Hurricane Ridge, Blue Mountain and Dungeness Spit Field Trip (7/7, 7/8 and 7/9/01) Highlights

Seven camped for two nights in the Heart of the Hills campground. We enjoyed woodland flowers like western coralroot, pyrolas and pipsissewas and the songs of Winter Wrens, Hermit and Swainson’s Thrushes. White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and Common Ravens were also abundant. We drove up to Hurricane Ridge on Saturday morning, stopping along the way at a trailhead to observe the bog orchids, shooting stars and common butler growing in the wet area. The weather was perfect and the floral display spectacular for the 1.5 mile hike up Hurricane Hill to an elevation of over 5700 ft. Every expected flower in this sub-alpine zone was found in pristine condition. Favorites included the always-surprising chocolate lily, the shy broom rape, avalanche lilies, bright purple Douglasias and penstemons, fuzzy little geums and the lovely anemones, nestled in the rocks and blooming at the summit. Birds seen ranged from large to small, Bald Eagles to hummingbirds, and were found from high to low, like the Peregrine Falcon and the Horned Larks.

On Sunday morning, the campers made a quick and unproductive survey of fog-shrouded Ediz Hook before meeting others in Sequim. We drove for 18 miles up the narrow dirt road to the top of Blue Mountain at just over 6000 ft. Again the weather and flowers were perfect for the walk on the Botanical Loop Trail searching for the endemic treasures of this alpine world. Rare plants like mountain oxytropis, Flett’s violet and rockslide larkspur were found, but the small area where Piper’s bellflower can be found is still cordoned off, safe for posterity. After a picnic lunch which ended the official trip, four people chose to stay on the mountain. They enjoyed a long alpine hike, photography, birding, a communal cookout and a night beside the silver forest and under the stars.

Monday morning we moved to Dungeness Spit for more walking: down through the forest serenaded by the ubiquitous Winter Wrens and American Robins. Along both sides of the spit were Great Blue Herons and Glaucous-winged Gulls. After another meal put together from reduced larders, this wonderful weekend was called complete.