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Tag Archives: trees

An Outing with Some of the Good Girls

Willow and her friend, Gretta, and their Good Girl drivers got out for a very nice hike early this week. They started early and did not encounter too many people on the trails – a few through hikers and some day hikers along with a few dogs. Everyone was quite pleasant. The weather was mostly overcast for the first half of the hike which was a relief since it was all uphill. At the top, there was a breeze to keep the bugs away. The downhill part, with its relentless switchbacks, was dusty and dry. Willow and Gretta needed extra water. Fortunately Gretta’s drive brought two extra liters. Willow’s driver will know to bring more next time. Everyone was tickled when we finally reached the creeks near the lake and managed to cool off for the last two miles back to a car.

Spring Hike in the Mountains

The girls and I enjoyed an early mountain hike on Friday. The weather forecast was perfect and we’ve had so few perfect weather days, it seemed silly to stay home and work. I had heard the road was snow-free to the trailhead and beyond. We had little snow so Spring has come early to the high country.

This area burned nearly twenty years ago and many of the dead trees are still standing. Of course, some fell over during the winter. We had to make our way around, under or over them. The young trees coming in are primarily lodgepole pine. Lodgepole cones are serotinous, meaning they need fire to open and release their seeds. There are also some spruce (Englemann?) and subalpine fir. Willows are the main deciduous trees. I think the little blue flowers are Polemonium (Jacob’s ladder), the pink ones are Geum triflorum (prairie smoke) and the white ones are an Anemone. Along the road to the trailhead, multiple kinds of penstemon were in full bloom, many growing right out of the rocks.

Moose poop littered the trail but we did not see any of them. Also, there was some carnivore poop.

The dogs were delighted to see snow. I struggled to keep Willow off the ice. It was thin along the edges. She did practice her log walking and only fell in once!

Ancient Ones

We traveled to the White Mountains where we camped at 8500′ with the most impossibly blue skies imaginable. Our main goal in the White Mountains was to see the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest where there are trees more than 4000 years old! These pines grow out of rock, ground up white rock of the White Mountains. The key ingredient seems to be Dolomite. We wondered, if we were able to grow a seedling, could we grow the tree in our own yards? Probably not, is my guess but it might be worth a try. Many of the trees had exposed wood, without bark and yet they were still alive. I was fascinated by the beautiful wood grain. These trees are growing at 12,000′ in a very stark landscape.

Fall Walkabout

Fall is lingering and suggesting lots of walkabouts in the crisp, sunny weather. Here is a Twisp walkabout.

October Hikes

Sky and I have enjoyed some really great hikes in the last week. The October weather has been perfect for it and the colors are just outstanding this year. After the gruesome summer this is such a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively.

Here is the first one from last week. I found lots of scat of various colors and sizes. It makes me think that it is a good area for wildlife although I only observed a few birds. The wildfire near Conconully was still sending up some smoke.