06-10-23
Kim
joined me for a trip to
Exclamation Point Rock. A month earlier I did the trip and the
bitterroot were not out of the ground. I felt they would likely be in
bloom by now. It was raining in Seattle when we met at 7:05 am. We
headed east in rain. At Snoqualmie Pass it was foggy with rain falling.
The rain had stopped in Cle Elum. We continued to the WF Teanaway
River. We were the first car at the gate. We saw no cars or people
camping
after the Teanaway Road. We arrived at about 9:07 am. It was 52 degrees
and completely overcast. It was not raining. We packed up and headed
down the meadow at 9:21 am. The grass was very wet
and we both had damp feet pretty quickly.
There was a lot of bird sounds. They seemed to be enjoying the cool weather. At the end of the meadow we started heading uphill. On my visit a month earlier, the slope was full of blooming yellow monkey flowers and some blooming camas. Not a single one of either flower was seen. We did see some yellow daisies. In the forest we saw some lupine and Indian paintbrush at first. Then we saw some tiger lilies. Then some more and then even more. This was the day for tiger lilies. They popped up on many parts of our route. Some years I seem to see a lot of them and other years not many at all. This year is off to a great start. Some of the stalks had 3-5 flowers. Most were open but some ares still closed. I had hoped to see some chocolate lilies but they were all finished. We did see some seed pods that were likely from chocolate lilies.
Our forest walk had more lupine and Indian paintbrush in several colors. The orange were the most seen with some red and pink ones too. The pink ones were large with very tall stalks. Kim was first to notice the saprophytes. There were some big clumps of coralroot. I noticed a small white and yellow flower that turned out to be sticky cinquefoil. I saw just a couple arnica in bloom. There were also blooming roses. We also saw some yarrow and blooming roses. It was not a profusion of wildflowers but there were a lot of different ones. I have seen a few honeysuckles this spring. On this trip we saw a lot of them. Some bright orange and many a paler yellow. I looked for the bright green larch trees but completely missed them. We did see then on the way back.
We reached the road and turned left. We continued to see some lupine, paintbrush, roses, salsify, thimbleberry flowers, daisies, and of course, more tiger lilies. We stopped for a brunch break on the bridge over the West Fork Teanaway River. There was a good flow but far less water than a month ago. A few times it felt like it might start to rain but it never did. Even after rain the previous 24 hours, the big puddle was now very small. Along this part of the road walk we saw a couple blooming larkspur and one almost finished chocolate lily. Soon the road began to climb as we left Dingbat Creek. We left the road for the final slickrock route up to Exclamation Point Rock. There was some very colorful stonecrop here and some very purple onions. I usually see white onion flowers not the blue ones. I was afraid the slickrock would be wet and slippery. It was actually mostly dry. We had no traction problems. We took a look for the broomrape we saw a few weeks earlier last year. As expected, it was not seen.
We entered forest for the last short climb up to Exclamation Point Rock. It is just as impressive each time I see it. The amount of graffiti on it is growing, however. With all the photo stops for wildflowers we were behind schedule. We took a few photos and headed up to the base of Mammoth Rock. To walk down the wall of the rock and get up onto it then walk all the way back to where we started it is about half a mile. Half a mile to get 20' higher at the same place. It is a neat trail. The vertical wall of the Rock on the left and a steeply sloping hillside on the right. There were several varieties of penstemon seen along there. The route climbs up above the rock wall and reverses course. The calypso orchids and spring beauty from a month ago is all now gone. When we reached the start of Mammoth Rock the balsamroot and lupine were completely gone as expected.
There was a bit of wind blowing across the rock and we immediately pulled out jackets. We walked part way down the rock and stopped for lunch. It was now 1:00 pm. We had hiked about 4.5 miles in 3:39. With a two hour drive home we took a shorter than usual lunch break. We packed up to go at 1:24 pm. We hiked the .50 miles back to Exclamation Point Rock taking few photos. On Kim's previous visits we went back the way we came. On last year's trip I wanted to do the ridge route from Exclamation Point but the rock was too wet. This year we decided to give it a go. We dropped down to the ridge and were soon out of the thick forest. There were a few balsamroot bushes with past prime flowers. A couple arnica were in bloom. Some bright yellow buckwheat were blooming. We saw more this on the ridge and on our final slickrock detour.
The ridge was dry enough for safe travel. There are some ups and downs. The first part was on a motorcycle trail. We left that and just scrambled on the sloping sandstone rock. At the end is the descent that looks to be non-existent until you are half way down. We easily found an old road turned trail to bring us back to the main road we had ascended. When we reached the bridge over the WF Teanaway we stopped for one more food and water break. After that we had a steady climb up th road. We were back in tiger lily land. Last year on this same weekend Gary and I came out here after hiking Ingalls Creek to find a bonanza of bitterroot. Kim and I saw quite a few two weeks earlier. Gary and I hit the motherload. After seeing only a couple bitterroot leaves four weeks earlier, I had high hopes for seeing a bunch more this day. As we climbed up the slickrock slope of our detour route, I began to see bitterroot buds. The flowers close at night and are only open part of the day. Last year the afternoon was the time to be there.
