Friday, December 23, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Free, free, set them free
Free, free, set them free..
I set my lichens free today. Some will live and some will die and some are already dead. If left in a shoebox they would all die. I look forward to watching them spring back to life the next time it rains.
I set my lichens free today. Some will live and some will die and some are already dead. If left in a shoebox they would all die. I look forward to watching them spring back to life the next time it rains.
This is what I collected in alphabetical order:
Alectoria sarmentosa
Fallen limb parking lot “B” TESC
Date:1-Nov. 2011
#55
Cladina rangiferina
Mossy road cut Opal Creek
N44*50.854 W 122*12.746
650 Meters 25-Oct-2011
#44
Cladonia bellidiflora var. squamaltic acid
Rock
N45*55.584 W121*068
1,079M 5-Oct-2011
#7
Cladonia gracilis ssp turbinata
Road Cut Camp Cushman Hoodsport Wa
306M 14-Oct-2011
#26
Cladonia pyxidata
Rock
N45*55.584 W121*46.068
1079M 5-Oct-2011
#8
Cetraria obata
Douglas-fir branch on ground
N47*86.712 W123*06.680
10M 15-Oct-2011
#32
Evernia prunastri
On fallen twig TESC parking lot “B”
1-Nov-2011
#54
Hypogymnia enteromorpha
Douglas-fir
N47*11.959 W123*09.126
40M 8-Oct-2011
#16
Letharia vulpina
On fallen Pine twig
N45*15.217 W*121.12.517
359M 4-Oct-2011
#10
Lobaria Oregona
Under second growth Douglas-fir
N44*50.995 W122*12.154
740M 25-Oct-2011
#39
Lobaria pulmonaria
On Acer macrophyllum bark
10th and Franklin Shelton, Wa 98584
4M 2-Nov-2011
#56
Ochrolechia oregonesis
On Alnus rubra bark
N44*50*455 W122*12.154
740M 24-Oct-2011
#42
Placospis lambii
Rock
Opal Creek Jawbone Flats Oregon
930M 23-Oct-2011
#40
Platismatia glauca
On ground under Douglas-fir
N45*54.332 W121*42.274
958M 4-Oct-2011
#11
Peltigera aphthosa
N44*50.995 W 122*12.154
740M 25-Oct-2011
#50
Peltigera britannica
On a mossy rock
N47.29.811 W123*03.978
50M 14-Oct-2011
#29
Peltigera neopolydacyla
Mossy ground Oceanside
N46*51.489 W124*06.744
1M 14-Oct-2011
#24
Pilophorus acicularis
Roadside rock Camp Cushman
Hoodsport Washington
46M 14-Oct-2011
#28
Sphaerophorus tuckermanii
Tsuga bark Skokomish River Trail
N47*25.592 W123*21.050
195M 17-Oct-2011
#35
Sticta limbata
Eastern Sugar Maple Bark
10th and Railroad Ave Shelton Wa
4M 3-Nov-2011
#57
Usnea longissima
North Fork Santiam Road off
Highway 22 in Oregon
Elevation unknown 25-Oct-2011
#53
Saturday, December 17, 2011
North Fork Skokomish
I hit the trail at 9:30 am and made it out at 4:45. It’s been a long time since I went to visit my favorite tree at Big Log camp. I was glad to see that the tree is still standing. This tree is a western red cedar that is hollow in the center and has an opening that one can duck in to and have a seat. I have not been to Big Log camp since I got my dog, because dogs are not allowed in the National Park. I really thought I would miss my Patches but I did not miss her all that much. Poor Patches though, she wanted to go with me so badly. She knew I was going hiking when she saw me getting my gear together and she made several dives for the door as I was heading out. I’ll make it up to her and take her in a logging road hike later this week.After Spike camp the trail was snow covered but the snow was old and crusty. The snow was easy to walk on, it was not slippery and it was not deep enough to steal much of my energy. There were some elk tracks in the snow. There was no snow at the base of my favorite tree. I spent one hour at the tree taking pictures, eating lunch and brewing my tea. I headed back for my Jeep at 1:30pm so I would have three hours of daylight to hike out in.
The bridge over Madeline creek was very scary, almost scary enough to make me turn around. I panicked on my first attempt to cross it and had to turn back before I fell off. It is narrow with just one handrail and it is partly covered with icy snow. I remember the bridges on this trail being much nicer than they are now. Huge clumps of Lobaria oregona were everywhere. I also saw lots of Spaerophurus lichens and a few Usnea longissima. I found several Lobaria that had black apothecia from being attacked by a fungus.
