Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: hurricane hill, Page: 3

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

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

10/30/15 - Mountain Mystery The clouds may have blocked our view somewhat, but they also made everything wonderfully mysterious. While the grand view is one of the big attractions of the Hurricane Hill Trail, it has its charms even on a cloudy day.	One of the better views
Valley clouds	Golden grass and misty mountains
The fog rolling in	Golden grass and mist
A mysterious view	More mystery
Clouds in the mountains	More clouds and mountains
More clouds and mountains - What did you expect?	Some left over phlox

Keywords: hurricane hill

10/23/15 - Autumn Phlox at Hurricane Hill This has been a strange year. We hiked up to Hurricane Hill the other day and couldn't help noticing that there was phlox blooming by the trailside. Phlox are usually one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring, not long after the snows have melted, so seeing it in the autumn was a surprise. There was enough of it to scent the air here and there. As we said, this has been a strange year.	Phlox in bloom
A real surprise	Also, a dramatic mushroom
The scenery is getting paler.	The view
A bit of frost in the shade	Still some color here
More snow in the distant mountains	A last harebell
More phlox	Pine cones

Keywords: autumn, flowers, hurricane hill, spring, trails

10/02/15 - Hurricane Hill We made a trip up to Hurricane Hill and hiked to the summit. One of the things we noticed was that we were short of breath. Our Australia trip included a fair bit of climbing, but there aren't all that many high mountains in Australia. The continent is old, and most of the high mountain ranges have long since eroded. The Hurricane Hill Trail starts at over a mile up, so for our unaccustomed lungs the air was thin. The air was also moist with clouds and mists draping the hills and blocking the spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains. The hills were golden with accents of red and yellow. We saw Olympic blue grouse and a merlin in a tree. At first, we were sure it was a mock bird sighting. "That clump of foliage sure looks like a bird. It could have fooled me." As we approached though, it turned out to be a hawk, and this time we actually looked it up in a bird book. It was a merlin as best we can tell.	Mists and fields
An ascent into the clouds	More clouds
The misty mountains	After the summer's drought, this was a sight for sore eyes.
Glimpses of mountains	The trail down
That clump at the top of that tree almost looks like a bird.	An excellent example of protective mimickry
More clouds and mist	Another glimpse into the distance

Keywords: grouse, hurricane hill

07/10/15 - Hurricane Hill in the Haze We ran into some foggy spots on the road to Hurricane Hill, more or less centered around the tunnel, but by the time we made it to the Switchback trailhead, the sky was softly milky, but blue. It was dry on the trail to Hurricane Hill. It is only July, but we were seeing late summer flowers, the harebells and yarrow. There were butterflies everywhere. The clouds below filled the valleys and the haze softened the mountains. This wasn't the usual crystalline mountain air. Mount Olympus, in the distance, was softened, almost part of the cloudscape. There was a mountain goat grazing not far from the summit and a real marmot keeping his or her distance on the field containing a deceptive stone we call Marmot Rock. The corn lilies were doing surprisingly well. There was a full crop of them, a good number of them already in bloom. On the way down we passed a young girl heading upwards. She wore a tee shirt exhorting us to "Stop, Smell Roses", so we did. There were a few wild roses still in bloom. Few tee shirts offer such excellent advice.	Soft clouds, soft mountains
Awash with clouds	Harebells and yarrow
More soft mountains	A mountain goat
More soft shapes	A plover
Corn lilies	More mountains awash with clouds
A golden marmot in retreat	We stopped to smell the roses.

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, summer

06/08/15 - Hurricane Hill The road to Hurricane Hill has been open for over a month now. We finally made our first climb of the not so new year. With the ongoing lack of rain, we were worried about the alpine flowers. We expected a few bedraggled lupines and not much else. We were pleasantly surprised. This year is not anything like last year when it seemed every flower was in abundant bloom, but it was not the misery we had anticipated. There were plenty of flowers in bloom. There were lupines and avalanche lilies, richly scented phlox, larkspur, paintbrush and wall flowers. Even the corn lilies were well along, though not blooming yet. There was no lingering snow, even at the lingering snow sign. There is a good chance that this is the peak of the season. There is no rain in sight, and the snows are long gone.	Yet another photo of the Olympic Mountains
We should look this one up.	A marmot
The little pond is usually much bigger this early in the season and surrounded by melting snow.	Phlox and a wall flower
Another marmot, digging	One of the butterflies
The corn lilies have yet to bloom	Avalanche lilies
Larkspur	Lupines

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill

11/15/14 - Hurricane Hill - Early Winter Hurricane Ridge Road is now being closed during the week from Monday through Thursday. On Fridays and weekends the road is open, and, right now at least, the road to Hurricane Hill is open as well. It was a bright sunny day, and there were lots of people climbing up to Hurricane Hill. We were a bit out of shape for the mountains- the trailhead is nearly a mile up - and it was cold. Despite this, we made good time. The colors are muted now, but the scenery is still spectacular.	Bright sun, mountains and valley haze
Port Angeles	Frozen for the duration
Mountains	Mount Baker, floating like a meringue in the distance
More mountains and a touch of color still remaining	More mountains and some lens flare
More	and even more
Another bit of scenery	A last bit of fall color

Keywords: hurricane hill, hurricane ridge

09/10/14 - Elderberries

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

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