This year we had lots of light as the clouds were thinning but no sunshine. I don't know if we were just too early in the year or if they opened in the morning, or if it just was not sunny enough. I did see one bitterroot fully in bloom. At the top we continued down and then up to the second slope. here we found the same thing. This slope bloomed earlier last year. Near the top of the slope I did see another half dozen bitterroot mostly open. I did see bitterroot in bloom but only a few flowers plus many hundreds of unopened flowers. It was a bit of a disappointment but I did see some of them.
From there we headed back to the road and soon after were back in the forest. We enjoyed those flowers again though with a lot fewer photo stops. We dropped down to the meadow for the final .75 miles back to the car. Just as we reached the gate we saw a truck. The guy was out opening the gate. We saw the same truck hours earlier as we were all coming in. We stopped to talk for a while. They had a cabin and visit often. This was the third time I have spoken with land owners up the WF Teanaway. All were really nice people. They were the only people we saw on our 9 to 5 hike. We arrived at the car at 5:23 pm. We put in a full 8:02 on the trail. The road back to pavement is short but in really poor condition. With 4WD and high clearance I had no trouble but drove very slow form pothole to pothole. The drive home had no slow downs all the way to North Seattle.
This was a really fun day. We left the car at 52 degrees and returned at 62 degrees. It was a cool respite east of the crest. Other than the two guys in the truck we saw not a single other person. No hikers, no bicyclers, and no motorcycles. The wildflower display was not as dense as some years but the variety was really outstanding. I saw a year's worth of tiger lilies in one day. The bitterroot was a bit of a disappointment but I did get some photos. For a long drive it was nice to split the gas and have some company after a lot of solo trips. It rained most all day in Seattle and it was nice to have dry cool day for hiking. All in all, it was a great day on the trail.
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Trips - 2023
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There was a lot of bird sounds. They seemed to be enjoying the cool weather. At the end of the meadow we started heading uphill. On my visit a month earlier, the slope was full of blooming yellow monkey flowers and some blooming camas. Not a single one of either flower was seen. We did see some yellow daisies. In the forest we saw some lupine and Indian paintbrush at first. Then we saw some tiger lilies. Then some more and then even more. This was the day for tiger lilies. They popped up on many parts of our route. Some years I seem to see a lot of them and other years not many at all. This year is off to a great start. Some of the stalks had 3-5 flowers. Most were open but some ares still closed. I had hoped to see some chocolate lilies but they were all finished. We did see some seed pods that were likely from chocolate lilies.
Our forest walk had more lupine and Indian paintbrush in several colors. The orange were the most seen with some red and pink ones too. The pink ones were large with very tall stalks. Kim was first to notice the saprophytes. There were some big clumps of coralroot. I noticed a small white and yellow flower that turned out to be sticky cinquefoil. I saw just a couple arnica in bloom. There were also blooming roses. We also saw some yarrow and blooming roses. It was not a profusion of wildflowers but there were a lot of different ones. I have seen a few honeysuckles this spring. On this trip we saw a lot of them. Some bright orange and many a paler yellow. I looked for the bright green larch trees but completely missed them. We did see then on the way back.
We reached the road and turned left. We continued to see some lupine, paintbrush, roses, salsify, thimbleberry flowers, daisies, and of course, more tiger lilies. We stopped for a brunch break on the bridge over the West Fork Teanaway River. There was a good flow but far less water than a month ago. A few times it felt like it might start to rain but it never did. Even after rain the previous 24 hours, the big puddle was now very small. Along this part of the road walk we saw a couple blooming larkspur and one almost finished chocolate lily. Soon the road began to climb as we left Dingbat Creek. We left the road for the final slickrock route up to Exclamation Point Rock. There was some very colorful stonecrop here and some very purple onions. I usually see white onion flowers not the blue ones. I was afraid the slickrock would be wet and slippery. It was actually mostly dry. We had no traction problems. We took a look for the broomrape we saw a few weeks earlier last year. As expected, it was not seen.
We entered forest for the last short climb up to Exclamation Point Rock. It is just as impressive each time I see it. The amount of graffiti on it is growing, however. With all the photo stops for wildflowers we were behind schedule. We took a few photos and headed up to the base of Mammoth Rock. To walk down the wall of the rock and get up onto it then walk all the way back to where we started it is about half a mile. Half a mile to get 20' higher at the same place. It is a neat trail. The vertical wall of the Rock on the left and a steeply sloping hillside on the right. There were several varieties of penstemon seen along there. The route climbs up above the rock wall and reverses course. The calypso orchids and spring beauty from a month ago is all now gone. When we reached the start of Mammoth Rock the balsamroot and lupine were completely gone as expected.
