Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: hurricane hill, Page: 3

For more on the Hurricane Hill Trail, visit our Hurricane Hill website.

We forgot to mention that we saw some elderberries on the drive down from Hurricane Hill. There are two trees right near the road. We've been watching them. First there were the flowers. Now, the berries are ripe.

Elderberries

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill

09/08/14 - Fall Colors We've been awfully busy lately, but we have been getting up to Hurricane Hill to check out the fall colors. Each time we go, the grasses have more color, and, here and there, we spy some fiery red fall foliage. This trip we spotted our first blue grouse of the season. Is the plural of "grouse" "grouses" or "grice"? Walt Kelley, the cartoonist who drew Pogo, once said that the mongoose is a singular animal, because no one can say two of them. The blue grouse seems to be a singular animal as well. If we saw more than one of them, we couldn't tell you.	A bit of gold
More color	A young blue grouse
The same grouse again	Mountains
More color	Almost the same place as the photo to the left, except a cloud was blocking the sun and the pallete shifted
Hints of red among the green	More gold
More red	This will resemble the plains of Mars in another few weeks.

Keywords: grouse, hurricane hill

08/29/14 - Hurricane Hill We were up at Hurricane Hill, and already we can see the end of summer. Most of the flowers have passed, though there are still some harebells and yarrow. The grasses are turning brown and gold, sometimes with a bit of red. The light is different, more muted.	Late summer colors
A golden marmot	A resting deer
More gold in the grasses	The green valley
More late summer color	Even more late summer color
The side spur path	More grasses
Butterflies	Clouds and mountains

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, summer

06/26/14 - The Critters of Hurricane Hill The flowers are near their peak on Hurricane Hill. The phlox may even be a touch past its peak, though its scent lingers. The lupines are blooming, as are the western wallflowers, glacier lilies, rock larkspur, avalanche lilies and yarrows. The marmots are out and active, as are the deer. There was also a mountain goat wandering about. The park service seems to have fitted this one with a collar. These can be dangerous animals, so we kept our distance. While we were exploring, clouds and mist were rising in the north, and by the time we were heading back, they had engulfed the top of Hurricane Hill. Through the mists we could see a blue lake forming from the melted snow and a golden marmot cooling him or herself on the snow. This was a great day for the flowers and for critter spotting on Hurricane Hill, but our real surprise was on the drive out. Driving through the parking lot, we saw a mother bear with two cubs scampering along Sunrise Ridge. We didn't have time to take a photograph, but those were the first bears of the season.	The scenery
One of the many golden marmots	Western Wallflower and some phlox
Phlox and the mists	Marmot of the mist
Clouds from the north	Another view
A mountain goat	Even closer
Glacier lilies	Larkspur and paintbrush

Keywords: animals, flowers, hurricane hill, marmots

06/02/14 - Hurricane Hill Trail Report The Hurricane Hill Trail is open. On slow days, we have been heading up to Hurricane Ridge to watch the snow melt and glacier lilies blossom. Usually this time of year, there are ten foot high ramparts of snow at the far end of the parking lot. This year, the area was almost snow free, so it was only a small surprise that the road to the Hurricane Hill trailhead was open. The big surprise was that the trail was relatively free of snow. There were some patches and a long stretch, a section of the trail shaded by evergreens was still covered. Still, we made it to the summit. The trail is open early. We usually don't make it to the top of the hill until late June or even early July, but this year is different. The alpine flowers are already coming out, and not just the glacier lilies. The trail is scented with phlox. The paintbrush is out and the lupines are starting to bloom. Even the marmots are up and about. If you are planning a trip to Hurricane Ridge, it might make sense to plan to come early. The high country can be hard country, so it pays to sieze the day.	The trail is quite clear here.
This shaded corridor is the most snow covered part of the trail, but passable.	The views are spectacular.
A view from the summit	Another high country view
Lupines	Phlox
A marmot	Another marmot
Bachelors, out grazing	Paintbrush

