These shots were taken along the Slab Camp Trail out of Deer Park in the northern section of the Olympic National Park. Deer Park is in the subalpine area and is reached by an 8 mile drive on a steep, narrow, dusty road.
The Slab Camp Trail runs just at the upper edge of treeline for much of its upper end. You get these peeks out through the trees over to the peaks of the ridges along the Graywolf River.
This is Penstemon davidsonii var. davidsonii. It’s one of the favorites that you can find in the subalpine areas of the northern Olympic peninsula. We found this sample on the Slab Camp Trail, not far from Deer Park.
The Slab Camp Trail runs from the subalpine meadows near Deer Park in the Olympic National Park down to Slab Camp on the Graywolf River in the Olympic National Forest. We just hiked the mile and a half from Deer Park to the park boundary, only dropping 600 feet of elevation. Once in a while we had some clearing and views, but most of the afternoon we were hiking with clouds blowing over the ridge, cutting our view down to the local environs. Just happy that it never rained.
On a recent hike along the Slab Camp Trail out of Deer Park in the Olympic National Forest, we found that there was a lot of Olympic Onion in bloom. I had hiked this trail a number of times, but not usually this early in the season. I was delighted to see that the Olympic Onion was quite widespread in places. (see hillside below) I was pleased especially since these are not far from a very popular car campground and I was afraid that campers may have harvested many of them.
What can I say? I think the Hooded Merganser is one of the coolest birds around. Style-wise, that is. Another shot taken at the Nisqually Natural Wildlife Refuge (AKA Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge).
A reminder:
I have a book available on the Kindle site. It is a memoir titled 60 Years of Hiking in the Olympics. It has over 100 photographs and covers more than 100 different hikes and backpacks. I have it priced to share at $2.99 (US).
Here’s the link (Click the “Get Book” button):