Return to Expedition 2000 homeCody Massing
May 25, 2000
Summary of Habitats
The trip started out through rolling green wheat fields. Along the sides of the path grew apple trees, service berry bushes and other small deciduous shrubs and grasses. Gradually we came across more and more ponderosa pine and wildflowers which were mainly lupine and arrowleaf balsam root. We also came across more and more basalt outcroppings. This first part of the trip we saw many hawks, some coyotes, some mule deer, and many butterflies.
About 37 miles into the walk we saw our first sage brush. After that sage brush dominated the landscape almost all the way to Thorp. Where there was sage brush there wasn't much else. In the sage brush steppe we saw much evidence of small rodent dwellings, rabbits and also more snakes and lizards. In the firing range, I noticed the most variety of sage brush and wildflowers. Here, the lupine was in full bloom, as were many other flowers like the Oregon sunshine, arrow leaf balsam root, many types of daisies, and yarrow.
In lower areas with more water, like streams and lakes, there were groves of aspen, poplar, willow and cottonwood trees. There was also tall grass, cattails, horsetails and reeds. These areas were full of mosquitos, ticks, red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds, and frogs. We saw deer tracks the whole length of the trail which shows me that they live almost everywhere.
Driving from Thorp to Cle Elum we missed the crucial change in ecosystems from sagebrush to Ponderosa pine. As we headed into the mountains after Cle Elum, we were in a forest of ponderosa, aspen and cottonwood which gradually gave way to more and more types of evergreen trees and alder. The streams were much faster and colder and very full from recent snow melt.
At the highest point of the pass, the ground was mashed down and most vegetation was dead from the recent snow. Trillium was in full bloom here and we were in a forest of douglas fir, western red cedar, western hemlock, spruce and others. There were also bears, lots of mosquitos, frogs and deer.
Once on the western side of the Cascades, we were in a forest of mainly alder, hemlock and cedar. The undergrowth was a variety of ferns thimble berry, devil's club and salmon berry in bloom. As we descended, we got into maple trees and stinging nettles. At our lowest point, the salmon berries were just ripening and the leaves of the forest were at their full size. Here, there were Canadian gees, garter snakes, frogs, and deer.
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