Looking for Lichens up Mount Washington

 I had the opportunity a couple weeks ago to travel with Dr. Brad Kropp from Utah State University to look for lichens up Mount Washington. He's doing a lichen inventory for Great Basin National Park.

What are lichens? They are pioneering organisms that are a mix of fungi and algae. I always learned it as "Freddy Fungi took a Lichen (Likin') to Alice Algae." Lichens can grow in soil, on rocks, and in trees, and last year some researchers found about 50 different kinds at the top of Wheeler Peak. This year Dr. Kropp is looking all over the park. One of the target areas was the limestone substrate of Mount Washington.

The weather forecast was for 70% chance of thunderstorms, so we didn't think we'd get much time on top of the mountain. During the morning the clouds sped over us.


I learned some basics about lichens. They come in many sizes and shapes. Some only grow a millimeter or two a year, so they can be hundreds or even thousands of years old.


Color, shape, and location are clues to what species of lichen it is. Many, though, have to be examined under a microscope.


In the photo below are endolithic lichens. Endolithic means "in the rock." Most of the lichen is in the rock, and just a little is showing. How cool is that?


Dr. Kropp scraped off lichens to take back to the lab to examine. He noticed that there were a lot fewer species on Mt. Washington than on Wheeler Peak.


Speaking of the two mountains, in the foreground is the white limestone of Mt. Washington, and in the background is the Prospect Mountain quartzite of Wheeler Peak. Also in the foreground is Holmgren's buckwheat (Eriogonum holmgreni), a plant endemic to the Snake Range. It's not found on Wheeler Peak, but is found from Pyramid Peak south. The clouds sped past, but no thunderstorms emerged.

It was a fascinating day looking at lichens, and I realized how much I had overlooked them in the past. Most likely over a hundred species live in the park, and it's only over the last year that they've been given much attention.


Over the next months Dr. Kropp will identify the different lichens and then make a guide to them.

 If you'd like to learn more about lichens, here are two interesting websites:  Rocky Mountain NP page and Yosemite NP page .

Our First Family Backpack

My husband and I agreed that the kids were ready to go for their first backpacking trip. We selected a short trail, about 5.5 miles round trip, up South Fork Baker and back the Timber Creek trail in Great Basin National Park. The trail gained about 1,700 feet elevation, but it was short, so easy, right? Well, we knew we had some work cut out for us, especially when we laid out all the gear we would need for a night out. We really had to carry that much stuff for just one night??

The weather forecast wasn't so favorable, with rain expected, but my husband and I decided to go anyway. I might not be able to take the night sky photos I was hoping to, but we could deal with a little rain.

We started out with a pre-trip photo at the trailhead. A few smiles, anyway!


We chose this hike because it has a lot of habitat diversity and spends a lot of time along water. We sure appreciate that in this dry country! The water means bridges, which are pretty exciting to us, even if they are only ten feet long.


We progressed up to a huge meadow. Desert Girl started with her backpack, but she didn't carry it the whole way.


We knew a large part of the backpacking trip would be just enjoying the trail, so I tried to do just that and not rush to our destination. I found the trail really beautiful and relaxing, especially as it wove through the aspen groves.


We took some time to smell the flowers. There were flowers all over, and one of the games we played on the trail was to spot flowers of different colors.


One thing that was new to the kids was filtering water. Before we left the stream, we refilled our water bottles. They were so surprised that you could use a little gizmo to make your water potable. It was also really close to this spot that I saw a marmot--a marmot in an out-of-the-way spot where marmots haven't been seen before. It's cool how they are spreading.


We kept hiking and got to the big meadow where we wanted to spend the night. It was time to go off trail and find our camping spot. This was also something entirely new for the kids, they were used to camping in established camping sites. We told them the criteria: flat, relatively smooth, and not out in the middle of the meadow or under the largest trees (thunderstorms were expected that night).

We found a spot and the kids abandoned us to go play on the huge granite boulders. They were delighted to make forts and slides and all sorts of other things. My husband and I put up the tent (a four-person backpacking one that I had purchased from Sierra Trading Post last fall with the idea of a family backpacking trip and weighing 6.7 pounds). It was only about 5 pm, but we were hungry so we decided to eat. We had brought convenience food, Tasty Bites, which weigh a bit more than backpacking food but we had them at home and they were easy to prepare.

Here's what Desert Boy thought about dinner:

Then it was pajama time and more play time.

It was so nice to be away from electronics!

It started raining, so we went in the tent and read. Then it stopped so we went out for an adventure hike.

As the sun set, the clouds turned gorgeous colors. We could hear a poorwill and saw nighthawks. Otherwise, we were all alone in our meadow. It felt wonderful.

The next morning I woke up (the tent stayed dry despite rain throughout the night) and wandered around taking photos. When I came back, everyone else was up and dressed warmly. We ate breakfast and played a bit, then decided it was time to go. There weren't any clouds in the sky, but more storms were forecast for the afternoon.

The wildflowers were exquisite. Here is some sedum with Pyramid Peak in the background.

The hike down Timber Creek was very steep but scenic. We quickly warmed up and started shedding layers. My husband was very glad for the hiking poles to help his knees.

We made it back with just one skinned knee. It was a really nice trip, and we think we'll try backpacking again soon!

A few tips for backpacking kids: pick an easy trail with little mileage; take lots of breaks; leave all the electronics behind; have lots of snacks; don't pack too much; but do pack enough to stay warm; be ready to explore!

The yellow-bellied marmot that greeted us on the Baker Creek Road.

Family Hike up South Fork Baker Creek

After doing the 5k Snake Valley Slither on summer solstice and then hiking up to the bristlecones that afternoon, my visiting family wanted a shorter hike, so I suggested one of my favorites, the South Fork Baker-Baker Creek loop. It's about 3 miles long, although with roughly 800 feet elevation gain (that's a guess). But by the time we got to the trailhead, the kids were complaining, and we weren't sure we wanted to listen them for two-three hours.

The crying seemed contagious.

But we gathered up our strength and set off, and before long were seeing neat things, like this woodpecker, a yellow-bellied sapsucker.

This swallowtail was visiting the columbine as we walked under the aspens.

Desert Girl was a little tired, but we bribed her and cajoled her, and she kept going.

And finally we made it to the big meadow and found a spot to take a big snack break. Even better, it had water nearby.


We started seeing lots more smiles.

While the family hung out, I went off in search of good photo opportunities.


This meadow is amazing, I always feel like I'm in Yellowstone and a bear might step out of the trees. But we don't have bears in Great Basin National Park, so that makes hiking and camping a lot less stressful.


I was just blown away by all the bistort.

This painted lady was busy pollinating some flowers.

Nearby was another butterfly--a skipper?

Besides the bistort, there were also fields of shooting stars.

The colors were amazing.

I had fun looking at this bee and seeing all the little hairs on it.

Eventually I wandered back and this is what I found:

 Ah what fun with uncles!

We continued on to make the loop.


The trail crew was making the trail a little wider and very smooth.

It made for easy walking.

We crested the ridge, passed some ponderosa pines, and came down on the north, shady side of the ridge. We found these orchids, spotted coral root (Corallorhiza maculata).

When I saw the lack of green, I guessed they were parasitic, and found I was right. They parasitize fungi, which depend on the roots of other plants. The flowers are gorgeous.

When we got down to Baker Creek, it was time to play in the water again. The kids even tried swimming, but the very cold water deterred them.


On the way back we saw big mushrooms,

this beautiful flower, death camus (Zigadenus species),

and had a grand old time. It was a really enjoyable hike, and I highly recommend it!