Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: high country, Page: 1

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08/26/22 - Obstruction Point Road - Part 1 We took what is probably our last hike of the season out from Obstruction Point. The park is closing Obstruction Point Road on the day after Labor Day, and probably not reopening it until 2023. Hurricane Ridge Road is going to be closed a few weeks later as well. According to the park service, Hurricane Ridge Road was collapsing onto Obstruction Point Road below it, and they're hoping to have both roads more or less rebuilt and repaired in the next few months. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the hike across the high country, down the staircase, then along the ridge with its spectacular views of Mount Olympus. We took the side spur out to Raven Rock and looked down at Moose Lake and Grand Lake way far below. I doubt we'll ever make the thousand foot plus descent. If nothing else, we'd have to climb back up which seems daunting. We're past the peak flower season. Colors are already starting to change. We did see a blue grouse and her chicks scrabbling about in the dry grass not far from the trail. They are so well camouflaged that seeing them was just a matter of good fortune. We may get another chance to get up to the high country this season, but it we don't, this was a great way to say goodbye to it.	Top of the world
The high country trail	A bit of the staircase
Mountains across the valley	Our first peek at the plains of Mars
Foliage just starting to turn red	Still some lingering snow
Another bit of trail	Two lakes below
Another seasonal lake	Mountains and sky
Friable rock	Another spectacular view
Way down below	Early autumn colors
Fading fields	We'll miss the trail.
Blue mountains beyond	More on the hiking theme
Some more fall color and great scenery	More trail, color, snow and sky
Mount Olympus	Yet more of the trail

Keywords: high country, hurricane ridge, obstruction point

08/25/22 - Obstruction Point Road - Part 2 This is a continuation of our post on our last visit of the season to Obstruction Point Road with a bit more focus on details.	Some late lupines
Some flowers	Harebells and others
Paintbrush	Juniper
Yarrow	We're not sure what this is, but it's a great composition.
More flowers	And more flowers
Some fall flowering phlox	Paintbrush
Another bouquet	And another
A blue grouse	One of her chicks
Grousing	More grousing
There were three or four grouse chicks.	Another chick, or perhaps the same one again
Bright flowers	Lithiculture
Amongst the rocks	Magenta

Keywords: high country, grouse, flowers, obstruction point

06/16/22 - Hurricane Hill - First Time We made it up to Hurricane Hill for the first time this year. We've been watching the webcam and following the park road announcements. The road from the lodge opened maybe a week ago, so we got a moderately early start and headed up the hill. There are now two booths at the entry station, a result of last year's construction, which should help somewhat this summer. The road was busy, but we have seen it busier. The parking lot where the Hurricane Hill trail starts was full, and the lot at the closer picnic area was almost full. No one wanted to park in a huge puddle, almost an inland sea, that spanned three spaces, so we parked offshore. That's what hiking boots are for. The hike itself was wonderful. The views of the mountains and glaciers were magnificent. There were glacier lilies out but no phlox yet. Most of the trail was clear, but the shady patch was still covered with snow. Once again, that's what hiking boots are for. The high country was beautiful with melting snow and fresh green. The marmots were out, still plump and eagerly chowing down on the greenery. It was good to see them after most of a year. The high country is open. Here's to a good hiking season.	Mountains and melting snow
The first segment of the trail, out in the sun	Those mountains again - Are they really that far away?
Weathered rock	The first marmot sentinel
Another marmot	That guy again on young grass
Another marmot on a hill	Yet another marmot
Almost summer, but the ground not yet green	A glacier lily
Another view	Mountains and clouds
The same mountains, a different sky	More glacier lilies and friends
A grayer sky	Another view
Yet another	The view north

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, marmots, summer

06/23/21 - Hurricane Hill We've been getting an early start on the hiking trail and heading out along the Hurricane Hill Trail. The snow along the trail has melted, but the climb is as steep as ever. The rewards are the wildflowers, the marmots and the amazing views.	The view of the mountains, as spectacular as ever
Morning clouds over the Elwha	One of the marmots
Another marmot	Yet another golden marmot
Melting snow	The start of the little lake
Pask flowers	Other flowers
Across the high country	Another mountain view
Glacier lilies	Avalanche lilies
Mountains and mountains	Western wallflower
More glacier lilies	More avalanche lilies
Lots of larkspur	Early lupines

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

05/16/19 - Hurricane Hill The Hurricane Hill Trail is open. It is still being rebuilt, so it is only open about half the time. Check the park web page and scroll down to the calendar before you head up expecting to take this hike. Note that the trail is ALWAYS closed on Wednesdays. Also note that the road is closed at the second picnic area, so the trailhead is now an additional ten minute walk from parking. That said, the view from the trail is as beautiful as ever. Most of the trail is free of snow, and the snow is melting rapidly. The glacier lilies are out as is the phlox, so keep your nose peeled for that latter flower's wonderful scent. There were many marmots about which was a nice treat. We didn't quite make it to the summit, so that's for our next try. We had a long winter this year, so it's great that the high country is finally open again.	The Olympic Mountains
Phlox	A view from the trail
More of the mountains	A late winter scene
One of the many marmots	Another mountain view
Another marmot	A marmot in a field of delicious, to a marmot, spring flowers
The marmot by the trailside	That marmot checking us out
That marmot again offering us a closeup	A bit of snow on a shady stretch of trail
More spring flowers	Some of the trail work, a stone retaining wall where the trail has been widened
More phlox	Glacier lilies
Glacier lilies in closeup	Goodbye to the mountains

