3/31 Longmire, Mt. Rainer

We arrived by car at 4pm. IT was sunny and between 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit with snow on the ground in most places. We saw mostly tall trees, largely Douglas Firs, Hemlock, alder, and cedars, with varying low lying vegetation. Birds and squirrels, but did not see many other animals. WE stayed there between 4 and 5:15 pm. The path we followed encircled a hot springs, where CO2 was being released from the ground, as evidence from the constant bubbling in the water. Some of the water was a light brown tone, due to the presence of copper. All the ground we covered was moist, showing that snow must have recently melted. Ferns and fungi seemed to like this setting, as we saw them all along the path. Many trees were bare of leaves, but showed signed of blooming. This was unlike Pack Forest where trees were further along in their bloom, most likely due to lower elevation. A few flowers had begun blooming as well. Many of the conifers had cones on them, and we were able to find many large cones on the ground.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana)
Western White (Pinus monticola )
Hemlock
Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga macrocarpa )
Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza )
Red Alder (Alnus rubra )
Salmon berry (Rubus spectabilis)
Dwarf Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa)
fraxinus
wild rose (Rosa acicularis )
western yew (Taxus brevifolia )
salal (Gaultheria shallon)
deer fern (Blechnum spicant)
alaska cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis)

Posted on 01 May, 2012 07:01 by beardendb