Friday, October 4, 2019

Fungus grows on the PCT

I stood in this very spot on September 19th and waved goodbye to my husband as he walked away—starting a 4-day adventure covering some 50 miles from Mt Hood to Cascade Locks, a small town on the Columbia River.

Here's the trail he took, following the well-worn Pacific Crest Trail.

He'd said there would be no photos. He had his phone with him, but also needed to conserve it's battery power. Thankfully nature was just to glorious and he had to snap a few. Ramona Falls...

The record setting rain of September made his hike a wet one, but there was also lots of excellent fungus to see along the trail...

And moss...

And fungus...

And salamanders...

And fungus...

Here's his campsite on the second night. For those of you unfamiliar there are no amenities along the trail. You carry everything you need.

I've never seen fungus with red bits.

Wahtum Lake

And a crawdad who came to see what Andrew was up to (filling his water bottle, he had a filter, lest you think he was living completely on the wild side)...

This! Wow.

Terribly cool.

Switchbacks heading up and down steep mountain sides definitely added on the miles.

And of course there were slugs...

Weather Diary, Oct 3: Hi 60, Low 50/ Precip .03"

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

22 comments:

  1. Wow - so many mushrooms! I was thinking that would be the case with the rain this year, but wow! I love the tiny little red tipped fungus, it makes for fun tilt-shift photos too. And that big patch of toadstools, wow.

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    1. There are so many popping up in the garden, I can't imagine the riches out in the wilderness.

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  2. Thanks to Andrew for changing his mind and taking such great photos! I hope it wasn't too wet or him and that he had a good time hiking. So cool to see the salamander, such a rare sight nowadays.

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    1. It was very wet, but he still managed to have a good time.

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  3. Love this! Also love the thought of doing something similar, but doubt I will ever move on it.

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    1. No time like the present! (you aren't getting any younger...)

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  4. "Belly botany" in the forest has long been one of my interests. The red-tipped fungus is Cladonia cristatella, commonly known as the British soldiers lichen.

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  5. I recognize some of those fungi... some edible, some very poisonous. Great photos!

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    1. Luckily he wasn't tempted to start sampling.

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  6. Good going, Andrew! Did he hike solo or with a companion? (Though I expect he ran into folks along the popular trail. It is hard to find solitude even in nature these days!)
    The red-tips are lichen, called British Red-coats (or B. Soldiers). So many beautiful fungi! That huge shelf mushroom might be reishi.
    Cool salamander, but you might let him know that the acid on our hands burns the skin on salamanders. Wetting our hands before handling helps. (I learned that from my niece, who helps salamander road crossings in early spring on rainy nights when they migrate for breeding.)
    Glad A. took these pix to share, many thanks!

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    1. It was solo, although yes, not a day went by where he didn't see a few people. Thanks for the salamander info (how horrible!) I will pass it along.

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  7. Those re-tipped lichens are probably "British Soldiers." I was fascinated with them as a kid. Cladonia cristatella, commonly known as the British soldiers lichen

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  8. What a fantastic journey! I'm glad Andrew was able to take some photos to share with you, and you with us. Are you going to join him on his next trip? ;)

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    1. In a word, no. He marches, I like to look at my surroundings. Our walks together are always a push/pull kind of thing. Plus, I am a klutz.

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  9. The wonderful photos of scenery, flora and fauna makes me wonder if Andrew traveled to The Avatar's location on Pandora rather than the Pacific Coast Trail! Absolutely gorgeous. I'm always heartened to see that such wonderful places exist on planet Earth.

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    1. There is still plenty of nature out there to see.

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  10. I'm glad Andrew took some photos after all- they are really nice and a great way for him to remember his adventure.

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  11. What a wonderful trip he must have had. Ditto what ks said, some fine memories worth preserving.

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  12. Andrew's excellent adventure sounds amazing. It would be fantastic if there were hotels between the day hikes...

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  13. Wow, what a wonderful adventure! I love mountains because the views there are stunning. And there is a big variety of landscape: ups, downs, trees, bushes and also beautiful animals! When it comes to fungus I also grow them on my own. I have a small area in my garden with coniferous trees around which I grow mushrooms from https://gardenseedsmarket.com/pine-mushroom-set-6-species-mycelium.html . I bought a set of 6 different species which not only look good but also are edible. This is what I like about it the most. Have you ever tried growing such mushrooms?

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