[Quark]

Desert yesterday, lush forest today. Whadda state we live in, hey? Beaver Lake, Mtn Loop (D'town side) One of the many interesting things about the Beaver Lake trail is that there are no beavers, and there is no lake. There were once beavers there, but they moved out. Packed up and left behind only a swampy area. It's a very pretty trail, though, and I always enjoy it early season because of the skunk cabbage extravaganza there. However, there are some washouts, notably the gigantic one from (I think 1990?). The trail ends here officially - but 2003 and 2006 created more washouts. They're get aroundable - but the coolest thing is that the lack of terrain next to the trail opened up some bodacious views - of Mt. Pugh and Bedal. Absolutely gorgeous. The lighting today was a tough act to handle.

Beaver Lake sunlit trail

Beaver Lake trail washout

Beaver Lake crummy shot, but just to show the view

Beaver Lake bright trees on the Sauk River

Beaver Lake skunk cabbage1

Beaver Lake spring leaves on the Sauk

JimK directed me downslope to get a shot of some trillium he espied (he's gimpy, so he made me his photo lackey for anything requiring a descent). Absolutely wonderful trilliumscape.

Beaver Lake hidden trillium2

Old Sauk We drove over to the Old Sauk trail, a sure-fire hit. I have never been bored on this trail; spring, summer, winter and fall each have their specialness on this trail, and each time I'm here, I find something wonderful. I saw more trillium on this trail than I have ever seen anywhere. But they mostly single stalks - dotted throughout the forest - some hidden, some standing tall in the open. A quiet, unassuming beauty - they looked like stars dotted all over the forest floor. Jim found some clusters of trillium - one was a cluster of 5, one of 4, one of nearly 8. We felt like we were in a Sesame Street episode. See a cluster and stop to count: 1-2-3-4. See another and stop: 1-2-3-4-5-6. And so on. There is always a breeze or light wind along the Sauk River here. Watching the long tendrils of silvery lichen swaying in the breeze opposite the river is a very beautiful sight.

Old Sauk forest scene

Old Sauk hiker1

The awesome find of today for me was - turkey tails! I found these blue ones on a dead log laying alongside the trail. They were moist and cool to touch - I only touched one to see if it was a new cluster, and was careful to not touch any more. I was stunned by the vividness of the blue color of some of the bands. I don't know anything about turkey tail fugus, but you can bet after seeing this gorgeous array, I'll be reading up on them.

Old Sauk blue turkey tail fungus 1

Old Sauk blue turkey tail fungus 2

Old Sauk blue turkey tail fungus3

Old Sauk blue turkey tail fungus4

Old Sauk whole lotta turkeys settin on a log

On the way out, I stopped to listen to a varied thrush, when a hummingbird began to dive-bomb me. I must have been close to a nest - he was not only whirring at me, but clucking and making a wierd racket. I started to move away, when I tripped and stumbled off the trail. Good thing, too. I found more turkey tail fungus, of another color. I shot some photos while the poor little hummingbird was freaking out. I felt very bad upsetting him, so only took a few photos.

Old Sauk orange turkey tail fungus1

Old Sauk orange turkey tail fungus2

Old Sauk orange turkey tail fungus3

I can't believe how lucky I am to have seen these beautiful things.

[Hulksmash]

I was disappointed the first time i discovered there was no lake, or beavers along that trail It's still a nice little trail. Those turkey tails are amazing.

[goats gone wild]

Wow, the spectrum of color in the fungi is amazing.

[Quark]

I did a quick google check on turkey tails and the website I looked at said these babies bloom beginning in May and can live several years. I don’t know how fast they grow, but I’m assuming these recently budded because of their rich color and moist texture. Usually I see them when they’re a bit drier and covered with dirt. I bet if I were standing next to that log full of the blue ones when they bloomed, I would have heard them pop out. I bet it looked and sounded like a cartoon would make them sound, if someone made a cartoon of turkey tail fungus flipping out of a log. Sorta like cards being shuffled. The scientific name is “trimetes versicolor.” I certainly know where they got the “versicolor” part of that name.

[Schroder]

[Quark]

Oh my god, I can't belive it. There's a false turkey tail fungus as well! There's a false everything in the mountains and woodlands! Now I don't know what I have photos of. True turkeys or false ones!

[JimK]

Sunday On The Sauk With Quark After a long day at Swakane Canyon the day before, Kim wanted to get out again. My sore knee was not feeling too bad Sunday morning so I joined her. Downhills are what is hurting my knee so we planned a few river walks with little elevation change. I had never been on the Beaver Lake Trail. I had done part of the Old Sauk from the south end but that was nearly 20 years ago. Much of the trail I walked has since fallen into the Sauk River. The trail keeps getting rebuilt farther inland. We had an unusually late start, not leaving Seattle until 9:00 am. Driving by Mt. Higgins we stopped along the NF Stillaguamish River. Kim knows all the good spots to view the river. We drove into Darrington then south on the Mountain Loop Highway (MLH) to the White Chuck River. Last year we drove over Gold Mountain to reach the White Chuck Bench Trail. Since then the new bridge to the boat launch is in place. We drove across so I could see the new bridge. Just opposite the bridge on the west side of the MLH is the trailhead for Beaver Lake.

