3.31.12 Trail of Shadows, Longmire, WA

Date: 3.31.12
Location: Trail of Shadows, Longmire, Washington
Weather: As we got higher in elevation, the sky cleared considerably. Most of the sky was clear except for a few puffy clouds.
Climate: Considering this area is high in elevation and that it is the end of March and there is about 2 feet of snow on the ground under the trees (when I stepped off the trail I sunk down quite a distance; it was hard to get out), I would deem it safe to conclude that snow covers the ground approximately 7-8 months a year.

Observations and things taught/learned:
Most of the canopy in the wooded area consisted of Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylia), and Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata). However, we also saw Western Yew (Taxus brevifolia). The undergrowth, in comparison to Packwood Forest that we saw earlier the same day, was almost non-existent. Most of the ground was covered by 1-2 feet of snow. The snow could have hidden some of the lower growing understory.
The trail loops around a marshy area where beavers have built a multiple layered dam [on iNaturalist]. The mud is extremely red and bubbles issue in streams from under the water. The bubbles are CO2. [I do not know what Susan said was the cause of the Co2 forming? iNaturalist]. On the water in the middle of the marsh/pond I saw 2-4 Mallard Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) swimming on the water. There was definitely one male and one female. A reddish/grassy/sedge-like plant grew extensively in the water. It grew in clumps and spread from about 5-20ft into the beaver pond. In a different, slightly more shaded area (an area where the pond started forming streams) grew Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus). There were few other plants around it.

Other:
-A tree grew straight up, made a 90 degree angle, and then grew upward again. Why? Normally strange bends like that are caused by the earth the tree is growing on to be slanted against the sun, but I do not think this is the case in the scenario? [question asked on iNaturalist].
-Why do beavers build multiple layers of dams within the same marsh/pond?
-I saw a tree with Horizontal lines of small holes (about a cm wide or less) about 5-10 ft from the base of the tree, either a Hemlock or Douglass Fir (I didn't take note, but I think I have seen similar holes in both types of trees). Inside the holes there were collections of an unknown grayish/white material, perhaps bark (though the coloring looked different than that of the surrounding bark)? What could the material be? I would like to find out some day.

Species list mentioned in journal:
-Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
-Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylia)
-Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata)
-Western Yew (Taxus brevifolia)
-Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus)
-Mallard Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)
-White Beak-Rush (Rhynchospora alba)?

Other species:
-Lipstick Cladonia (Cladonia maccilenta)

Posted on April 2, 2012 08:09 AM by chimeravo