Tag: Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge Wildflowers

Looking South

I recently did a day drive up to Hurricane Ridge In Olympic National Park. The road runs up into the alpine area, which makes it nice if you are carrying a bunch of camera equipment. The top photo is looking south into the center of the park and the Elwha River valley. The end of June is a good time for wild flowers, since most of the snow has left. I was able to find a trail where I was by myself and not packed in with all the other folks (they were mostly hiking trails near the main parking lot or Hurricane Hill).

The second image is Olympic Onion, which is described as being rare. I’ve seen it a few times and it smells strongly of onion. Since I’ve never seen it in huge masses, I’ve never harvested any for enhancing the flavor of my backpacking food. (although it sure would help)

Third image is larkspur … which competes with lupine in the blue/purple assemblage.

Olympic Onion
Larkspur

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What’s around that corner?

What’s around that corner?

I like this photo because as this trail (yes, it’s a trail, not a road) curves around the shoulder of the hill, there is a sense of wonder: what’s up ahead? It provides some visual tension. That’s a good thing in a photo. (usually)

Also, this photo is from the Hurricane Hill trail in the Olympic National Park. It was converted to an ADA compliant trail a few years back to enable access to the high country with those folks with mobility issues. Since the trailhead is near the end of the Hurricane Ridge road, it also means that you are over 5200 feet high (1.6 KM), without having to hike up that elevation. Thus, as one gets older, there is still easy access to the high country in the Olympics, especially when I’m carrying along a bunch of photo equipment.

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Subalpine Birds

Gray Jay 1

I took these photos up at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park recently. It was a gray day with heavy cloud cover. There is a nice paved road all the way up and the views are spectacular (even in cloudy weather; see recent posts … including the ones coming up). It’s over 5000′ … so one of the few places you can drive to the high country in the Olympics (the other being Deer Park). That elevation is in the subalpine zone in the Olympics … and there aren’t as many bird types up there as in lower areas. A couple of the regulars are shown here: Gray Jays (AKA Canada Jays or “Camp Robbers”) and Blue Grouse (AKA Sooty Grouse). (Missing were ravens and hawks)

Blue Grouse
Gray Jay 2

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