Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: winter, Page: 1

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04/02/24 - Elwha to Altair - Early Spring Flower Edition Spring has been with us for over a week now, so we've been out checking for trilliums. They often show up along the Elwha on the trail detour section that runs behind the old campground and is the only land route from Madison Falls to the rest of Olympic Hot Springs Road. The river had a wild winter. There was a whole new pattern of trees and drift logs lining the river. Some sections were more accessible than last year. Some were less. A great chunk, the base of a fallen tree, had torn from the hillside. This made the trail a bit tricky to follow, but all the action had opened up new river views. Spring is definitely here. We saw trilliums, fawn lilies, toad lilies, violets and many other early bloomers. Even better, the mules are back in town. The mule camp was deserted when we headed out, but there were mules waiting for us on our return.	The fawn lilies are back.
More flowers	A wild orchid
More fawn lilies	Another fawn lily
Trilliums, too	Lots of fawn lilies
The striped leaf is a fawn lily leaf	Yet another fawn lily
Toad lilies, for variety	A glimpse of the Elwha
A trillium	The river lined with fallen, drifted logs
Another view of the river	The Elwha from down close
More drift logs along the Elwha	Trail work
A mountain peak	A mountain cloud
More of the trail	Fawn lilies again
A cooperative caterpillar	The mules are back in town.

Keywords: elwha, spring, trillium, winter

12/11/23 - Morse Creek West We often follow the Olympic Discovery Trail from the parking lot near Morse Creek. We head west towards Port Angeles. The trail, an old railroad right of way, passes through the Four Seasons subdivision and down to the strait. It is open all year and not very far from where live. It's also a great trail for tracking the seasons.	The Strait of San Juan de Fuca
One of the sea ducks	The trail by the strait
A seal at sea	Another photo showing the mottled pattern and, if you look carefully, whiskers
The trail again, wet and wintry	The dike
Winter patterns	The dike again
Winter foliage	More winter patterns
A last few coin flowers	A coin flower and the ground
Rose hips	A look west at the dike
A loon	Winter color
More winter color	The last of autumn
Some fallen leaves	More fallen leaves
The railroad bridge	Morse Creek

Keywords: morse creek, port angeles, winter

10/17/23 - First Snow on the Mountains

This was the view from the Safeway parking lot. There was snow on the mountains. It didn't last long, but it's another sign of winter coming. (Also shown, the electric blue trim on the electric car charger, another sign of things to come.)

Keywords: winter

07/27/23 - Obstruction Point - Part 1 Ever since the lodge at Hurricane Ridge burned down, only a limited number of cars have been allowed to drive up to the ridge. There is the city bus, but we wanted to get out to Obstruction Point, so we rose early and had only a short wait at the entrance gate. The drive out to Obstruction Point was its usual spectacular self with tight turns, a narrow road and vertiginous drop offs. There were also amazing views of Mount Olympus, the other snow capped mountains in the Olympic range and the green river valleys below. We headed out on the trail and slowly got more used to the altitude. Usually, by late July, we're comfortable at 6000', but we haven't been getting up to the high country much. We made our way up to the plateau then down the staircase and across the fields to the ridge with its cirque of winter snow still melting and the lakes forming below. We headed up and on a bit, out to Eagle Rock where we soaked in the view before heading back.	The high country, at last!
Greeting us was a grouse.	The start of the trail
A typical view	Alpine flowers, we missed you.
More along the trail and some distant snow	More trail and clouds
Clouds playing with a mountain ridge	A peek at Mount Olympus and the Blue Glacier
The little lake we always check as we descend the staircase was doing well.	A stone garden
Our first few lupines of the year	More along the trail
Not shown, but we found a last bit of phlox with a touch of its wonderful scent lingering..	Another look at Olympus
One of the seasonal lakes	A high ridge
Lupines!	More lupines!
More lakes!	Paintbrush
A deer, an unusual sighting up here	Another mountain view

Keywords: high country, hurricane ridge, obstruction point, winter

11/15/22 - Elk Along Route 112 Here's another sign that winter is coming. The elk are back down in the lowlands. We spotted a herd along route 112 and stopped to take a few pictures and let some of them cross the road.	An elk, posing for us
The scene	Another elk
Ready to cross the road	Elk crossing
More elk	The elk scene

Keywords: winter

11/14/22 - Autumn at the Arboretum We had an errand to run in Seattle. We left lots of extra time, but we lucked out with no Hood Canal Bridge closing, ferries running on time with lots of free spaces and minimal traffic, so we stopped and explored the Seattle Arboretum. They have a great winter garden, but we were a bit early for that. The witch hazels were still in waiting, but there was a lot of great fall color.	Fall color
More color	Even more color
The have a great collection of trees.	An unusual color
More trees as one would expect in an arboretum	The path
Autumn color - thank you, thesaurus	And more
And yet more	And even more
There was quite a show.	A mix of colors
Another great tree	Some of the first wItch hazel to bloom

