Exploring Streams In Lacey Today

[Teegate]

All,

It was raining when we first arrived this morning. We waited a few minutes for it to mellow and off we went exploring locations we have never been in before. We kept making plunges into the cedar swamps, searching for elusive plants and anything else we could find. For over 4 hours we crashed through the woods, waded streams, and talked away as the time passed by.

Some of the few I took today.


Remote bog that any barren lover would have to stop at.

The elusive (not really) Curley Grass Fern

An old trail we used for a while.

Bob saving his coordinates and calculating the area of a rare plant.

Bob took this of me in a cedar swamp that surely has not been visited in many many years. It is pristine. I sent it to work to annoy them as I took the day off. You just have to do that sometimes

Just finished crossing that mess in the back. I almost ended up in there.

Despite the doom and gloom of many individuals, the pines are alive and well. They just never see that.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

It was a really good day. I wish Guy would retire already!

This is Guy in a spot the likes of which I've never seen before. Although you cannot see them, there are about 4,000 tufts of Pine Barren Reed Grass here. Latin name Calamovilfa brevipilis. Usually, this grows in large clumps, but here they are in small tufts. I was so interested I did not think to identify the green ericaceous plants, but I'm pretty sure they are dwarf huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa).

 

[bobpbx]

A blueberry plant growing in the crotch of a tree 4 feet off the ground, and a pretty little stream.

 

[Teegate]

That first photo is a winner Bob. It shows it as it was. Nice!

 

[1Jerseydevil]

The remote bog has the potential for Jon in different lighting conditions.

 

[Jon Holcombe]

The remote bog has the potential for Jon in different lighting conditions.

And the "pretty little stream". The problem with many of the remote areas visited by the PBX, like the Tulpehocken, the Oswego Watershed, etc., is hiking in and out in darkness with my awkward 30 lb. backpack. They are "Pine Barrens Explorers", I am just a taker of pictures.

 

[Toothy Critter]

I am just a taker of pictures.

Aye, and a fine one at that me lad

 

[1Jerseydevil]

Aye, and a fine one at that me lad

I agree.

 

[Teegate]

When we arrived at that remote bog this skittish individual tried to hide from us.

 

[NJChileHead]

Beautiful spots and great pics! Thank you for sharing!

 

[manumuskin]

A blueberry plant growing in the crotch of a tree 4 feet off the ground, and a pretty little stream.View attachment 11999
View attachment 12000

is that stream sand bottomed? Good for walking?

 

[bobpbx]

is that stream sand bottomed? Good for walking?

Funny you mention that Al. No, it's one of those streams that flow through a historical jumble of cedar logs. At one point the stream narrowed down to 3 feet wide. I said to Guy, "that's gotta be deep". So, we took a dead cedar snag and sunk it in to the bottom (in between the historical logs), and it was actually 8 feet deep at that point.

 

[manumuskin]

I guess I ain;t walkin that stream I thought I saw that slimy green mossy algae stuff in the pic that usually means a deep mucky bottom creek.Still gorgeous but the green slime usually says "You shall not walk here"

 

[bobpbx]

It is sandy gravel at the very bottom. It the pines, there is always a bottom of sandy gravel (eventually).

 

[old jersey girl]

It is sandy gravel at the very bottom. It the pines, there is always a bottom of sandy gravel (eventually).

Yeah but some of us are short. Very short.

 

[Teegate]

No matter how tall you are, if you stood in that stream at the point where it was only 4 feet wide, you would be looking up to see sunlight. I knew we should have made a video of Bob putting the stick into the stream.

 

[Toothy Critter]

I have waded streams that looked to be solid sand bottom only to find a soft silt just a few feet away that sucked me down two or three feet like quicksand. Tough fishing some of the rivers and streams in the Pines.

 

[bobpbx]

I have waded streams that looked to be solid sand bottom only to find a soft silt just a few feet away that sucked me down two or three feet like quicksand. Tough fishing some of the rivers and streams in the Pines.

Cedar Creek in Lacey has areas like that, but there eventually is a hard bottom.

 

[Toothy Critter]

Cedar Creek in Lacey has areas like that, but there eventually is a hard bottom.

Yup, that's exactly the one that I was thinking of

 

[Teegate]

All,

Bob and I again visited the same area we explored on May 28, this time looking for different plants and revisiting some of the same from before. For 4 hours we traveled through woods that nobody visits, and most likely we were the first in many many years. The woods are pristine and very tough to go through.

Bob noticed this area on aerials so we just had to fight our way there to see what plants may be found.

He also noticed this perfectly round spung which was a must see for today.