April 19, 2012 Cougar Mountain natural trail

Cougar Mountain is situated in between Issaqhah and Bellevue (Lat: 47.52 Lon:-122.15). It was a cold, rainy Thursday. The temperature was around 48℉, and it was a bit foggy as we drove up to higher elevation.

Grassy area near the entrance of the Sky Country Trailhead and. Few robins were looking for worms on the grass. Species were much more diverse and abundant inside the woods. Douglas fir, western hemlock, western redcedar, and red alder were the dominant tree species here. Understory canopy included elderberry, some English holly near the entrance, and huckleberry, Indian plum, and salal. The soil condition was even more moist inside the trail. Wetland species such as Pacific trillium and skunk cabbage were spotted frequently. A dense population of devil's club was found next to a few western sweet coltsfoot at an open site near the old mining site.

(see written journal 6 for detail)

[Species list]
Douglas fir
western hemlock
western redcedar
red alder
bigleaf maple
elderberry
English holly
salal
Indian plum
huckleberry
American robins
Pacific trillium
skunk cabbage
pink purslane
sitka spruce
devil's club
western sweet coltsfoot

Posted on June 5, 2012 12:50 PM by hsin119