Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: elwha, Page: 1

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Elwha to Altair - Springwatch

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Keywords

flowers
winter
spring
seattle
food
port angeles
kale
high country
hurricane hill
elwha
autumn
farmers' market
christmas
lake angeles
australia
trillium
trails
spruce railroad
hurricane ridge
lake crescent

All Keywords

Upcoming Hiking Tides

These are low tides of under three feet at least two hours after sunrise or before sunset.

Next tides for La Push
4/15/25 8:45 AM -0.27 ft
4/16/25 9:20 AM -0.16 ft
4/17/25 10:00 AM 0.07 ft
4/18/25 10:46 AM 0.36 ft
4/19/25 11:41 AM 0.63 ft
4/20/25 12:46 PM 0.78 ft
4/21/25 1:53 PM 0.78 ft

Next tides for Dungeness
4/10/25 9:22 AM 2.57 ft
4/11/25 9:43 AM 1.8 ft
4/12/25 10:06 AM 1.05 ft
4/13/25 10:32 AM 0.4 ft
4/14/25 11:01 AM -0.11 ft
4/15/25 11:33 AM -0.44 ft
4/16/25 12:09 PM -0.59 ft

Next tides for Cape Alava
4/14/25 8:46 AM -0.11 ft
4/15/25 9:20 AM -0.2 ft
4/16/25 9:57 AM -0.14 ft
4/17/25 10:38 AM 0.02 ft
4/18/25 11:25 AM 0.24 ft
4/19/25 12:21 PM 0.43 ft
4/20/25 1:24 PM 0.53 ft

For more on the Elwha River and Whiskey Bend Trails, visit our Elwha River website.

04/10/25 - Elwha to Altair - Springwatch It's springwatch, and one of our favorite places to watch for signs of spring is the Elwha valley. We start at Madison Falls, the end of Olympic Hot Springs Road, and make our way via the detour through the hills behind the old campground, to the Altair Bridge. We've already spotted fawn lilies and trilliums and checked out the skunk cabbage. There were more trilliums this time and the skunk cabbage was going strong. Along the detour route, we spotted some park people redoing the trail a bit. They were carrying some heavy boards to shore up parts of the trail. There were sections where the trail had been recut since runs along the face of a ridge. It looks like they are doing serious maintenance which is good to see. For example, there was an extremely muddy section of the trail, and, some time back, they set up a new route on higher ground. From the Altair Bridge we saw a couple of park workers doing some kind of measurement. This involved setting up a rope and wading across the stream a bit downriver of the bridge. We've seen this before. We still aren't sure what they are doing. Measuring the flow? Setting up to count fish? Again, it was good to see them wet and at work as yet another sign of spring.	Fawn lilies
	Fawn lily leaves
	Mountain view
The twins - double trilliums	More trilliums
The Elwha River
Olympic Hot Springs Road
Clouds	Clouds and snow
Skunk cabbage	Mystery bird

From the bridge	Getting ready to wade
Currant
	The mules are back.

Keywords: elwha, olympic hot springs, spring, trilliums

04/01/25 - Elwha to Altair Now that spring is here, we've been hiking from Madison Falls up along the Elwha to the Altair Bridge. Most of the route follows Olympic Hot Springs Road, but the road is cut off by the river not far from the trailhead, so we take the detour through the hills around the old, now flooded, campground. We were well rewarded. Our goal was skunk cabbage, and there was lots of skunk cabbage, especially past the ranger station as we approached the bridge. It grows in the drainage ditches and flooded areas of forest. We also saw the fawn lilies. The first few are out with their delicate stalks and lovely hanging flowers. There were also a few trilliums, not many, but enough to convince us that spring has come.	A fawn lily
Our first trillium of the season


Skunk cabbage	The old work area across from the ranger station
Skunk cabbage in the forest
The view from the bridge
	The road is getting tired.
	A fiddlehead

	The mules are back in town.

