Selected photos by Rod
Crawford and Matisse Lorance from our 15 August 2012 spider collecting trip (with Jerry Austin) to the summit ridge of Sauk Mounain, Skagit County, Washington. The hike to the top was not too difficult but spiders proved to be particularly sparse there and we managed a bare 20 species, 21 if we turn out to have been lucky, but including a very interesting record of the alpine wolf spider Pardosa rainieriana, found by Jerry. The scenery was spectacular, however.
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| Trail and summit ridge from the air (USGS, 1998) | Trailhead looked rather crowded © Rod Crawford |
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| Rod & Jerry start up the trail © Matisse Lorance | Looking back down at the Skagit Valley © Matisse Lorance |
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| What, have we come up that far? © Matisse Lorance | Trail finally reaches crest of the ridge © Rod Crawford |
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| The jumping-off place © Matisse Lorance | Mosaic of treeline habitats © Rod Crawford |
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| Flowers bedeck an outcrop © Rod Crawford | Matisse approaches a rocky crest © Rod Crawford |
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| Meadow on the ridge crest © Rod Crawford | Micaria constricta from under a rock © Rod Crawford |
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| So lush, but so few spiders! © Rod Crawford | High meadow in evening shade © Matisse Lorance |
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| Inside a small tree group © Rod Crawford | Matisse on the skyline © Rod Crawford | |
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| Mountain hemlock foliage © Rod Crawford | Looking down steep meadow © Rod Crawford |
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| Sauk Lake, farther down than it looks! © Rod Crawford | Mountain panorama from the top © Matisse Lorance |
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| So flowery, so few spiders! © Rod Crawford | More mountain panorama © Rod Crawford |
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| Marmot shows itself © Matisse Lorance | Marmot so fat it reminds me of a seal © Matisse Lorance |
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| Sun begins to set © Matisse Lorance | Sun just gone down © Rod Crawford |
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| Dusk descends on valley below © Matisse Lorance | A little later, true sunset © Rod Crawford |
This page last updated 5 October, 2012