Keywords: seattle, winter

11/03/22 - Marymere Falls, Late Fall, Early Snow We haven't been getting out to Marymere Falls lately. The recent rains reminded us that the falls are worth a trip. The signs were good. We were greeted by a rainbow across the lake as we headed west on route 101. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground when we pulled into the parking lot. We headed along the trail, under route 101, and entered the old forest, dark and bright with a dusting of snow. There was a woodpecker in one of the trees, so we stopped for a while and watched as the bird hammered away at the side of a tree totally unfazed by an audience. Then we walked on. There was snow on the floor of the forest, but brilliant yellow foliage almost glowed around us. It was the last of autumn and the start of winter. Barnes Creek was in good flow with its icy currents, and Marymere Falls itself roared heartily. This trail is always a wonderful walk through northwest pacific forest, but with the snow and rain it was almost magical.	Welcome to Lake Crescent.
Snow on logs, a hint of coming attractions	Clouds over the lake
Our cooperative woodpecker	That woodpecker again
and again	and again in a great profile
Autumn meets winter	The magical trail
More trail magic	and more again
Water meeting stone at Marymere Falls	Barnes Creek from the foot bridge
The falls meet water	Marymere Falls
The falls again from higher up	Snow in the forest
A view down at the creek	Another river view with the footbridge
Barnes Creek yet again	More seasonal magic - and it's almost time to reset our clocks.
The forest trail in transition	A last look up the creek

Keywords: autumn, barnes creek, marymere falls, winter

11/01/22 - Halloween We take Halloween very seriously. The fall is when the trees lose their leaves and their needles thin revealing their skeletons, some in fantastic shapes. The colors change as the world readies for the quiet and retreat of winter. It's also the harvest with one last round of fresh local produce. All of that, and it's a great warmup for the holiday season.	Lenore in her web - We have no idea whose brain that is in the cauldron.
Halloween dinner	Pumpkin and oyster soup
Tomato eyeballs stuffed with bacon, arugula, tomato and mayonnaise	Bat burgers with melted gruyere and kimchi

Keywords: halloween, autumn, winter

02/14/22 - Starwich Cookies

These are our favorite cookies. That's an almond pastry with a raspberry preserve filling. We missed them for Christmas, but there was no way we were getting through the winter without them. (The recipe)

Starwich cookies

Keywords: recipe, winter

01/11/22 - Dungeness Spit Near High Tide We usually avoid Dungeness Spit at high tide, but, in January, just about every low tide suitable for hiking is at night. This will be the situation until February. We recently took advantage of a falling tide during the day and walked down to the spit. The tide was high, and the beach was full of driftwood. There were large logs which can be dangerous, but they were all securely anchored on land. With the tide going out, they were unlikely to cause problems. The going was rough. We didn't have to clamber over any logs. Usually, we could time the waves breaking on the rough winter sand and scoot around them. As we neared the stake at the one half mile mark, there was less driftwood but the beach was rough and rocky. It was beautiful with the wild gray skies and the breakers crashing into the spit. There were few birds on the water. We didn't get all that far, maybe a mile out all told, but what we saw was wonderful. On the way back, there were the mountain views. We still prefer hiking the spit at low tide, but it's nice to know it is passable even in less than perfect conditions.	The spit
The view from the ground, rather daunting	Driftwood and salt water
Some more driftwood blocking our path	A chunk of a big log
Some artistic driftwood	Our hiking trail, not as bad as it looks
The half mile stake in the distance, to the left of the spit	Another view of the spit
The view back	Another view out
Strait meets sand	Another look back
Just a bit past the half mile stake	Another mountain view taken while balancing on a driftwood log

Keywords: birds, dungeness spit, tides, winter

01/09/22 - Marine Drive - Eagles and Swans We took a walk along Marine Drive in Sequim. The air was clear. We could see Mount Baker, a giant meringue, in the distance, and people were out in kayaks in the waters below the bluffs. There were two eagles in what we call the "eagle tree", an adult and a juvenile. There were also swans in a field of East Anderson Road. They come every winter, and the field was full of them.	A juvenile bald eagle
An adult	Mount Baker
Kayakers near Dungeness Spit	The swans
A swan closeup	Another closeup

Keywords: birds, eagle, mount baker, sequim, winter, marine drive

10/14/21 - Hurricane Hill Updated We were up at Hurricane Hill again to check for signs of winter. There were clouds in the mountains and the hills were shrouded with mist. The next post down is just pictures of the fall color and the gray, but here are some photos showing signs of winter.	Good views near the trailhead, but we hiked into the clouds.
The trail	Alpine foliage hunkering down for winter
A first bit of snow	As we ascended into the clouds
A variety of colors	The summer colors have faded.
Some color in the valley	Rising into the clouds
More snow	More color
Restoration work by the trail	Dark green and bright colors
The last of the fall foliage	Still some bright red

Keywords: hurricane hill, winter

10/03/21 - Hurricane Hill - High Country Autumn There were definite signs of autumn and winter coming up at Hurricane Hill.	Our first frost of the season
More frost	And yet more frost
Frost in the shade	Dry flowers
A golden field	Autumn color
Autumn color below	Another richly colored field
And another colored field	Corn lilies, now mere skeletons
Green, gold, red and blue	Another field
Another view below	A blue grouse
Red, green and white	Dramatic foliage
More drama	Even the walk from the picnic area to the trailhead showed signs of fall.

