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jinx'sboy
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PostThu Oct 26, 2017 10:51 am 
I always relished the aromas of dirt, trees and other organic smells after a couple days above timberline. It seemed somewhat more pronounced in the Rockies for some reason....

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DigitalJanitor
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PostThu Oct 26, 2017 11:58 am 
Bootpathguy wrote:
My favorite is East slope high alpine.
There's something here on the east slope above 5k that smells like heaven on earth. I'm thinking it could be whitebark pine, but I'm certainly open to other suggestions.

~Mom jeans on wheels
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huron
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PostThu Oct 26, 2017 12:53 pm 
We must be talking about the same thing. I never smell it in the air, only on my hands after some vegetation assisted climbing so its hard to tell where it came from. Very strong, sweet pineish smell.

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DadFly
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PostThu Oct 26, 2017 1:42 pm 
I spent a summer in Yosemite valley when I was 19. Had a great time as expected and then moved on. About 10 years later I went back for the first time and was overwhelmed by the memories the smells triggered. It was like being 19 again! Almost.

"May you live in interesting times"
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blendergasket
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PostTue Oct 31, 2017 6:19 pm 
I love the pungent autumn smell in the mountains, I assume it is the rotting huckleberries the previous poster mentioned. There is another smell that intoxicates me to no end. It smells like sage and is also up in the mountains. Every time I smell it I try to take tiny pinches of the leaves around me and crush the in my fingers but I never find the culprit. Does anyone know if this is sage? And if so, what it looks like? I also really love the medicinal taste of the little yarrow leaves. It invigorates me. I either chew it up (it can be really bitter!) or put a few pieces of fronds in my tea.

"He who would understand the Book of Nature must walk its pages with his feet" ~Paracelsus
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BigBrunyon
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PostWed Nov 01, 2017 10:46 am 
The putrid smell of poop wafting over from that backcountry toilet behind the bushes over there.

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Schenk
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PostWed Nov 01, 2017 12:04 pm 
Not a "wilderness" aroma. That is a city aroma recreated in the back country by people. shakehead.gif

Nature exists with a stark indifference to humans' situation.
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jimmymac
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PostSat Nov 25, 2017 11:12 pm 
When the first beams of sunlight hit alder trees coated with road dust and dampened by dew.

"Profound serenity is the product of unfaltering Trust and heightened vulnerability."
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Juan del Bosque
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PostSun Nov 26, 2017 1:04 pm 
The Alaska Cedars growing near the crest area of The Middle Fork and Waptus trails are particularly aromatic--especially on a warm day. Also, the Washington coast is blessed with coastline hiking that features the timeless wafts of salty air.

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Juan del Bosque
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PostSun Nov 26, 2017 1:13 pm 
"I also really love the medicinal taste of the little yarrow leaves. It invigorates me. I either chew it up (it can be really bitter!) or put a few pieces of fronds in my tea." blendergasket, you can dry those yarrow leaves and flowers and then make a therapeautic tea when you've got a nasty cold in the dead of winter.

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Sculpin
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PostSun Nov 26, 2017 1:13 pm 
On warm summer days (especially in June when the new growth is on), the pine parklands in the foothills on the east side of the Cascades are fragrant with Ceanothus velutinus. It smells like a mixture of cinnamon and tobacco to me.

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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Brushbuffalo
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PostMon Nov 27, 2017 8:49 am 
Sculpin wrote:
east side of the Cascades are fragrant with Ceanothus velutinus. It smells like a mixture of cinnamon and tobacco to me.
Yes, I love that distinctive aroma! Nothing like it here on the wet side. In the fall I have repeatedly noticed a uniquely unpleasant odor in the forest. I liken it to a dead animal...not a large mammal with overpowering, putrid stench, but more like the stink of a small critter. I'm no mycologist, but I am quite sure it is caused by some type of fungi. Any of you sense the same?

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Sculpin
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PostMon Nov 27, 2017 9:41 am 
Brushbuffalo wrote:
I'm no mycologist, but I am quite sure [the uniquely unpleasant stench] is caused by some type of fungi.
Not a mycologist either, but that may be Russula xerampelina, the "shellfish-scented russula." They are quite common in Douglas Fir woods, and they grow early in the Fall or even late Summer. By the time the other mushrooms are bursting forth in the Fall rains, the russula are rotting, and the stench is definitely reminiscent of the animal kingdom. They are relatively easy to identify - red caps with no spots and white stems - and supposedly good to eat, but the unusual smell even when fresh puts me off so I don't collect them.

Between every two pines is a doorway to the new world. - John Muir
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Brushbuffalo
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PostMon Nov 27, 2017 9:49 am 
Thanks, Sculpin. I bet that's it! I am scared to try eating mushrooms except morels, which are unmistakable even to me. So I won't be trying these "death- smelling 'shrooms" At least a misdiagnosis of rocks and minerals won't poison me! hurl.gif

Passing rocks and trees like they were standing still
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Chico
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PostMon Nov 27, 2017 4:53 pm 
Brushbuffalo wrote:
which are unmistakable even to me.
There is one that looks similar! Called a false morel. Not poisonous though. Worked with a guy years ago who tried a bit of amanita. Nothing. Some are deadly, others not so much.

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