Hazy Days of Summer

The views of the mountains of Strathcona Park are just a bit hazy these days due to the fires in the interior of BC. Temperatures down in the Comox Valley are over 30 C, but a few degrees cooler up on the mountain.

The mama bear & two clubs were reported today near Battleship Lake in the morning, then later near the end of the boardwalk loop. I guess they are feeling at home in the meadows! If you keep your distance from them, they will keep their distance from you. A reminder to keep your dogs on leash, in order to keep your pets safe and so that there is no bother to wildlife and other hikers.
Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis ssp. microcephala)

The pink mountain heather and shooting stars are mostly finished blooming in the meadows - cotton-grass and white flowers are now predominant. Recent new flowers of note include great burnet (which I always think should be named grape burnet), Sitka burnet, king gentian, foamflower, and ladies' tresses (which may look at first glance like white bog-orchid, but the flowers grow in a spiral around the spike).
Sitka burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis ssp. latifolia)

King gentian (Gentiana sceptrum)

Foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)

Ladies' tresses (Spiranthes romanzoffiana)

Below is a photo of one of my favourites: sickletop lousewort, which in the meadows here is quite pink. In Plants of Coastal BC, the recommended reference book by Pojar & MacKinnon (available at the Wilderness Centre) the flower is shown as white. The upper petal or lip forms a sickle-shaped 'beak' which curls down to meet the lower lip.

Sickletop lousewort (Pedicularis racemosa)

Visitors today were from California, Washington, France, the UK, Switzerland ... hikes to Croteau Lake & Cruickshank Canyon Lookout were recommended to several visitors, who were very happy to have seen these spectacular destinations.

News & Updates

BC Parks has an update on trail conditions in Strathcona Park as of Aug. 9.

The Comox District Mountaineering Club had a hike to the Cruickshank Canyon Lookout on Wednesday - check their website for the report.

The latest issue of InFocus magazine features an article on Strathcona Park celebrating its Centennial year, as well as background on the Strathcona Wilderness Institute which operates the Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre and the Buttle Lake Information Hut, and the upcoming August & September 2010 programs at Paradise Meadows. You can get a copy of InFocus from many local coffee shops, from the Comox Valley Visitors Centre or from the Wilderness Centre .

Blue Sky Returns

As the blue sky returns at the Wilderness Centre at Paradise Meadows, the visitors return! Yesterday's Nature Walk was well attended & the plant list in German came in handy. Below is the botanical list of plants in the meadows compiled by Sunday's guide Fred Constabel (those with a * were seen on Sunday's walk):

Trees:
Mountain hemlock Tsuga mertensiana *
Subalpine fir Abies lasiocarpa *
Amabilis fir Abies amabilis *
Noble fir Abies procera *
Western white pine Pinus monticola *
Yellow cedar Chamaecyparis nootkatensis *
Mountain ash Sorbus sitchensis *

Shrubs:
Sitka alder Alnus crispa *
Oval-leaved Blueberry Vaccinium ovalifolium *
Black huckleberry Vaccinium membranaceum *
Bog blueberry Vaccinium uliginosum *
Bog cranberry Vaccinium oxycoccus
False azalea Menziesia ferruginea
White rhododendron Rhododendron albiflorum *
White mountain heather Cassiope mertensiana
Pink mountain heather Phyllodoce empetriformis *
Western Bog laurel Kalmia microphylla
Bog rosemary Andromeda polifolia
Black Crowberry Empetrum nigrum
5-leaved bramble Rubus pedatus
Black twinberry Lonicera involucrata
Arctic willow Salix arctica *

Monocots:
False asphodel Tofieldia glutinosa *
False hellebore Veratrum viride *
Clasping twisted stalk Streptopus amplexifolius
Queen’s Cup Clintonia uniflora
Swamp lantern Lysichiton americanum
White bog orchid Platanthera dilatata *
Rattlesnake plantain Goodyera oblongifolia
NW twayblade Listera cauria
Rein orchid Platanthera unalaskensis
Black alpine sedge Carex nigricans *
Cotton grass Eriophorum angustifolium *

Dicots:
Sundew * Drosera rotundifolia
Butterwort * Pinguicula vulgaris
Leather-leaf saxifrage * Leptarrhena poryfolia
Foamflower * Tiarella trifoliata
Grass of Parnassus Parnassia fimbriata
Alpine bistort Polygonum viviparum
White marsh marigold * Caltha leptosepala
Broad-leaved marsh marigold * Caltha biflora
Narcissus anemone Anemone narcissiflora
Globeflower Trollius laxus
Mountain buttercup Ranunculus eschscholtzii
Partridgefoot * Luetkea pectinata
Sitka burnet * Sanguisorba canadensis
Great burnet * Sanguisorba officinalis
Nootka lupine * Lupinus nootkatensis
Bird’s-foot trefoil * Lotus corniculatus
One-sided wintergreen Pyrola secunda
Fireweed * Epilobium angustifolium
King gentian Gentiana sceptrum
Broad-petalled gentian Gentiana platypetala
Sickletop lousewort * Pedicularis racemosa
Bracted lousewort Pedicularis bracteosa
Small-flowered lousewort Pedicularis parviflora
Alpine speedwell Veronica wormskoldii
Shooting star * Dodecatheon pulchellum
Northern starflower Trientalis arctica
Alpine aster * Aster alpigenus
Subalpine daisy * Erigeron peregrinus
Mountain arnica * Arnica latifolia
Pearly everlasting * Anaphalis margaritacea
Narrow leaved hawkweed Hieracium umbellatum
Bunchberry * Cornus canadensis
Sitka valerian * Valeriana sitchensis
Deer cabbage Fauria crista-galli
Buckbean * Menyanthes trifoliata

This list includes one of my favourite plant names: Sickletop lousewort! I will post a photo hopefully later this week. Below is fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) , abundant on the roadside up the mountain and around any cleared or logged areas on the hill.

An osprey was reported around Circlet Lake.

A Leatherman tool was reported lost at Croteau Lake. Please leave any found items, or even a note, in the mailbox at the Wilderness Centre.

The mama bear & cubs were reported again today, near Croteau Lake. The Level 2 Hike to Croteau Lake on Sunday will likely be a big enough group that bears would give a wide berth - but maybe someone will find the item lost at the lake!