June 17 & 18th
I finally made it to Shelikof Bay from the landward side. Hiked to the cabin with Christine, Joanne, Jan, Karen, Ashia and three dogs. Now I remember how much fun it is to carry a thirty pound pack, but it was worth the effort. We have low to high overcast weather which was actually very pleasant for hiking. I always thought that southeastern beaches seemed especially lovely in cloudy weather, but perhaps that it just a coping mechanism.
I'm glad that we opted to leave the bicycles at home as the trail, an old logging road, was really rocky and uneven. I don't have enough experience biking in such conditions, so I'm sure I would have ended up on the ground. It wasn't a bad walk though and there was plenty of vegetation to admire. We didn't realize that we were walking downhill all the way to the beach until of course we were returning to Mud Bay. There was a reasonably amount of moaning since it was much more apparent that we were walking uphill. We were passed by 3 groups of ATVs each direction, most of whom were reasonably considerate. We didn't see anyone else on the trail, but I didn't expect to since we had the non-motorized cabin reserved. The last mile of trail goes along the edge of (and at one point through) the meadows. We had taken the tide into consideration so could easily cross the lower points. There was still a reasonable amount of squishing in wonderful estuary mud to make me happy, but not enough to totally soak those with their regular hiking boots (I was the only person with rubber boots).
Blooming in the meadows were Carex lyngbyei, Hierchloe odorata, Castilleja unalaschensis, Dodecatheon pulchellum, Ranunculus occidentalis, Frittilaria camchatsensis, and Plantago macrocarpa. The iris were almost ready to open, but weren't quite ready. The Dodecatheon were almost finished blooming, but the rest were in full force.
The beach was quite spectacular, but again I got lost in the flora. Carex macrocephala and a small crucifer that I was too lazy to collect were in bloom on the upper terraces. On a rock outcrop the Potentilla villosa, Aquilegia formosa, Lathyrus japonicus, and Pedicularis verticillata were blooming. There was a small population of Senecio pseudo-arnica present, but not even close to blooming. I looked for Mertensia maritima, but no such luck.
The biggest treat was found along the edge (to about 25ft in) of the forest. Literally hundreds of Calypso bulbosa orchids blooming, some were a little past their prime, but most were still in full glory. I had never seen so many at once, it was a nice bit of euphoria. The forest ,was very open, all Picea sitchensis, almost no shrubs, but with carpets of Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Eurhynchium oreganum, R. triquetrus and some Hylocomium splendens and scattered Calypso, Corallorhiza mertensiana, Listera cordata and a few L. caurina. The other surprise was a lichen that I knew was here, but hadn't found in several years, Pseudocyphellaria anomala. Most of the canopy lichens found on the forest floor were Lobaria linita.
Found copious sanddollars, limpets, olives (shelikof shells according to Chuck Johnstone) and giant horse clams.
Despite the three dogs, we did see lots of Robins, Hermit and Swainsons thrushes, juncos, a greater(?) yellowlegs, a family of mergansers (8 babies), mallards , glaucous winged gulls, and a kingfisher. Also saw a large group, about 60, of what looked like black scoters. They were a little distant and the clouds were a little thick to be positive, but I'm feeling fairly comfortable with the identification. Also brought home a half of a bright turquoise blue egg from the meadow edge.
On the boat ride over to mud bay saw roughly 20 marbled murrelets and as many murres.
Saw lots of bear and deer sign, but no actual animal. It must be quite exciting during the salmon run. Did see a land otter climb out onto the rocks with a sculpin and several seals. Four of the seals (one was a juvenile) were on a small haulout that we coud see from a low tide acessible island. Amazing seaweed on the rocks, brought back one to identify that I've never seen before.
Definitely feel the need to return, too much to explore in the time available. I'd like to spend a week or so at least in three of the seasons to catch the different flowers and birds. It would be an amazing place to watch a storm. The noise of the ATVs from North beach was a little annoying at times, but not enough to keep me from Shelikof.
