March 2, 2018
August 7, 2014
Along Trail 345
This old trail has been de-commissioned by the Forest Service but it still exists and I walk along parts of it when I can. Something of interest seems always to be there.
Fireweed ~ Epilobium angustifolium
Thimbleberries (Rubus parviflorus) are ripening
Thimbleberry blossoms (From my archives)
Pinedrops ~ Pterospora andromrdea
Pinedrops are saprophytic perennials, without chlorophyl or green leaves. You have to look closely at them to tell if they are newly blossoming or dried from the previous year.
Northern Green Bog Orchid ~ Platanthera huronensis
Bog orchids can easily be overlooked.
Pine white butterfly ~ Neophasia menapia
July 28, 2013
’tis the season for huckleberries
About this time in late summer one of the delicacies of the northwest begins to ripen and nearly everyone in these parts take to the mountains to harvest a few huckleberries. Black Huckleberry, Vaccinium membranaceum, is perhaps the most common in this area but I read somewhere that the native Indians were able to recognize 21 different species of them . I can recognize only three, but what the heck… they’re all good! I did a brief search and found an advertised price of $69 for a gallon (about 5 pounds).
Today I ventured out to pick a few and succeeded in getting enough for my wife to make one of the most delicious pies that anyone has ever tasted. And, at today’s going price, the berries I brought back at least paid for my gas.
The location:
Today I chose a section of USFS trail 404 (the CC Divide trail) just inside the southern border of the Patrick’s Knob – North Cutoff roadless area south of the town of Plains Montana. Trail 404 proceeds for many miles along the crest of a high ridge that roughly separates the Lower Clark Fork River from the St Regis River
The trail:
The star of the show:
The competition:
When attempting to acquire about anything that is desirable, there will be competition. Today the largest competitor was probably back in a thicket somewhere sleeping, but others were out and about.
Adult male Dusky grouse, Dendragapus obscurus.
Dusky grouse, this summer’s chick.
And always there are flowers:
Fireweed
Harebell, Bluebell of Scotland
August 16, 2012
Little Thompson Peak (2)
In the area burned by a major fire such as the one that engulfed the Thompson Peaks, one of the first signs of the natural regeneration process is the appearance of fireweed (Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium or Epilobium angustofolium). I will post photos of some of the burned area of the Chippy Creek fire next, but to start I think it’s fitting to celebrate this beautiful and very beneficial plant.
Wikipedia describes it quite well when it states: ” the name Fireweed derives from the species’ abundance as a coloniser on burnt sites after forest fires. Its tendency to quickly colonize open areas with little competition, such as sites of forest fires and forest clearings, makes it a clear example of a pioneer species. Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light, as trees and brush grow larger the plants die out, but the seeds remain viable in the soil seed bank for many years, when a new fire or other disturbance occurs that opens up the ground to light again the seeds germinate. Some areas with heavy seed counts in the soil, after burning, can be covered with pure dense stands of this species and when in flower the landscape is turned into fields of color.”
August 15, 2011
Wildflowers of summer (10)
Northern Bedstraw ~ Galium boreale – Along Little Thompson River
Brown-eyed Susan ~ Gaillardia aristata – Along Little Thompson River
Red Clover ~ Trifolium pratense – Along Little Thompson River
Fireweed ~ Epilobium angustifolium
Ocean Spray, Creambush ~ Holodiscus discolor
Suksdorf’s Indian paintbrush ~ Castilleja suksdorfii – Near Vermilion Pass
August 29, 2008
Fireweed 2
I can’t let summer pass without featuring Fireweed, Chamerion angustifolium. It’s a beautiful and prolific flower and because it is one of the first plants to start the regeneration of the natural surroundings after a forest fire, it always signifies to me the hope for and the expectation of something better and more beautiful to come.
With the exception of the last photo, which was taken along trail 345 to Bighole Peak, these photos were taken near the start of the trail into the Reservation Divide roadless area.