Sauk River Trail walk after a day of heavy rain, August 16th 2025
The forest was still damp with rain from the day before. Before long, the front of my pants was soaked from the tall grass. I was not troubled by this, since the lichens, mosses, and gastropods seemed rejuvenated by all the wetness. I only photographed one banana snail, but there were many more out with various degrees of spottiness. I was excited to find a Robust Lancetooth Snail in the path.
The Sauk River was raging and brown with sediment. I didn't see any American Dippers today on the river rocks. I wonder if the speed of the current and low visibility underwater made them choose other places to hang out, but I didn't see any in the much-clearer Murphy Creek, either.
Birds heard today but not photographed:
Steller's Jay
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Wilson's Warbler
Downy Woodpecker
Cedar Waxwing
It was cloudy for the beginning of the hike, but more sunny in the afternoon. The sunlight through the hanging mosses and lichens was beautiful. Some of the Bigleaf Maple leaves are already turning gold -- many of them sporting Speckled Tar Spot, which creates a striking leopard-spot pattern. Osoberry, one of the first deciduous plants to leaf out in the spring, is turning yellow in August as it always does. I snacked on salal berries, thimbleberries, and red huckleberries, but many of them are on the edge of being too rotten or dry to eat. That's okay! Mushroom season is coming.
Speaking of mushrooms, it's disappointing to find the invasive Wood Woolly Foot finding a foothold in these woods. I call them "leaf grabbers", and they seem to be everywhere in the lowlands, now.
I want to record every common species on this hike, but somehow I have missed Douglas Fir and Western Redcedar. How? I'll get them next time.
