Foray Log 616.2021 - Big Meadow & Parish Lake
Hiking down to the bog at Parish Lake.
Foray Log- Big Meadow Horse Camp & Parish Lake, June 16, 2021
Today we took a drive out to Big Meadow’s Horse camp. As soon as I got out of the car, I sprayed myself down with bug spray and put on my hat with my new mosquito veil. I remember the last time I was here and the mosquitoes were so bad, I wasn’t going to deal with that again!
We immediately took off toward the information area to check on a patch of Corallorhiza I had spotted last time I was here. I was hoping the purple asparagus shaped orchids would have bloomed out, but they were still just straight sticks of budding points. We wondered off into the woods behind the corals and immediately found 3 different Myxo’s. After photographing those, we eventually made it over to a coral where Henry showed me a flush of perfect Lycoperdon peraltum that still had their pyramid shaped warts on the surface. I cut one in half to reveal a pure white interior, as it had not turned into a ripened mass of spores yet.
Lycoperdon perlatum
Next we found a degraded slime mold covering some twigs. The matter was clear like frozen water with veins of white running through the mass. It was like a slimy sculpture, iridescent and creamy white.
After a few more stops and a great flush of Amanita’s and something growing out of a pile of horse dung, we headed over to Parish Lake Trailhead. This old growth trail featured, Douglas-fir, Silver Fir, Cedar and Hemlock. It was a stunning walk on the path through dappled light forests and fresh green understory growth. The forest floor was still packed down from the recent snowmelt, but peaking out of the duff were waxy apricot colored Amanita’s in all different stages of growth. We also found clusters of yellowish brown mushrooms that looked similar to Galerina, but wasn’t quite right.
Amanita
I am collecting spore prints and going to do some microscopy and possibly DNA sequencing on these to find out what they are. At the end of the trail we came upon Parish Lake, and at the edge of it was a wonderful bog full of Sunddews!
We walked around slowly sinking in the muck but eventually found a path that was steady enough. I kneeled down in the much to capture some photos of the vibrant carnivors plants along with a lichen and mushroom I found in the moist environment. On the way back up to the cars, we saw a great flush of Ichmadophila ericetorum one of my favorite lichens to find. This grey/green matte covers whatever it sits on and fruits out tiny bubble gum pink fruiting bodies.
As always, I didn’t make it home very early, and got worried phone calls from my partner. But it was a great day, full of sun, bogs and mushrooms.
Ichmadophila ericetorum found on decaying log near Parish Lake.
Art of the day
“Carnivorous” -Digital Photograph by Autumn Anglin
