Coal Hill Nature Hike
On a grey and drizzly morning I hiked from the upper end of Aberdeen into the hills and up to the top of Coal Hill. Along the way I stopped to enjoy the wildflowers, but there were bucks, squirrels, killdeer, ducks, magpies, swallows, butterflies, various pollinators and other insects, and interesting trees and shrubs.
All photos taken in the grey light and light rain by the author. Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption/ID. Pictured here are lupines (Lupinus sp.), cinquefoil (Potentilla sp.), sticky geranium (Geranium viscosissimum), salsify (Tragopogon dubius), and Thompson’s paintbrush (Castilleja thompsonii).
The route was through douglas fir forest and glades, then up through open grassland slopes. Also spotted on the route up and back was stonecrop (Sedum lanceolatum) and old man’s whiskers (Geum triflorum) and a white lupine.
By the end of the hike is was raining harder so I scooted to the truck. A few moments of the hike are captured in this YouTube video: