May 29, 2015 Memorial Day Weekend

The following pictures are from an Old Rag hike on Memorial Day weekend.

There is a spot where you can see as many as 100 Lady Slippers blooming.   Please note, Lady Slippers are dependent on a fungus do not survive transplantation.   You should not be taking anything from the park but it is especially pointless if you think you will be able to transplant this particular species.

The following is taken from a very reputable commercial nursery Vermont LadySlipper Company   http://www.vtladyslipper.com/vtlscwebpg11.html   that raises and sells Lady Slippers

Q.I've heard that you need a special mycorrhyzae fungus in your soil to grow these . Is this true?

Cypripediums, like all orchids, begin their life cycle when their seed (pro-embryo) is invaded by a microscopic fungus (endophyte). Since orchid seed has no endosperm (stored starch reserves that kick start most other plant species), the fungus in essence forms a surrogate root system for the seed.
If the soil nutrient levels and pH are correct, the fungus becomes a symbiont and provides small amounts of carbohydrates to the growing seed(protocorm). This is a very delicate process whereby the fungus infiltrates the growing orchid seed to a certain stage and then the orchid seed defensively responds by producing a group of chemicals that actually dissolves the fungal filaments back.
After having its filaments dissolved, the fungus will then reattempt to invade the protocorm and supply more carbohydrates and the protocorm will grow again ever so slightly. This process is repeated until the protocorm has grown large enough to produce a small dormant eye bud and root system (seedling). Once this occurs, the following spring the cypripedium will produce it's first green leaf and begin to use photosynthesis as its primary energy source. Once the seedling relies on photosynthesis, the cypripedium will reject the micro-fungus almost completely. This heterotrophic phase can take anywhere from 3 to 7 years to occur in nature. It can take an additional 5 to 10 years to reach flowering size which means the Cypripedium can take anywhere between 10 to 17 years to bloom, in the wild, from initial seed dispersion!

This above heterotrophic growth sequence only occurs when all the habitat and soil conditions are right. This is the primary reason for the natural rarity of cypripediums and not that the fungal symbiont they use is rare. Indeed, under many soil conditions, the fungus that the orchid requires can become a pathogen and destroy the orchid seed. There are several micro-fungi that have been isolated in cypripedium roots and the truth is that there are probably many more that could perform the symbiotic function given the right soil conditions.
Adult cypripediums do not require this fungus. We know this as a fact because we have grown 10's of thousands at Vermont Ladyslipper Company without it. We germinate the seed and grow the seedling in sterile agar cultures with plant nutrients and sugars to completely bypass the fungus requirement in infancy. These are the same techniques that are presently being used to produce large commercial quantities of tropical orchids.

Therefore, if you have a healthy adult cypripedium (Many for sale at Vermont Ladyslipper Company of Course!) and know the soil and pH requirements for the species in question, you can grow any cypripedium successfully in a garden without it's corresponding micro-fungus.
All this being said though, it is still of the utmost importance for all gardeners to do what they can to save what remains of natural cypripedium habitat so the genus can survive into the future. At this point the world needs to save and actually repair what has been lost of our natural environments. Orchids are wonderful indicator species to show us how much still needs to be done. Therefore,we are actively encouraging people to attempt to start new colonies in promising habitats with our plants that may reproduce naturally and actually BOOST the number of Cypripediums. We believe that we can actually stop and reverse the decline of this genus by applying our knowledge base and production techniques. 

Take about warts on Witch Hazel.

Soon to be yummy ripe blueberries.

The famous Old Rag Mountain Stewards.   Helpers of hikers.  Walking encyclopedias of Old Rag culture, history, flora, fauna, geology.....   Wurlitzers of backcountry knowledge, lore, and information.   Minstrels, magicians, tellers of tall tales.   On the busiest weekends of Spring and Fall look for these friendly volunteers with their signature orange shirts and black trillium logo.   Someone in their group usually has a park radio in the event of their needing to respond to a medical emergency on the Old Rag.   For more information check out their blog:     http://oldragmountainsteward.blogspot.com/

