There's this bit of DNR land that I've been visiting for maybe three years now. Its a creek that drains into one of the forks of the Nooksack River, with some picturesque falls and a plethora of plant fossils dating back to a faraway balmy time when palms populated the northwest. Sometime in the recent past it is clear that there was a flood or dam (natural, of downed logs etc.) breaking that resulted in a rather open stream bed with large gravel bars. When I first began visiting this area the trees, mostly red alder, were shorter than me. I had noticed a few Buddleia (Butterfly bush) shrubs here and there.
Last month I went to discover thickets of alder and a Buddleia jungle going full bore, drawing in all sorts of insects. You may be wondering what your beloved butterfly bush is doing up in the sticks of the Cascade foothills... and you guessed it. Its a pretty prolific invasive species. I did my part. I picked an armload, took them home... They're so beautiful, you often hear 'oh its invasive' and envision a gnarly plant like Himalayan blackberry of English ivy. But nope. This seemingly innocuous butterfly drawing shrub is taking over the Racehorse Falls flood plain.
Delightful insects abound here, whether using the copious resource the butterfly bush hays become, or the sparse patches of pearly everlasting (below with an itty bitty wasp).
After pursuing these little guys a bit a fluttering pink something caught my eye, apparently this was surveyed not too long ago....
Its possible I mentioned you can find fossils here, its a great activity. You have to think about what kind of rocks would contain fossils etc etc etc. There are plenty that people or the water have broken open and left for searching eyes to see.
In case you didn't believe me about the palms....
Bald faced hornets are one of the nasty mean insects that we have in abundance in this region.
I've still got it! HA!
Its pretty much a tragedy that people do this to public land. My personal enjoyment and safety was decreased because a group of slobs decided their cars, perhaps 100 yards away, were too far to carry their trash. Such... sadness with regard to humanity.
One invasive that many people know, regardless of their walk in life, is the Himilayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus or discolor). Maybe that's because it has widely naturalized in temperate climates and is the source of headaches for gardeners, land managers, restoration project managers... And you can eat them. Free blackberries for everybody!
Jenn (remember jamming Jenn?) and I went out and picked more berries together in this scenic little field.
Immature lady bugs on the left?
Menacing bald-faced hornets were out getting their share too.
Rascally dog got some play-time in the Nooksack, we saw a tiny little monkey flower making its way on the flood plain.
Time for... gratuitous seashore shots!
I-thought-you-were-an-octopus! sea star....
Nudibranch! Sea slugs are much cooler than land slugs.
Chiton
Extraordinary encrusting sponge #1
Extraordinary encrusting sponge #2
A Nudibranch! (Lemon Nudibranch?)
Close up of odd star fish
Big seastar! Sun star?
Anemone adult with babies attached
With that hodge-podge, I take my leave. Did I mention I have a job...? More later!
I have not hiked nearly as much as I would like in the Mt Baker area, especially considering having been here over four years. So I went on an adventure in which I forgot boots or closed shoes of any kind... You'll see what I mean.
The first hike is the Chain Lakes, a loop that takes you back up to Artist's Point, a particularly splendid view. Since I am late in posting I hope you will forgive my lax attempts at identification.
As per usual, I gave most of my attention to plants and insects. Then there are lots of near identical landscape shots. Funny how that works.
Below left is an enormous pink monkey flower. I didn't even know they came in pink and was inclined to believe it was an exotic (I first saw it at the beginning of the trail), but lo it was everywhere I turned further along the trail. To the right is another species of that funny elephant flower thing, and I think a sawfly or little bee.
Unwieldy creature number one: Clodius Parnassian (Parnassian clodius... Clever huh?), I believe. New to me. Apparently they overwinter in the egg stage, which makes sense since they're a late season butterfly.
More elephant flowers, some kind of green orchid (I found an orchid! HA!)
To be perfectly honest I'm a teensy bit burnt out on lupines for the year, but there they were in abundance.
Some sort of fritillary I think.
Lots of monkey flowers or the pink variety and their smaller yellow siblings. To the right is a copper bush, from the coppery colored flowers.
Just call me the butterfly whisperer. But for the love of whatever you hold dear please don't call me and ask me about some obscure pointedy green plant/shiny beetle/white moth you saw. Because I won't know...
White and pink paintbrush, another new to me.
This apparently is called partridgefoot, and it was abuzz with bees all day. Can you see them...?
Two different heathers, the white one might be a Cassiope somethingorother
You reach a saddle after skirting Bagley lake and climbing a couple hundred feet. And magic! its Mt Shuksan.
You turn around and bam! its Mt Baker! Then descend to the rest of the little lakes.
False Hellebore of some kind and one of the many little water features of the mountains.
No idea what this primitive looking little guy is.
And you wander some more and.... back up that couple hundred feet to Artist's Point.
To get back to the elusive little truckling you have to hook up with the wild goose trail somewhere. We all know I scorn maps (I actually love them, but don't have the greatest knack for directing myself) and so for a while I was not lost, but not exactly on the trail. I knew I could follow the road down, but that would add considerable length to my 7 mile hike.
As it happens you actually have to wander down the road a little ways to pick up the trail, who knew. It was rapid and steep from there. Cool to see the trail I took from the other side of the valley though. That's the switchback up to the saddle.
I decided at that point that I was still amply energized, and that another 7 miles would be just the ticket (having not hiked nearly so much in two months). So I took a lunch and chocolate break, hopped in the truck and found my way to the Yellow Aster Butte trail head. The Parnassians here were considerably more... aged. Wings nearly see through, scarcely capable of flight, much less escaping me.
The important thing to know about this hike is that it gains between 2000 and 2500 ft, the majority of which is achieved in the first two miles. Luckily enough the trail seems to be a hotbed for flies. So with an escort of roughly half the black flies in the western hemisphere, I climbed. Nearer the top the flies thinned because of a breeze and the world was beautiful again.
Great Green Orchids!! And some oddball little fly thing?
Originally I only saw the puffball seed head remnants of this flower and entertained ideas that maybe it was the flower. Silly me, its an anemone! A beetle supping on pollen. Pollen is a great food. Really.
Hoverfly not living up to its name...
Here's for the dumb: stiffness set in at the top, and no it wasn't because I was wearing sandals. I have never exhausted myself so thoroughly by myself as I did that day. And therein lies the dumbness. Don't push yourself too hard if you have no backup or safety net, namely cotravelers.
Being so stiff and tired, it took me as long to get down as it did to get up, but I found some strawberries to munch on.
So remember the essentials guys! I had the clothes/first aid/food/water aspect covered but not the shoes.... or the wits. I can already see my mother cringing as she reads this. My baby daughter went off and did what now? Ah to be young and naive. Right?
