Racehorse Falls

"He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills."

October 6 was a school field trip for the 6-8th grades, fossil hunting and observing the geology at Racehorse Creek and Falls.  We had intended to go to Slide Mountain above the creek, but discovered that the Forest Service had closed the road.  We did hike to the base of the mountain but because it was a very wet day went no further, though we saw a lot of fossils there, mostly leaves, ferns and parts of palm fronds in shale and sandstone.

At Racehorse Creek a little later we discovered that last winter had changed things considerably.  The large pool at the base of the falls was nearly gone and the creek had changed its course making it much easier to get to the falls.  A lot more fossils had also been uncovered by the changes and we found some beauties, one of which is pictured here.  There were also a lot of mushrooms and fungi but the kids did not seem especially interested in those.

The falls have several tiers but these are visible only from a distance.  They are named for the outline of a horse's head at the side of the falls, just visible in the first photo.  Whoever named these falls must have been into racing since there is another smaller falls further upstream named Triple Crown Falls.  There is also an upper Racehorse Falls with around a 20 foot drop, but we did not hike in to them, since that requires some fairly serious bushwacking.

the falls

the creek

Western Toad (found by one of the girls)

fossils

Orange Peel Fungus

Orange Jelly Fungus

unidentified mushrooms

Big-leaf Maple

Crescent Lake and the Sol Duc River

Driving across the north end of the Olympic Peninsula on Highway 101 takes you along the southern shore of Lake Crescent, a large lake within the boundaries of Olympic National Park.  The lake is 12 miles long (nearly 20 kilometers) and over 1000 feet deep (305 meters).  We drove past the lake several times and in different weather, stopping at some of the turnoffs for pictures, most of which are my wife's.

Lake Crescent

White-crowned Sparrow

On one of the drives we were on our way to the Sol Duc area of the park.  The Sol Duc River Road heads south into the park along the Sol Duc River, ending near a campground and passing Sol Duc Hot Springs, a lodge where touristy types can stay and use the springs, now nothing but glorified swimming pool.  We passed all of that, except for a quick lunch at the campground and some stops along the river.

Sol Duc River

Unidentified Fungus

Salmon Cascades

Sol Duc Campground

Columbia Black-tailed Deer

At the end of the road we hiked the short trail to Sol Duc Falls and enjoyed along the way the woods, the few wildflowers that were blooming and the odd fungi we found.  By the time we finished at the falls it was starting to rain and we headed back to Port Angeles where we spent the night, passing Lake Crescent once again.  We enjoyed the day in spite of the weather and felt the area warranted another visit.

Nurse Log

Roots of a Fallen Hemlock

The Trail

Lichens and Mosses

Black Huckleberry Flowers

Unidentified Fungus

Orange Jelly Fungus

 Lungwort

 Red-banded Polypore

Unidentified Fungus

 Sword Fern

Unnamed Cascades

White Slime Mold

Sol Duc Falls