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

05/19/14 - Hurricane Ridge - Spring Report We drove up to Hurricane Ridge today to watch the snow melt and see if any flowers were in bloom. The road is completely clear, save for the usual runaway rocks. There was lupine in bloom at one of the lookouts, and as we approached the ridge proper, the first phlox of the season was in bloom. The snow is melting rapidly on the ridge. There were 57 inches of snow at the official snow stake, but there were plenty of clear patches, and there was less snow than we expected on the continuation of the road towards Hurricane Hill. Usually this time of year, there are eight or ten foot high ramparts, but this year they were much reduced. We wandered down the road a bit towards Hurricane Hill, and we're guessing that they'll open the road earlier than usual this year. Then we explored the parking lot and found them, glacier lilies. The first few were just buds with a touch of yellow, but a few were starting to open. The Hurricane Ridge flower season has begun.	Some mountains
Sunrise Peak	Melting snow
No ramparts here	The road to Hurricane Hill
Glacier lilies	Another glacier lily
A glacier lily starting to bloom	Yet another glacier lily
We aren't sure what this is, but it looks interesting.	Clouds and fog

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, hurricane ridge

10/20/13 - Olympic National Park Is Open Again - Hurricane Hill The park is open again, and about time. As soon as we got the word, we were heading up Hurricane Ridge Road, and we weren't alone. There was a short line up at the entry station and a short wait where they are still repairing the tunnels, but it didn't take us long to return to the high country. Hurricane Hill was spectacular. There are a few spots of snow on the ground, but the trails were clear and the air almost crystaline. The grasses are turning golden brown. It was only two weeks, but it was way too long.	The fields are golden brown
More color, more mountains	A spot of snow below
That snow on the north face is there until next summer.	The side spur
The Strait of San Juan de Fuca	A view north
Golden hills	Some autumn color
Fields, snow and mountains	Mount Baker, a distant meringue

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, autumn, trails

09/25/13 - Hurricane Hill - After the Equinox Obstruction Point Road has already closed and the weather has been changeable. Instead of the usual September sun, our skies seem to be visitors from October. We hiked the Hurricane Hill Trail on a quiet day and watched Mount Olympus fuss with its wreath of clouds before vanishing. The marmots were out, but turning darker and browner for winter. Only their hindquarters were golden. We saw only a handful of flowers, dried yarrow, a few harebells, and the like. Instead we saw fall foliage with the grasses turning golden and leaves turning red and brown.	Golden fields and misty mountains
One of five marmots we saw	Another marmot in closeup - not very golden
A view	A misty view and changing colors
Mount Angeles	To the north, a touch of blue
The first bit of snow, near the summit	A band of gold
A mushroom	Last of the flowers

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, marmots, obstruction point, weather, winter

07/18/13 - Hurricane Hill in Season Hurricane Hill is in season. Even the roses and corn lilies are out. The hills are thick with marmots, and the scenery is spectacular. If you can't reach us at home, we'll be hiking the trails.	A marmot surrounded by dirty sock plant
A buck on the snow	A marmot beating the heat
Melting snow	A rock garden
The mountains	The snow really does melt faster on the sunny side.
A mountain plover	Pasque flowers and corn lilies - yes corn lilies
One of the first roses	More mountains and flowers

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, marmots, trails

07/04/13 - Back to Hurricane Hill Yes, we've already been back to Hurricane Hill - twice in fact. It is really beautiful up there. There weren't as many marmots this time, but we did see some other wonderful things.	The snow melt lake is forming below the peak.
The mountains - well, what can we say?	Green shoots
An early corn lily	We saw a mountain goat on a rocky hill side, at a good safe distance.
A marmot	The snow is melting quickly.
Glacier lilies blooming by the melting snow	Avalanche lilies growing in the shade
A little rock garden	Lupines

