Album of Gee Point Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Matisse Lorance from what probably should have been our last summer spider collecting trip, 22 August 2012 to Gee Point, a little-known but scenic and high-quality peak in the Cultus Mountains (an outlying range extending west from the Cascades in southern Skagit County). An unexpectedly closed road caused us hours of delay so that we didn't even reach the area until mid-afternoon; however, the strategy of getting a lower-elevation sample before heading for the peak worked out great. We had much better luck than on the previous or following trips and found several diverse spider habitats for a total of 37 species, including a fine sample of rare Lepthyphantes arboreus.
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2009 aerial photo of Gee Point area, Skagit County, Washington Whitehorse Mountain seen from near Segelson Pass, Skagit County, Washington
Gee Point area; meadow at NW edge (Skagit County, 2009) Whitehorse Mountain from near Segelson Pass            © Matisse Lorance
red huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium on S slope of Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington roadside field, S slope of Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Delicious huckleberries          © Rod Crawford Our first site, surprisingly productive roadside field         © Rod Crawford
garter snake, S slope of Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington view from S slope of Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Garter snake at first site            © Matisse Lorance Colorful view from first site                   © Matisse Lorance

After bagging 16 species in a half hour at the lower site, we moved up to the summit trailhead:

trickle stream near trailhead for Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington trailhead for Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Trickle stream invades old road/trail  © Matisse Lorance Trailhead for Gee Point on overgrown old road              © Rod Crawford
vegetation on lower part of trail to Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington gloomy clouds along trail to Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Vegetation along the old road          © Rod Crawford As the trail climbed, the sky got gloomy                © Rod Crawford
Veratrum viride, green false hellebore, along trail to Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington, viewed from trail to same
Beautiful but deadly: Veratrum viride, one of our most poisonous plants              © Rod Crawford We had no time to reach the peak of Gee Point           © Rod Crawford
Matisse Lorance sweeping for spiders in high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington Theridion sp. swept in high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Matisse sweeping in our high-meadow goal  © Rod Crawford Theridion sp. from the high meadow           © Rod Crawford
small pool in high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
The sun comes out for a moment        © Rod Crawford Quite a big meadow, surrounded by ancient forest            © Rod Crawford
mountain hemlock trees Tsuga mertensiana, high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington sac spider Clubiona pacifica, high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Mountain hemlock trees         © Rod Crawford Clubiona pacifica              © Rod Crawford
stressed needles of mountain hemlock Tsuga mertensiana, high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington lush grass in high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Hemlock needles appeared stressed       © Rod Crawford Sedge, on the other hand, was very lush              © Rod Crawford
Linyphiidae sheetweb weaver Lepthyphantes arboreus, high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington carpenter ant midden, high meadow on Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
Lepthyphantes arboreus          © Rod Crawford Carpenter ant midden under a shelf fungus                © Rod Crawford
desk at trailhead for Gee Point trail, Skagit County, Washington sunset on south flank of Gee Point, Skagit County, Washington
The clouds descended at dusk            © Rod Crawford Sunset on the road down                 © Rod Crawford
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This page last updated 15 October, 2012