Incongruous Bridge

Day 49: First of all, my readers must understand that winter is not the easiest time of the year in which to find material for natural-history posts, but cold and wet notwithstanding, I went out today intending to make a quick one-mile trip to Rainey Creek and back, retracing my footsteps. As plans often do, this one went awry when I began following a side trail I'd never walked before, one which eventually looped around and reconnected to the main path. In so doing, I covered roughly two miles, my hands painfully cold despite being mittened and in my pockets for the most part. Over the next couple of days, I will bring you the results despite the fact that you probably can't fully appreciate the sacrifices I make on your behalf. That said, one upcoming post must be prefaced with a warning: I found something rather bizarre and creepy, and I don't want to hear any lectures on the danger of hiking alone. If you are easily freaked out, avoid these pages tomorrow.

Now, to the point: Rainey Creek is a pleasant little natural area at the east end of Riffe Lake and is administered by Cowlitz Wildlife. As such, it is the site of game-bird releases and should be avoided during hunting season. It should also be avoided in spring and early summer when the mosquitoes are thick in the air and very, very hungry. It is at its best when the grass is sere and gone to rosy-tan, for then you can see the abundant lichens (mostly Usnea species) on the trees. The air is particularly clear here, and consequently, Usnea longissima grows in profusion on the trees closest to the water. A future post will feature the loveliest of lichens, at least for my tastes. That said, anyone walking the main trail to Rainey Creek will be following an old road which is still used sometimes by Cowlitz Wildlife vehicles. Perhaps that explains the sturdy and incongruous blue bridge which comes as a bit of a surprise to hikers more accustomed to cedar-puncheon structures or logs. Metal or not, lichens are colonizing its surface, Parmelias and Hypogymnias having taken hold in the thin dust adhering to the steel, and giving evidence that Nature is stronger than Man.