May 2024June 2024 Current Home Page

06/11 - Hurricane Hill - To The Summit

We really enjoyed our return to the high country last week. We had to head back up to Hurricane Ridge again. This time, the road to the Hurricane Hill trailhead was open. Even the bathrooms at the picnic areas were open. The closest parking lot was full, so we parked at the next closest, so we had a ten minute walk to the actual trailhead.

The views were as spectacular as ever. Even more flowers were in bloom with a lot more phlox, glacier and avalanche lilies, some lupines and many others. We were horribly out of shape, so we made numerous stops once we got past the saddle and started the steeper part of the climb. It was exhausting, but we were rewarded with incredible views, even more flowers and a number of marmots.


A typical view

More view with wildflowers and mountains

More mountains

And even more

A marmot

Phlox in the right foreground

Only a few patches of snow left

The cirque as seen from the summit, already showing some blue

That's blue snow melt

Pask flowers

More flowers

Another marmot

A publicity shy marmot

Another, or possibly the same, publicity shy marmot

A more cooperative marmot - The presss thanks you.

A marmot in context

Glacier lilies

Avalanche lilies

More avalanche lilies

Lupines

The green glow on the old stump

A rock garden

Paintbrush and friends

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

06/09 - From Hurricane Ridge to Hurricane Hill - First Look

The road to Hurricane Ridge has been open for a while. We've been watching the webcams, and most of the snow has melted, so we decided to drive up and see what has been blooming. Hurricane Hill Road was closed, so we parked in the ridge parking lot. We were pleased to see that the park service has set up some pretty nice bathrooms, the kind used for location shooting with running water and other amenities. There was a sad fence around the ruins of the old lodge, so we didn't linger.

Instead, we headed down the road to Hurricane Hill. There were avalanche lilies and glacier lilies already blooming. Almost all of the snow was gone, and the closed road was full of hikers. We stopped to admire the view at the hairpin turn lookout. It's really the same view as from up at the ridge, but here it feels like one has earned it.

We continued past the Wolf Creek Trail junction and up to the picnic areas. The bathrooms there were closed. Then, up the hill we went to the Hurricane Hill Trailhead parking lot. There were lots of spots. There was also a spectacular view, and, even better, the phlox was starting to bloom. There wasn't a lot of it, but we could pick up the scent. It's a sweet scent and one of the great scents of the high country.

We made it to the saddle point where the Little RIver Trail emerges from the forest and joins the ridge. We were in no shape to continue. The trail gets a lot steeper shortly after. Also, there were clouds coming in. This let us invoke the sour grapes rule and start heading back.


We saw this owl on the road up to the ridge.

The view

An avalanche lily

A better view of the Olympic Mountains

Clouds coming in from the north

Phlox blooming early among the war rocks

More phlox and rocks

Phlox close up

Paintbrush and freiends

Another view

Lupines - no flowers yet

We're not sure of this one, but it's pretty.

Glacier lilies

Mist and gray sky

The view as the clouds rolled in

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, hurricane ridge

06/07 - Railroad Bridge in Sequim

We had errands to run in Sequim (pronounced skwim), so we headed west of town on Hendrickson Road to the Railroad Bridge. It was nice to see the new visitor center and museum, but our real goal was the bridge. It's part of the Olympic Discovery Trail, but, for a short visit, we just walked across the Dungeness River and back.



Keywords: dungeness, sequim

06/04 - Marymere Falls

We weren't up to a long hike, and it had been raining, so we took the hike up to Marymere Falls. The whole loop up to the falls and back to the Barnes Creek parking lot takes less than an hour, and with the rain there would be plenty of water. We were not disappointed.

Marymere Falls

From the higher vantage

A late trillium

The forest

Barnes Creek

More of Barnes Creek

Mock Solomon's seal

Keywords: barnes creek, marymere falls

May 2024June 2024 Current Home Page