Album of Slide Lake Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Fred Austin from our 9 July 2014 spider collecting trip (with Jerry Austin) to Slide Lake, well into the Cascades in Skagit County, Washington. The trailhead is reached by an even 20 miles on the gravel Illabot Creek Road, fortunately in much better shape than the Forest Service claimed. The trail was rather rough but not too difficult, and brought us to the lake in time to collect about 29 spider species from vegetation, litter, moss, and bark, plus one active wolf spider species.
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2013 aerial photo of Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington Whitehorse Mountain seen from Illabot Creek Road on way to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Slide Lake from the air         (Skagit County, 2013) Whitehorse Mountain in the distance from Illabot Creek Road     © Rod Crawford
Illabot Creek Road on way to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington Fred and Jerry Austin at trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Driving that long, long road          © Rod Crawford Fred and Jerry survey the scene at the trailhead         © Rod Crawford
trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Well, here we are at the trailhead         © Rod Crawford Good thing the sign's there! Trail on right a bit inconspicuous   © Rod Crawford
Otter Creek above Illabot Creek Road, trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington Otter Creek below Illabot Creek Road at trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Above road, Otter Creek looks like a creek   © Rod Crawford Below road, Otter Creek looks like a river!        © Rod Crawford
dwarf dogwood Cornus canadensis along trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington rough part of trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Cornus canadensis in the forest      © Rod Crawford Parts of the trail are rough and rocky            © Rod Crawford
Boulders along trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington 2 old-growth trees growing from boulder, trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Abundant boulders along the trail     © Rod Crawford The boulders have been there for a very long time!        © Fred Austin
Cut old growth windfall along trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington tree rings in cut old growth windfall along trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Tree rings, anyone?          © Fred Austin Hoo boy, have we got tree rings for you!       © Rod Crawford
thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus, trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington flowers of Clintonia uniflora on trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Rubus parviflorus        © Rod Crawford Bride's bonnet, Clintonia uniflora                © Fred Austin
nurse log along trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington first pond encountered along trail to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Nurse log       © Fred Austin First pond encountered before reaching lake              © Fred Austin
Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington submerged grass at Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
And here we are at the lake!     © Rod Crawford But where's the lakeshore meadow? Underwater!           © Rod Crawford
talus across lake trom trail, Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington Snowking Mountain overlooks Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Boulder talus across the lake         © Rod Crawford Snowking Mountain, guardian of the lake's head         © Rod Crawford
Lake shore vegetation, Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla foliage, Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Lake shore vegetation, fairly spider-rich    © Rod Crawford Sparse hemlock foliage added some species             © Rod Crawford
green effect in lake water, Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington Rod Crawford taking spiders from beating net, Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Green, transparent lake water      © Fred Austin Rod rakes in the spiders from the lake shore        © Fred Austin
shelf fungus near Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington vine maple thicket, leaf litter source, Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Shelf fungus            © Fred Austin Vine maple thicket had some dry leaf litter           © Rod Crawford
sifting vine maple litter at Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington mossy boulders at Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Sifting the litter produced 3 species       © Rod Crawford There was lots of dry moss on rocks          © Fred Austin
microspider Sisis rotundus Linyphiidae from moss, Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington roadside verge foliage at trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
Sisis rotundus sifted from moss            © Rod Crawford Back at the road, roadside verge was our last habitat          © Rod Crawford
sunset on 9 July 2014 from trailhead to Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington sunset on 9 July 2014 on way out Illabot Creek Road from Slide Lake, Skagit County, Washington
The sunset begins            © Rod Crawford The sunset peaks                     © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 9 August, 2014