Album of Meadow Pass Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Kathy Whaley from our 12 July 2025 spider collecting trip to Meadow Pass and nearby Stirrup Lake, on the borderland of King and Kittitas Counties, Washington. We finally, almost accidentally found the right road and reached the pass with little trouble, but conifer foliage was the only productive habitat there. Kathy got more species from a tiny lake NW of the pass, while I found the official trail to Stirrup Lake (NE of the pass) where we got more species from Sphagnum, dead wood and lake shore foliage, for a just-enough total of 21. My venerable digital camera died on this trip; I was able to recover a few images, but most are Kathy's or re-used from previous trips.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
topo map of Meadow Pass, Washington and nearby lakes aerial photo of Meadow Pass and vicinity, Washington
Topo map of Meadow Pass and nearby lakes         (USGS) Meadow Pass and the two lakes where we collected      (Kittitas County, 2024)
vandalized national forest sign, Meadow Pass area, Washington dead wood by trail, Stirrup Lake, near Meadow Pass, Washington
Sign has seen better days            © Kathy Whaley Dead wood by trail                  © Rod Crawford
Kath Whaley's car at Meadow Pass, Washington dead wood by Stirrup Lake near Meadow Pass, Washington
Kathy parked at the pass              © Rod Crawford Dead wood by the lake                       © Rod Crawford
shelf fungi near Meadow Pass, Washington trail by Stirrup Lake near Meadow Pass, Washington
Variegated shelf fungi               © Kathy Whaley Rod on trail beside Stirrup Lake               © Kathy Whaley (from video)
sphagnum moss, Marten Lake creek, Whatcom County, Washington Stirrup Lake through the trees near Meadow Pass, Washington
Sphagnum I found by the lake looked like this     © Rod Crawford Stirrup Lake through the trees                © Kathy Whaley (from video)
Vacinium understory, Meadow Pass, Washington official photo of Stirrup Lake near Meadow Pass, Washington
Vaccinium understory has berries in season © Rod Crawford View of Stirrup Lake from north end         (Wash. Dept. Fish & Wildlife)
red cedar bark Thuja plicata near Meadow Pass, Washington Pacific Oak Fern Gymnocarpium disjunctum in unerstory near Meadow Pass, Washington
Western Red Cedar bark              © Kathy Whaley Pacific Oak Fern in understory                  © Kathy Whaley
spider Philodromus rufus, Taidnapam Park, Lewis County, Washington Tsuga-Abies forest near Stirrup Lake near Meadow Pass, Washington
Conifer beats had Philodromus rufus       © Rod Crawford Tsuga-Abies forest near Stirrup Lake                © Kathy Whaley
closeup of beargrass flower with Misumena vatia spider near Meadow Pass, Washington Lily pond between Stirrup Lake and Meadow Pass, Washington
Detail of beargrass flower with Misumena vatia     © Kathy Whaley Kathy stopped by this lily pond between lake & pass        © Kathy Whaley
spider Tachygyna ursina from Cowlitz River near Randle, Washington slime mold near Meadow Pass, Washington
Kathy beat a Tachygyna (like this one) from conifers
© Laurel Ramseyer		 Slime mold                         © Kathy Whaley

[Native Wildlife Gardening Home]     [Bug Information from The Scarabs]     [Bugs of the Month Home]

This page last updated 19 October, 2025