holding up the mountainside

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls


12/05/09 - Marymere Falls

This is a good time of year to check out Marymere Falls at Barnes Creek. The valley is cold, and the river is wild. The falls themselves are in full flow.





Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls



01/28/09 - Marymere Falls On Ice

We were at Marymere Falls for the first time in a while. The day was cold and there was snow on the ground. The waterfall was framed with ice as droplets of water splashed and froze as they hit the cold. Now and then a chunk of ice would break free, but otherwise all we could hear was the roar of the falls.

Keywords: lake crescent, winter, barnes creek, marymere falls, waterfall


10/01/06 - Tree Falls In Forest

We braved the climb at Storm King the other day. This is a hard hike, up 1350 feet from the Marymere Falls trail at Barnes Creek, and much like climbing a staircase, but the view from the overlook was stupendous. You can see Vancouver Island to the north, and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca full of sea fog.

There were a number of downed trees, though the Park Service has cleared the trail nicely. One of the most spectacular of the downed trees had fallen across the trail, and someone had counted the rings of its four or five foot cross section. You can see the cross section below and the fallen tree as seen from the trail above to the lower right.

Cross section of fallen tree at Storm King

Keywords: storm king, barnes creek, marymere falls


View from Storm King

01/08/06 - The View From Storm King

Every so often we steel ourselves and drive out to the Barnes Creek area of Lake Crescent and climb Storm King. Storm King is one of the taller mountains on the south side of the lake, and it often creates its own rainshadow. Actually, we don't climb all the way to the top of Storm King. You need technical equipment, and a lot more oomph than we have, to do that. We climb about 1500 feet to the lookout to get a view of Lake Crescent and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. That's Pyramid Peak across the lake in the picture to the left.

On a damp day like this, the trail has good traction. Usually, it is rather dusty, so it is easy to go skidding down in a wave of dust and gravel. Barnes Creek was full of water, and if we had had the strength we would have gone over and checked out Marymere Falls. We did take a short video of Barnes Creek, which might be fun to watch if you like to watch running water.

 

Keywords: storm king, trails, lake crescent, barnes creek, marymere falls


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