Keywords: hurricane hill, marmots, flowers

06/24/13 - Hurricane Hill - Part 2 - Summit and Flowers The summit of Hurricane Hill was surrounded by clouds. Our view degraded as we made our final ascent, scaring one poor marmot from his or her perch. Port Angeles and points north were invisible, hidden beneath the clouds. The entire north slope before us, sheltered from the sun, was covered in a thick layer of snow. It was quite dramatic. The marmots were still out as we descended and the fields were starting to blossom with glacier lilies, phlox, paintbrush, lupines and even some dirty sock plant. We didn't see any avalanche lilies, and the phlox didn't have its usual sweet scent. Still, it was a spectacular hike through the high country.	Another view north
The mountains shrouded by clouds	Fields of flowers
Yet another marmot	A snowshoe hare
The clouds would come and go.	A marmot with glacier lilies
Lupines and paintbrush	Larkspur
Lupines	Phlox

Keywords: flowers, high country, hurricane hill, marmots

06/22/13 - Hurricane Hill - Part 1 - Clouds and Marmots Hurricane Hill Road is open all the way to the trailhead, so we readied our Yaktracks and made our way up the mountain. It was a cloudy day. We couldn't even see the mountains from Port Angeles, just a wall of fog. There was some fog on the drive, but at some point after the tunnels we realized that the fog had cleared and what we were seeing was just gray clouds above. There was a band of clouds obscuring the tops of the mountains, but otherwise the view was fine. We walked the relatively flat first part of the trail enjoying the views and flowers, but dreading the ascent ahead. We were out of shape for high country hiking and the air felt thin. Despite this we pushed our way up past the Wind - The Sculptor Sign and past the little bench. Here was the first real snow, but it was melting quickly. With our trusty hiking sticks in hand we lumbered forth - excelsior. The sky stayed gray, and now and then a cloud would block our view of one part of the Olympic range or another, but we were getting higher and into marmot country. We turned a the hamper and started on the switchbacks. There were marmots everywhere. They were in the fields, perched atop mounds, racing across patches of snow and a good number of them were eating. We counted at least nine of them which might be a record. TO BE CONTINUED WITH MORE PICTURES	The snows are still melting.
Clouds and snow	The mountains
Distant clouds
	A marmot, one of many
Another marmot	Two marmots, at home
Yet another marmot with a good view of his or her golden tail	The view north

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill

06/07/13 - Hurricane Ridge We've been getting up to Hurricane Ridge now and then to see how the snow is melting and whether the alpine flowers have come into bloom. Our report: the snow is melting, and the flowers have yet to bloom. There's also the spectacular scenery, the Olympic Mountains and the dramatic sky. The road to Hurricane Hill is still not open to traffic, so we walked and made our way to the trailhead. There was some pretty impressive scenery en route.	Dramatic clouds
More drama in the sky	Hurricane Hill itself is still covered with snow
The parking lot, however, is clearing	More dramatic views
Blue sky below	Big mountains, big sky
Dark clouds	A different sky, and all at the same time
A mixed sky	Sunrise Peak is still covered with snow.

Keywords: hurricane hill, hurricane ridge

05/10/13 - Hurricane Ridge Melt Watch

We've been watching the snow melt at Hurricane Ridge on the park webcams, and we've been following the snow depth at the weather website, but we had to drive up and see what is happening live.

The Kaleberg Report - The snow is melting rapidly. We were quite surprised. The phlox is in bloom a bit below the Switchback trailhead, so the high country is opening for the season. The biggest surprise was the state of the road to Hurricane Hill. It was blocked off by a barricade of orange highway cones, but instead of the usual high ramparts ending in a wall of snow, the road seems to have been plowed, at least as far as we could see. It may even be open now as you read this.

There's more and more grass showing.

We are reminded that summer is coming.

More signs of melting snow

The ramparts and the barricade

but, the Hurricane Hill Road has been plowed and may soon open.

