Pack Forest & Mt. Rainier National Park WA. 2012/3/31
Pack Forest, WA. 2012/03/31
At around 9:20, our ENVIR 280 class had departed for Pack Forest from the University of Washington, Seattle campus. Along the way we passed by many species of trees and animals, but I am still only learning the basics of identifying and understanding common native and invasive species, let alone at a distance and at 60mph. The weather was clear as we made our way down, we all anticipated heavy rainfall, but it never came. The one species that I could confirm from a distance was Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius), which we saw very frequently.
We then arrived at the Pack Forest compound at approximately 11:30. As we exited our van to load our gear into the cabins, I witnessed a single American Robin (Turdus migratorius) upon hearing its song and seeing its red breast in a White Pine (Pinus Strobus) that was around 10m tall. The weather was slightly chilly, but nothing that a warm jacket could not handle.
We then set out on our first hike of the day, which was to be cut short by the necessity of returning for a bit of lunch by 12:30. And so, we eagerly scampered into the woods along a trail due south of the compound. The ground was wet from rain that morning that we had fortuitously missed, the remains of which were alluded to by moist foliage, tree bark, puddles, and mud. I fortunately had waterproof boots on, but others were not so lucky and had soaked feet within the first five minutes of our expedition.
The first plant that I noticed upon walking into the woods was the rich understory comprised of mostly Salal (Gaultheria shallon) with sparse undercuttings of Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus), we also spotted two types of fern: Western Sword (Polystichum munitum) which was practically as prevalent as the Salal, and we found one patch of Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza), which was on a dead log right next to the trail. There were few signs of animals as far as I could tell, but we did hear the incessant and yet beautiful songs of several Pacific Wrens (Troglodytes pacificus) and some more American Robins (Turdus migratorius) along the way. The trees were mainly Douglas Firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in this section of the forest (which I learned to identify by their irregular, mouse-tailed pinecones), although some Big Leaf Maples (Acer macrophyllum) were also present. We had not been travelling very fast along the way as we stopped to identify several species in detail using Pojar's Plants of the Pacific Northwest and the knowledge of our teachers as guides. As we approached 12:20 and were about to turn around, we saw a beautiful Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) shrub without berries, but with gorgeous white flowers. I learned that summer contains all of the sweet berries and winter has many starchy and waxy berries. We headed back in order to get lunch and it only took about five minutes. At 13:00, we would depart for another jaunt into the forest, but this time to the east.
As we left for the next hike we saw a large Red Alder (Alnus rubra) and several of its felled companions (appeared to be of natural causes). Its branches crept onto the large grass plain near the compound and filled the air with its long red catkins. We also saw that it had many distinct lichens and mosses on its trunk and limbs. We saw Usnea Lichen of some variety, Evernia lichen of another variety, and Parmelia Lichen as well. Apparently all of these lichen are in the Family of Parmeliaceae. there was also Xanthoria parietina present as well it was widespread and of a particularly bright orange hue. I am really quite glad that we stopped to examine this tree, because I learned much about lichens. We were able to identify the distinct cyan Tube Lichen (Hypogenia physodes) and Hooded Bone Lichen (Hypogymnia physodes) on many of the trees.
There was a large amount of Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) in the understory surrounding this area and still more Salal (Gaultheria shallon) and ferns. As we entered the forest along a path, we saw that there was much Tall Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium) and Dull Oregon-grape (Mahonia Nervosa) which can be told apart by the amount of main lines in each leaflet and to some degree the amount of leaflets on each leaf. Before this I had no idea that leaflets were an actual thing, and had always assumed that leaves were simply leaves no matter what formation they were in. We came upon a large mucky pond on our left as we headed down the path. There was a large variety of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) present along the path near this area and a large anthill on in between the path we were on and the pond. It must have been two-thirds of a meter tall and one meter wide and had many ants on and around it with red heads and black thoraxes and abdomens. I dared not touch it because I dislike being bitten by ants. There were also many horsetails (Equisetum) along the path, many of which were dead at the base and rotting.
It was here that I learned to differentiate the different plants that I and most other people call 'grasses' as well. Apparently there are three types. This rhyming method immediately stuck in my head upon hearing it...how could it not!
- Sedges: They have edges, and are normally triangular-ish in shape.
- Rushes: They are luscious, have round stems, and are normally stiff with brown and green flowers.
- Grasses: They have asses (referring to their hollow interiors).
I encountered my first Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) plant as well just a few feet further. It had no berries, so I had mistaken it for Rubus armeniacus, but one of my classmates told me that the upright standing of its single stem and its light brown exterior meant it was Salmonberry. We also saw much Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) along the path and some Fringecup (Tellima grandiflora) on the ground. We heard the tell-tale flat note of the varied thrush, although we did not see any.
At around 16:00 we set out for Mt. Rainier National Park. When we got there we were greeted by some snow on the ground and the crisp mountain air. We took a long loop around a spring-fed pool that was rust-colored due to high iron content. The pool itself is loaded with a mix of what appeared to be grasses and rushes. We saw Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), Yellow-Cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis), Silver Fir (Abies alba), Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia) and Western Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). The understory here was noticeably more sparse than at Pack Forest, and it looks like with the harsher climatic conditions here, trees must go through a more arduous process in growing to such large sizes. I was most impressed with the magnificent Western Red Cedar trees. They were enormous, and many of the fallen ones lent their nutrients to young saplings. One of the more interesting species that I was able to see was near the pool. It was a bright orange slime mold on the side of a rotting log. In addition, I found a beautiful specimen of a green tube lichen with a red tip, later I identified it is Lipstick Powderhorn (Cladonia macilenta).
After dinner we all met up to log our journals and learn to categorize native trees in the Pack Forest Lodge-Room. It was equipped with a fireplace and was very relaxing.
That night at around 22:00, around one-fourth of our class group decided to go on a night hike to listen for owls. We were out until around 23:00 without any owl hoots, even using digitally recorded owl sounds to provoke them. We did catch a red-eyed, brown backed, white bellied frog however in a puddle along an old logging road that circled around from east of the compound to the north, and then back to the lodge going south. It was dark and quite rainy during this particular adventure. Fortunately we had several flashlights with us on hand.
Species List:
Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
White Pine (Pinus Strobus)
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus)
Western Sword (Polystichum munitum)
Douglas Firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza)
Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis)
Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Tall Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
Dull Oregon-grape (Mahonia Nervosa)
Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
Horsetails (Equisetum)
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
Fringecup (Tellima grandiflora)
Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)
Yellow-Cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis)
Silver Fir (Abies alba)
Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia)
Western Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana)
Usnea Lichen
Hooded Bone Lichen (Hypogymnia physodes)
Parmelia Lichen
Xanthoria parietina
Tube Lichen (Hypogenia physodes)
Lipstick Powderhorn (Cladonia macilenta
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Pacific Wrens (Troglodytes pacificus)
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