Keywords: autumn, hurricane hill, winter

03/08/20 - Last Winter Hiking on the Lake Angeles Trail We hiked the Lake Angeles Trail a few times this winter. By late February, there was only a little snow on the lower reaches of the trail. That's as far as we went, though others we met on the trail had made it all the way up to the lake. It's one of the easier trails to get to from town, but with all the rain and cold weather, we haven't been getting up there lately.	The footbridge about 700' above the trailhead
Running water	Snowy scene
The boardwalk	Despite the snow, there was lots of green.
The trail with a light dusting	More of the trail
The footbridge again	Wood and snow
Another trail scene	There was snow, but the lower trail was easy going.
Light snow and a fallen tree	Very little snow on the lower part of the trail
Icicles	The frozen curtain of drips
More frozen drips	Almost vernal
No snow at all down here	Lower part of the trail

Keywords: lake angeles, trails, weather, winter

02/19/20 - Seattle Winter We took a short trip into Seattle for the SIFF Noir City Film Festival. We took our usual trip up to Ballard Locks where the water was running at full force. The fish ladder was closed for repairs as was one of the locks, but the winter and early spring flowers were already in bloom. As a bonus, there was a tree full of nesting herons. We've never seen them there before, but this time there were at least six and possibly more.	Seattle in the evening
Daphnes in bloom	Early crocuses
Water at full flow	A more distant view
Herons in the tree	More herons and their nests
Herons and nests from a distance	Frothing water
An empty lock	The view downstream
Edgeworthia chrysantha with a wonderful scent	Berries
Evening in Seattle	Another evening view
Post Alley at night	Pike Place Market at night
Another market view	Seattle streets

Keywords: flowers, seattle, spring, winter

02/05/20 - To The Altair Bridge and Beyond We took advantage of a relatively sunny day to head up along the Elwha, starting at Madison Falls and past the Altair Bridge. The Elwha was the big attraction. With the recent rains, it was in full flood. We took the detour, climbing up past the water tank. As we approached the river, we could see it had overflowed its banks. Trees were standing in rushing water. A part of the trail was flooded, so we took the little wooden foot bridge for a dry passage. As we approached the road again, we could see water rushing by. The side channel that destroyed the old Elwha campground was borrowing a bit of the road. The detour took us out dry shod, and we continued along the road towards the bridge. There were signs of wind damage with twigs and branches on the ground, all the little streams were full of racing water, and here and there, in shady places, there were patches of snow and ice. We crossed the bridge and walked a few minutes farther along the road, past the gate, for a view of our favorite little waterfall across the river. It was easy to spot even with the trees along the road blocking it. We headed back with our eyes open and were rewarded with the first skunk cabbage shoots of the year. It was not a particularly spring-like walk. It was a winter walk, but we could tell spring would be coming sooner or later.	A fallen branch
Olympic Hot Springs Road	A view of the Elwha
The little waterfall	A close up of the waterfall
The Elwha seen from the bridge	The view downstream
Another downstream view with snowy mountains	Snowy mountain closeup
Snow and frost - still winter	The mossy forest
Skunk cabbage	The flooded road near the old campground
The little foot bridge	An old log
Flooded river	Trees standing in running water
Water over a tree trunk	Another view of the flooded river

Keywords: elwha, waterfall, winter

01/04/20 - Marymere Falls and the Barnes Creek Trail Marymere Falls is always at full flow during the winter as is Barnes Creek. We made our way up to the falls, then, on our way back, took the side spur up the Barnes Creek Trail. We didn't get very far. The trail was completely flooded. This has been a wild year for the weather.	Marymere Falls
Forest view	Barnes Creek
A side stream	Another Barnes Creek view
The bridge over Barnes Creek	The flooding on the Barnes Creek Trail
A log enjoying the weather	A more typical puddle
Barnes Creek again	A less happy log

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls, weather, winter

03/08/19 - A March Day in Seattle Text of entry goes here	Mount Rainier as seen from the Bainbridge ferry
Winter blooms at the Ballard Locks	A big flock of docks at the locks
Hellebores	One of the sea ducks
Winter berries	Early, hardy pansies
Mahonia	Crockett and Tubbs - 1980s Miami VIce retro
An honest accountant	Bateau's frankfurter, but the steaks are better.

Keywords: ducks, seattle, winter, mount rainier

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