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06/24/24 - Little River Trail

We didn't get very far on the Little River Trail, just to the "healing pools", a section of the trail where it is easy to get down to the river and wade. The cold water does wonders for one's feet. Along the way, the spring flowers had given way to the summer flowers. There were trilliums with their pods but no flowers, but the blood root and Pacific dogwood were in bloom.

A bit of the trail

Bloodroot

Can you spot the trilliums without their flowers?

Another bit of trail with a nurse log

More of the trail

Pacific dogwood

More dogwood

Even more dogwood

Down by the Little River

Another bit of the river

A huge trillium

A bit of a robin's egg

One of the "canyons"

Keywords: flowers, little river, spring, summer, trilliums

06/22/24 - Dungeness Highlands

If you park at the Dungeness Spit parking lot, odds are you are going to head down to the Dungeness Spit, but you might consider staying up in the highlands and following the bluffs and the trails for some spectacular mountain views. It's summer, so the fields are changing color, and the spring flowers are past. It's another easy walk, and a good place to explore if you can't get far on the spit during high tide.

There are a lot of little birds, but they are usually not as easy to see as this one.

Mountain view

Poppies

The thicket is always so inviting in the summer.

One of the fields

Another field

The trail

A peek at the mountains

A field of a different color

Old trees by the strait

Twisted trees line the bluffs

Keywords: dungeness, flowers, spring, summer, trails

06/22/23 - Little River Trail

With the Hurricane Ridge Road still closed, we took a hike along the Little River Trail. It was our usual hike to the second log bridge. It's another summer hike with the trees full of leaves and the vegetation lush. It always gets better when the trail leaves DNR land and enters the national park. That's shortly before the trail descends to the river which was flowing nicely this time of year.

Early on the trail, in DNR land

Our first Pacific dogwood

The little bridge

Bloodroot

More dogwood

Close up Pacific dogwood

Even more

The Little River

A log over the river

False Solomon's seal, past bloom

Light and dark

Rough stone

One of the log bridges

Blue water

Another look at the Little River

The river IS one of the highlights of this trail.

Looking down at the river

Lush green forest

A piece of the trail

Devil's claw

A caterpillar - We saw a fair number of these.

Keywords: little river, summer

06/16/23 - Butterfly Season

We hiked from Madison Falls to the Altair Bridge over the Elwha River. It's basically summer now, so we're watching the elderberry flowers, and we can't help but notice all the swallowtail butterflies. This is a great year for them.

Turk's cap lilies

The summer forest

Along the trail

Paintbrush - a summer flower

More summer flowers

More of the trail, very green now

Elderberry flowers

A glimpse of the Elwha

Trilliums and tiarella past bloom

Yet another stretch of trail

A proper view of the Elwha

From the Altair Bridge looking north

From the bridge looking south

A butterfly showing off

Still showing off

Visiting a turk's cap lily

Close up

Keywords: elwha, flowers, summer

09/17/22 - A Little Surprise on the Little River

We hiked the Little River Trail for a ways. It goes all the way up to the Hurricane Hill Trail, and we are never going to hike that far. It's late summer, so we kept our eyes open. To our surprise, we saw a small frog beside the trail. Given the bright sunlight filtering through the thick foliage and the frog's excellent camouflage, it was a wonder that we could spot it. We also spotted some mushrooms and berries, and there was the Little River itself.

Along the trail

Can you spot the frog?

Somehow we did

Tree ears

Pacific dogwood berries

A battered but unbowed trillium

The Little River

Rapids

More of the river

A lone blue berry

An early Halloween decoration, a green skull

Another tree ear

False Solomon's seal berries

Keywords: little river, summer

09/01/22 - River Otters

The river otters were out in the strait on the Olympic Discovery Trail west of Morse Creek. We took a late summer walk, and it was nice to see them.

Late summer on the crumbling dike

Along the trail

Wonderful shade

An otter peeping up at us

An elusive otter or two - No photos!

Keywords: morse creek, otters, summer

08/05/22 - Hurricane Hill Yet Again

We got an early start on our most recent trip up Hurricane Hill, but even then, the trailhead parking lot was full and we got the last available spot at the nearer picnic area. We hadn't been up this way for a while. The season has been moving along. We missed all but a few lupines. The glacier and avalanche lilies are long gone, as were the phlox and larkspur. Instead, there were yarrows, harebells, roses and corn lilies.