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, marmots, spring

07/07/18 - Klahane Ridge We made it up to Klahane Ridge via the Switchback Trail. As usual, it was hard work and breathtakingly beautiful. The hillside snow has melted, and the flowers are coming into bloom. It was an amazing hike with amazing views. Despite the road work, we've been getting up to the high country.	At 1000 feet above the trailhead the mountains are level with Sunrise Point.
A view from the ridge	Snow on the north face, not where we hiked
Clouds pouring into the bowl below	More clouds
Rocky outcrops	Lush green along the trail
Another dramatic view	Another piece of the trail
The stream below, quite full	A view up to the ridge

Keywords: high country, klahane ridge

10/12/17 - Fall Colors on Hurricane Hill The rainy season starts in the fall. That means autumn color and the start of the rainy season. The brilliant, almost crystalline summer sky is replaced by a sky of clouds and mists. Rivers of cloud snake their way through the river valleys and drape the mountain sides. The snows many come at any time and close the roads to the high country, so we try to get up as often as we can while we can.	Mountains and autumn haze
Some color	Mount Baker from afar
Port Angeles from above	Another mountain view
Snow on the north face	The season of the misty mountains and golden grasses
More golden fields	More grasses

Keywords: autumn, high country, hurricane hill

08/20/17 - Hurricane Hill as Summer Passes The summer is passing. More gold and brown are creeping into the colors of the high country. We hiked the Hurricane Hill Trail again and saw a bit of drama, two young marmots were attacked by a hawk. They were unharmed, but one tends to thing that these things are just staged for nature documentaries. Not true. We also ran into the team planning to rebuild the trail. The Hurricane Hill Trail is heavily used in season, and it has been showing signs of wear. We're hoping they don't have to close the trail for too long. We've been having a lot of trail and road closures lately.	Summer colors
Still plenty of green	Mountains in late summer
Another view	The view to the north
Clouds add drama.	A silky sky
Late summer flowers	The season
Yet another view	The trail planning team at work

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

07/20/17 - Klahane Ridge Again Our three favorite high country trails are the Hurricane Hill Trail, the Lilian Ridge Trail out of Obstruction Point and the Klahane Ridge Trail via the Switchback Trail. This season, the last of those of three keeps calling us back. We've been watching the flowers, with more and more lupines appearing as the phlox starts to fade. We've been watching the mountain goats, carefully, as there seem to be a lot of them. There were over a dozen on our descent. We didn't stop for photos. We wanted to keep an eye on them and be ready to react. We made it up past the ridge overlook and followed the trail leading to Lake Angeles. The "rooms", areas carpeted with alpine flowers and divided by crags, were a trip back to early in the season. Only a few flowers had blossomed, though we expect more when we answer the call of Klahane Ridge again.	A view from the ascent
As we approached the ridge	A mountain goat and her kid
Another view of them	A view of the Olympic Mountains
One of the alpine "rooms"	The end of our hike, lingering snow
Phlox, probably at its peak - It's a pity there isn't HTML to capture the scent.	Lupines, a great year
Blood wort	Bog orchid

Keywords: flowers, high country, klahane ridge, mountain goats, trails

02/16/17 - Marymere Falls in February It has been a wintry month, and we haven't been getting out as much as we'd like. If nothing else, the Spruce Railroad Trail and all of the Elwha Valley trails are closed for construction and the high country is covered with snow. We did get out to Marymere Falls. It was a short walk from the parking lot, less than an hour round trip, but it was a nice taste of northwestern forest for the season.	The falls
The misty mountain trail	Looking down at Barnes Creek
The trail with a new handrail (on the right)	Barnes Creek again
The side stream from the falls	Another view of Barnes Creek

Keywords: elwha, high country, marymere falls, spruce railroad, trails

09/30/16 - The Plains of Mars Winter is coming to the high country. The greens are turning into browns and reds and golds. At Obstruction Point the colors are brilliant, and the fields of bright red foliage remind us of the plains of Mars. Of course, thanks to NASA we now know that Mars looks nothing at all like Lilian Ridge, but the colors still evoke the fantastic Mars of Edgar Rice Burroughs. The high country is always a bit otherworldly, but it is at its most spectacular and alien when the colors start to change.	The mountains of Mars
More mountains with Martian vegetation in the foreground	Red and a shock of gold
Fields of Mars	More Martian landscape
Seasonal color change	Changing colors from a distance
The red land encroaches on a dying sea	Lakes and seas of gold
More plains of Mars	Another Martian view

