Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 18 July 2017 spider collecting trip to North Mountain Lookout, Skagit County, Washington (near Darrington, Snohomish County). After being quasi-lost for an hour in a confusing network of roads, we made it to the gate a mile before the summit, and after an easy hike, we could see for miles and miles! Between the summit area and 2 lower sites we got 25-26 species, not a very spectacular fauna but including Laurel's prize female of rarely collected Orodrassus canadensis. Laurel's account of the day is here.

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3 North Mountain spider sites in red      (Skagit County, 2012)	Gate one mile from summit              © Rod Crawford
There goes Rod up the road           © Laurel Ramseyer	Bracken-herb-shrub field around lookout tower              © Rod Crawford
Rod approaches the lookout tower        © Laurel Ramseyer	Tower said to be 40 feet tall, seems taller!        © Rod Crawford
Male Cyclosa conica from summit foliage   © Rod Crawford	Male Misumena vatia on Aruncus             © Laurel Ramseyer
Laurel is way up there             © Rod Crawford	Mount Baker from the tower            © Rod Crawford
Nearby Mt. Higgins and Round Mountain   © Rod Crawford	North Cascades: Shuksan in distance, Bacon Peak             © Rod Crawford
Uncommon Orodrassus canadensis      © Laurel Ramseyer	Looking down the steep tower stairs              © Rod Crawford
Laurel attempts to collect a spider     © Rod Crawford	Low forest understory             © Rod Crawford
Stony debris sheltered wolf spiders      © Laurel Ramseyer	Roadside outcrop               © Rod Crawford
Parnassius clodius nectaring         © Laurel Ramseyer	Douglas-fir cones (spider-free) near summit               © Laurel Ramseyer
Young toad on shady side of road      © Laurel Ramseyer	Alder leaf retreat of Clubiona pacifica                       © Laurel Ramseyer
Rod in amongst trees & dead wood      © Laurel Ramseyer	Lovely dead wood habitat on west slope of mountain        © Rod Crawford
Jumbo Mountain from mountainside clearcut      © Rod Crawford	Whitehorse Mountain from the same spot                © Rod Crawford
Araniella displicata               © Laurel Ramseyer	Backlit fireweed in same clearcut                © Rod Crawford
The Burger Barn, where we dined       © Laurel Ramseyer	Sunset near Arlington                         © Rod Crawford

This page last updated 26 July, 2017