The Natural History Society is honored that naturalist and poet Tim McNulty, author of Olympic National Park: A Natural History, will lead a hike on Sunday, April 19.
Our hike will be a short foray into the heart of the rainshadow Olympics, where we’ll visit handsome old-growth fir and hemlock stands as well as fire-influenced forest communities suggesting eastern Washington and even the Rockies, with Rocky Mountain juniper, lodgepole pine, and yew. We’ll find red and blue alder, kinickinick, manzanita, and evergreen huckleberry in the understory. We’ll look for chocolate and fawn lilies, anglewing butterflies, and listen to the spring song of the Dungeness in the canyon below.
The hike is short, only about 5 miles round-trip, but steep in places with uneven terrain, and has some elevation gains and losses, ranging between 1500 feet at the trail head and a high point of around 3000 feet elevation.
Dress for weather. Bring plenty of water, lunch, and your favorite field guide. A sit-down pad might be handy (our lunch spot is rocky).
Space is limited, and carpools will be planned. RSVP to Pat for details at jltnatural@saveland.org