Illusion

Day 364: A mirage is a visual illusion, but an illusion is not necessarily a mirage. As I rounded the bend at the top of the Golden Gate Trail and began my descent into the valley where the trail joins with that to Paradise Glacier, my eyes told me there was water in the basin. My head disagreed. "There is NOT a lake there," it insisted. "You know that." But I was seeing a lake, spanned by a short section of raised trail, the surrounding hills clearly reflected in the water. "No, that's NOT what you're seeing," my mind persisted. With some major effort, I pushed the visual register aside and forced myself to perceive it as the gravelly slopes of reality, but the illusion returned in full force if I blinked or looked away for a second. Dark shadow turned to water, light rocks to reflection. Eventually, my feet settled the debate once and for all, kicking up dust as I climbed out of the dry basin. Who was it who said, "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see?"

Golden Gate Grouse

Day 361: At the top of the Golden Gate Trail, my botany partners and I were met by a companion who was busily searching for late-season insects among the dry foliage. Now whether this is a Sooty or a Dusky Grouse is up for debate. "Blue Grouse" was split into two separate species in 2006 in an astonishing reversion to the classification used in the early 1900s. "In general," says the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, "the coastal birds are Sooty Grouse and the interior birds are Dusky Grouse," and to further complicate matters, the two species intergrade. The air sacs visible on courting males are red in Dusky, more orange or yellow in Sooty. Females do not share this characteristic, so you must look at the tail. Sooty has a grey band across the tip and generally two fewer feathers in the fan, although these marks are difficult to see unless the bird is displaying. Habitat is another clue to distinguishing one species from another. Sooty prefers forest, Dusky prefers open areas. Range is another hint. If your observation is substantially on one side or the other of a dividing line, you're in luck. However, if you happen to be right at the convergence of the zones, have a female bird whose tail is hidden by the foliage in an alpine meadow not far from timberline, you are pretty much up the infamous creek without your proverbial paddle. This, therefore, is a Golden Gate Grouse. That's my assessment, and I'm sticking with it.

Goat Rocks Fire

Day 359: Per this morning's update, the Goat Rocks Fire now stands at 4552 acres, small as wildfires go, but filling the air in the surrounding communities with smoke. It was projected to grow somewhat today, based on wind and humidity forecasts and indeed, from the top of the Golden Gate Trail, my botany partners and I could see it progressing slowly down the ridge. Per the incident report, a direct approach to suppressing this fire (i.e., sending in ground crews) would have little chance of success due to steep terrain and a massive quantity of dry fuel and would pose extreme safety hazards for firefighters. An indirect solution is being implemented instead, with containment lines being cut in to the west and north, the most likely direction for spread. Higher humidity early next week should further limit the spread.