River Bend

This was taken from a favorite spot of mine along the North Fork Skokomish River in the Olympic National Park. As you may remember (if you are a regular follower) the North Fork valley burned its full length this summer. With the weather we have had the fire is no longer burning. However, there still is no access to the area due to the hazardous conditions: falling rocks, branches and trees. I have some hope that this is one area that survived with only partial loss of trees. Interestingly enough, the area along the trail on the uphill side in this area was burned back in the late 1980’s (I saw the smoke from near my house in Seattle). There are a few burned snags in the left side of this image. While that area burned, there were many scattered trees that survived. I am hopeful that is the case in this area. I am looking forward to taking a look next spring if the area is open to the public.

November 15, 2025 0

Autumn Trails

Walking in the woods in the autumn has a special feel to it. The trees are shedding leaves and needles (those that do) and nature feels like it is getting ready for a long nap.

November 9, 2025 1

On The Trail

Trail maintenance has suffered for years … some trails get brushy or have trees that have fallen across the track. Depending on the ‘importance’ of the trail, maintenance may go waiting for years. Trails are a valuable and limited resource and should be protected from neglect. All of these trails are in the Olympic National Park … and show different levels of maintenance. The top image shows a meadow area where the trail has almost disappeared: it is a rarely used section. The middle image shows a trail that gets regular maintenance due to heavy use. The third image shows yours truly on a trail that gets very heavy use … and regular maintenance.

September 4, 2025 0

Smoke from Bear Gulch

We took a trip down to the Lake Cushman viewpoint to see what the smoke from the Bear Gulch fire looked like. It wasn’t a column of smoke as I had imaged. See what the view was like without the smoke, below (and a different time of year).

Previous View of the Bear Gulch Fire Area

August 15, 2025 3

Bear Gulch Fire – Day 4

This is the last post of the North Fork Skokomish area of the Olympic National Park near Staircase. Regular readers may recognize the area from many of my previous posts and remember that I have hiked this favorite area dozens of times. I am sharing these now because everything they show has been burnt in the Bear Gulch fire in the last week or two. I remain in mourning.