There was a bit of wind blowing across the rock and we immediately pulled out jackets. We walked part way down the rock and stopped for lunch. It was now 1:00 pm. We had hiked about 4.5 miles in 3:39. With a two hour drive home we took a shorter than usual lunch break. We packed up to go at 1:24 pm. We hiked the .50 miles back to Exclamation Point Rock taking few photos. On Kim's previous visits we went back the way we came. On last year's trip I wanted to do the ridge route from Exclamation Point but the rock was too wet. This year we decided to give it a go. We dropped down to the ridge and were soon out of the thick forest. There were a few balsamroot bushes with past prime flowers. A couple arnica were in bloom. Some bright yellow buckwheat were blooming. We saw more this on the ridge and on our final slickrock detour.
The ridge was dry enough for safe travel. There are some ups and downs. The first part was on a motorcycle trail. We left that and just scrambled on the sloping sandstone rock. At the end is the descent that looks to be non-existent until you are half way down. We easily found an old road turned trail to bring us back to the main road we had ascended. When we reached the bridge over the WF Teanaway we stopped for one more food and water break. After that we had a steady climb up th road. We were back in tiger lily land. Last year on this same weekend Gary and I came out here after hiking Ingalls Creek to find a bonanza of bitterroot. Kim and I saw quite a few two weeks earlier. Gary and I hit the motherload. After seeing only a couple bitterroot leaves four weeks earlier, I had high hopes for seeing a bunch more this day. As we climbed up the slickrock slope of our detour route, I began to see bitterroot buds. The flowers close at night and are only open part of the day. Last year the afternoon was the time to be there.
This year we had lots of light as the clouds were thinning but no sunshine. I don't know if we were just too early in the year or if they opened in the morning, or if it just was not sunny enough. I did see one bitterroot fully in bloom. At the top we continued down and then up to the second slope. here we found the same thing. This slope bloomed earlier last year. Near the top of the slope I did see another half dozen bitterroot mostly open. I did see bitterroot in bloom but only a few flowers plus many hundreds of unopened flowers. It was a bit of a disappointment but I did see some of them.
From there we headed back to the road and soon after were back in the forest. We enjoyed those flowers again though with a lot fewer photo stops. We dropped down to the meadow for the final .75 miles back to the car. Just as we reached the gate we saw a truck. The guy was out opening the gate. We saw the same truck hours earlier as we were all coming in. We stopped to talk for a while. They had a cabin and visit often. This was the third time I have spoken with land owners up the WF Teanaway. All were really nice people. They were the only people we saw on our 9 to 5 hike. We arrived at the car at 5:23 pm. We put in a full 8:02 on the trail. The road back to pavement is short but in really poor condition. With 4WD and high clearance I had no trouble but drove very slow form pothole to pothole. The drive home had no slow downs all the way to North Seattle.
This was a really fun day. We left the car at 52 degrees and returned at 62 degrees. It was a cool respite east of the crest. Other than the two guys in the truck we saw not a single other person. No hikers, no bicyclers, and no motorcycles. The wildflower display was not as dense as some years but the variety was really outstanding. I saw a year's worth of tiger lilies in one day. The bitterroot was a bit of a disappointment but I did get some photos. For a long drive it was nice to split the gas and have some company after a lot of solo trips. It rained most all day in Seattle and it was nice to have dry cool day for hiking. All in all, it was a great day on the trail.
 White Daisy |
 Yellow Daisy |
 The Big Wet Meadow |
 Brodiaea |
 Leaving Valley |
 Drops On Lupine Leaves |
 First Tiger Lily |
 Cinquefoil |
 Indian Paintbrush |
 Coralroot |
 Closer Look |
 First Honeysuckle |
 Pink Paintbrush |
 Tigers & Paintbrush |
 White Flower |
 Rose |
 Yarrow |
 Many Honeysuckle |
 Salsify |
 Cinquefoil 2 |
 Pine |
 Thimbleberries |
 Stonecrop |
 On Slickrock |
 Exclamation Point Rock |
 Different Angle |
 Along Mammoth Rock |
 Green Moss |
 Penstemon |
 Different Penstemon |
 On Mammoth Rock |
 Overhang |
 Forested Ridge |
 Slickrock Ridge |
 Kim On Ridge |
 Strawberry! |
 Many Tiger Lilies |
 First Bitterroot |
 Large-Flowered Collomia |
 Red Plant |
 More Bitterroot |
 Final Bitterroot |
 Gnarled Tree |
 More Buckwheat |
 Lupine |
 Last Tiger Lily |
 Back In Big Meadow |
 Daisy Display |
Trips - 2023
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