Lake Elizabeth

 

Platanthera aquilonis (found in 2009)

Saturday (July 30) on our way home from Spokane, we hiked with the Washington Native Orchid Society to Lake Elizabeth near Skykomish, Washington.  My wife and I had hiked there last summer looking for a very rare Bog Orchid, but had not found it, though we found several other orchids.

Lake Elizabeth

A year ago we had been able to drive up a Forest Service road to within a couple of miles of the lake, but this year we found to our dismay that the road was completely blocked off and that we were face with a hike of over six and half miles each way.

The reason, apparently, was that the Forest Service was working to reopen the road, which had been closed by a washout in 2007, but it looked to us to be an almost impossible task to open the road all the way to the lake, since there were now numerous washouts and one place where the creek had begun to undermine the road.

The road followed Money Creek, and was not overly strenuous, but we were under time pressures, and though we did reach the lake were not able to spend as much time there as we would have liked, but had to leave early and make our own way back to our vehicle.

Money Creek

The day was partly sunny and quite warm, and we noticed immediately that everything was much drier than the previous year.  There was not a lot of variety in the wildflowers, therefore, though the butterflies were out in force and we manged to get pictures of some of them, properly identified, I hope.

Mormon Fritillary (Speyeria mormonia)

Clodius Parnassian (Parnassius clodius) -below also

Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars

(these are not native, but have been introduced to control undesirable weeds)

We also saw a Garter Snake sunning itself and it posed for pictures and did not move until I touched it and then it disappeared into the weeds along the road.  We also saw a tall yellow composite in flower that was covered with small orange and black caterpillars.

The only orchid we found on the way up was the Slender Bog Orchid, Platanthera stricta.  Wherever we found wet spots we found this orchid growing, some plants very small and few flowered and others very robust with many flowers.

Spider on Platanthera stricta seed pods

(taken by my wife)

We also found growing near the lake itself a shrub with beautiful orange-red flowers that one of the members identified as a rhododendron, but which I later identified as Copperbush.  We were able, too, to find some Salmon berries which were ripe though they were only beginning to ripen.

Copperbush

Salmonberry

At the lake itself there is a trail all around the lake, but because the road has been closed for several years, this once popular location was barely negotiable in spots.  We too the trail toward the south side of the lake first, but found our way blocked by fallen trees and brush.

We did find on that part of the trail some Elephant's Head Lousewort (Pedicularis groenlandica) nearly finished blooming along with Spirea and in one drier location a single plant of the Indian Pipes.

Elephant Head Lousewort and Unknown Bog Plant

Mountain Meadow-sweet (Spirea splendens)

There were also several other plants in that area that I was not able to identify and two orchids, the ever present Slender Bog Orchis and the Sierra Rein Orchid (Platanthera dilatata var. leucostachys).  After photographing these we turned back and headed the other way down the trail which was more accessible.

Listera cordata var. cordata fma. viridens and Listera banksiana

There we found three orchids, the Northwestern Twayblade, Listera banksiana, the Heart-leaved Twayblade, Listera cordata var. cordata, and the Western Coralroot, Corallorhiza mertensiana.  We also found the Western Coralroot in its pale colored form, a whitish yellow with very little of the purple color of the normal form.

Two color forms of the Western Coralroot

Corallorhiza mertensiana fma. pallida (below also)

(taken by my wife)

Because we were in a hurry on our way out, we stopped only a couple of times for pictures, once to photograph the leaves of a maple that were beautifully variegated, and at the end of the hike a few pictures of Money Creek.

Heliotrope Ridge

Large Purple Monkeyflower (Mimulus lewisii)

On Wednesday, July 29, 2010, my son Edward, a friend, Judah, and I hiked the Heliotrope Ridge Trail in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The trail, which is near the town of Glacier, is a very popular hike and usually very busy.

We had an early start and did not see too many others on the trail going in, but it was quite busy on the way out. The trail runs a little over three miles through the woods to a ridge overlooking Coleman Glacier and west face of Mount Baker.

We found several orchids on the way up, including both the green and red forms of Listera cordata var. cordata, the Heart-leaf Twayblade, a tiny little orchid about six inches tall. We also found the Northwestern Twayblade, Listera banksiana.

Listera cordata var. cordata

Both these orchids are small and easily missed, Listera banksiana being only a little larger than the other species, though we saw many plants of each species.

Listera banksiana

The only other orchid we saw was Platanthera stricta, the Slender Bog Orchis, easily identified by its narrow straight lip and its inflated spur, both visible in the picture.

We had to cross Kulshan Creek once and Glacier Creek several times and took quite a bit of time at the falls of Kulshan Creek to take some time exposures. Several of the crossings were a bit difficult because of snow-melt from the warm weather.

Along the way we stopped for a brief break, a drink and some dried fruit and nuts and were immediately visited by the Gray Jays or Camp Robbers looking for a handout. We fed them peanuts from our hands and Edward even put some peanuts on his head and allowed them to land there.

At the ridge-top we took pictures and enjoyed the fabulous scenery for a while, before heading back down the trail a little way and then up a side trail, the climbers' route to the top of Mount Baker.

This route leads to a very high ridge above the timberline, to even more spectacular views of Mount Baker and to alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and in this case numerous butterflies, one of which I was able to photograph and believe to be Edith's Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha).

Up the trail

Silky Phacelia (Phacelia sericea) and Broadleaf Lupine (Lupinus latifolius)

Down the Trail

Edith's Checkerspot

Sitka Valerian (Valeriana sitchensis)

A pink form of Davidson's Pentstemon (Penstemon davidsonii)

Indian Thistle (Cirsium edule) opening

We did not go all the way up but hiked about a mile to the top of the ridge where we enjoyed the view, photographed some of the wildflowers and played in the snow, before heading back to the car and home.

Note: eight of these pictures were taken by Judah and Edward, the pictures in the larger format by Judah.