Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: autumn, Page: 1

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11/04/22 - Little River in the Rain The Little River Trail is another great rainy trail. The Little River may be little, but it puts on a good show especially in the rain. We'll confess, we wore rain pants and rain coats and broad brimmed rain hats and waterproof boots. We were prepared. It rained the whole time, but we managed to stay comfy and dry. The forest was surprisingly bright. Gray days mean fewer shadows, so one can see farther through the forest and in greater detail. It also helped that a lot of leaves had fallen, so we had a wonderful mysterious sense of being in an enchanted forest. Perhaps it was the proximity to Halloween. Perhaps it was the rain. The trail starts on DNR land, but about 35-40 minutes in, it enters the national park. The trees get older and the forest gets wilder. Then the trail descends and follows the river more closely. We headed upstream pausing to admire the rapids and the full river lapping fallen logs. We made our way to what we call the Healing Pools. It's a good spot to settle with one's feet in the water after a hard week of hiking. We didn't do that this time, not on a cold day in the rain.	Crossing the Little River's other branch
Along the trail	A mushroom
More of the trail	More mushrooms
Descent to the river	A river view
Logs over the river	More river
Another look at the Little River	Another fallen log
Blue and gray water, green forest	Logs and rapids
A bit of snow on the trail	Another peek at the river
Fall foliage	No caption necessary - It should be obvious.
More snow	More trail
Another gateway	The footbridge
An old stump	A skull in the haunted forest

Keywords: halloween, little river, autumn

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

10/24/22 - Elwha to Altair - After the Rain At long last, it has rained. We had a long dry stretch, all of September and most of October. Hurricane Ridge Road was closed for repairs, but they promised to re-open it on the 21st. Naturally, we expected the rains to come on that date and the road to the Ridge to be closed due to snow. Our forecast was accurate. On the 21st, the rains came. It snowed on the Ridge. Hurricane Ridge Road did not reopen, but we, down near sea level, had lots of long awaited rain. We decided to head out from Madison Falls and check out the Elwha River as far as the Altair Bridge. There were wonderful puddles, wet dirt and wet pavement. We weren't the only ones enjoying the puddles. We spotted a frog beside one. Even the park service mules looked happier, though we can't be sure. The river looked a lot less tired. It seemed like the foliage was waiting for the rains to change to its autumn colors, and now that the rain had come there were browns and reds and golds. The colors were muted by the drought, but they were there.	At the start of the trail
Autumn color	A glimpse of the river
A proper view of the Elwha	Wet pavement never looked this good.
Still plenty of green	Park service buildings
The Elwha from the Altair Bridge	Another view from the bridge
A log caught below the Altair Bridge	More of Olympic Hot Springs Road
Another view of the river	Autumn color and misty mountains
Autumn fields	Mist and color
More of the wet road	The green forest thinning
A bit of trail	A dramatic bit of trail
That frog by the puddle	Another view, same frog
Mules in the field	The river at the parking lot

Keywords: autumn, elwha, hurricane ridge

10/22/22 - Little River Trail With Woodpecker It rained. At long last, autumn has begun. We celebrated with a walk along the Little River Trail. The leaves are thinning, others are turning bright yellow. The river is running more briskly. We saw slugs and snails and many mushrooms. We also saw a woodpecker hammering away oblivious to any audience.	An old stump in the forest
The trail accented with gold	Another bit of trail
Little River and a log	More of Little River
Cool water	Less clumsy people could cross on those logs.
A snail	A shroom
More mushrooms	And even more mushrooms
The green skull - Halloween is coming	Slight mist on the trail
Woodpecker	Woodpecker
Woodpecker	Woodpecker
Woodpecker	A golden bowl
A freshet	Little River again

Keywords: autumn, little river

10/12/21 - A Side Trip to Madison Falls After heading up to the Elwha Gap, we took the short side spur to Madison Falls. It's a short, easy, paved path to a pleasant little waterfall just minutes from the parking area. There was plenty of autumn color too.	Along the trail
A first peek at the waterfall	Madison Falls
Some autumn color	More color
That color again	Misty skies and mountains