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring, trilliums

05/10/24 - Elwha to Altair We made our way from Madison Falls to the Altair Bridge. The river had been active this winter, so a great log had blocked part of the detour. We had to scramble a bit on our previous hike, but this time it seems the park service had done an admirable job dealing with an immense log.	Still trilliums
The park service cut through this immense log.	The hike was much easier this time.
Along the Elwha	Tiarella
The Elwha from the Altair Bridge	A snake on the trail
Mountains and greenery	More green by the trail
The forest	A toad lily
More forest	The Elwha from the parking lot
Some ground	Larkspur

Keywords: elwha, trilliums

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

11/14/23 - Late Autumn on the Elwha We took the short walk from Madison Falls to where the Elwha chewed through Olympic Hot Springs Road. The mountains were snow capped and the last of the autumn color was fading.

Keywords: autumn, elwha

10/22/23 - Along the Elwha We took a short hike along the Elwha, so this will just be a quick report. It's as pretty as ever. The mules are still around. The fall colors are coming in.	Some of the mules resting in the sun
A view down at the Elwha from along the detour	Down by the Elwha
Mushrooms	In context
Another bit of the Elwha	Where the detour returns to the road
More of the Elwha	More of the mushrooms
Some snow in the mountains	Some fall foliage
A bit of the trail	Some autumn leaves

Keywords: elwha

10/10/23 - Elwha to the Gap We took a short walk from the Madison Falls parking lot to where the Elwha River cut off Olympic Hot Springs Road. The fall colors are out and the river is running higher as the autumn rains pick up. We were pleased to see that the mules were still in residence. When they leave, it's a sure sign of coming winter. It was an easy walk, but it was all we were up to.	The Elwha crossing Olympic Hot Springs Road or what's left of it
The Elwha	The Elwha again
Another look at the Elwha	Olympic Hot Springs Road continues.
A mandarin duck	Mountain mist
More mist in the mountains	A look back at the river
These trees were barely saplings just a few years ago.	Fall colors
More color	The forest
The road	The mules
Fall color seen through the forest	Across the river

Keywords: autumn, elwha

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

05/03/23 - Elwha Spring We were back along the Elwha. The river is fuller and wilder, and the spring flowers have been progressing. There were lots of trilliums and lots of water.	The trail
A local snake	A local orchid
It turns out these are fawn lilies, not columbines, but we're not going to correct all our old posts.	More fawn lilies
A trillium - We're pretty sure of this one.	The Elwha
Trilliums and tiarella not yet in bloom	Red winged insect - click for a better look
Another trillium	Dicentra - probably
Violets	Another bit of the trail
Another bit of the river	The old pavilion at the old campground
High water	High snow
More high water	And more high water

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring, trillium

04/21/23 - Spring Progress Update, Elwha Edition We walked from the parking area at Madison Falls, up along the Elwha, to a bit past the Altair Bridge. We were pleased to see more trilliums and a few columbines in bloom. We're a month into spring, but it still feels like we are behind. Still, it's nice to see a few of our favorites return.	Forest
A trillium	Another trillium
A columbine leaf	Even better, a columbine
The trail, perhaps a bit greener	Another trillium
The Elwha River	Another sign of spring, a mushroom
Back along the road	More forest
A country road	The Elwha from the Altair Bridge
A view of the misty mountains	Maple branches
Along the Elwha	Yet another trillium
More of the trail - Is it greener?	A mossy rock
Along the trail	Another columbine
Yet another columbine far from the main cluster	More misty mountains

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring, trillium

04/14/23 - Elwha Flower Followup We took a short walk south along the Elwha from Madison Falls to check out the slow progress of this years spring. We didn't get all the way to the Altair Bridge, but we did see some emerging columbine leaves, a few trilliums, a few flowers and an interesting bird.	A toad lily
Columbine leaves	The Elwha
An interesting bird	Another look at the Elwha
Flooding along the trail	The road otherwise
Still lots of snow in the mountains	More flowers - violets
Yay, a trillium	And another
And another, not yet in bloom	A young trillium
Another columbine leaf	And another
Those little yellow flowers we never look up in our plant book	The mules are back in town!

