Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: summer, Page: 1

Older Entries

09/17/22 - A Little Surprise on the Little River We hiked the Little River Trail for a ways. It goes all the way up to the Hurricane Hill Trail, and we are never going to hike that far. It's late summer, so we kept our eyes open. To our surprise, we saw a small frog beside the trail. Given the bright sunlight filtering through the thick foliage and the frog's excellent camouflage, it was a wonder that we could spot it. We also spotted some mushrooms and berries, and there was the Little River itself.	Along the trail
Can you spot the frog?	Somehow we did
Tree ears	Pacific dogwood berries
A battered but unbowed trillium	The Little River
Rapids	More of the river
A lone blue berry	An early Halloween decoration, a green skull
Another tree ear	False Solomon's seal berries

Keywords: little river, summer

09/01/22 - River Otters The river otters were out in the strait on the Olympic Discovery Trail west of Morse Creek. We took a late summer walk, and it was nice to see them.	Late summer on the crumbling dike
Along the trail	Wonderful shade
An otter peeping up at us	An elusive otter or two - No photos!

Keywords: morse creek, otters, summer

08/05/22 - Hurricane Hill Yet Again We got an early start on our most recent trip up Hurricane Hill, but even then, the trailhead parking lot was full and we got the last available spot at the nearer picnic area. We hadn't been up this way for a while. The season has been moving along. We missed all but a few lupines. The glacier and avalanche lilies are long gone, as were the phlox and larkspur. Instead, there were yarrows, harebells, roses and corn lilies. It was a brilliant sunny day but cool. The trail was pretty easy going until the big climb just past where the Little River Trail ends. We huffed and puffed and pulled ourself up the mountain, past pine trees and then alpine fields. As usual, we were tricked by Marmot Rock. It really does look like a marmot, but we also so a number of marmots, a buck with velvet antlers and a sky full of ravens.	The Olympic Mountains
A marmot	Another marmot
Yet another marmot, dramatically posed	Ravens
A confused buck	A nearly hidden marmot
Alpine fields	Another view
Starbursts	Harebells
Alpine meadow mix	A rose among others
Corn lilies, also known as false hellebore	Corn lilies in bloom
Pink paintbrush	More harebells
A study in yellow	Mountains
A view to the northwest with a bit of snow left	The sidespur we took
Mountains and flowers	Zoomed in on the Olympic range

Keywords: hurricane hill, marmots, summer

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

07/21/22 - Dungeness Dike There are big changes along the Dungeness River down by Towne Road. The southern part of the old dike is gone, and a new road is coming through. We're taking advantage of what's left of the dike, and, now that it is summer, it's lush and overgrown. We spotted two eagles or perhaps the same eagle twice. It was a short walk, but a pretty one.	A sunflower at Chi's Farm on Towne Road near Old Olympic
Another sunflower	And another
The summer dike	Lush and overgrown
An eagle sighting	Some marshland
A bit of the river	More lush summer of foliage
The dike again	Another glimpse of the Dungeness River
An eagle above	Zoomed in a bit

Keywords: dungeness, eagle, summer

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

08/01/21 - Second Beach at Extreme Low Tide There have been some extremely low tides out at Second Beach this summer. The beach only recently reopened to the public, so we took advantage of the reopening and a recent low tide to see the beach at its widest and head out to the sea stack that is usually an unreachable island. We expected big crowds, but the trail and beach were relatively quiet. The Third Beach trailhead parking lot, in contrast, was overflowing. We hiked through the forest and descended to the beach. There is usually a driftwood barrier to clamber over, but the beach was clear this time. The driftwood had drifted elsewhere. We made our way to the sea stack dry shod. It was great to see so many starfish. With the plague wiping out so many of them some years back and recent stories of sea creatures being cooked in their shells we expected the worst. There were starfish and a good many of them. It was far from the years before the plague, but they were not hard to find. We explored the sea stack, its caves and its seaward side. Then we headed down the beach into the light mist. With an extreme negative tide like this, there was lots of beach and it was easy going. There were more starfish down near the cave at the end of the beach and anemones galore. We spent some time exploring here and then made our way back to the return forest trail.	The trail to Second Beach
No driftwood blocking the way	The hole in the wall towards La Push
The sea stack off shore	A welcome sight
More starfish	Even more starfish
Anemones	A starfish pool
Faint mist	More sea stacks
Pelicans or pterodactyls?	More pelicans
The beach	More starfish and friends
Tide pools	Even more starfish
Saying good bye to the sea stack	The trail back