Keywords: high country, obstruction point

09/18/16 - Smoke in the High Country The Cox Valley fire is still smoldering in the high country. We hiked the Hurricane Hill trail and could see the smoke filled valleys to the south. We also saw a number of blue grouse. The grasses on the hill sides have been turning golden, but it was the spectacular blue of the smoke and sky that caught our attention.	Autumn colors and smoke
More valley smoke	Smoke and clouds
Golden grasses and forest fire smoke	One of the grice or perhaps one of the grouses
More distant smoke	Smoke, sky and trail
Dried flowers	Even more smoke
A close up …	… and another one

Keywords: grouse, high country, hurricane hill

09/07/16 - Hurricane Hill in the Mist The weather in the high country is as changeable as ever. That means packing a light raincoat and making the most of whatever the mountains and clouds offer. We didn’t expect much from Hurricane Hill on a cloudy day, but the round trip walk takes over an hour and a half. That gave the clouds plenty of time to shift and change. At times we were wrapped in fog, but we still managed to discern a blue grouse and a marmot. We also had some spectacular scenery and a beautiful walk.	Mixed skies
Autumn colors	Mist
One of the views	A blue grouse
Autumn colors and autumn mist	The flooded foot path
A marmot in the mist	A closeup of that marmot
Some teasing blue sky	Another view

Keywords: grouse, high country, hurricane hill, weather

07/29/16 - Obstruction Point We waited for a sunny day before heading out to Obstruction Point. We really did not want to be caught on the road out in the fog. We were well rewarded with spectacular high country views, alpine flowers and the return of the alpine lakes, even now filling with melting snow. It is always an otherworldly experience, a journey to the top of the world and another clime.	The trail
One of the views - the Olympic range	Another view
A seasonal lake	Glacier lily - It’s still early spring out there.
Some lupines, nice to see	Another seasonal lake
A lake and melting snow	Yet another view of the mountains
Another lake and melting snow	Phlox, a sign of spring

Keywords: flowers, high country, obstruction point

05/12/16 - Hurricane Hill Road Is Open Hurricane Hill Road opened on Sunday, the 8th of May. This is earlier than usual. There was a lot of snow up on Hurricane Ridge this winter, but it has been melting quickly. We took advantage of this early opening and went out to hike one of our favorite trails in the high country. The sky was blue. The snow covered mountains were crystalline in the distance. It was still early in the season, though. There were only a few glacier lilies, but a lot richly scented phlox. In places it covered the hillsides, and its aroma covered the trail. We made it all the way up to the summit, about a 650 foot climb. The only snow on the trail was where the trail was protected on both sides by pine trees, the section running from the bench, about 200 feet, to the open switchbacks above, about 350 feet. The high country is open. We should note, there is only one open restroom at the Hurricane Ridge lodge during the week, but the picnic area restrooms down Hurricane Hill Road are open, even during the week.	The snow capped Olympic Mountains
The one long snowy stretch of trail	A spectacular place to hike
A glacier lily	More scenery
The mountains again	… and again
Phlox	A view from the summit
A north facing hillside	More phlox

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, hurricane ridge, trails

09/12/14 - Fall Colors at Obstruction Point We always like the Lilian Ridge hike out of Obstruction Point in the autumn. In truth, this hike has its charms in every season, but in the fall the wild, high country foliage starts changing color. There are bright yellows, pale silvers, and some amazing brilliant reds. The high country is exotic enough, but sometimes we feel like we are on another world, hiking the bright red plains of Mars.	Bright reds set off by deep summer greens
One of the many crickets about	More brilliant red
Red fields and red stairs	More early autumn color
A few last harebells	Cedums and dried flowers
More alpine flowers	A patch of red
Red grasses	More red fields

Keywords: autumn, high country, obstruction point

07/24/14 - Obstruction Point, Just the Flowers The glacier lilies and phlox may be passing, and the lupine a bit off their peak, but otherwise, this has been the most amazing year for high country flowers. We won't even bother with captions; we don't even know the names of most of these. They're just beautiful. We'll let the pictures do the talking.

Keywords: flowers, high country, obstruction point

07/23/14 - Obstruction Point Revisited Obstruction Point Road opened a bit over a week ago, so we ventured out from Hurricane Ridge. It's a one and a half lane unpaved road, so we drove carefully to the parking lot at the edge of the high wilderness. Most of the snow on the trail had melted, so we made it all the way to where the trail drops off for the descent towards Grand Lake. Here, there was some snow on the trail, but otherwise, it was easy going. The high country here is wild and austere with dusty trails, cracked rocks and a profusion of wild flowers. There was some phlox and a few glacier lilies left, but there were so many flowers that we'll have to have a separate post just for them. Some years, the alpine lakes in the valleys below are covered with snow, but this year, the snows have melted early, so they are all full of water and almost like distant mirrors.	The view down the staircase
The last few glacier lilies	A last bit of phlox
One of the seasonal lakes	More lakes - the one on the left with icebergs

The mountains	More mountains
Melting snow	The trail

Keywords: flowers, high country, obstruction point, trails

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