05-31-25
Gary
and I were planning a trip north to Diablo Lake. The fine forecast
early in the week turned to cooler and rain. That is a long drive to
hike in the rain all day. We looked east and settled on a trip to
Exclamation Point Rock. During this week in 2022 Kim and I found a
bounty of wildflowers on this trip. Flowers have been early this year
but we hoped to find a lot still blooming. We met in Seattle at 6:30 am
and I drove us east. Entering Issaquah my Check Engine light come on.
Driving a long way then down a dirt road did not seem prudent. We
turned around and headed back to Seattle. We transfered to Gary's car
and headed out again. Now it was 7:20 am. It was cloudy much of the way
east but sunny when we reached the end of the WF Teanaway Road. We were
on our way at 9:14 am. That is a late start but we had plenty of time
to complete our route. I saw a bunch of blooming salsify right at the
start though not much else. When we left the meadow we passed the spot
with a hillside of yellow monkey flower in the spring. I saw a lot of
it on the 2022 trip. There was not a single petal left this year. The
slope was bone dry. We did see some past prime arrowleaf balsamroot,
lupine, and Indian paintbrush. There was not a lot but we did see these
flowers off and on.
The calypso orchids and chocolate lilies I almost always see in the spring were finished. There was not a trace of any of them. We did continue to see lupine. Lupine was the flower of the day. When we reached the road it was warming up. We saw people off and on all day. Two turkey hunters passed us heading back. We saw one truck, motorcycles and bikes. In total twenty people was the most we have seen here in a day. We took a break on the bridge over the WF Teanaway River. The road was mostly in shade as we headed on. The big lakes we saw in November (huge puddles) were almost dry. Dingbat Creek still had a little water running but not much. We saw a few arnica and woodland stars alongside the road. I was pleased to see some larkspur once again. I have seen a lot of colors of larkspur the past few weeks.We left the road for slickrock and continued higher. Mammoth Rock came into view and then we ascended to Exclamation Point Rock. We added to our catalogs of photos of the rock and took a short break.
As we were leaving, four motorcycles zoomed up to the Rock. We were afraid they would follow us and pass us on the narrow trail along the top wall of Mammoth Rock. There is not place to get off the trail as the slope drops very steeply. Surprisingly, they did not follow us. We continued to the far end of Mammoth Rock where we climbed up to the top of the Rock. The wind had been picking up and it was getting pretty strong. It was also getting quite warm. We headed all the way back to the far end of Mammoth Rock, close to Exclamation Point Rock. The long slab is fun to walk across. At the far end there is a small tree growing right near the top of the Rock. It provides a small amount of shade. That's where we headed. With a wind shirt on it was not unpleasant. We arrived at 11:41 am. We stayed until 12:22 pm. Finally, it was time to go. We crossed the Rock hiking into a strong wind. When we dropped down off the Rock and turned to the opposite direction the wind lessened significantly. We saw a couple motorcycles arriving from the main road below as we left.
On the way back we took a few more photos of Exclamation Point Rock and retraced our steps back. Sometimes we continue down the sandstone ridge but it is out in the open and would be very windy and hot. We hiked back down the road and across the bridge. on the climb up I noticed a couple bright yellow monkey flowers in bloom. That was a nice surprise. We took our usual detour up more slick rock to where we often see blooming bitterroot in the late spring. With flowers our early I hoped to find them in full bloom. They close at night and open in the afternoon. We timed reaching them to when they were most likely to be blooming. On Mission Ridge a week earlier, I saw a lot of blooming bitterroot. As we headed uphill we started to see lots of bitterroot flower pods. They were not yet open. Then we saw some that were open. Not a lot but they looked very good. I was glad to see that much. Higher up we saw a few more in bloom. It was not a bust.
We took the smoother route down that goes through the larch grove. Their light green needles are easy to spot. A short walk down the road put us on the path through the forest. Now the wind was really blowing. It was forecast to climb into the mid to upper 20 mph range and it was about there. We heard a loud cracking sound and looked up to see the tree that snapped. We chose to continue on but we picked up the pace. I felt better when we reached the meadow. The wind was strong but it was a tailwind pushing us back to the car. We arrived at 3:00 pm. That was not a bad time considering our late start. Our drive back to Seattle was much easier than on most Saturdays. I guess this being the week after the long Memorial Day Weekend helped.
This trip was a mixed bag. We avoided the rain on the west side of the mountains. We drove through some of it on the way home. The weather was pretty good, even with the high afternoon wind. The big flower show did not materialize but we saw a few of quite a few flower varieties. The bitterroot show was the highlight of the day. We saw more people than ever before but that still was only about any 15 minute period on Mt. Si. All in all, it was still a great day to be on the trail.
