Away to the west of the Chetco-Illinois River divide, in a dark, wooded section of the Little Chetco canyon, many years ago, when the hardy gold seekers of that day were back there reaping a golden harvest, a sturdy little one-room cabin with an open lean-to attached to one end was built beside the trail not far from the river.
Some of the most attractive and interesting of our host of parasitic plants are the various members of the broomrape, or cancer-root, family. For those who want to look them up in the wildplant manuals the botanical name of this family is Orobanchaceae.
When my friend and I drove into the spacious parking area back of the garage in which my jeep was undergoing repairs, we arrived just in time to see the Lone Ranger step up to a low tractor, take a couple of turns with his reins
Being happily old-fashioned and with a mind that comes readily unstuck from the world’s woes, and focuses easily on its delights, has distinct advantages which, seasoned with a generous pinch of imagination, can make life seem pretty exciting and worthwhile even when helza-poppin all over the globe.
Above Bell Echo, on the side of El Capitan, is a large crevice in the mountainside that I don’t like any more – even if I did find the little carnivorous butterwort growing there.
The individual plant of Waldo rock-cress, although one of prettiest of our wild flowers, is not as conspicuous as some. But when the plants grow in close cluster, which they often do, they form one of the most attractive displays in our wildplant community, and as a border plant would be a decorative addition to any home flower garden.
In spite of the sunny, warmish days, and the appearance of early spring flowers in the valleys, winter is not quite over. On the high trails and in the mountain meadows patches of snow still linger, and the cold nights and chilly ground still caution the timid wildflowers against emerging too soon from their cozy retreats just beneath the protecting surface of the ground.
Getting up at midnight to set off on a 2-day excursion makes going to bed hardly worthwhile, but the nature of the excursion can make disruption of our customary way of doing things seem less than trivial.
Whether moving uphill, downhill or sideways down a steep slope, with my feet firmly anchored to a suitable pair of skis with plenty of good snow under them, I’m just about as happy as anyone can expect to be in the wintertime.