I finally made it to Shelikof Bay from the landward side. Hiked to the cabin with Christine, Joanne, Jan, Karen, Ashia and three dogs. Now I remember how much fun it is to carry a thirty pound pack, but it was worth the effort. We have low to high overcast weather which was actually very pleasant for hiking. I always thought that southeastern beaches seemed especially lovely in cloudy weather, but perhaps that it just a coping mechanism.
I'm glad that we opted to leave the bicycles at home as the trail, an old logging road, was really rocky and uneven. I don't have enough experience biking in such conditions, so I'm sure I would have ended up on the ground. It wasn't a bad walk though and there was plenty of vegetation to admire. We didn't realize that we were walking downhill all the way to the beach until of course we were returning to Mud Bay. There was a reasonably amount of moaning since it was much more apparent that we were walking uphill. We were passed by 3 groups of ATVs each direction, most of whom were reasonably considerate. We didn't see anyone else on the trail, but I didn't expect to since we had the non-motorized cabin reserved. The last mile of trail goes along the edge of (and at one point through) the meadows. We had taken the tide into consideration so could easily cross the lower points. There was still a reasonable amount of squishing in wonderful estuary mud to make me happy, but not enough to totally soak those with their regular hiking boots (I was the only person with rubber boots).
Blooming in the meadows were Carex lyngbyei, Hierchloe odorata, Castilleja unalaschensis, Dodecatheon pulchellum, Ranunculus occidentalis, Frittilaria camchatsensis, and Plantago macrocarpa. The iris were almost ready to open, but weren't quite ready. The Dodecatheon were almost finished blooming, but the rest were in full force.
The beach was quite spectacular, but again I got lost in the flora. Carex macrocephala and a small crucifer that I was too lazy to collect were in bloom on the upper terraces. On a rock outcrop the Potentilla villosa, Aquilegia formosa, Lathyrus japonicus, and Pedicularis verticillata were blooming. There was a small population of Senecio pseudo-arnica present, but not even close to blooming. I looked for Mertensia maritima, but no such luck.
The biggest treat was found along the edge (to about 25ft in) of the forest. Literally hundreds of Calypso bulbosa orchids blooming, some were a little past their prime, but most were still in full glory. I had never seen so many at once, it was a nice bit of euphoria. The forest ,was very open, all Picea sitchensis, almost no shrubs, but with carpets of Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Eurhynchium oreganum, R. triquetrus and some Hylocomium splendens and scattered Calypso, Corallorhiza mertensiana, Listera cordata and a few L. caurina. The other surprise was a lichen that I knew was here, but hadn't found in several years, Pseudocyphellaria anomala. Most of the canopy lichens found on the forest floor were Lobaria linita.
Found copious sanddollars, limpets, olives (shelikof shells according to Chuck Johnstone) and giant horse clams.
Despite the three dogs, we did see lots of Robins, Hermit and Swainsons thrushes, juncos, a greater(?) yellowlegs, a family of mergansers (8 babies), mallards , glaucous winged gulls, and a kingfisher. Also saw a large group, about 60, of what looked like black scoters. They were a little distant and the clouds were a little thick to be positive, but I'm feeling fairly comfortable with the identification. Also brought home a half of a bright turquoise blue egg from the meadow edge.
On the boat ride over to mud bay saw roughly 20 marbled murrelets and as many murres.
Saw lots of bear and deer sign, but no actual animal. It must be quite exciting during the salmon run. Did see a land otter climb out onto the rocks with a sculpin and several seals. Four of the seals (one was a juvenile) were on a small haulout that we coud see from a low tide acessible island. Amazing seaweed on the rocks, brought back one to identify that I've never seen before.
Definitely feel the need to return, too much to explore in the time available. I'd like to spend a week or so at least in three of the seasons to catch the different flowers and birds. It would be an amazing place to watch a storm. The noise of the ATVs from North beach was a little annoying at times, but not enough to keep me from Shelikof.
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