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Trips - 2025
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The calypso orchids and chocolate lilies I almost always see in the spring were finished. There was not a trace of any of them. We did continue to see lupine. Lupine was the flower of the day. When we reached the road it was warming up. We saw people off and on all day. Two turkey hunters passed us heading back. We saw one truck, motorcycles and bikes. In total twenty people was the most we have seen here in a day. We took a break on the bridge over the WF Teanaway River. The road was mostly in shade as we headed on. The big lakes we saw in November (huge puddles) were almost dry. Dingbat Creek still had a little water running but not much. We saw a few arnica and woodland stars alongside the road. I was pleased to see some larkspur once again. I have seen a lot of colors of larkspur the past few weeks.We left the road for slickrock and continued higher. Mammoth Rock came into view and then we ascended to Exclamation Point Rock. We added to our catalogs of photos of the rock and took a short break.
As we were leaving, four motorcycles zoomed up to the Rock. We were afraid they would follow us and pass us on the narrow trail along the top wall of Mammoth Rock. There is not place to get off the trail as the slope drops very steeply. Surprisingly, they did not follow us. We continued to the far end of Mammoth Rock where we climbed up to the top of the Rock. The wind had been picking up and it was getting pretty strong. It was also getting quite warm. We headed all the way back to the far end of Mammoth Rock, close to Exclamation Point Rock. The long slab is fun to walk across. At the far end there is a small tree growing right near the top of the Rock. It provides a small amount of shade. That's where we headed. With a wind shirt on it was not unpleasant. We arrived at 11:41 am. We stayed until 12:22 pm. Finally, it was time to go. We crossed the Rock hiking into a strong wind. When we dropped down off the Rock and turned to the opposite direction the wind lessened significantly. We saw a couple motorcycles arriving from the main road below as we left.
On the way back we took a few more photos of Exclamation Point Rock and retraced our steps back. Sometimes we continue down the sandstone ridge but it is out in the open and would be very windy and hot. We hiked back down the road and across the bridge. on the climb up I noticed a couple bright yellow monkey flowers in bloom. That was a nice surprise. We took our usual detour up more slick rock to where we often see blooming bitterroot in the late spring. With flowers our early I hoped to find them in full bloom. They close at night and open in the afternoon. We timed reaching them to when they were most likely to be blooming. On Mission Ridge a week earlier, I saw a lot of blooming bitterroot. As we headed uphill we started to see lots of bitterroot flower pods. They were not yet open. Then we saw some that were open. Not a lot but they looked very good. I was glad to see that much. Higher up we saw a few more in bloom. It was not a bust.
We took the smoother route down that goes through the larch grove. Their light green needles are easy to spot. A short walk down the road put us on the path through the forest. Now the wind was really blowing. It was forecast to climb into the mid to upper 20 mph range and it was about there. We heard a loud cracking sound and looked up to see the tree that snapped. We chose to continue on but we picked up the pace. I felt better when we reached the meadow. The wind was strong but it was a tailwind pushing us back to the car. We arrived at 3:00 pm. That was not a bad time considering our late start. Our drive back to Seattle was much easier than on most Saturdays. I guess this being the week after the long Memorial Day Weekend helped.
This trip was a mixed bag. We avoided the rain on the west side of the mountains. We drove through some of it on the way home. The weather was pretty good, even with the high afternoon wind. The big flower show did not materialize but we saw a few of quite a few flower varieties. The bitterroot show was the highlight of the day. We saw more people than ever before but that still was only about any 15 minute period on Mt. Si. All in all, it was still a great day to be on the trail.
 Stuart Range |
 Salsify |
 Big Meadow |
 Past Prime Flowers |
 Lupine |
 Strawberries |
 Orange Paintbrush |
 Gary & Lupine |
 WF Teanaway River |
 Larkspur |
 Blooming Lupine |
 On The Slickrock |
 Gary On Slickrock |
 Pale Lupine |
 Exclamation Point Rock |
 Mammoth Rock Wall |
 Bright Red Paintbrush |
 Atop Mammoth Rock |
 Big Bird Overhead |
 Gary On The Rock |
 Yellow Hill |
 Clearcut Growing Back |
 Mammoth Overhang |
 Exclamation Side View |
 Slickrock Descent |
 Penstemon |
 Larkspur Close Up |
 Yellow Monkey Flowers |
 First Bitterroot |
 Better Bitterroot |
 Next Bitterroot |
 Many Flowers Soon |
 Dark Clouds Coming |
 Balsamroot & Lupine |
 Blooming Bush |
 Green Larch Tree |
 Back At Big Meadow |
 Gary & Jim |
Trips - 2025
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