Two Foggy Outings
I’m a fairweather hiker and usually avoid going out on days without a good amount of sun. But sometimes it happens. On both of my last two outings, I ended up spending most of the day literally in the clouds. I don’t take anywhere near the number of photos I usually do, but I thought I’d share a few.
Bristow Prairie, 5/15/15
Molly Juillerat, Middle Fork NF district botanist, and her dog Ruby and I made the same trip John Koenig and I had done a couple of weeks before (see Bristow Prairie: 2015 Trip 2), but the low clouds gave the area a distinctly different mood. From a scientific standpoint (not from one of comfort!), it was interesting to see how much moisture the plants received without any actual rain.
Low clouds dancing around below the road at Bristow Prairie
Left) Mission bells (Fritillaria affinis) is one of the few flowers that looks beautiful when wet. Right) The tiny least moonwort (Botrychium simplex) was just emerging along the roadside by the prairie.
This was the only day that Molly was available, the main reason we went out on this damp day. Her sweet dog Ruby was also game for a day in the mountains, regardless of the weather.
Left) This is the same view of the seep at the top of the south cliff that I photographed on my previous trips. Right) Wolf lichen (Letharia columbiana) on a tree above the rock garden area. Definitely good weather for mosses and lichens.
Groundhog Mountain, 5/24/15
For several years, I’d been promising fellow NPSO member Dave Predeek I’d take him up to Groundhog Mountain to see the population of smooth Douglasia (Douglasia laevigata) I’d found up there. As a really early bloomer, it usually flowers before the roads melt out. This year, with so little snow, it seemed like an ideal time to give it another try. Since snow would never build up on the vertical rock, I figured it wouldn’t be particularly earlier than usual, unlike the plants that are normally covered by snow in the wetlands. The weather forecast was supposed to be dry but somewhat cloudy, but we couldn’t put it off too long, so I was relieved when it wasn’t too cold, and we even saw a little sun from time to time.
A lovely blooming Douglasia plant nestled in the moss above my head
For a brief moment when we arrived at the north end of Groundhog Mountain, we were above the clouds and could see a glimpse of DIamond Peak looking like a magical kingdom in the distance, topped with its own puffy clouds.
Left) It was hard to see the blooming Douglasia on the cliffs as the fog was so thick, but if you look carefully, you might see a pink spot hidden between the small trees on the right. Right) Dave beginning the tricky route to the base of the cliffs to where the Douglasia grow. The fog was almost a blessing as it hid the big dropoff to the right of him.
In the vast wetlands across from the beginning of Road 452, the marsh marigold (Caltha leptosepala) were at peak bloom, while the mountain shooting star (Dodecatheon jeffreyi) were getting started. These are probably a month earlier than usual. The alders, willows, and other shrubs didn’t seem quite as advanced as the low-growing herbaceous plants.
The water droplets look gorgeous beading up on the leaves of bleeding heart (Dicentra formosa). Right) Tiny flies were visiting the equally small, architecturally interesting flowers of alpine mitrewort (Mitella pentandra).
Thanks for posting the absolutely lovely picture of the Douglasia laevigata in the so soft looking carpet of moss, and of course all the other photos as well. Clouded in or not, your photos are always the best.
Thank you for the wonderful report and beautiful photos! I particularly like the Douglasia laevigata photo and the endless carpet of Caltha leptosepala.