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Jawbone Flats, Opal Creek Wilderness

October 26, 2007: Jawbone Flats, Opal Creek Wilderness, Marion County, OR: Marvin and I hiked the three miles to Jawbone Flats, walking the access road along the Little North Fork of the Santiam River. The Opal Creek area was once the center of controversy between the logging industry and preservationists. The story is well documented so there is little use in repeating it again. Suffice it to say the area is beautiful and worth preserving. I’m just not sure the public is well served by maintaining Jawbone Flats as privately owned property.

For me the emotional conflict begins at the trail head where signs indicate no motorized vehicles are permitted past the gate. It is obvious that there are exceptions to that policy as the inhabitants of Jawbone Flats frequently use the road for vehicle access. In fact we were passed twice by vehicles as we hiked the three miles to Jawbone Flats. I know of other wilderness areas that surround privately owned land where access by vehicle is not allowed. If we are going to call it wilderness let’s make it a wilderness.

Opal Creek Waterfall — Opal Pool waterfall 10/26/2007 Marion County

byLarry

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Larry Rea October 28, 2007 October 7, 2017 Hiking / Traveling With Marvin

Oregon Mycological Society

October 21, 2007: Portland OR: Forestry Center: From Noon to Five today… the Mycological Society exhibits fungi (See the tab “About Fungi”) at the Forestry Building in Washington Park… it is an exceptional display. Not only do you see many, many species of fungi but you can rub shoulders with the people that know the mushrooms. I had the pleasure of again meeting Dr. Lippert, Professor Emeritus from PSU, (my botany professor at Portland State many years ago). There are slide shows, cooking shows, expert identification options… books available for sale… as one lady who drove all the way from Milton-Freewater said, “I live all year for this one day.” It’s that good.

Amanita muscaria (said to be deadly poisonous). It is also referred to as “the Alice in Wonderland” mushroom. In Europe it was eaten to produce hallucinations but again, it is considered to be deadly poisonous. Do not eat it.
byLarry

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Larry Rea October 21, 2007 October 7, 2017 Mushrooms

Mushroom Hunting at Wildwood

October 6, 2007, Wildwood, Multnomah County, OR: Marvin is taking a class in mushroom identification and today featured a field trip to Wildwood Recreation Site, off highway 26, near the community Welches. He invited me to join the group and with permission of the instructor I tagged along.

Marvin and I were the first to arrive at Wildwood so we registered (fee area) and then started our saunter. We crossed the Salmon river on a wooden bridge. We discovered that the wooden planks are very slippery when wet. Even though I wear hiking boots with tractor tread soles I had to be careful with my balance.

Wildwood Mushrooms — Wildwood mushrooms 10/6/2007 Clackamas County

Mushrooms were plentiful and we enjoyed the solitude of the woods. Parts of the trail bridge over the swamp so we had opportunity to observe marsh habitat without getting wet and muddy.

As we completed one of the loop trails we met the rest of his class. We were able to point out some of the mushrooms we had found and they found a few more that we had missed. Marvin thought perhaps the mushrooms were growing very fast and those had popped up since we had passed.

At lunch time everyone met back at the parking lot where the instructor called it a successful day.

A mushroom festival was in progress nearby so we decided to give it a look. Parking was difficult to find but eventually someone left and we grabbed their empty spot.

The festival was a disappointment… one small table of mushrooms and about twenty tables for vendors of various craft objects. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and window shopped the crafts.

byLarry

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Larry Rea October 6, 2007 October 7, 2017 Mushrooms / Traveling With Marvin

Penstemon davidsonii

October 6, 2007: Marvin and I decided we would drive over Lolo Pass and look at the autumn leaves. the road to Lolo Pass exits the north side of US 26 at milepost 42, just across the highway from the ZigZag District Ranger Station.

Vine Maple in Autumn — Autumn Vine Maple Lolo Pass road 10/14/2007 Clackamas County

The leaves were gorgeous… brilliant reds, bright oranges and golden yellows marked the vine maples.

We were surprised to find Penstemon davidsonii in bloom this late in the season.

We continued our travel to Wahtum Lake, Hood River County, OR. We took a short hike as the hour was getting late. Patches of snow trailside warned us of impending winter conditions but for now it was another delightful fall day in the mountains.

byLarry

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Larry Rea October 6, 2007 October 14, 2017 Mushrooms / Traveling With Marvin

Acer circinatum

October 3, 2007: Forest Service Road 46, Detroit, Marion County, OR: Sometimes when I’m in Salem on business I take a detour on the way home and drive up the Santiam Highway to Detroit, then take Forest Service road 46 north to State Highway 224 and Estacada. It’s about seventy miles between gasoline stations so if you take this route be prepared.

Today was a stormy fall day. Thunderstorms were moving through the area and hail/rainfall was very heavy at times. The weather forecast was calling for a snow level of 3,500 feet and because FSR 46 is not maintained during the winter the road could be blocked by snow. But not today.

Fall colors have not reached their peak but with the heavy rain knocking leaves off the trees the colors might not last. To fully enjoy the colors one needs a little sunshine to enhance the vibrancy of reds, oranges, and yellows.

Autumn Vine Maple Hwy 46 Detroit 10/3/2007 Marion County

byLarry

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Larry Rea October 4, 2007 October 14, 2017 Diary