April hikes can be accompanied by woodticks if the weather is just turning warm. I've hiked the Bass & Larry Creek area twice & OBrien Canyon once already in April. Only OBrien Canyon was loaded with these tiny critters that the Hallelujah Hikers had to pick off each other all during the eight mile hike. If you turn the tick over & see a white spot, you count yourself fortunate for finding the tick before it embeds in your skin & causes Rocky MT Spotted Fever.
I hike the Bass & Larry Creek area with my friend, Janie & her standard Schnauzer, Hansi. Since we had almost a week of 70+ degree weather in mid-April, all the Spring wildflowers were blooming. Hansi would stand or partially submerge herself in the creeks that we came to along the hike.
Bass & Larry Creeks are known for their wonderful Trillium that bloom in profusion along the creek banks in April.
We even saw some Oregon Grapes beginning to bloom on the second hike in the Larry Creek area. The day before had topped at 80 degrees, which triggered much of the blossuming.
A couple of meadows were blanketed with the tiny Blue-eyed Mary plants in full bloom.
Shooting Stars mixed with Buttercups in some areas. In many other locations, we saw bunches of Pasqueflowers amidst the Yellowbells & Buttercups. Native Indians in the Bitterroot used to eat the bulbs of the Yellowcups, cooking them like rice.The 4-5 mile hiking loop Janie & I take in the Bass & Larry Creek area is one of many horse trails, so we sometimes meet folks out horse-back riding. We also sited white-tailed deer & wild turkeys. I wasn't fast enough with my camera to catch them in a photo for you.
The "Tick Hike" up OBrien Canyon was around 8 miles of mostly old logging roads. Dry grass rubbed against our ankles most of the hike & must have contained the ticks.
The Blue MT & OBrien areas were engulfed in a forest fire four years ago. We saw evidence of this everywhere on our hike. Two days after our hike, the Forest Service had a "controlled burn" in this location, but it got away from them. They had to drop fire retardants from planes to get it back under control.
We saw interesting tree shapes, like this split trunk. Actually, with poor signage, we had taken a dead-end trail just before I shot this photo. We did that a couple of times on this hike, making it around 8 miles instead of 5.
We saw wildflowers in this area only near the Trailhead. They were the same flowers I had seen in the Bass & Larry Creek areas, with the addition of a few Glacier Lilies like the ones below. The thick underground stems of Glacier Lilies are also edible & were staples of the American Indians in this area.
The "Tick Hike" up OBrien Canyon was around 8 miles of mostly old logging roads. Dry grass rubbed against our ankles most of the hike & must have contained the ticks.
The Blue MT & OBrien areas were engulfed in a forest fire four years ago. We saw evidence of this everywhere on our hike. Two days after our hike, the Forest Service had a "controlled burn" in this location, but it got away from them. They had to drop fire retardants from planes to get it back under control.
We saw interesting tree shapes, like this split trunk. Actually, with poor signage, we had taken a dead-end trail just before I shot this photo. We did that a couple of times on this hike, making it around 8 miles instead of 5.
We saw wildflowers in this area only near the Trailhead. They were the same flowers I had seen in the Bass & Larry Creek areas, with the addition of a few Glacier Lilies like the ones below. The thick underground stems of Glacier Lilies are also edible & were staples of the American Indians in this area.
5 comments:
OK now! If I was on a hike in tick country and kept hittin' dead-ends along the trail, stretching 5 miles into 8, I would NOT be amused! But then, of course, I would never BE on a hike in tick country to start with! :) !!
Ya just have to love that little Schnauzer's goat-hair schnout!
I opted out of the hike today because of the snow/rain mixture God has sent to us yesterday & today. I praise Him for the moisture! I quickly called to cancel plans to hike, however. I'm finding I'm more of a fair weather hiker. The ticks & length of the hike bother me less.
I looked again at the Schnauzer that I called "little". I hadn't realized noticed its size in comparison to other things in the pic before. All the Schnauzers I have known have been small dogs. This one looks huge to me in the picture! Either he is sitting in a dribbly little stream or he is a big dog!
Both things are true. This area we hiked has only small creeks running through it. Also, Hansi is not only a Standard versus Miniature Schnauzer, but she's large for even a Standard one. She also has a very mellow temperament for a Schnauzer.
I've only known 2 Schnauzers in my life. They must have been miniatures! And they were so hyper and yappy and LOUD! Whew! just the memory makes me want to hold my head! That was before my own personal dog-owner days and I had no idea (because of THEM) why anyone would ever want to have a dog!
:)
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