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, hurricane ridge, weather, kale

11/12/12 - Hurricane Ridge Saturday was sunny, so we headed up to Hurricane Ridge to check things out. The road to the Hurricane Hill trailhead was closed and covered with a thin layer of snow, so we hiked from the lodge to the trailhead. We saw some wonderful things.	Just a touch of frost
The grasses are golden	That's the Hurricane Hill Trail. It's still walkable, but we were too tired to continue.
A red branched bush	Another view of the Hurricane Hill trail
The mountains and clouds	More mountainas and clouds
There is just enough snow to make things look beautiful.	The road
A view through the trees	Mount Angeles

Keywords: hurricane hill, hurricane ridge, winter

10/18/12 - Hurricane Hill in the Autumn Unlike New England, the Northwest is not known for its autumn colors, but Hurricane Hill tends to put on a good show. The fields turn a rich gold, and there are bursts of red and gold. The flowers of the alpine summer are now dried specimens waiting for their winter covering of snow.	Golden fields and - oh yeah - mountains
More golden fields	Another view to the west
Red gold	More gold
Red and gold in the valley	More red and gold
Dried flowers	The hanging gardens, ready for winter
A touch of gold	A touch of red

Keywords: autumn, flowers, hurricane hill

06/27/12 - Marmot City Hurricane Hill is so full of marmots that we're thinking of renaming it Marmot City. We saw at least ten of them, including one so large we were thinking of counting him (or her) as two. The snow is melting apace, and we're getting more used to hiking the high country, so stay tuned for more news from Marmot City.	These two were tussling, like something right out of a nature documentary.
These two are digging their digs right near the bench and the new marmot sign.	They are fearless.
A proud profile	This one lives at the summit of Hurricane HIll.
Another marmot lurking	Some token scenery
Yup, more scenery	Most of the trail is easy going, if you don't count having to climb a bit.

Keywords: hurricane hill, marmots

06/19/12 - Hurricane Hill Despite the cool spring this year, we made it up to the top of Hurricane Hill before the solstice. We took advantage of one of those great sunny, un-June like days we've been having and drove up to Hurricane Ridge. The Hurricane Hill access road was open and most of the parking lot cleared. There was some snow on the trail, but we had our trusty YakTrax and hiking sticks, so we had extra traction on the trickier stretches. The hard part was really that we weren't used to the altitude, but the blue sky and amazing vista pulled us upwards. Marmot Rock, a rock that looks like a marmot, had survived the winter, but we also saw a real marmot chittering and playing sentinel now that we humans have returned to the high country. There was some phlox in bloom along with a bit of Indian paintbrush, some yarrow and a lupine or two, but otherwise the landscape had just melted. It took us a fair bit longer than usual, but we made our way up to the summit and admired the views of the Olympic Mountains, the San Juans, Vancouver Island and the great white meringue of Mt. Baker.	One of the views
Last summer's grasslands, now faded	This is sort of what the trails look like, but the snow is melting rapidly.
Another view, this one from the summit	The real marmot - Click this caption for some shaky video, marmot calls and our heavy breathing.
Blue sky	The view east from the summit
Phlox	Indian paintbrush
Another view	Yet another view

Keywords: high country, hurricane hill, spring, animals, flowers

06/08/12 - It's Going to Take a Lot of Melting

We've started our seasonal Hurricane Ridge watch, waiting for the high country trails to open. There's still a lot of snow up there, and the webcam points at a southern slope, so it doesn't reveal much about how clear the trails are. Another useful resource is the real time Hurricane Ridge weather report which gives the snow level. The park posts its own trail condition reports, and while things are thawing, the cool spring means that much of the high country is still closed. We'll be heading up to the ridge now and then to see what things are like, and we'll post a note when we get our first high country hike of the year.

There was a lot of snow.

These ramparts are lower now, but there's still a lot ot melt.

We walked the road to Hurricane Hill a bit. When we last checked, it wasn't plowed far.

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

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