Back in the high country again for the last few days of autumn. Soon snow will blanket these mountains, freezing the alpine lakes, and signaling dormancy for the living world there. The leaves are changing, cooler temperatures and shortening daylight hours calls the quaking life of these mountain forests into final flushed of berries, mushrooms, and wildlife scrambling to harvest the last bounty. I started this adventure at 3,500′, and quickly climbed to 4,000′, where I began combing through the spruce groves for mushrooms. There were pika calling from the rock scree on the hillsides, and recent bear sign on the trail. I began trailing deer tracks up a steep bank from the lake shore, hoping the rout would navigate through the often thick overgrowth of blueberry, salmon berry, serviceberry, and huckleberry shrubs. As I slipped through the foliage, I came upon a surprising species at this elevation. A fat, sluggish guarder snake was moving into a nice sun patch on the forest floor ahead of me.
The snake was one of the biggest specimens I’ve ever seen. So healthy and confidant on the needle strewn forest floor. I pictured this snake borrowing down into the thick duff, slipping deep underground beneath the mountain craigs, through the cracks in the rocks, down into hibernation deep underground, avoiding the winter weather that would otherwise freeze the snake in its slither. Though the day was warm and sunny, much of the vegitation in this area is shaded by taller trees and towering peaks. My hike was a wet one, with my jeans getting soaked, then. after some time standing in the sunlight, drying out again so I could keep exploring without getting cold. Below is a picture of blueberry bushes covered in heavy dew drops right on the trail. This part of the hike was a little overgrown, but flanked by gentle bushes without spikes or spines, making it east to slide through the overgrowth without issue.
The adventure of being outside creates a lot of learning and new unknowns. I hopped around steep slopes on the ridges and peaks of this alpine landscape, finding new trails to shortcut from lake to lake in this trilogy of water features. I was not traversing long distances, but I was hauling myself up and down inclines that I’d prefer to be skiing, if not for a lack of snow and the beautiful thick spruce forest. The cold weather has made swimming in these lakes a little too chilly now, even with a wet suit. I did enjoy gazing into the crystal clear water, studying the reflections of white granite sand on the bottom of Lake Moolock. Rivulets on the lake bottom elude to the sometimes turbulent winds that howl down out of the sky and into these low points where churning waves wash across the lake’s surface and crash onto the shore. Today, the waters are calm, allowing this deeper look into the lake’s composition form shore.
The turquoise water sheltered soft basalt stones and small boulders, making up most of the landscape in these slowly eroding young peaks of geologic uplift. Earlier on my hike, I had observed a similar, though much smaller water feature with white granite and a collection of small pebbles. As always, nature patterns itself in all sizes, offering some order in seeming chaos. Within these two photos, there are strong echos of recent geologic activity, and water, a thing The Cascades are known for. Yeah- the name comes from all the water cascading down the slopes of these temperate rainforest mountains. Lush mosses, large evergreen trees, and wonderful mushrooms everywhere as Fall takes hold.
Val and I continued along the shore of Lake Moolock. I was scouting the best way into the woods from the clearer shoreline. Soon, Valley caught a scent and headed into the woods. I followed, finding a nice game trail with enough space to squeeze in between the thick brush and low branches of the sub-alpine spruce dominate forest. The daylight does not linger as we get closer to winter. I watched my time, the shadows on the trees, and how the afternoon felt. My legs were starting to shake a little when I took steep inclines, so I began heading back towards the car, still wandering through the forest looking for a few mushrooms. Leaves change fast, and many are stripped from their branches when the autumn winds pick up at elevation. Still, the color of Fall comes to Washington, it’s just not as well known as The East Coast. There are wet years when the leaves shrivel and drop in the soaking rains, but this year, the landscape was painted red, yellow, and orange as mainly maples display their pageantry.
Under the thick Spruce canopy, less color abounds, which can make mushroom hunting a little easier, but certainly makes the longer shadows of late afternoon loom. I began to feel a little chill in the air, a signal that evening would soon be settling in these mountains. The rout back to the trail was new to me, but straight forward. I could pop my head out of the forest to get my baring, and sometimes it was a surprise to see how close to the water I still was. Scrambling over a fallen old growth tree, I spotted some mycological activity and dove in, a little distracted by the potential feast from the forest floor. From this modest harvest, I gave thanks for the wild food, and scrambled on down the hillside back towards the trail. Having been in this area many times, I’ve got a good mental map of the space in my head, and though I had not been on that hillside before, I knew the base of it would bring me back to the original path I’d followed in. Having good mental maps is crucial to wandering around in the wilds successfully. Always know where you are going and tell someone else too. If you give poor direction as to where you will be, expect poor response and slow rescuing if you do get lost.
The clouds were building up in the south as I made it back onto the trail, rain was not expected in the lowlands, but high country could turn wicked quickly, and I knew it was time to make my exit. My legs were also getting rubbery, which is a nice way of the body to say “all done”. At this point in the adventure, one might feel pushed to cover more ground and ignore signs that suggest ending soon. I’m not always surprised to hear of people getting lost or stuck because they pushed a little too far, or did not heed their own warnings that it’s time to go. I’ve been there, and been caught in some hairy situations due to poor planning or lack of understanding the lay of the land. On this day, like most, I heeded my own body, the time of day, and the incoming weather and made it back to my truck without incident. I chose not to check a couple of more spots I had been eyeing for mushrooms on this trip. There would be another oppertunity to see more, even if it waited for another year. The great thing about these mountains, is that they will always be here- at least for my lifetime- I think.
On the way out, I took a closer look at an old bear scat I’d seen coming in. The bear had been eating cherries and blackberries- I could tell by the seeds in the poop. Then I looked closer and notices another animal had been gleaning seeds from the scat pile. Three little bird poops lay in the middle of the bear’s excrement. I was not sure what kind of bird, but it was smaller, not a grouse- maybe a jay? Yet another nature mystery for me to ponder, I love these moments of not knowing, questing further into my field guides and studying the images I capture in the field to decipher the mysteries, or not. I have not discovered this feathered friend by it’s droppings, but I now know birds will go through bear poo to find leftovers. It might have even been picking the bugs out too. I’ve seen them to that with horse poop, so why not bear? The next way to find out would be to find a fresh scat of a bear and sit nearby to observe. Our best option to learn from nature is to sit with it and observe. I find sitting for too long a little challenging (unless I’m sitting for a hunt). My wilderness wandering is a little more active observing, and I miss a lot because I am constantly on the move, but I see a lot of terrain, and come upon endless nature mysteries to ponder later on.
So much gratitude for the wild places, having access to them, and sharing them with you, dear reader. May we all find time outside!
EEC Forest Stewardship 