Keywords: second beach, summer, third beach, tides

06/17/21 - Dungeness Spit It is hard to walk the Dungeness Spit in the winter. The mid-day low tide is usually almost as high as its surrounding high tides, and the what there is of the beach lacks sand so progress is hard going. We're in the season of good tides now. Check the left hand side of this web page or our tide tables to find a good tide. Note that the lighthouse is closed for the duration, so no bathroom or running water. Still, this is the best time of year for the ten mile round trip hike.	The forest walk to the spit
The sea and clouds	Take off!
More sea and clouds	An eagle on the driftwood - Check inland now and then.
The view back to land, again mainly sea, sand and sky	A view from the climb out
The forest trail again	and again

Keywords: dungeness spit, tides, summer

06/16/21 - Summer Along the Elwha It's summer along the Elwha River. The river is milky with snow melt and the water is running high. The foliage just about everywhere is green and thick, and we even saw a young fawn. We took our usual walk starting at Madison Falls and heading along the closed portion of Olympic Hot Springs Road. We took the detour around the old campground through the high ground and forest and emerged again on the road to the Altair bridge. As usual, we went a bit beyond the road gate and looked for the waterfall across the river. We saw it, but, as usual this time of year, this meant a glimpse now and then revealed through the foliage. Eventually, we'll head on and check out the old dam overlook, but it's a two hour hike for us just to cross the bridge. Next time maybe.	The Elwha now running through the old campground
The Elwha as seen from the Altair bridge	Roses in bloom near the bridge
A doe and fawn, still speckled	The green wall
Elderberry buds	Milky blue water
Another look at the Elwha	And another
Green trail on the detour	A turk's cap lily

Keywords: elwha, summer, waterfall

08/23/19 - Marymere Falls We haven't been getting out to Marymere Falls lately. The construction on route 101 along Lake Crescent with its 45 minute delays has discourage us. We took advantage of a pause in the work to take the 50 minute falls loop. It was a bright sunny day, and the forest was beautiful with the bright illumination. There were a good number of others out visiting the falls which were relatively quiet as one might expect in the late summer.	The wide walk to the falls
Another view en route, dark trees, bright sun	The bridge
Water in the canyon	The falls
A view of the falls from the upper overview	Pyramid Peak visible through the trees

Keywords: lake crescent, marymere falls, summer

08/22/19 - Klahane Ridge - High Summer Once again we put on our hiking boots, grabbed our hiking sticks and hauled ourselves up to Klahane Ridge by way of the Switchback Trail. We didn't set any speed records, but we made it. The climb was sunny with a blue sky, but by the time we made it to the ridge, clouds were rising from the sea and shrouding peaks and valleys. We rested a bit and watched the clouds rise with the warmth of the day. By the time we made it back to the parking lot, the sky was mostly blue again. It was a late summer hike. The lupines and larkspur were long gone. Vegetation was thick, but only a handful of flowers remained, mainly in microclimates. Many plants had gone to seed, but the yarrow was near its peak.	Clouds and Mount Olympus
Brilliant sun	Another bright scene
Two butterflies	Those two again
A last bit of phlox	More clouds at the ridge
Clouds seeping in from the north	A view of the Olympic Mountains
Asters	Another spectacular view
Larkspur and paintbrush	Late summer blooms
A view from on the way down	A bit of the trail now that the sun had returned
Paintbrush	A hawk we had seen soaring earlier
A last few lupines	More paintbrush

Keywords: flowers, klahane ridge, summer

08/15/19 - Late Summer Little River Trail We were back on the Little River Trail, and it was obvious that summer is passing. There were fewer flowers and a lot more berries. The mushrooms were up and about. It's a nice easy trail and a good way to track the seasons.	The trail
Another bit of trail	Thimbleberries
Spooky pipes	More spooky pipes - Halloween must be nigh.
Devil's claw berries	Possibly a chanterelle
Last bit of Pacific dogwood	False solomon's seal berries
The Little River	More of the forest trail
Another bit of magic forest	Old wood
More pipes	Onward
Ghost mushrooms	More devil's claw - Maybe Halloween really is nigh.
A rock face	Little mushrooms

Keywords: little river, summer

08/06/19 - Obstruction Point - The Hike We went out to Obstruction Point again and took our usual walk along the ridge. Most of the snow had melted, and there was just a touch of late summer color - a bit of red and a bit of gold - creeping in. There are more pictures of flowers and marmots in another post.	This is actually a view from the start of Obstruction Point Road at Hurricane Ridge.
The trail	The little lake one sees descending the staircase
The stone staircase	Distant mountains with melting snow
Another bit of trail	Yet another bit under a big gray sky
The Olympic Mountains	Three recently melted lakes below a cirque
More of the trail - Can you guess which side is the north face?	Another view with a bit of autumn color
Distant mountains in the cloud	A peek at the big mountains
Still another bit of trail	Another spectacular view - The whole trail is like this.