Keywords: autumn, elwha, waterfall

10/11/21 - A Short Autumn Walk to the Elwha Gap We took a short walk along the Elwha River starting at Madison Falls where the road ends. The mountains were misty and topped with early season snow. The autumn foliage was near its peak. We walked past the mule camp and around the bend for some good views of the river recently nourished by the seasonal rain. We stopped at the gap in the road cut by a hearty new Elwha tributary.	Misty, snowy mountains
Some fall foliage	Foliage hidden in the forest
Bright yellow and bright green	The river
Another view of the river	More color change
Autumn is here.	Further up the river
The might Elwha	The gap
Downriver at the gap	Upriver at the gap
A vertical view, even more dramatic	The road showing its age
Bright red	Bright yellow
The mules - We always say hello.	The Elwha from the parking area

Keywords: autumn, elwha

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

10/01/21 - Little River After the Rain Now that it is raining again, after a long dry summer, we returned to the Little River Trail. Since the trail follows the Little River, it is at its best in the rainy season. The best part is about 35-40 minutes out where the trail leaves DNR land and enters the national park. We were not disappointed on our last hike. The river was lively, the trail smelled of rain and there were drips and droplets about.	A portal
False [mock] Solomon's seal late in the season	A bit of the river
A green scene	Another bit of river
One of the foot bridges	The Little River aflow
A bit of autumn color	Devil's claw
Another stretch of river	Did we remark on the rich green?
Another bit of trail	An inspiration to us all
Wet leaves	Forest trail

Keywords: little river, autumn

09/29/21 - High Country - Autumn Color Text of entry goes here	Gold and red
More autumn color	A view across the river valley
The trail	Another bit of color
Red foliage around a lake below	Did we mention autumn color?
Red and green, a bit early for Christmas	The trail through red and green
Those two colors again with rocks for white balance	Another bit of trail
Autumn colors set ablaze by morning light	More intense color
Calmer colors	The Plains of Mars
Color by the trailside	Golden grasses
More red	More lakeside color

Keywords: autumn, obstruction point

01/20/20 - Dungeness Spit The autumn tides make it hard to take long walks on Dungeness Spit, but in January they start to get better. We went out with the tide at five feet and falling. The beach was broad and sandy which made for easy going. There was even a rainbow to make things even nicer.	The rainbow and rollers
The spit with lots of sand	Salt water
Lots of broad beach	Driftwood
More driftwood	Still more driftwood
A natural sculpture	Looking down at the spit

Keywords: autumn, dungeness spit, tides

10/23/19 - Hurricane Ridge - Early Snow There has been snow up at Hurricane Ridge for a while, but the road is still usually open. The Switchback Trail to Klahane Ridge is closed while they repair the road which is down to one lane there. The Hurricane Hill Trail is closed, because the twisty little road to Hurricane Hill is covered with snow and ice. The ridge, however, is reachable and navigable, though we recommend good boots for the snow and some icy patches. The views are spectacular with the Olympic Mountains covered with fresh snow. It isn't very deep, so the richly colored late autumn grasses still cover areas. Call the park, 360 565 3131, before you go to make sure that the road is actually open since they'll close it for snow falls, white outs and heavy fog. Still, if you can make it up there, the ridge is beautiful.	Autumn grasses
Snow and trees and mountains	Scenery
Further away	A bit more snow
The forest	The Olympic Mountains
Klahane Ridge	More of everything
The Olympic Mountains again	More autumn color
More mountains	More snow
Hurricane Hill Road	Mountain light

Keywords: autumn, hurricane hill, hurricane ridge, klahane ridge

10/06/19 - Lake Angeles Trail to the Bridge We've been recovering from colds, so we haven't been getting out as much as we would like. Still, we made it up to the bridge across the stream about 700 feet or so above the parking lot. That's how we measure things. The gray light made the greens more intense, and there were signs of autumn everywhere.	This is where we stopped.
Water not yet under the bridge	A nice view of the bridge we did not cross
Green with dark water	Forest
Changing color, Pacific dogwood	Little mushrooms
The trail	Some red and green
More mushrooms	An early spirit of Halloween