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring, trillium

04/05/23 - Signs of Spring - Elwha to Altair - Trilliums and Columbines Our search for signs of spring took us to the Elwha River. We parked near Madison Falls and followed the road past the mule camp where we saw our first sign of spring: the mules were back. That was promising. We headed onto the detour trail and saw our first yellow violets of the season along with some of those pale pink flowers that bloom so early. Then we saw our first trillium. It was the only one we saw, but we're pretty sure more will follow. Further down the trail, we saw the skunk cabbage with its faint smell of sulphur. We checked out the river from the Altair Bridge. It was relatively low. The snows have not yet begun to melt. We could see snow on the peaks, some of it fresh. On our way back, we spotted another sign of spring. We saw our first columbines. To be fair, we saw their leopard spotted leaves. They weren't ready to bloom, but when you are desperate for signs of spring, that's close enough.	Yellow violets
Little pink flowers	The harbinger trillium
The trail	The river
The road	Skunk cabbage
The river from the Altair Bridge
Currant flowers	Snow covered hill across the river
Snow

	Flowing water
Columbine leaves
Another columbine leaf	Another leaf
White flowers and	blue flowers along the road

Keywords: elwha, flowers, spring, trillium

11/16/22 - Sunny Day Elwha We weren't up to much, so we took a short walk from the Madison Falls parking lot along the Elwha to where the road washed out and admired the fall foliage, the rushing river and the brilliant day. The mules were gone for the season. Then, we took the little trail to Madison Falls.	Olympic Hot Springs Road past Madison Falls
Across the Elwha	Late fall foliage
The Elwha	The gap where the road was cut
Another view across the river	And another
Yet another	The tree of gold
The road again	Madison Falls
Almost bare trees near Madison Falls	More of such

Keywords: elwha

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

09/09/22 - Salmon in the Elwha The salmon are heading upriver to spawn. We took a walk along the Elwha starting at Madison Falls and kept an eye on the river when we could. Once again, we spotted some fish in a quiet stretch. This is great since one of the big goals of taking down the old dam was to encourage fish, particularly salmon, to return to the river. We also checked out the elderberries and said hello to the mules.	The Elwha River
Elderberries	Elderberries up close
Found on the trail	The Elwha seen from the Altair Bridge
A sunny field	Some salmon
A closer look	And another
Back on the trail	Saying hello to the mules

Keywords: elwha, salmon

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

04/02/22 - Elwha to Altair - Spring Is Here We were absolutely exhausted but really wanted to take another good hike before the rainy days come, so we headed out from the Madison Falls parking lot and followed the trail. It's a good winter trail, but it's an even better spring trail. We hadn't gone very far before our first trillium, and then came the columbines. Trilliums like sloping ground, usually near water, so they'll grow on hillsides above streams. Columbines like a sunny spot on crumbling rocky soil, and there are only a few places like that on this trail. That's where we found them. We headed on past other signs of spring. Skunk cabbage filled the boggy fields further up towards the bridge. There were currant blossoms, and there were a lot of new leaves and leaf buds. Even the larger trees were showing touches of green. Columbine season is short, so we'll have to come back soon, but we'll be back again and again as the season progresses. It's a pretty good summer trail too.	Our first trillium on the trail
Yellow violets	More yellow violets
One of the columbines	Another columbine
Another trillium	Some little white flowers that we see every year and never bother to look up in the wildflower book
The Elwha	Another view of the Elwha
Fern forest	The skunk cabbage bog
The Elwha from the Altair bridge	Wild currant
A touch of green in the trees	Most of the snow melted
Yet another trillium	Yet another columbine
A columbine in its place	The mules are back!

Keywords: elwha, spring, trillium

03/19/22 - Elwha to Altair Again We took another hike up to the Altair Bridge. It is getting even more spring-like. This time, there was serious skunk cabbage and a few currants were in bloom. It's a slow spring, but it's starting.	The Elwha River
Another view of the Elwha	More Elwha
Overgrown logs	This used to be an easy way to get down to the river, but those logs washed ashore.
The trail	The road
A maple	View of the river
Skunk cabbage	and more skunk cabbage
Snow lingers on the mountains	Snow again
Currant blossoms	Even more skunk cabbage

Keywords: elwha, spring