365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Calypso Corner
Day 204: I wasn't thinking about Calypso orchids when I set out for a hike in Pack Forest yesterday. The plan was to follow the Bud Blancher Trail from Eatonville, then take the Falls Trail and a short section of the 1070 until connecting with the 1000 Rd. Following the 1000 Rd. would take me through the stretch I call "Butterfly Alley" where I hoped to pick up some material for these posts. Second to that was an invasives patrol, to which purpose I had included my GPS and field notebook in my pack. The Falls Trail was muddy and slick, and a warning sign had been placed at the spur to the lower falls saying that the trail was closed due to potential slides, but I hadn't intended to visit the falls and went on by without investigating. The hard-packed dirt roads of Pack Forest were dry as expected, but even with the way being rather warm and sunny, the only butterflies I saw were Cabbage Whites. About halfway up to Kirkland Pass, I said to myself, "Why don't I go out the 2000 to see if there are any Calypsos? It'll only add about half a mile to my hike." Oh, how dim memory is sometimes! It was closer to three-quarters of a mile from the intersection at Kirkland Pass to Calypso Corner, but I'd committed myself to the project, having no butterflies for backup. The Calypsos and I had a nice visit, and I returned via the sloggy, boggy, muddy and messy Reservoir Trail (much muddier than the Falls Trail had been) for a total of 8.5 miles and a notebook full of invasives to report.
Labels:
Calypso bulbosa,
Calypso Orchid,
Pack Forest
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