Know Your Forest Pugh Mountain Trail

On Sunday July 7^th, I walked up the Pugh Mountain trail to lake Metan. The forest along the lower part of the trail is a mix of old growth timber, an old burn and an old logging unit about the same age as the burn.

The interesting thing about this area is that the many of the edges of the burn and old logging unit are right on the trail. Sometimes the burn or logging unit edges end abruptly at the trail so you can look downslope at a second growth forest and turn 180 degrees and look upslope at an old growth forest. Sometimes these edges end a little above the trail. The edge is so abrupt in some spots that it looks like the trail was used as a fire line which is quite possible.

I don’t know much about the history of this area. The burn could have been related to the logging, a slash fire that got away or a fire ignited by the sparks from a steam donkey. Or maybe the fire was unrelated to the logging and the logging was a job salvaging the burned timber.

I worked for Reece Brothers logging on a thinning sale just down the hill along the road to the Pugh trailhead and that area had burned as well. As I recall, it looked like that area had burned after it had been logged. The forest there is about the same age as the forest along the trail so these might be related as well. At any rate, the second growth forest along the trail whether in the burn or the logging unit look to be pretty much the same age.

The second growth trees along the trail are at least 200 feet tall and the largest are about 36 inches dbh (diameter at breast height) though the average dbh throughout the stand is probably more like 24 inches or a little smaller.

The stumps in the logged area along the trail look like they had been cut early in the days of power saws so maybe late 1940’s or early 1950’s but they may have been cut a little earlier. If I remember correctly, the forest along the road below was 60 to 70 years old in 1998, as determined by counting rings in the stumps of the larger trees. This would mean that area was logged in the 1930’s. Also, if I recall correctly, there were lots of spring board notches in the stumps along the road, meaning that they were likely cut by crosscut saws. The stumps along the trail have very few notches which makes it more likely that they were cut by power saws though this isn’t a sure thing.

You can see the first signs of the burn as you are coming out of the valley of the second stream that the trail crosses. This crossing is several hundred yards from the trailhead. The logging unit starts a little way into the burn and ends a little before the upper edge of the burn.

The upper edge of the burn is right before the first major switchback in the trail as it starts up the hill. This upper edge forms a pretty distinct line between the closely spaced second growth forest and the more open, multi canopied old growth forest. The trail goes through the very top of the burn after the first switchback and by the time you hit the second switchback, it is in old growth forest all the way to Lake Metan and beyond.

Another interesting thing about the burn is that, in many areas, much of the tall, dominant old growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and western red cedar (Thuja plicata) survived the fire but the understory beneath them burned. This opened up the understory and a new forest seeded in amongst the big trees. So now there is a closed canopy forest with many shade intolerant Douglas-fir trees in it growing amongst the surviving fire scarred big trees which dwarf everything around them. So I don’t know as this technically qualifies as a stand replacement fire because the stand of  overstory trees wasn’t replaced.

There were several interesting things at Lake Metan. There are Pacific crabapple (Malus fusca) trees growing there along the lake shore. If only these trees could talk. The story of how they came to be established at an isolated lake at almost 3200 feet in elevation would surely be a good one. I don’t believe I have seen it anywhere else in a similar location.

I also saw six camp robbers or gray jays (Perisorius canadensis). I have always like these birds, probably because they are so fearless and you can often get within several feet of them. As the name implies, they pick through campsites for stray morsels of food. Camp robbers are relatives of crows and ravens but they don’t seem to be nearly as destructive. It seems like I have been seeing more camp robbers in recent years after not seeing very many for quite a while.

I saw several northwestern salamander (Ambystoma gracile) larvae in the lake. Every time I have been to this lake, it has been difficult to see into it very well. Usually I see a few larvae though. Two years ago, I walked around the lake and saw a lot of northwestern salamander egg masses.

I also poked around a little bit in some thinning timber harvests in the area. One, Bench Thin, I worked on in 1992 or 1993. The other one was done within the last 5 years or so.

This is another long post. Please bear with me. 

Looking down off trail near edge of burn nearest the Pugh Mountain trailhead.

Looking uphill at old growth forest from Pugh Mountain trail.

Same spot as previous photo looking 180 degrees downhill at second growth forest in burn. Charred western red cedar (Thuja plicata) log in foreground. 

Looking down from the Pugh Mountain trail at a spot where several old growth trees have survived the fire and are surrounded with second growth trees. The tree in the center middle distance is an old growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) 4 to 5 foot dbh (diameter at breast height). The lower bark has flaked off leaving a smooth looking lower trunk on this tree but the upper trunk has thick, deeply furrowed bark. Just to the right of this tree is an old growth red cedar snag or tree with a few living branches.

Looking up from Pugh Mountain trail at a spot where there are multiple old growth survivors of the fire but where the understory burned enough to allow the establishment of a second growth forest underneath the old growth survivors. Visible to left and right of center frame are two living fire scarred old growth Douglas-firs. The log running toward the viewer is a fire killed red cedar and the snag on the right side of the frame is a Douglas-fir. There are many other living old growth trees in this area but they are not very visible in the photo because of the thick second growth forest. 

