Album of Surprise Creek Trail Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 13 September 2021 spider collecting trip to Surprise Creek Trail (E of Skykomish), King County, Washington. Sampling primarily in one mid-elevation area, we got a very good collection from tree foliage but very little from other habitats; adding all together gave us a bare-minimum 21-species sample. It was an enjoyable, beautiful hike, though!
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2019 aerial photo, mid-part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer at trailhead, Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Mid-section of trail; our sites in red  (King County, 2019) Laurel at trailhead                       © Rod Crawford
vine maple turning color near trailhead, Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington shady early part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Vine maple begins to turn color            © Rod Crawford Into the deep, mysterious woods                      © Laurel Ramseyer
boardwalk, mid-part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington Surprise Creek, mid-part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Trail has boardwalks & wooden steps   © Laurel Ramseyer Surprise Creek parallels the trail                © Rod Crawford
log bridge, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington western hemlock foliage Tsuga heterophylla, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Slightly vertiginous log bridge          © Rod Crawford Western hemlock foliage, rich in spiders               © Rod Crawford
linyphiid spider Poeciloneta fructuosa, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington juvenile uloborid spider Hyptiotes gertschi, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Poeciloneta fructuosa, best conifer spider   © Rod Crawford Hyptiotes gertschi with unusual zebra-pattern                © Rod Crawford
moss on tree trunk, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington tree with semi-hollow base, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Trunk moss looked good, yielded little    © Laurel Ramseyer Tall tree with semi-hollow base              © Laurel Ramseyer
old growth trunk, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington low cascade in creek, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Sturdy old-growth trunk           © Rod Crawford Low cascade in Surprise Creek               © Rod Crawford
dead wood, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington fallen bark, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Dead wood…            © Rod Crawford …and fallen bark              © Rod Crawford
fly on cup-like fungus, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington trumpet-like fungi, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Fly on cup-like fungus           © Laurel Ramseyer Deeper, trumpet-like fungi               © Laurel Ramseyer
mushrooms and hemlock seedlings, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington fern species common in understory, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Shrooms and hemlock seedlings        © Rod Crawford This fern species was common in the understory         © Rod Crawford
tall tree grows from large boulder, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington steep slope meadow above middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Tall tree grows from big boulder        © Laurel Ramseyer Steep meadow above the trail                © Laurel Ramseyer
bracken in meadow, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington talus near meadow sweep site, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Bracken produced most in meadow sweep        © Laurel Ramseyer Talus near meadow sweep site           © Laurel Ramseyer
Abies amabilis foliage, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington pocket of deep Vaccinium leaf litter, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Abies amabilis foliage               © Laurel Ramseyer Deep pocket of Vaccinium litter saved our sample         © Laurel Ramseyer
yellow monkeyflower on gravel bar, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington gravel bar in Surprise Creek, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Yellow monkeyflower on gravel bar     © Laurel Ramseyer Big gravel bar in Surprise Creek                     © Laurel Ramseyer
Vaccinium foliage with berries, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington lush trailside understory, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Vaccinium foliage with a few berries    © Laurel Ramseyer Ultra-lush trailside understory                 © Rod Crawford
shelf fungi on snag forest floor foliage, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Shelf fungi on snag             © Rod Crawford Delicate forest-floor ferns and herbs          © Rod Crawford
stairs on trail, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer above on trail stairs, middle part of Surprise Creek Trail, NE King County, Washington
Back down the trail stairs        © Rod Crawford The Lady Higher Up                © Rod Crawford
Zeke's Drive-In east of Gold Bar, Washington sunset near Sultan, Washington on 13 September 2021
Back at Zeke's for burgers          © Rod Crawford Pure-golden sunset near Sultan              © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 20 September, 2021