Trail of Shadows, Longmire March 31 2012
As we arrived at Longmire, the weather changed from overcast to clear skies with only a few clouds to be seen.
The canopy over the trail of shadows was mostly Douglas fir, Western Red cedar and Western Hemlock, there were also other, rare specimens such as Alaska cedar and western yew.
the <1mile trail offered surprisingly little under story growth, mostly consisting of western hemlock saplings, and usually then only on nurse logs. There was also several feet of snow along much of the trail, and that I believe to be a rather large contributing factor in the lack of understory shrubbery. The trail itself wrapped around iron hot springs, interestingly The hot springs here bubbled with CO2, but unfortunately I cannot define the cause.
All species that I encountered here, and could identify, are defined in the attached observations.
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)Observer
jjensenDescription
This plant was commonly seen near paved roads along walking pathways but was absent when walking the trails in wooded areas beyond; it is unclear if this was due to the thick snow-cover along the trail, or if this plant was absent from the trail entirely.
Photos / Sounds
What
Pines (Genus Pinus)Observer
jjensenDescription
This pine was growing alongside the Trail of Shadows, near the trail-head on the edge of an open area containing iron hot springs.
Photos / Sounds
What
Beavers (Family Castoridae)Observer
jjensenDescription
I wanted to call this as the Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa), but I am not sure if this amount of tree damage could be attributed to that species. However the evidence of some kind of beaver is still evident here. There was were several other places near the Trail of Shadow where other small fallen trees exhibited signs of beaver damage as well.
Photos / Sounds
What
Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)Observer
jjensenDescription
Western hemlock saplings were growing all along the Trail of Shadows, several other western hemlock saplings were seen along the trail growing on nurse logs.
Photos / Sounds
What
Pixie Cup and Reindeer Lichens (Genus Cladonia)Observer
jjensenDescription
Cladonia, complete with distinctive red colored structure, found on a fallen log.
Unsure of the type of lichen on the left.
Photos / Sounds
What
Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus)Observer
jjensenDescription
Devils club was found along a stream on the trail of shadows, here it is lacking its leaves, however its distinctive spiked stem makes it easy to identify.
Photos / Sounds
What
Tree Lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria)Observer
jjensenDescription
Lungwart was found on only a few trees on near one end of the trail of shadows, but when present, appeared in large patches such as this.
Photos / Sounds
What
Methuselah's Beard Lichen (Usnea longissima)Observer
jjensenDescription
Usnea longissima or "Methuselah's beard lichen," was found in several trees usually in a single small bundle, but in this tree (deceased Douglas fir?) was especially abundant.
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