Botany in the Blues series is co-sponsored by the Washington Native Plant Society. We will facilitate a “close-up” look at the plant diversity of our local Blue Mountains.
Join us on Wednesday, August 5th, at 7 pm for an online introduction to the local plant life found in our Blue Mountains accompanied by Emil’s Botany Booklet. Take this online session by itself and hit the trails on your own. Or combine it with our popular field trip with Emil Doyle.
On Saturday, August 8th, participants will take their new knowledge to the field. Sawtooth Ridge, south of Dayton, is one of the most easily accessible spines of the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness Area within the Umatilla National Forest.
Our focus will be on the trailside’s botanical native diversity, which will include trees, shrubs, and any remaining wildflowers, but also ferns, mosses, and as many other varieties of land plants can find.
We will look at lichens – those easy-to-spot, non-plant denizens of our mountains that are a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae or cyanobacteria.
The forest will open up at our lunch spot with great views down into the North Fork of the Wenaha River, as well as the Table Rock Lookout ridges to the west.
We will Hike about 4-miles overall (this is the round-trip distance, so about 2 miles in/out).
The trail altitude is about 5,500-5,600 Feet and undulates +/-80 feet, several times along our path.
Choose from:
Online Presentation + Field Trip on Saturday, August 8th
Online Presentation ONLY
Registration is OPEN
Note: Waitlist attendees may have an opportunity to join us on a Sunday, August 9th field trip, if there is enough interest. Be sure to sign up on the waitlist if you miss Saturday sign up!
Suitability: Open to ages 16+.
Difficulty: Involves hiking on a narrow USFS trail at about 5,000 feet elevation with a total roundtrip distance of 1.5 miles and elevation changes of +/- 240 feet.
Things to bring: Sturdy hiking shoes, rain jacket, hat with brim, sunglasses, sunscreen, sack lunch, refillable water bottle, camera, 10x hand lens, journal, and a sense of adventure.
Your Hosts
Emil (Ame) Doyle, Washington Native Plant Society
Darcy Dauble, Washington Native Plant Society