Looking down from Pugh Mountain trail at area that was logged. I am standing in the photo to give a sense of scale.  Note the cut stumps to my left and right and the one further down the hill partially obscured by my right shoulder. In determining what happened in the previous forest here, care must be taken to make sure stumps viewed from the trail are not just the result of trail maintenance and hazard tree removal. The presence of many stumps far off the trail here indicate that this area was logged. 

Tail tree. Another clue about fire and the logging. Burned bark is evident on this old growth Doulgas-fir. The line in the bark just above my head that is running perpendicular to the tree trunk was caused by a tail strap where a block was hung in order to yard logs below this tail tree. 

Another old growth Douglas-fir tail tree near the trail. Again, the line perpendicular to the tree trunk was caused by a tail strap. Usually such use will not kill an old growth tree and often it leaves very few marks. Second growth trees survive quite well also. This depends on several factors including species, how the strap was hung, how the yarder was operated and if the sap was up in the tree, making the bark loose when the tree was used.  

The upper edge of the burn just before the first major switchback as the trail starts up the hill. The lighting for showing this was not ideal but it should be apparent that the forest is fairly open. There are at least 3 large old growth trees in around the center of the frame and many more obscured by the smaller timber. 

The upper edge of the burn, looking 180 degrees and down the trail from the previous photo. Again, the light is not ideal but it is obvious that the forest is growing much more tightly together and the canopy is more closed. 

This photo was taken up the trail a little bit. It is above the burn. This forest has been opened up because it is growing on the nose of a ridge so, among other things, it has less soil water available and is more exposed to the elements, mainly wind. The trees are old growth but much smaller and many have been blown down. The small brown tree near the center of the frame is a western white pine (Pinus monticola) that probably seeded into an opening (white pine is not shade tolerant) and was later killed by blister rust fungus. 

                           

Pugh Mountain from Lake Metan. 

Lake Metan from the south end. 

Northwestern salamander (Ambystoma gracile) larva. These animals are often very hard to see. They often lay on logs like this where they look like sticks or debris. I will talk more on these salamanders in later posts.

Camp robber jays or gray jays (Perisorius canadensis). I saw six of these birds two of which darker in color. I assume that these were juveniles. In this photo, the darker bird is taking something from the lighter bird's mouth. 

I stood only a few yards away and watched for several minutes as the camp robbers picked through this camp site. 

The road to the Pugh Mountain trailhead. In the winter of 1998, when I was working for Reece Brothers Logging, we logged a thinning sale along this road called Lyle Thin, named after Lyle Creek nearby. 

Lyle Thin along the road to the Pugh Mountain trailhead.

Lyle Thin along the road to the Pugh Mountain trailhead.

Lyle Thin along the road to the Pugh Mountain trailhead. This areas was originally logged sometime in the 1930's. Springboard notches are evident on the western red cedar stump to the right of center frame. 

Lyle Thin along the road to the Pugh Mountain trailhead, looking up at the forest canopy. The smaller trees underneath will soon fill in the gaps. 

This is another thinning sale I worked on when I worked for Summit Timber in 1992 or 1993. This sale was called bench thin and it was on Whitechuck Bench off the Mountain Loop Highway just after the pavement turns to gravel road above the confluence of the Sauk and Whitechuck Rivers. I am standing on the haul road for trucks to haul the logs to the mill. 

Looking up at a thinning corridor. The logs were yarded down this corridor to a landing where they were loaded on trucks. 

Standing next to a second growth Douglas-fir near another thinning corridor.  The log paint used to mark this tree as a "leave" tree is still obvious just to my left. 

Another thinning corridor. This one is barely apparent.

This area was probably logged sometime in the 1930's or 1940's. I am standing next to an old growth Douglas-fir stump from that original timber harvest. 

The forest in the Bench Thin sale of the early 1990's. To my right are several old growth stumps from the original harvest in the 1930's or 1940's. I am standing next to a second growth Douglas-fir that grew or was planted after that original harvest. In the foreground in the center of the frame is a second growth Douglas-fir stump harvested in the thinning sale in the early 1990's.

The second growth stump mentioned in the previous photo from a different angle. I placed a couple of sticks on top of it to make it more evident. 

Looking up at the forest canopy in part of the Bench Thin sale of the early 1990's. 

As part of the Bench Thin sale or in conjunction with it, an overlook was built to allow views of Whitechuck Mountain. This overlook is just after the point where the Mountain Loop highway goes from pavement to gravel near the confluence of the Sauk and Whitechuck Rivers. A number of trees were cut below the overlook to allow this view. 

This is another area nearby that was thinned within the last 5 years or so. This is along the Peek-a-boo Road (Road 2081). It is just on the Darrington side of the Sauk River bridge at the confluence of the Sauk and Whitechuck Rivers. 

Peek-a-boo Road. An old growth Douglas-fir snag is visible near the center of this frame. 

Peek-a-boo Road. Again this area was originally logged in the 1930's or 1940's. The second growth trees here now probably average somewhere around 2 feet dbh.