Life on the Outer Coast

Harbor-Gavan TrailTwo trips lazily morphed into one entry

August 27

Had the opportunity to take a couple of folks off a cruise ship for a hike up Harbor-Gavan. They are friends of a former Sitkan (Shawn Newell) who hired me as plant guide as a birthday present for her friend. Initially, I thought that her much less mobile parents were coming on the walk, but they decided to stay on the boat which made it possible to venture up the mountain. The high ceiling and lack of rain were motivating to get back up to the mountain. I didn't realize that going for such a "long" hike (3-4 miles) was going to be an onerous event for the adult male. He was pretty good natured about it, but said that generally he has to be working (that is paid) to go for such a long walk. Now the views are tremendous and the meadow usually inspires an off key versions of various songs. This time, the birthday girl and I were singing "the hills were alive with the sound of bitching" The moans we have heard for many years" . We didn't get too much further with the song, but it kept us laughing.

Blooming: Geum calthafolium, Anemone narcissiflora (one poor straggler), Lutkea pectinata, Cassiope mertensiana, Vaccinium caespitosum, Erigeron peregrinus , Pedicularis ornithorhyncha, Pedicularisverticillata, Castilleja parvifolia, Castilleja unalaschcensis, Elliotia pyroliflora, Nephrophyllidium crista-galli,Trientalis europaea, Dodecatheon jefferyi (one), Valeriana sitchensis, Rubus pedatus, Veratrum viride, Tiarella trifoliata, Cornus canadensis, Geranium erianthum, Hieracium triste, Senecio triangularis, Fritillaria camschatcensis, Aruncus dioica, Aconitum delphiniifolium, Castilleja unalaschcensis, Saxifraga ferruginea, Angelica lucida, Sanguisorba canadensis, Aquilegia formosa, Prenanthes alata,Tellima grandiflora, Heracleum maximum, Saussurea americana, Heuchera glabra, Achillea millefolium, Conioselinum gmelinii, Pedicularisverticillata, Montia parviflora, Saxifraga ferruginea, Epilobium (hornemannii?), Viola langsdorffii, Platanthera stricta, Claytonia sibirica, Gentiana platypetala. Not to neglect the graminoids: Vahlodea atropurpurea, Calamagrostis nutkensis, Elymus hirsutus, Luzula parviflora, Juncus mertensianus, Carex nigricans and Carex macrhochaeta

Saw a rather odd looking little orchid, unfortunately I didn't stop long enough to get a very good look at it. It was small with 2 round basal leaves and white flowers. Thought that it had to be a Malaxis, but didn't get a chance to slow down and get a better look because the people I was guiding were in a time crunch.Not many fungi, just a few of the bright orange Mycena aurantissima (spelled very wrong or maybe even made up). There were a few ripe blueberries and salmonberries

September 6th

The sunny day inspired another trip to the meadow. This time Jeanne Stolberg came along. we had a very nice hike, picnic and talk. We weren't in a big hurry to get started in the morning, so it was a pretty relaxing day. The photos are Jeanne's.

Much of the same plants were still blooming, although some of them were definately on the way out. Gentiana platypetala was exceptionally nice this trip. Geranium erianthum was still blooming, almost as fully as it was the time I came up here in early August. The fireweed leaves were turning red and a few plants were mostly seed, (Heracleum, Hiericium and Valerian). I was hoping to collect Monkshood seed, but it wasn't ripe yet. I did collect seed from Hiericium and Valerian.

We were kind of perplexed by the odd smell that dominated the meadows. We smelled alot of flowers before we settled on the source being Erigeron peregrinus. Just past the boulder fields we crossed a second meadow area that must keep the snow a bit longer. The paintbrush and lupines were still in full bloom. Carried on to the shelter this time; found what seems to be either a population of really weird Erigeron or one of the former Asters that are driving me a bit crazy. We found a variegated Monkshood. I should have marked it somehow to collect seeds, but didn't think that far ahead.

We also found the mystery orchid after some serious searching. It seems to be a rather small Malaxis monophyllos var monophyllos. It was growing just before the last set of stairs before the meadows.

Decided to carry the clinometer this time and measure the slope in a couple of spots; we took only two measurements on either end of the boulder field, 55% and 72%. The first was from the larger area of the boulder field and the steeper from the trail as it climbs back out of the meadows toward Harbor mtn. In both cases, I climbed up slope above the trail and Jeanne did the measuring. Not sure what information that really adds, but I was kind of curious.

Saw one nuthatch, many robins and other birds that I can only identify as warblers and sparrows. I managed to bring the altimeter and clinometer, but no binoculars.

We ended the day at a Cross sound concert "Maroon Settings". Difficult to share the music, but what I can share that I enjoyed was two poems by Robert Davis Hoffman that were used as inspiration for a piece called “A Change of Season” from the Crosssound concert “Maroon Settings”
“Taking the Night Trail” (just a small piece of the poem)

This is the kind
of night
the moist forest shadows
lift themselves, spread
and offer their fingers.

The other poem “Drowning” (again just a small portion)

We think we are safe
on this beach, in this dream
luminescence washing the shore.

We come out of the fog
to cling to this fire
and our own voices
at the edge of the woods,
at the edge of the sea,
somewhere between two kinds of darkness.