Posts Tagged ‘Sorbus’
Bristow Prairie
Sorbus scopulina in fruit
Sabine and I had a very nice time yesterday at Bristow Prairie. No problem getting up there and no hunters, unlike my last trip. We parked on the road a little before the gravel pit and walked up into the meadow from there. We headed down toward the lake until we found the cairns. I hadn’t been sure if the trail was still in existence since it is on the USGS map but not the new district map. Maybe that’s because it is actually in the Umpqua NF. We also hadn’t found the north trailhead although we drove very slowly hoping to spot it.
This is one of the few indicators that there is still a trail here.
From the cairns, we decided to follow the High Divide trail to the south first and do the lake later. We were able to follow it no problem. We found some Horkelia fusca very quickly just after the trail passes through a short stretch of woods into a logged area. Unfortunately, this and most everything else we saw was on the Douglas County side of the county line which appears to go right through the lake. The trail passes through some pretty sloping meadows. Mostly we saw lots of goldenrod, Symphyotrichum foliaceum, Eucephalus ledophyllus, old coneflowers and lots of Hypericum perforatum and miserably stinky Madia glomerata. There were lots of gorgeous Sorbus scopulina with brightly colored, shiny berries. The rocky meadows on the west facing side of the ridge were covered with fading Eriogonum compositum, umbellatum, AND marifolium. All three common little polygonums were there and blooming as well. Also some Alaska yellowcedar and a small patch of oaks. I guess that is the area called Picture Rock Prairie. Read the rest of this entry »