I was very wound up at the start of my hike and for the second hike in a row I accidentally brought my thermos with me instead of leaving it in that Jeep. When I discovered I had my heavy thermos with me I hid it under a lichen (Lobaria oregona) and way pointed it in my GPS so I could pick it up on the way out. How many places in the world (other than the arctic) are lichens big enough to hide a thermos under?
The other bone headed thing I did today was forget to put batteries in my external flash. I opted to carry my useless flash with me rather than hide it with my thermos because it is not waterproof. I got back to my thermos right at sunset (4:30) and made it back to the trail head by 4:45 so I did not have to use my head lamp. Ah well, I did not miss my flash and it was nice having a hot tea to sip during the last ½ mile of my hike.
I only saw two other people on the trail and I hid from them. I expected to see a lot more people than that at Staircase on a Saturday! Maybe Ranger Davis has scared all the people away. I was careful to get in and out of my Jeep real quick so I would not have to see him and be accused of hunting for mushrooms in the snow.
When I got home the house was in pretty good shape. My kids are growing up and the days of my coming home to find my house totally trashed after a hike seem to be a thing of the past.
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| Inside of the big tree at big log tree |
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| My thermos is hidden there |
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Silly Ranger Bruce and his salal leaf face placed in a cave |
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| Lobaria oregona with a fungal parasite on its black apothecia |
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| Usnea longissima Lichen |
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| mystery mushroom |
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| Mystery polypores |
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| Lunch at the base of my friend |
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| View from Beaver Burn |
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| Big log sign |
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| Sending spot message home |
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| Scary place to cross Madeline creek when alone and miles from the trail head |
800 feet elevation gain
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| Brewing tea at the big tree |
Friday, December 16, 2011
Duckabush
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| Forest service logging the Lena Lake trail head and turning hikers away |
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| view down the Duck |
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| View up the Duck |
7 miles 1,100 feet elevation gain.
I got my bike back, but REI only had one pannier avaialable. Maybe I will go on a hike and bike with just one pannier or maybe I will put a milk carton on my rach for now. The matching pannier is coming in the mail but the one pannier I got broke before I even got to use it! So when they get more in stock I'll have to exchange the one I already have. What a PITA.. but at least REI has a good life-time return policy so I know I can take it back even after I have used it a bit. I think it is still usable even though part of it broke.
While I was at REI I got new snowbaskets for my trekking poles. I was using an unmatched pair and one of the pair had a big crack in it and was not offering much support in the snow. I'm still using an unmatched pair though, I'm not that vain. I put the extra new matching basket in my pack. Now if I lose a snow basket deep in the snow out in the middle of nowhere I will have a replacement in my pack. My black diamond trekking poles are a bit heavy but they are sturdy. Still I had to oil them up when they quit working. My next set of trekking poles will only have outside locks. These poles have both inside and outside locks and the inside locks have given me some trouble.
I had an ultra light pair of poles from Lekki but they cracked after just a few hikes, so I exchanged them. But I've been keeping them in my closet and not using them. Perhaps I should sell them. I hike alone way out in the woods, I can't risk getting hurt due to a trekking pole failure. But someone who weights less then me are does not hike as hard and hikes in a group could use these poles without fear.
I really want a pair of MSR lightening ascent 25" women's snowshoes.. but they are so expensive. Maybe I could get them second hand. I weigh too much for my plastic MSR snowshoes.
The woman who backed into me when I was trying to find REI last week has not called me back. I may have to go through her insurance after all.
Strangely, after hiking two days in a row my knee feels better than usual!
7 miles 1,100 feet elevation gain
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| Last chanterelle of the year? |
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| Taking a break |
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| One beautiful lichen, it is a boring light grey when dry |
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| Pretty moss |
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Pseudocyphellaria anomala
I found this recnetly. It's the first psuedocyphelaria I have ever found. I'm having a hard time seeing the pseudocyphellae so the keys did not help me at all. I had to look through the book until I found a matching picture. Even the soralia look funny, they could almost be confused for mini apothecias.
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| One beautiful lichen, it is a boring light grey when dry |
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| Pretty moss |
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| A mystery conk |
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