Keywords: obstruction point, summer

06/28/19 - To the Altair Bridge Again We took another walk along the Elwha from Madison Falls south to the Altair Bridge. We actually went a bit past the bridge to take a look at the waterfall across the river. The roses are all gone, but the summer flowers have been coming in.	If you make it past the Altair bridge, watch for this little waterfall across the river. It is visible just a bit past the gate.
A waterfall closeup	Another closeup
Olympic Hot Springs Road where we turned around	Olympic Hot Springs Road towards the new branch of the Elwha
The Elwha below	Another Elwha view
Elderberries	Elderberry closeup
Fern forest	More fern forest
One of the summer flowers	Ocean spray
The detour	Tiger lilies
A butterfly	That butterfly again
That persistent butterfly	A bellflower

Keywords: elwha, flowers, summer, waterfall

06/26/19 - Hurricane Hill - Last Visit for a While With the construction, Hurricane Hill is only open a few days this summer, but we managed to get up there one more time. We were pleased to see the lupines in bloom but a bit worried by the advanced state of the snow melt. Still, the flowers were beautiful. We are going to miss the corn lilies, but we could see them coming up. We are also going to miss the marmots, but they seem to be do fine without us. If we manage to synchronize our schedule and the construction schedule, we'll try for a visit later this summer, but it doesn't look promising.	An amazing sky
Two marmots	The same two marmots sparring
The Olympic Mountains	Another view of the mountains
Alpine flowers	That's the little seasonal lake in the background.
Field of corn lilies	One of the corn lilies
Another view, so very green	A view north and west
Soft skies	Blue and green
Another marmot amidst the dirty sock plant	A view through the trees
Avalanche lilies	We are sure we looked these up once.
A floral arrangement	Larkspur and wallflower - if your browser supports the SCENT tag you should smell the wallflowers.

Keywords: flowers, hurricane hill, marmots, summer

06/22/19 - Little River Trail We've been regulars on the Little River Trail. We've following spring into summer. The trail is more hidden as the deciduous trees have leafed out and the trilliums have vanished, replaced by Pacific dogwood.	The trail
Plant life	More plant life
The river	Another view of the river, hidden by green
A trillium gone to seed	A salmonberry
Pacific dogwood	Even more plant life
Another bit of trail	And yet another

Keywords: little river, spring, summer, trillium

08/19/18 - Obstruction Point - Lupines and Grice Hiking the trail out of Obstruction Point is a lot like walking through Venice. It is hard not to take a picture postcard perfect shot by just raising one's camera and pressing a button. This time, we captured the brilliant sun, the late summer scene, some grice or grouses, or perhaps both.	Instant picture postcard - It's instagrammable up there.
Lupines	Mountains
Little lakes below	More mountains
Flowers	More lupines - This wasn't a great season for them, so we really appreciated these.
Green	Another picture postcard
One grouse	Another grouse - To paraphrase Walt Kelley, The grouse is a singular animal; no one can say two of them.
The trail	Even more flowers

Keywords: grouse, obstruction point, summer

07/22/18 - Farmer's Market Crespiou We haven't been covering the Port Angeles Farmers' Market lately, but we have been shopping there just about every Saturday morning. Summer is here, and the produce has been coming in. That includes Johnston Farm hothouse tomatoes, potatoes from The Family Farm, turnips from River Run and other good things from Nash Huber's. There are also a few other farm stands open, including Wild Edge which has the most amazing scallions. We love them grilled. With all this wonderful produce coming in, we had to make a crespiou, a French stacked omelet where each layer features a few ingredients. We only made four layers; the details are with the photos. We also got some zucchini blossoms and fried them in searing hot olive oil. All told, it was a real farmers' market treat.	Duck and chicken eggs and lots of berries, but we don't remember the name of the farm
Wild Edge	Zucchini and summer squash
Layer 1 - potatoes and onions	Layer 2 - zucchini and fresh marjoram
Layer 3 - string beans with garlic and pine nuts	Layer 4 - parsley and basil
Zucchini blossoms in olive oil	Light and crisp
The finished crespiou, garnished with tomato	A single slice

Keywords: farmers' market, johnston farm, nash huber, port angeles, shopping, summer

07/16/18 - Obstruction Point Road - Early Light We've been getting up early to avoid the summer traffic to Hurricane Ridge. We drove out to Obstruction Point, and the early morning light gave everything an amazing glow with the bright colors set off by deep shadows. These pictures barely capture it.	Morning light
A hare	A butterfly
The trail	Distant mountains
Less distant mountains	A lake below
More mountains	More morning light and melting snow
The trail	Flowers

Keywords: obstruction point, summer

Older Entries

Caption
Previous	Back to Web Page	Next