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Home > WNPS Local Chapters

Local Chapter Field Trips

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Central Puget Sound Olympic Peninsula
Central Washington Salal
Columbia Basin San Juan Islands
Koma Kulshan South Sound
Northeast Washington Suksdorfia
Okanogan Wenatchee Valley

Field trips take place rain or shine, so proper clothing and footwear are essential. Trips may be strenuous or hazardous and please contact trip leaders if you have questions about degree of difficulty. Please contact field trip leaders even if you do not have questions to let them know you wish to join them on the trip. Bring water, lunch and the ten essentials (map, compass, flashlight or headlamp with spare bulbs and batteries, extra food, extra clothing and rain gear, sunglasses and sunscreen, first aid kit, pocket knife, matches in a waterproof container, and fire starter).

Times and locations are subject to change without notice. Please confirm before attending.

For a listing of accessible, barrier-free locations to view native plants see Accessible Sites for Viewing Native Plants.

For additional field trips with a focus on native plants, check this website http://www.reachone.com/columbiacoastplants

Central Puget Sound

Guidelines for compensation for drivers of carpools: $0.25 per mile per car, to be divided among the passengers.  Tolls and ferry fares are additional and are to be divided among all those in the car.

Deception Pass Lichens. Leaders: Richard Drokar and Katherine Glew.

Just north of Deception Pass State Park on Fidalgo Island are the two contiguous Skagit County parks: Montgomery Duban Headlands Park and Sharpe Park. This beautiful area includes forest, wetlands, areas of glacially smoothed rock and cliffs that descend down into Rosario Strait. We will be particularly interested in the abundant and varied lichen species along the loop trail. Although this trail is only about 1.5 miles around, in places it is quite steep and rocky. The trip should end in the mid afternoon. Limit of 12 participants.

Date & Time Saturday, July 18, 2009; 8:30 AM
Location Meet at the 65th St./Ravenna Park & Ride at 8:30.
Contact

To sign up and for more information, contact Richard at drokoo@mac.com
or 206-935-1769.

   
Sedge Identification Workshop, July 25, led by Fred Weinmann
 

Overnight Backpack - Adams Creek Meadows. Leader: Brianne Cohen.

Lava flows, waterfalls, fields of flowers and up close views of glaciers. We will travel the Killen Creek trail on an 8-mile round trip into the Mount Adams Wilderness. The meadows bloom all season long so we are guaranteed a show! We will camp approximately 4 miles in, but since this trail crosses the Pacific Crest Trail, we will have the opportunity to hike many more miles before the day is over!

Date & Time DATE CHANGE; new date in August or September TBA, check back soon
Location Meet at 8:00 am at the 65th St/Ravenna Park and Ride to carpool.
Contact

Due to Forest Service limits, please sign up for the trip with Brianne Cohen at brianne.e.cohen@gmail.com.

 

Sheep Lake/Chinook Pass. Leader: Fayla Schwartz.  

We will start on the Pacific Crest Trail just outside of Mt. Rainier National Park at Chinook Pass and climb moderately (1,100 ft. elevation gain) to Sheep Lake, six miles round trip. Expect many species of flowers including several louseworts (Pedicularis sp.), lupines (Lupinus sp.), paintbrush (Castilleja sp.), beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax) and much more. For a preview of possible plants, check out the online WNPS plant list for Chinook Pass under Pierce County

(http://www.wnps.org/plant_lists/exploring_native_plants.html).
Prepare for a dry and sunny day, bringing your lunch and plenty of water. National Forest Pass required for parking. Limit of 12 participants.

Date & Time Saturday, August 8, 2009; 7:30 AM
Location Meet at 7:30 am at the 65th Street/Ravenna Park and Ride in Seattle.
Contact

To sign up, contact Fayla at faylas@seanet.com or 206-523-6723.

 
Central Washington
Grass Camp Trail.  A vigorous 6-mile loop hike from Nanum Meadows, reached by road from the top of Blewett Pass.  Over 200 species have been found in a large variety of habitats.  This is a joint trip with Kittitas Audubon. This is a full day trip; bring a lunch and water, and wear sturdy hiking shoes.
Date & Time Saturday, Jul. 11, 2009; 9 AM
Location Meet at the west side of the Super 1 parking lot in Ellensburg at 9:00AM.
Contact

