Pictures of the Week 11.20.13

Now that my schedule has slowed down slightly, I thought I would take up my pictures of the week posts again. These don't seem to get too many readers but I'm sitting on a pile of photos so I will try to get some more out there.

Somewhere in North Cascades National Park summer 2006. Day 2 of a 3 day trip. I accessed this area via a climber's/fisherman's route. It took about 6 hours to get in. On the way out, I got a little careless and got off the trail. Instead of going immediately back to the last place I was sure I was on the trail, which is the smart thing to do, I figured I could just keep going and find my way. I ended up in some very steep ground and had to backtrack until I got back on the trail. After about an hour, I found myself back off the trail. Instead of going immediately back to the last place I was on the trail, I kept going. I figured I was at a low enough elevation to be out of the cliffs. I was, but I would have been a lot better off on the trail. Another hour of wading through brush and I crossed the trail again, just shortly before I hit the official maintained trail. 

Same spot as previous photo. Day 3.

Same spot as previous photos. Day 1 of 3. 

Same spot as previous photos. Day 1 of 3. 

Same spot as previous photos. Day 2 of 3. 

Same spot as previous photos. Day 2 of 3. 

Same spot as previous photos. Day 2 of 3, looking across a large valley.  

Bog St. John's wort (Hypericum anagalloides). This is a native wetland plant. I have often found it around the edges of lakes. The flowers are quite small but also quite beautiful, I think. Many people might be more familiar with common St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) which is a plant native to Eurasia that was introduced here as a medicinal herb. According to Pojar and Mackinnon, St. John's wort is named after St. John the Baptist. It was believed (probably still is believed by some) to ward off evil spirits. 

Avalanche lily (Erythronium montanum). This species is very uncommon in the North Cascades according to most of my reference material and my own personal observation. It is evidently quite common in the Olympics and around Mount Rainier. I was quite surprised to find these growing right next to a very popular hiking trail in Whatcom County on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The yellow glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) is quite common in the North Cascades and is the species one is more likely to see here. 

Field mint (Mentha arvensis). This is a mint native to the Pacific Northwest that grows around the world at northern latitudes. It grows in wetlands and I have also found it along some lake edges. This mint actually smells and tastes like mint and its uses are similar to that of spearmint (Mentha spicata) which was introduced from Eurasia and is commonly cultivated. I find the flavor of field mint quite pleasant though maybe not as intense or sweet as spearmint . According to Wikipedia, field mint and spearmint can hybridize. Some of our native mints have no smell or are very musky and smell downright awful. Field mint flowers are very small. This photo is probably 15x to 20x life size.