Hiking
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Leprechaun Lake | Enchantment Lakes
On our hike through the Enchantment Lakes we hiked as far as Leprechaun Lake before deciding we didn’t want to descend further down into the Snow Lakes zone. We figured that going down meant having to come back up and well, we liked up already. Looking back I think we should have sucked it up and gone down into those zones, but at the same time what we ended up doing worked out too, leaving us time to explore other areas of Washington instead of staying only in the Enchantments. There was some rock hopping and precarious log walking involved to get across the streams leading to the lake. I…
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Early Spring At Tandy Hills
A couple of weekends ago I was in Fort Worth visiting my folks and I really wanted to go for a short hike, get out and stretch my legs. I managed to convince my dad and mom to come along to Tandy Hills for an hour long jaunt to see what was blooming, if anything. I noticed paintbrush coming up but not yet ready to bloom. We found a different pocket of trout lilies than we normally visit, but I couldn’t even find an old flowering spike. They would have bloomed in early to mid February. I wonder if the drier winter prohibited their blooming this year. Lots of yucca…
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Alpine Wildflowers In Macro | Enchantment Lakes
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Sprite Lake | Enchantment Lakes & Wenatchee National Forest
After we found ourselves at Perfection and Inspiration Lakes we wound our way around the north end of Perfection back down towards the much smaller Sprite Lake. We took a few minutes here for a snack and photo break. There were several wildflowers along the path that I won’t even try to identify, though I did briefly look online. If you are familiar with alpine flora in Washington state please help me out! I do think these are some kind of phlox though. These little flowers are reminiscent of blueberries so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were in that family. Sprite Lake was a pleasant resting point before we…
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Inspiration & Perfection Lakes | Enchantment Lakes
I know, I know, I haven’t finished writing about our trip to Washington State. My excuses are a: laziness, b: a crappy computer that has on several occasions shut down when I’ve had photos open in Photoshop thus leading to loss of interest in processing photos, and c: other interesting things that have been going on. But, I’m hoping to remedy this soon and finish the photos and writing about the trip. When I last left off, I was talking about goats. The goats were still prevalent for the rest of the trip and were definitely a source of entertainment! On our second morning of being in the Enchantments we…
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Morning Along Can Creek | Lost Maples State Natural Area
We got up early from our campsite in order to take our time driving back home, a good five hour drive without stops. On our way into Vanderpool we had seen several plant nurseries and other random places we wanted to stop, so in order to do that we arose early while the fog was still lingering and the crowds were snug in their sleeping bags. It would be an easy hike out along mostly flat trail once we descended the bluff. Our exit route was via Can Creek and the West Trail, merging with the East Trail and dumping back out at the main entrance road. We arrived at…
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Poking Around Campsite H | Lost Maples State Natural Area
Since our hiking mileage wasn’t large, maybe six miles or something, we took several breaks during the hike to campsite H. We got behind a slow group of hikers on a very narrow trail, stopped to check out a clematis, and refilled our water at the last place before climbing up the bluff. It was the furthest campsite out at the park and I thought maybe we’d be alone….which of course was dumb of me to think. The campsite is up a bluff and we took the long way around to see what the rest of the trail in that area looked like. Unfortunately we were mostly socked in with…
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Along the West Trail & Dry Can Creek | Lost Maples State Natural Area
Missed a post? See these: Along the Sabinal, Hale Hollow Creek, The View, and Monkey Rock. I had thought that perhaps when we left the main area of the park and embarked on the West Trail that we would leave the crowds behind. There was a slight incline as we hiked up the trail which I thought might deter folks, and for awhile we didn’t see anyone. Then we saw one family, then another, and another until we knew this was not going to be our time for peace. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by going to so many natural areas and not seeing a soul, or very few at least.…
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The View | Lost Maples State Natural Area
After leaving campsite A the East Trail climbs steadily for maybe a quarter to a half mile before plateauing on top of the ridge (which I wouldn’t really call it a ridge, definitely let’s go with plateau…hence plateauing). The climb itself isn’t difficult, just steady, and since I am a slow hill climber and because my nose loves to run when I’m climbing a hill, I take my time. Up top we were rewarded with sweeping views in all directions. The trail itself stays level on top for maybe a mile, probably a smidge less, before descending down towards the West Trail and Can Creek. There wasn’t a whole lot…
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Hale Hollow Creek | Lost Maples State Natural Area
Hale Hollow Creek branches off the Sabinal River near Campsite A and heads west through the northern portion of the park before running into private property. We didn’t walk that far down it, but to kill some time before setting up our tent and waiting on our friends we decided to explore the creek bed a little bit. Maidenhair fern line the walls of the creek, some in better shape than others. Virginia creeper provided a nice contrast in color along the way. Even the maidenhair fern were providing some fall colors throughout the creek. We are fairly certain this is an orchid, in particular I think the chatterbox orchid.…