Definitions: Alluvial Fan

What an alluvial fan looks like after it is recaptured and returned to its cell.

Yet more interesting dirt facts.

(1) A pile of dirt in the desert.

These occur everywhere that dirt has escaped from the hills and gotten out into the wide open spaces where it can live free. Or so it thinks. Mainly, it's out there for you to step in. As if you needed that.

(2) A pile of desert dirt that has been flattened and spread out in a fan shape over the centuries.

It gets this particular shape by being run down every decade or two by panicked water rushing to get out of the hills as fast as it can. (Water is afraid of heights.)

(3) The pleasant, cool and welcome nighttime breeze flowing down out of the desert hills and through your campsite after dark just before the rainstorm, and the flood, and your sudden, unpleasant death.

Gray Wolf Overnight — Drips and out.

Darkness at noon.

Or slightly after. Near the top of the Gray Wolf / Deer Park trail, a miles-long trudge uphill.

Pretty though.

A miles-long trudge uphill during which rain did fall. Fine. Bring it on. No. Not fine.

At least someone was happy.

Definitely not me. I don't do well in rain, especially while sweating. But it was the only way out.

Remember that sunny panorama?

Yeah, well things had changed in a little over a day. No more sun. No more open vistas. Only a trail going off toward the edge of the earth.

Giant whatsis (looming phase).

At least, if rain is falling, also having fog gives an opportunity for sightseeing. Everything looks different.

Then there's Mom.

Plus a fresh one from the copy-oven. Li'l Hopper, you could call it, hopping around the way it did. Tiny but happy..

Fading out.

I didn't get (and couldn't get) close enough for good photos but did manage these few. Mom didn't want anything to do with me, even though I was the only one around, and Li'l Hopper just bounced along behind her, both of them moving away from me at a decent clip.

And...

Gone in a couple more seconds. Though I had my little pocket camera racked way out, I barely caught them. Not even enough time to adjust the ISO for a faster shutter speed or anything. Just one more desperate shot before the deer were completely back in their own element and hidden from sight.

And that was my trip.

Info

Olympic National Park map (PDF)

Gray Wolf Overnight — Time to climb.

I am curious (buck).

It was a surprise to me too. Things came off slightly blurry but perhaps at least one of us may be excused. (That would be me. If you agree.)

Nope. Don't wanna be near any hiker guys.

Deers got more important things to do anyway. Even more blurred. This guy was on a much faster schedule than I was at the time.

Smaller than a deer, but with more legs.

More like one of my relatives, except that most of my relatives prefer to stay under the rocks. No words passed between us. We pretended not to recognize each other.

A nice, bright touch.

So far the day had been lightly overcast — enough to allow decent photography in the forest without blown highlights, making anything brightly-colored stand out even more.

Overcast but dry. And, of course, since I was near the end, things were about to change.