Album of Skate Creek Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 12 July 2024 spider collecting trip to 3 sites in the drainage of Skate Creek, western Cascades of Lewis County, Washington. Our first stop, on tributary Johnson Creek, found dry habitats but got a basic 21 species. The second, higher elevation site (which we finally reached on our second try) wasn't much better, but added a few, as did the last stop in the main creek's canyon. The Packwood cemetery, where we stopped on our way out at Laurel's behest, gave us an 8-species start on a new area.
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Aerial view of Skate Creek valley (in national forest), Lewis County, Washington Rod Crawford tossing rocks out of Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Our 3 sites in very uniform-looking forest    (Lewis County 2021) Rod clearing the road for Laurel's car                      © Laurel Ramseyer
roadside rocks, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington spectrum of roadside habitats, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Roadside rocks ready to turn over      © Laurel Ramseyer A spectrum of habitats: conifer foliage, grass & alders         © Rod Crawford
Calymmaria spider under rock, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington Cybaeus spider under rock, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Calymmaria under rock          © Laurel Ramseyer Cybaeus under rock                 © Laurel Ramseyer
Douglas-fir foliage, roadside grass, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Douglas-fir foliage to beat                © Rod Crawford Roadside grass to sweep                      © Rod Crawford
diverse road cut foliage, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington Johnson Creek Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Diverse road cut foliage               © Laurel Ramseyer Johnson Creek in ravine below the road                    © Rod Crawford
moss on alder trunk, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington creek bed boulders, Johnson Creek, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Moss on an alder trunk            © Laurel Ramseyer Most interesting spider was found on a boulder             © Laurel Ramseyer
riparian alder stand, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington Creek viewed from its bed, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Alder stand dropped leaf litter           © Rod Crawford Creek viewed from the creek bed                   © Laurel Ramseyer
Euryopis formosa from Douglas-fir cone, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington female wolf spider Pardosa dorsuncata under rock, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Euryopis formosa from Douglas-fir cone  © Laurel Ramseyer Pardosa dorsuncata under rock                    © Laurel Ramseyer
roadside sword fern, Johnson Creek road, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington fern-covered slope, Johnson Creek, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Rod got some spiders from roadside ferns…        © Laurel Ramseyer …but missed out on this bigger fern stand               © Laurel Ramseyer
Mt. Rainier viewed from secondary timber road in Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington closed canopy forest at Willame Creek site, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
The Mountain as seen from our "shortcut"   © Rod Crawford Closed-canopy forest at Willame Creek site           © Rod Crawford
scarred Douglas-fir trunk, Willame Creek site, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington 2 deciduous trees where stream crosses road, Willame Creek site, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Douglas-fir trunk looks as if it's been in the wars  © Laurel Ramseyer Only 2 deciduous trees mark stream crossing road           © Rod Crawford
roadside columbine, Willame Creek site, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington thimbleberry, Willame Creek site, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Roadside columbine                © Rod Crawford Sea of thimbleberry                        © Laurel Ramseyer
roadside goatsbeard, Willame Creek site, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington Skate Creek bridge, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Roadside goatsbeard               © Rod Crawford Laurel on Skate Creek bridge                     © Rod Crawford
web on girder, Skate Creek bridge, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington sword fern stand above Skate Creek bridge, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Neriene web on bridge girder              © Laurel Ramseyer Sword fern stand behind bridge                   © Rod Crawford
moss on maple trunk, Skate Creek bridge, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington skate Creek behind mossy maple trunks and branches, Skate Creek bridge, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington
Typically thick moss on maple trunk    © Laurel Ramseyer Skate Creek seen through a screen of mossy maple         © Laurel Ramseyer
maple trunks, Skate Creek bridge, Skate Creek Valley, Lewis County, Washington Douglas-fir trees bordering Evergreen Cemetery, Packwood, Washington
Large maple trunks by the bridge        © Rod Crawford Wall of Douglas-fir trees behind cemetery were good beating           © Rod Crawford
Laurel Ramseyer collecting spiders from vases, Evergreen Cemetery, Packwood, Washington Mt. Rainier at sunset from Enumclaw, Washington
Laurel collecting from grave vases         © Rod Crawford Mount Rainier from Enumclaw at sunset                  © Rod Crawford
balloon flying at sunset in Enumclaw on 12 July 2024 sunset in Enumclaw, Washington on 12 July 2024
Balloonist flying at sunset             © Rod Crawford And so the sun sets behind Enumclaw              © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 2 August, 2024