Low clouds with rain for much of the day. Light winds, temperatures in the 50s.
I spent the afternoon out with Jason (visiting geologist) and KK (local outdoor enthusiast and professional hydrologist).
We started at Sawmill Creek Campground and headed up Beaver Lake trail with Jason’s family. They continued around on the trail, while the three of us split off to go to the uplands.
Jason wanted to take a look at some boulders I had made note of on my last visit. If they were suitable (they were), he wanted to get samples to do exposure dating on the rocks. Results should give a time frame for when glacial ice was last present at the location.
Low clouds and steady rain didn’t make for ideal weather, but sometimes you go when the schedule allows.
After sampling from two boulders on the main level, we dropped down to the lowest bench. The route I chose wasn’t ideal, as we were coming from a location I hadn’t dropped down from previously, and visibility was limited.
I double-checked the map on my phone to make sure we weren’t dropping off into the forest going towards Herring Cove, but otherwise navigated by following the path (such as it was) which seemed best.
Along the way I saw a pale brown bird fly up. It flashed white outer tail feathers, and I couldn’t think of normally occuring species that fit. It landed on a branch where it sat perched long enough for me to get a better look through binoculars. It took me a moment to make sense what I was seeing. I’ve never seen a blond junco before. It was buffy around the front (like a Swainson’s Thrush) and only slightly darker on its head and back. The pattern of shading was like a juvenile junco, just much paler. I also heard it calling. I would have loved to get some photos, but my camera was tucked away in a drybag in my backpack, so I had little hope of getting to it in time.
Jason sampled from a third and final boulder down on the lowest bench.
There we walked over to the only boulder I had previously noticed on my first several trips. It is perched right above where the hill starts dropping steeply down. This was right at the cloud base, and I could see Herring Cove.
I was reflecting today on how many boulders there are up there that I had not really noticed until that last trip when I specifically went to look. Another reminder of how much I fail to notice most of the time, and the value of having particular questions and errands to help expand awareness.
I’m not sure how navigating through the limited visibility would have been had I not been up there several times before. I’m sure I would have needed to refer to my map. As it was, I didn’t have any trouble staying reasonably oriented and getting us to where we needed to go.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