NF Stillaguamish River

Kim explained that there are no longer any beavers and the lake is really just a marshy area now. The trail follows the Sauk River. It is only about 1 1/2 miles to the "lake". So short I never took the time to visit. The trail is full of old trees, moss, and has skunk cabbage in the spring. We timed it perfectly. The route is along an old railroad grade. The river is nearby on the right and the left is lower than the grade. The result is lots of water on the left side. This is perfect for the proliferation of skunk cabbage. The began early and kept on going.

Beaver Lake Trail

Sauk Beach

We took one detour to the gaging station and a small sandy beach along the river. A few steps off the grade and the moss covered everything. We saw a few trillium here. That was another hallmark of this day. We also saw violets and bleeding hearts. Lots to photograph so we made very slow progress. Kim mentioned several washouts. We came to a big one and I didn't like the drop to river level but decided to give it a go. My knee was not very happy but it was not too bad. The route now sidehills just above river then climbs steeply back to the grade.

Mossy Log

Unfurling Fern

Moss Tree

Skunk Cabbage

Twin Skunks

Violet

Close Up Skunk

Every Shade Of Green

Mt. Pugh Over Sauk

First Washout

Buried several feet deep were the old railroad rails, now partly exposed and hanging in mid air. Neat to see some of the history revealed. We continued to another washout. This one created an opening looking down the river and up to Bedal and Sloan Peaks. Kim said the view was not there until the forest fell into the river. The route went inland around the washout but where it again dropped to river level I called it quits. I'm trying not to mess up my knee more before it can heal. We went back to the start of this washout and stopped for lunch. We had hiked about one mile and it was already after 1:00 pm.

Leafing Trees

Colorful Leaves

Bedal Peak

The lunch spot was great. The river flowed by and the peaks came in and out of the clouds. Across the river the trees were leafing out in varying shades of green. A really pretty spot. Another group came by and continued on to the lake. As we were packing up another group came by. The boy was about 12 and the woman was likely his grandmother. She had a polished wooden hiking staff and another pole. She mentioned her bad hips and wanted to know if the trail became difficult. Kim and I did a double take. She had already crossed the first washout, side hilling on loose dirt just above the roaring river. Then she had to climb up a 6 feet step with no hand holds. I'm 6' 4" and had a tough time. Grandma wanted to know if this gentle trail ever got hard. We figured she was scoping out Sloan Peak for a morning jaunt on Monday.

Big Leaf

On the way back Kim ran into an old friend from trail maintenance trips. I'm never surprised when she runs into someone she knows on a trail in this area. With two whole miles in the book we headed on to trip number two. A short drive down the MLH brought us to the north trailhead of the Old Sauk Trail. This lot had half a dozen cars or more. The first thing we noticed was the lack of flowers. Soon we saw trillium. Then came the violets and bleeding hearts. In fact, I have never seen so many trillium on any trail ever. There were singles then doubles then triples and even clumps of five, six, or seven. They all seemed to be right near their peak. The trail is usually near the river. At first it is near a wide dry channel. The real river is far away. During the 100 week floods of 2003 and 2006 the river filled an amazingly wide swath. Even during the spring snow thaw it's just a fraction of it's flood size. In places we could see parts of the old trail that would disappear over the edge where it had washed away. The trail is in very good shape. A little mud but generally dry and logged out.

Old Sauk River View

This trail is moss covered from end to end. It covers the ground and stumps and hangs from the trees. In places it gets even more impressive. A true temperate rain forest. We hiked about 2 1/2 miles getting near to the south end. We stopped at another viewpoint along the river. Kim pointed out a place where the bank on the opposite side had collapsed. A big white cliff is there now. Coincidently, or not, on this side of the river the area above and inland of the river is silt covered. Did it come from the big washout across and upstream?

Hanging Ferns

Land Of Moss

Kim Viewing Washout

On the way back Kim pointed out a log covered in turkey tail fungus. The semi circle shape looks like a turkey's tail. The colors are amazing. Red, blue, orange, and many more. I don't recall ever seeing such a bright blue in nature. The hike back was much faster. My knee was feeling it and I sped up to get the last mile done. There were no summits to reach this day. No lakes either. Still, a couple river walks in mossy forest with lots of spring wildflowers was a treat. Kim has done these trails many times and I can see why.

Turkey Tail Fungus

Another Turkey Tail

One Of Many Trillium

Looking Down River

Reflection

[puzzlr]

"Land Of Moss" is nice

[Quark]

I have dimples on my elbow.