Album of the Return to Table Mountain

Selected photos (by Rod Crawford & Laurel Ramseyer) from our 4 June 2011 spider collecting trip (with the Scarabs and others), to Reecer Creek Road and Table Mountain, north of Ellensburg in Kittitas County, Washington. Photos below are arranged in order of the 4 sites we visited: first, the hairpin turn on Reecer Creek Road (main site for the official Scarabs-WaBA-WNPS trip); next, a subalpine site on Table Mountain where the car met snow on the road, most productive site for spiders where we successfully upgraded a 2008 partial sample to 28 species, including some real rarities; next, a stop at a pine grove on the way back down the mountain; finally, a much better pine grove on the Teanaway River. A big day! Here's Laurel's account of the trip.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
pine-fir forest at Reecer Creek Road first hairpin turn, Kittitas County, Washington Scarabs field trip at Reecer Creek Road first hairpin turn, Kittitas County, Washington
Inviting forest & understory habitats    © Rod Crawford Field trippers enjoyed the little riparian meadow      © Rod Crawford
forest floor with pine cones at Reecer Creek Road first hairpin turn, Kittitas County, Washington Reecer Creek at Reecer Creek Road first hairpin turn, Kittitas County, Washington
Forest floor with cones           © Laurel Ramseyer Reecer Creek full of late snow-melt              © Rod Crawford

The day's main spider site was at 5400' on Table Mountain (where the snow stopped us). Success!

aerial photo of spider collecting area at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington snow on road stops further progress at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
Aerial view of collecting area       (Kittitas County) Thus far shall ye come and no farther!                © Rod Crawford
melting snow at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington subalpine fir Abies lasiocarpa at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
Snow melting everywhere        © Rod Crawford Spider-rich (as usual) subalpine fir foliage               © Rod Crawford
dirty snow in forest at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington lodgepole pine cones at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
Snow in woods, water source for spiders   © Rod Crawford Few lodgepole pine cones were more than half open     © Laurel Ramseyer
rocky meadow at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington Rod Crawford collecting spiders under rocks at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
So many rocks, so few spiders           © Rod Crawford Rod finally finds a productive rock-spider site       © Laurel Ramseyer
mushroom growing from snow at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington possibly undescribed spider Scotinella Corinnidae at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
Mushroom in the snow          © Laurel Ramseyer Possibly new Scotinella species                   © Rod Crawford
Abies spp. litter that produced rare spiders at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington sifting conifer litter at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
Fir litter produced excellent spiders      © Rod Crawford Sifting fir litter               © Rod Crawford
unidentified purple flower at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington rare microspider male Coreorgonal bicornis from 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
Unidentified purple flower         © Rod Crawford Amazing carapace of Coreorgonal bicornis                  © Rod Crawford
yellow glacier lily Erythronium grandiflorum at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington lanceleaf springbeauty Claytonia lanceolata at 5400' on Table Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington
Glacier lily, Erythronium grandiflorum         © Laurel Ramseyer Lanceleaf springbeauty, Claytonia lanceolata            © Laurel Ramseyer

On our way down the mountain, we made another stop in Ponderosa forest for Laurel's pine cone project.

Laurel Ramseyer seeking pine cones to sample, Reecer Creek Road 4780', Kittitas County, Washington Ponderosa pine trunk, Reecer Creek Road 4780', Kittitas County, Washington
Laurel seeking cones to sample    © Rod Crawford Nice big pine trunk                    © Rod Crawford
old weathered ponderosa pine cone, Reecer Creek Road 4780', Kittitas County, Washington crab spider Xysticus locuples from Reecer Creek Road 4780', Kittitas County, Washington
Old weathered cones yielded few spiders    © Laurel Ramseyer …but some were worthwhile like this Xysticus locuples     © Laurel Ramseyer
jigsaw pattern of ponderosa pine bark, Reecer Creek Road 4780', Kittitas County, Washington carapace of Anyphaena pacifica from Reecer Creek Road 4780', Kittitas County, Washington
Jigsaw-like pine bark          © Laurel Ramseyer Anyphaena pacifica, another good one from cones        © Rod Crawford

Hoping for better pine cone fauna, we finally visited a lowland site on the Teanaway River.

Rod Crawford preparing to collect spiders near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington grassy understory of pine forest near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington
Rod found a good way over the fence      © Laurel Ramseyer Lush grassy understory rich in crab spiders       © Rod Crawford
theridiid spider Euryopis formosa from near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington young fir trees near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington
Euryopis formosa, typical pine cone spider    © Laurel Ramseyer Foliage of young firs added a few species        © Rod Crawford
high-quallity ponderosa pine cones near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer sampling pine cones near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington
Highest quality pine cones of the day   © Rod Crawford Laurel busy sampling spiders from 103 cones        © Rod Crawford
harvestman Togwoteeus biceps hiding in pine cone near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington thatching ant Formica sp. nest near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington
Pine cone harvestman Togwoteeus biceps    © Laurel Ramseyer Ants! They outnumbered spiders in the trees        © Rod Crawford
carapace of crab spider Misumenops sierrensis near Teanaway Campground, Kittitas County, Washington dusk from Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass on 4 June 2011
Misumenops sierrensis was abundant   © Rod Crawford Dusk near Snoqualmie Pass on our way home        © Rod Crawford
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This page last updated 11 June, 2015