Keywords: autumn, lake angeles

09/13/19 - Klahane Ridge - A New Season It's already autumn up on Klahane Ridge. We drove into to the clouds after a fresh rain. The trail closes next week so they can rebuild the road, so we went on the first relatively dry day. The trail was wet. There were sparkling drops of water glistening on the lupine leaves. The clouds curled about the ridge. Visibility varied and the sun brightened and dimmed setting off the colors of the late summer, early fall foliage. There were no views of the distant Olympics. Not even Sunrise Point was visible. Still, the views were spectacular in their own way.	A misty scene
Less mist, more green	Rock plants
Late phlox	Clouds rising from the north meet the ridge.
The view north, no mountains in sight	Mist playing with the mountains
Pink yarrow, a mutant	Late summer foliage
Another bit of trail	Mist hiding the stone fingers
Another green carpet	More mist, more green
Berries of some sort	Drops of water on lupine leaves
Magic carpet beside the trail	More fog and cloud
Deeper in the cloud	The cloud thickens; reason one not to store your data in the cloud.

Keywords: autumn, klahane ridge

09/12/19 - Klahane Ridge - More of the Season It was a spectacular hike. The clouds kept changing, now growing thicker and darkening the landscape, now thinner letting in light.	Late flowers
More green and fog	Ox parsnip by the trail
A last lupine
	Clouds above
Clouds beside	Clouds thickening
A passage	Late summer grasses
The texture of the garden	Bright green and mist
More bright green, more mist	Paintbrush
Another passage	Lower and thicker
Fog in the umbrella forest	Carnivorous plants on stone

Keywords: klahane ridge, autumn

10/28/18 - Autumn on the Sol Duc The Sol Duc Resort and hot springs just closed for the season, but the falls are still there as is the Sol Duc River. We dropped by to check out the salmon. The ranger at the entry station warned us that we had missed the migration, but we might see a straggler or two. We stopped by the cascade and watched for a while. We did see one straggler make a mighty leap. Then we lost sight of him or her in the foam.	The cascade
Sol Duc Falls	A pretty, most likely poisonous, mushroom
Downstream from the falls	The forest

Keywords: salmon, sol duc, autumn

10/10/18 - Japanese Garden in Seattle The fall is our favorite time to visit the Japanese Garden in the Seattle Arboretum. The trees have been chosen for their autumn color, and the landscaping sets off the color beautifully. There was plenty of brilliant leaf color when we were there, though we were before the peak.	View from a stone bridge
Some color	More color
Across the pond	Another pond view
One of many turtles	Even more color
Colors and pods	Another view with stepping stones
The pond again	Even more color

Keywords: autumn, seattle

09/26/18 - Dungeness Spit to the Lighthouse We are getting into the autumn tides which make it hard to get out to the Dungeness Spit. The walk takes from three to four hours, and when the tide is above three feet, it can be rough going. We managed to catch a good tide in late September and, much to our surprise, made it all the way out to the lighthouse for a ten mile round trip walk. As usual, the spit was hypnotic. It's a long narrow strip of beach that just heads out to sea. On one side of the path is Strait of San Juan de Fuca and on the other side there is a low rise decorated with driftwood and beach shrubs. The best walking is down towards the water. Above there is sand, rocks and pebbles.	An overview of Dungeness Spit
A hypnotic walk	More of the spit
Beach life	The bay protected by the spit
The lighthouse in the distance	The lighthouse as we approached
The spit on our return walk	Ribsy - one of our landmarks, about a mile out

Keywords: autumn, dungeness spit, tides

11/19/17 - Elwha River and Madison Falls Olympic Hot Springs Road along the Elwha has been closed at Madison Falls again. This time because of flooding. We took a walk up along the road. Indeed, there was a stretch of it under water. We made the most of our wandering and got some nice views of the river. We also checked out Madison Falls. This has been a wet autumn.

Keywords: autumn, elwha, olympic hot springs

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