It was a brilliant sunny day but cool. The trail was pretty easy going until the big climb just past where the Little River Trail ends. We huffed and puffed and pulled ourself up the mountain, past pine trees and then alpine fields. As usual, we were tricked by Marmot Rock. It really does look like a marmot, but we also so a number of marmots, a buck with velvet antlers and a sky full of ravens.


The Olympic Mountains

A marmot

Another marmot

Yet another marmot, dramatically posed

Ravens

A confused buck

A nearly hidden marmot

Alpine fields

Another view

Starbursts

Harebells

Alpine meadow mix

A rose among others

Corn lilies, also known as false hellebore

Corn lilies in bloom

Pink paintbrush

More harebells

A study in yellow

Mountains

A view to the northwest with a bit of snow left

The sidespur we took

Mountains and flowers

Zoomed in on the Olympic range

Keywords: hurricane hill, marmots, summer

Keywords: hurricane hill, marmots, summer

08/03/22 - Elwha to Altair

We hadn't hiked along the Elwha River for a few weeks, so we parked near Madison Falls and made our way up the road, past the mule camp, around behind the old campground via the detour, then along the old road past the ranger station to the Altair Bridge. That was far enough for us.

The scenery was summery. The spring flowers were gone. Now was the time of leafy green trees, berries and drying grasses. The river is still running briskly. We may or may not have seen fish in the water from the bridge, but we definitely had a wonderful view. We tasted a few thimbleberries, checked out the elderberry blossoms and said hello to the mules.

The Elwha River near the old campground

The summer trail

Summer forest

The trail in the summer

Trail through summer foliage

A forest bird

Enhanced and enlarged

That bird again

A better bird image

An elderberry tree

Some elderberry flowers

The blue Elwha

The Elwha downstream from the bridge

Thimbleberry bushes

Thimbleberries

The summer road

Dry grass - The green stuff is horestail.

More summer forest

More summer forest trail

The forest again, and some trees

The Elwha near Madison Falls

Keywords: elwha, summer

07/21/22 - Dungeness Dike

There are big changes along the Dungeness River down by Towne Road. The southern part of the old dike is gone, and a new road is coming through. We're taking advantage of what's left of the dike, and, now that it is summer, it's lush and overgrown. We spotted two eagles or perhaps the same eagle twice. It was a short walk, but a pretty one.

A sunflower at Chi's Farm on Towne Road near Old Olympic

Another sunflower

And another

The summer dike

Lush and overgrown

An eagle sighting

Some marshland

A bit of the river

More lush summer of foliage

The dike again

Another glimpse of the Dungeness River

An eagle above

Zoomed in a bit

Keywords: dungeness, eagle, summer

06/16/22 - Hurricane Hill - First Time

We made it up to Hurricane Hill for the first time this year. We've been watching the webcam and following the park road announcements. The road from the lodge opened maybe a week ago, so we got a moderately early start and headed up the hill. There are now two booths at the entry station, a result of last year's construction, which should help somewhat this summer. The road was busy, but we have seen it busier. The parking lot where the Hurricane Hill trail starts was full, and the lot at the closer picnic area was almost full. No one wanted to park in a huge puddle, almost an inland sea, that spanned three spaces, so we parked offshore. That's what hiking boots are for.

The hike itself was wonderful. The views of the mountains and glaciers were magnificent. There were glacier lilies out but no phlox yet. Most of the trail was clear, but the shady patch was still covered with snow. Once again, that's what hiking boots are for. The high country was beautiful with melting snow and fresh green. The marmots were out, still plump and eagerly chowing down on the greenery. It was good to see them after most of a year. The high country is open. Here's to a good hiking season.


Mountains and melting snow

The first segment of the trail, out in the sun

Those mountains again - Are they really that far away?

Weathered rock

The first marmot sentinel

Another marmot

That guy again on young grass

Another marmot on a hill

Yet another marmot

Almost summer, but the ground not yet green

A glacier lily

Another view

Mountains and clouds

The same mountains, a different sky

More glacier lilies and friends

A grayer sky

Another view

Yet another

The view north

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, marmots, summer

08/01/21 - Second Beach at Extreme Low Tide

There have been some extremely low tides out at Second Beach this summer. The beach only recently reopened to the public, so we took advantage of the reopening and a recent low tide to see the beach at its widest and head out to the sea stack that is usually an unreachable island.

We expected big crowds, but the trail and beach were relatively quiet. The Third Beach trailhead parking lot, in contrast, was overflowing. We hiked through the forest and descended to the beach. There is usually a driftwood barrier to clamber over, but the beach was clear this time. The driftwood had drifted elsewhere.

