Album of Illabot Creek Road Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 14 August 2018 spider collecting trip to sites along the Illabot Creek and Illabot Peaks roads (Skagit County, Washington), on the way to and from a subalpine site that we never reached. Much to my surprise, the "consolation" collections at sites ranging from 1160 to 3400 feet elevation brought us an excellent sample of 43 species, though with nothing really rare. Even the extremely smoky air (from distant wildfires) didn't hamper us much, though it prevented our doing any hard-breathing hikes. Late summer collecting can be rewarding after all!
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington aerial photo of Illabot Creek and Illabot Peaks Road area, Skagit County, Washington
So here we are, halfway up the mountain         © Laurel Ramseyer Our first site is the right-most red dot               (Skagit County, 2017)
blue huckleberries, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington female orbweaver Araneus nordmanni, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Tasty huckleberries              © Laurel Ramseyer Female Araneus nordmanni, nice catch!                © Laurel Ramseyer
alder Anus rubra along Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Alder overgrowing the old road       © Rod Crawford …which in places looks quite driveable, with nice habitats   © Rod Crawford
interior of Tsuga-Abies forest, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington roadside shrub habitat, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Interior of western hemlock forest      © Rod Crawford Productive roadside shrub habitat              © Laurel Ramseyer
Laurel Ramseyer sweeping in forest, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington wood-strewn forest floor, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Laurel sweeping in the forest         © Rod Crawford Forest floor strewn with dead wood and bark           © Rod Crawford
tree showing soil creep, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington dead wood chunks on forest floor, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Clear signs of soil creep           © Laurel Ramseyer Larger dead wood chunks had fewer spiders             © Rod Crawford
devil's club Oplopanax horridum in forest, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington forest understory dominated by devil's club, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Devil's club in fruit          © Laurel Ramseyer Forest understory dominated by devil's club           © Laurel Ramseyer
bark of Pacific silver fir Abies amabilis, Illabot Peaks Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington non-view through smoky air, Illabot Creek Road, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Bark of Abies amabilis            © Laurel Ramseyer Viewpoint where we saw nothing in the smoky air           © Rod Crawford
view from road of Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington cobbles in rocky stream bed, Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Upper Hilt Creek Falls from road      © Rod Crawford Cobbles in rocky streambed below falls        © Rod Crawford
red-legged frog Rana aurora, Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington streamside understory, Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Red-legged frog near base of falls       © Rod Crawford Productive streamside understory below falls           © Rod Crawford
Rod Crawford at base of Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Rod Was Here (taking pictures)       © Laurel Ramseyer Upper Hilt Creek Falls is a gorgeous spot         © Rod Crawford
moss, leaf litter and culvert at Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington pool at base of Upper Hilt Creek Falls, SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Moss & leaf litter in waterfall gorge       © Laurel Ramseyer Limpid pool at base of falls                    © Rod Crawford
wolf spider Pardosa dorsuncata with egg sac, lower Illabot Creek Road SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington roadside habitats, lower Illabot Creek Road SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Pardosa dorsuncata with egg sac      © Laurel Ramseyer Tall, dense roadside grass made this site very difficult      © Laurel Ramseyer
illegal dump at last spider collecting site, lower Illabot Creek Road SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington forest clearing with conifer foliage, lower Illabot Creek Road SE of Rockport, Skagit County, Washington
Illegal dumping in a forest clearing      © Laurel Ramseyer But the clearing also had good habitats                © Laurel Ramseyer
non-view of Whitehorse Mountain from Darrington on 14 August 2018 sinking sun through smoke in Darrington, Washington on 14 August 2018
From Darrington, faint form of Whitehorse Mountain  © Rod Crawford Sinking sun could be stared at through the smoke           © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 19 August, 2018