Pinxters or Mountain Azaleas

Sundays April 22&29, 2012

Sundays, April 22&29, 2012

Rainy 22nd but nice 29th

Country Roads

I had to attend the 30th Annual Bankruptcy Institute's  conference at  National Harbor Thursday thru Saturday.  My professional job involves working for the Bankruptcy Noticing Center which is responsible for sending a large majority of  the US Bankruptcy Courts' bankruptcy approximate 500,000 daily bankruptcy notices  so I was not able to hike on Saturday.    Sunday was very rainy and I was tired from having had a very hectic and busy time during the week so I did not get to Old Rag until 3PM.    Because of the rain there were only about 5 cars in the Old Rag parking lot and I just was not in the mood for hiking so I spent about 3 hours just exploring country roads bordering Shenandoah National Park.   I always have fun doing this because it gives me a chance to explore a lot of hollows by driving up single lane dirt roads until they dead end.

A  view of Old Rag while heading south to get to some areas bordering SNP where I had not  explored all the back roads.

A roadside Iris.

A Dogwood in bloom.

Two short videos of one of the larger bucolic country roads I explored.

Sunday April 29, 2012 FLOWERS! and BLOWDOWN

Fiddlehead

Poison Ivy

Leaves of three leave it be!

Wild Azaleas Pinxters

Next three pictures.

Meadow Rue
Silver Spring Wanderer was very kind to help with identification.   You can learn a lot about wilderness flowers by following her blog.    It is listed in my blog list to the right.

My first 2012 sighting of Wild Geranium

Lots of Trilliums were still blooming.

Blueberry (identification by Silver Spring Wanderer)

Sunset from the summit of Old Rag

A huge blowdown that fell lengthwise down the Saddle Trail.

Another shot of the sunset from Old Rag summit.

Walking out in the dark my headlamp came across a flutter of moths sucking up minerals from the trail.    It took me awhile to get my camera out and by the time I got the shot about 70% of the moths that had been in the flutter had flown away.

April 14&15 2012

Saturday and Sunday April 14&15, 2012

A blowdown that was only partially blocking the lower Ridge Trail right at a switch back.   Notice the double blaze which indicates an acute turn in a trail.

The view late Saturday afternoon from the first false summit.

Corydalis semipervirens (Pale Corydalis).

 

Late afternoon Sunday near Byrds Nest Shelter.

Sunset shots from near Byrds Nest Shelter

Sunday, May 25, 2009 Memorial Day Weekend

Sunday, May 25, 2009 Memorial Day Weekend

Partial Clouds followed by rain followed by evening mist.

On the way to the trail head a neignborhood garden. The crowds were not too bad probably because of the weather.

Looking up the Rock Scramble from first false summit. A few sprinkles had just begun. North and east you could see heavy rain and south and west was clear. The rain finally engulfed the mountain though. It was warm enough that the rain was pleasant. Soaked kit and cloths added to the workout.

Double click on this picture and see if you can see the two hikers. One sitting and one standing. Hint it is way up by what is called the Chute.

In the early evening a Raven enjoys the view and sings a raucous ballad from atop Skyland Wall. Ravens entertained me with amazing displays of aerial prowess among towering cliffs while I was hiking high in the Tetons. Since then I have felt a deep connection with them. They are one of the most intelligent birds and have been known to enlist other species to hunt for them by vocalizing over the predators prey and then sharing in the meal after the predator has killed it. Sometimes their behavoir telegraphs the presence of hiking parties on the Ridge Trail. They engage in play both in the air and on the ground and they have been observed both playing catch me if you can with ground dwellers and sliding down steep snow slopes just for the fun of it. Sir Raven who is featured in an earlier blog flew within several feet of my head on numerous times when I was taking those pictures. Most amazingly while flying into a head-wind he flew at less than a walking pace past me at eye level and only four feet away. He then enagaged in a little bit of a game of peek-a-boo try-and-get-my-picture as he continued to tease me by landing just behind a big boulder between the two of us but flying behind the next boulder just before I could snap a picture. He finally allowed his picture to taken proud as can be which is why a called him Sir Raven.

The Mountain Laurel just showing the first signs of blooming in the switchbacks. The Trillium field has passed until next year although there were a few late bloomers.