We made our way to the sea stack dry shod. It was great to see so many starfish. With the plague wiping out so many of them some years back and recent stories of sea creatures being cooked in their shells we expected the worst. There were starfish and a good many of them. It was far from the years before the plague, but they were not hard to find.

We explored the sea stack, its caves and its seaward side. Then we headed down the beach into the light mist. With an extreme negative tide like this, there was lots of beach and it was easy going. There were more starfish down near the cave at the end of the beach and anemones galore. We spent some time exploring here and then made our way back to the return forest trail.


The trail to Second Beach

No driftwood blocking the way

The hole in the wall towards La Push

The sea stack off shore

A welcome sight

More starfish

Even more starfish

Anemones

A starfish pool

Faint mist

More sea stacks

Pelicans or pterodactyls?

More pelicans

The beach

More starfish and friends

Tide pools

Even more starfish

Saying good bye to the sea stack

The trail back

Keywords: second beach, summer, third beach, tides

06/17/21 - Dungeness Spit

It is hard to walk the Dungeness Spit in the winter. The mid-day low tide is usually almost as high as its surrounding high tides, and the what there is of the beach lacks sand so progress is hard going. We're in the season of good tides now. Check the left hand side of this web page or our tide tables to find a good tide. Note that the lighthouse is closed for the duration, so no bathroom or running water. Still, this is the best time of year for the ten mile round trip hike.

The forest walk to the spit

The sea and clouds

Take off!

More sea and clouds

An eagle on the driftwood - Check inland now and then.

The view back to land, again mainly sea, sand and sky

A view from the climb out

The forest trail again

and again

Keywords: dungeness spit, tides, summer

06/16/21 - Summer Along the Elwha

It's summer along the Elwha River. The river is milky with snow melt and the water is running high. The foliage just about everywhere is green and thick, and we even saw a young fawn. We took our usual walk starting at Madison Falls and heading along the closed portion of Olympic Hot Springs Road. We took the detour around the old campground through the high ground and forest and emerged again on the road to the Altair bridge.

As usual, we went a bit beyond the road gate and looked for the waterfall across the river. We saw it, but, as usual this time of year, this meant a glimpse now and then revealed through the foliage. Eventually, we'll head on and check out the old dam overlook, but it's a two hour hike for us just to cross the bridge. Next time maybe.


The Elwha now running through the old campground

The Elwha as seen from the Altair bridge

Roses in bloom near the bridge

A doe and fawn, still speckled

The green wall

Elderberry buds

Milky blue water

Another look at the Elwha

And another

Green trail on the detour

A turk's cap lily

Keywords: elwha, summer, waterfall

08/23/19 - Marymere Falls

We haven't been getting out to Marymere Falls lately. The construction on route 101 along Lake Crescent with its 45 minute delays has discourage us. We took advantage of a pause in the work to take the 50 minute falls loop. It was a bright sunny day, and the forest was beautiful with the bright illumination. There were a good number of others out visiting the falls which were relatively quiet as one might expect in the late summer.

The wide walk to the falls

Another view en route, dark trees, bright sun

The bridge

Water in the canyon

The falls

A view of the falls from the upper overview

Pyramid Peak visible through the trees

Keywords: lake crescent, marymere falls, summer

08/22/19 - Klahane Ridge - High Summer

Once again we put on our hiking boots, grabbed our hiking sticks and hauled ourselves up to Klahane Ridge by way of the Switchback Trail. We didn't set any speed records, but we made it. The climb was sunny with a blue sky, but by the time we made it to the ridge, clouds were rising from the sea and shrouding peaks and valleys. We rested a bit and watched the clouds rise with the warmth of the day. By the time we made it back to the parking lot, the sky was mostly blue again.

It was a late summer hike. The lupines and larkspur were long gone. Vegetation was thick, but only a handful of flowers remained, mainly in microclimates. Many plants had gone to seed, but the yarrow was near its peak.


Clouds and Mount Olympus

Brilliant sun

Another bright scene

Two butterflies

Those two again

A last bit of phlox

More clouds at the ridge

Clouds seeping in from the north

A view of the Olympic Mountains

Asters

Another spectacular view

Larkspur and paintbrush

Late summer blooms

A view from on the way down

A bit of the trail now that the sun had returned

Paintbrush

A hawk we had seen soaring earlier

A last few lupines

More paintbrush

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge, summer

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