Day 177: As long as I was out and about day before yesterday, I thought I'd make a side trip to see if the Erythroniums were blooming. If they were, I might be able to determine subspecies. They're not very far from an unmarked, little-known trailhead, but the first tenth of a mile is one of those rises I call "qualifiers." If you get to the top without having to stop to catch your breath, you're good to go. Having already done five miles, I didn't make it. About forty feet from the point at which the trail rolls back a bit, I paused to heave and gasp. As I stood there (less than a minute), my eyes strayed to the woods on my left. Oh, look! More Erythroniums! Further investigation revealed that my "patch" (still ahead) wasn't just twenty square feet; it was about a thousand square feet of moss-rich Fawn-Lily habitat! Most were not even in bud, but the few early bloomers confirmed what I suspected of their subspecies: Erythronium oregonum ssp. oregonum. Fawn Lily is a cousin to the Avalanche Lilies found at higher elevations, and has foliage spotted with a rich chocolate brown.
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