On the summit and Saddle Trail the Pinxters still perfumed the air but they will soon be gone until next year. The good news is that as the Pinxters fade the Mountain Laurel will bloom.

Looking back at the summit in the early evening after the rain.

Sun 5/17/09 Pinxters, Bears, and Chicken-Of-The-Woods

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009

Andy, Drew, Jake and myself patroled on Sunday. The numerous backcountry camping groups were being washed out into the parking lot by the evening's rain. Between the evening downpours and forecasts for more rain during the day the mountain was fairly empty on Sunday.

Patrol duties involved mostly anwering questions and picking up a little liter. There were no fire problems. medical incidents, or park violations. We set a line in the squeeze portion of the rock scramble in anticipation of alleviating future backups on upcoming croweded days.

Chad had patrolled solo on Saturday and was kept busy with dehydrated and seperated hikers.

The classic morning muster; equipment check, agenda planning and NPS morning meeting.



The friendly and knowledgable fee station staff, Mike and Diane.


A prolific profusion of Pinxters perfumed the woods. No Mountain Laurel blossoms yet.


A few more Lady Slippers spotted.

A newly built section of trail is pictured below. Three cheers for the maintainers.

There is an intricate web of relationships between SNP employees and various volunteer groups and or individual volunteers that keep the trails maintained. A large amount of the work is done under the direction of organizations like PATC who have been trained by NPS to take on the primary responsibility for maintaining certain trials. The PATC Blue and White crew discussed in an earlier blog is a great example of this. Some of the work is done by NPS seasonal employees who do these tasks during the summer. Some of the work is done by regular full time NPS employees.

It is my understanding that work pictured was planned, managed, and done by NPS Central District staff whose efforts were bolstered with the help of 6 PATC volunteers.

VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS WELCOME

If you or an organization you belong to want to help build stuff while enjoying the out of doors check with the Park Service for opportunities to volunteer. If you are interested specifically in SNP Central District this blog has links at the top right part portion of this page as well as sprinkled through the text that are good places to find out more about volunteer opportunities.

Three Cheers to all those concientious hikers who not only practice Leave No Trace but also pitch in by picking up a little bit of litter that was not theirs during their visits.

Considering all the trafffic Old Rag has been relatively clean of litter so far this spring. Knock on wood.

I was elated to see my first two bears of 2009. They appeared to be siblings spending their first spring on their own. I only got a picture of one of them as it was fleeing deeper into the woods.

Weather shaped Pine on summit.

Looking down on Graves Mountain Resort area.

Hikers on false summit.

Chicken Of The Woods

SNP Wildflower Weekend and Sir Raven

Sunday, May 10, 2009 Mothers' Day and SNP Wildflower Weekend


Spectacular weather, not very crowded. We dispensed some advice, picked up some liter, had no major medical needs. Old Rag and her guests were treating each other gently on this wonderful Sunday.

For ORMS members the following link goes to part one of a five part video covering one individuals well thought out mid-sized first aid kit. It starts with about two minutes of a collage of music and photos of the authors outdoor experiences before getting into the actual tutorial. If you are going to only watch one part skip to Part 2. Between the five parts the tutorial takes over two and a half hours but there is a lot of good info in it.

http://uk.truveo.com/Pt-1-Level-2-First-Aid-Kit-Review-by-Nutnfancy/id/3029467201

Azelas and bluets were out. Trillium was out but may be waning. One of my favorites the Mt Laurel is still to come.


OLD RAG MOUNTAIN STEWARDS ORMS getting ready during our morning meeting before the days patrol.

BLUETS lined the trails.
At the top of the Ridge Trail switchbacks lots of Triliums.

Delicate Azaleas

Wild Germanium

All of the following shots are of the same Old Rag Raven who decided to show off and play in the wind around the summit rocks and my head for about fifteen minutes. He was quite a character.

Corvus Corax Principalis Northern or Common Raven

http://www.nps.gov/brca/naturescience/raven.htm

Take a bow Sir Raven many thanks for celebrating the days perfect flying weather with me.

Exit stage left.

A couple of hikers traversing the top of Skyline Wall.

Spectacular weather

Summit panaroma stitched together from several shots