<< Gravel Pit Tales

06/03/04 - The Snows Are Melting

The snows are melting! The wildflower season is upon us!

We had heard that Hurricane Hill Road was open. In the winter, this is the cross country skiing trail that runs from the Hurricane Ridge Visitors' Center to the Hurricane Hill Trailhead. It sometimes doesn't melt out until July, but this year it was open in early May, despite 374" of snow on the Ridge. We tried driving up last week, but it was foggy and rainy and a bit unprepossessing.

Today was sunny, and you could see well into the mountains, so off we drove. Most of the snow is already melted and the wildflowers are already coming out. They were vacuuming out the parking lot at the Hurricane Hill Trailhead when we arrived for our hike. The trail was open, with just a few snowy patches. There were no glacier lilies or dirty sock plant yet, but the lupines, phlox, Indian paintbrush, and a host of other flowers were in bloom.

Don't way for July, the alpine flower season has already started at Hurricane Ridge.

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