Tuck Forsythe, leader.  Email:  forsythe@elltel.net; Phone:  (509) 925-2356

 
Cash Prairie.  Drive right to this large, open prairie with seeps and streams in it, and spectacular views across the deep canyons to the southwest.  Large patches of Penstemon should be blooming, along with little gems like three-leaved lewisia and yellow-staining collomia. This is a full day trip; bring a lunch and water, and wear sturdy hiking shoes.
Date & Time Saturday, Jul. 25, 2009; 10 AM
Location Meet at the Oak Creek feeding station at 10:00AM.
Contact

Cathy Reed, leader.  Email:  reedcrgs@nwinfo.com;  Phone:  (509) 697-8316

 
Cathedral Rock Trail.  Fairly easy trail from the trailhead near the end of the Cle Elum River Road. If we hurry past the patches of pink wintergreen and oak fern, we could have lunch at Squitch Lake, while admiring the yellow pond lilies and buckbean. This is a full day trip; bring a lunch and water, and wear sturdy hiking shoes.
Date & Time Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009; 9 AM
Location Meet at the west side of the Super 1 parking lot in Ellensburg at 9:00AM.
Contact

Don Knoke, leader.  Email:  donknoke@yahoo.com  Phone:  (509) 964-2274

 
Dome Peak.  This vigorous hike through alpine meadows and a five-year-old burn in whitebark pine country is in the western edge of the Ahtanum State Forest.  Dome Peak is northeast of Darlan Mountain; the route offers great views of the major Cascade volcanoes. This is a full day trip; bring a lunch and water, and wear sturdy hiking shoes.
Date & Time Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009; 9 AM
Location Meet at the south side of the 40th Ave. Bi-Mart in Yakima at 9:00AM.
Contact

Ed Lisowski, leader. Email:  lisowski@nwinfo.net; Phone: (509) 248-4590

 
Columbia Basin
Columbia Basin Hikes
   
Koma Kulshan
 
Northeast Washington

Dishman Hills Natural Area.

Dave leads hike in Dishman Hills Natural Area, a follow up to May 10 hike.

Date & Time Sunday, July 19, 2009; 1 PM
Location Meet 1 pm at Camp Caro, south end of Sargent Rd. On Appleway going east, watch for DHNA sign. On Sprague going west, turn left just before Toyota car dealership.
Contact Contact Dave Noble 534-5558.
   
Okanogan

Tiffany Mountain, led by Wendy Waichler.

The native fauna staged a jaw-dropping display on Tiffany last year. How will this year compare? Join us at the MVSTA town trailhead in Winthrop at 8 AM to find out. We’ll hike about five miles roundtrip at “photographer’s pace”, from Tiffany Campground, along Tiffany Lake, up to Honeymoon Pass. This easy-to-moderate trip is limited to a maximum of twelve people.

Date & Time Sunday, July 5, 2009; 8 AM
Location Meet at MVSTA town trailhead in Winthrop.
Contact To join this trip, contact Wendy Waichler, 509 996-8260, or wendyw@methownet.com.  Day of hikk call 509 341 4160 if you have to cancel.
   

Hart's Pass, led by Caryl Campbell.

We will head off to Hart’s Pass early, so let us meet at the MVSTA trailhead parking lot in Winthrop at 7:00 AM with a stop at the Mazama store about 7:30 AM.  We will head down into the east meadows from Slate Peak and look for flowers along the way.  Be prepared for any weather, including rain or cold.  Bring binocs and lunch. It is an easy hike, limited to twelve people.

Date & Time Sunday, July 26, 2009; 7 AM
Location MVSTA trailhead parking lot in Winthrop
Contact To join this trip, contact Caryl Campbell, 509 996-3458
   

Scaffold Ridge, led by George Wooten.

The final date for this trip in the Twisp River area is still being negotiated, depending on interest. We would like to make this an overnight camp out. Please RSVP to Joyce (magpie@methownet.com) or George early with date suggestions. This is a ten-mile round-trip hike on trails and some picking through talus fields – but no bush-whacking. Begins with a steep ascent but then levels off. Lots of interesting ecology makes it worthwhile.

Date & Time Possibly Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009; but still being negotiated.
Contact To join this trip, contact George Wooten, 509 997-6010, or george232@centurytel.net.
   
Olympic Peninsula

To be announced.

 
Salal

Field trips will be scheduled as snow melt and weather permit. If you would like to know about the trips as they are scheduled (generally at short notice), please send me your phone number if you want to be called, or your e-mail address.  Susan Alaynick, 360-333-7437 or s_alaynick@hotmail.com

   
San Juan Islands
No field trips are scheduled at this time.
   
South Sound
South Sound Field Trip List
 
Suksdorfia
No field trips are scheduled at this time.
 
Wenatchee Valley
No field trips are scheduled at this time.