no summit

First time on Mt. Olympus. There was more space to climb higher, but it's hard not to have a giant smile on your face regardless.

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november 2

Stand on a roof in Port Angeles at dawn and look around, until then and if you never have the chance. Strait of Juan de Fuca on the far left, Hurricane Ridge and the Olympic Mountains on the right.

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dark months

We are coming to the end of the dark months. Winter is a time for short sessions outside with retreats into warm homes, hot beverages, and hearty meals. Though the hours of the day are small, the moments spent in the light are that much more memorable.

Vancouver Island across the Strait. 

Upper Elwha River.

Boot packing in the Olympics.

Somewhere in Canada.

Grays Harbor and the Olympics.

Boot packing for waves.

Bailey Range, from Hurricane Ridge.

lake mills

Winter means we're back on the Elwha project. The goal is to get plant regeneration off on the right foot by putting thousands of native plants in the ground. Constructing access trails for hiking plants to revegetation sites is critical. With dam demolition nearing completion, and the park getting ready for the hordes of visitors that will come to view the newly drained reservoir, we're beginning to transform access trails into pathways ready for the public.

Hiking out to the planting site.

Clear, cold days. The worksite got two hours of sun.

Two sentinels, watching the old lake bed from their posts.

Only 30 feet left to demolish. These upper pieces will remain as a memorial.

Filling turnpike before covering with top dressing.

Taylor, posing with the tool of choice, demo site in the background.

One big chunk of cedar equals five cedar beams.

Shane, chief gravel coordinator.

Hot lunch.

Sam, scoring logs embedded in the fine sediment.

Brand new trail with a brand new feature. Three years ago this photo would be ten feet under water.

Elwha River, Lake Mills, Mt. Fitzhenry, and Mt. Carrie.

nursing the elwha

Throughout the year, 106,000 plants will be propagated, packed in bags, and hauled out to the former reservoirs of Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills to be planted. The Matt Albright Native Plant Center, the production facility for this effort located in Sequim, WA, was created to nurse the Elwha River back to health. Here's a day of cleaning roots and loading bags.

Potting shed.

Taylor, Chelsea, and Jenny, just getting going.

A devoted volunteer and revegetation crew leader Marisa Whisman sharing stories to pass the time.

Staging bags of plants in the greenhouse.

Thimble Berry and Salal, ready to go.

Rubus Leucodermis, Black Cap Raspberry.

Taylor, waiting for more plants to prep.

Aaron and Mike, still waiting.

Arbutus menzeisii and Sambucus cerulea, Madron and Blue Elderberry.

Populus balsamifera, Cottonwood.

Pseudotsuga menzeisii, Douglas Fir.

Symphoricarpos albus, Snowberry.

Pinus strobus, White Pine.

secret creek

Took a walk down the creek with Mike and Trevor, found some mellow pools of water to cast into, pulled out a lot of little Cutthroat, no keepers. We'll be back.

Moving to a new hole.

Mike with the nimble cast.

Trevor and his eccentric equipment.

The spinner.

The pooch, Daisy.

It gets thick down there, best keep to the water.

Lots of life hiding in the cracks and crevices.

Water pump station.

Beautiful fish, we'll let 'em get bigger.

This little hole had some of the bigger fellas.

They're in there somewhere...

spraying

Large swathes of land adjacent to the Elwha River are exposed as the reservoirs are lowered. Some native grasses and trees are doing their thing, but there are also some invaders taking more than their share of resources. Reed canary grass seems to be leading the charge, so we apply herbicide.

The spray zone.

Glyphosate, courtesy of Monsanto.

Don't spill.

Three gallons ready to go.

PPE: sunblock, solar shades, nitrile gloves and long sleeves.

Wading through cottonwood.

Sam, givin' some.

JZ, style points on the raincoat.

Bending the reed canary grass away from the trees.

Elwha Dam canyon and natural regenerates.

Reed canary grass skeleton.

Natural willow tree regeneration.