Waddell Creek
East Ridge Trail near Blooms Creek campground
Trametes versicolor aka 'turkey tail' fungi
East Ridge Trail
Could this be Catathelasma Imperiale?
The East Ridge Trail crosses Hwy 236 in the park
This thin, dead tree trunk had unusual ridges all the way up
The sun finally came out and created beautiful highlights in the forest canopy
This is as far as we went on the trail; it was pretty overgrown and we found ourselves fighting through the bushes that were leaning into the path. We were 2 hours from the trailer, so in order to get back in daylight, we had to stop here.
Gorgeous grove of redwoods has grown up around the old growth stumps
The hillsides are pretty steep here.
This is a telephoto picture of a tree that was way up a hillside where we had stopped for a break before heading back. I thought of this tree as a slender witch, conjuring up spells during the night, but frozen in place hip-deep in the earth in daylight.
Lush forest
Here and there were small branches that had fallen across the trail. Now experienced with such obstacles, Bella had no trouble walking over them without hesitation.
The trail is very narrow on the steep hillside
This redwood tree had cool looking patterns in its bark. The green algae (?) was like icing on a cinnamon bun.
The hillside above us to the right of the trail
The slope on this hillside was pretty exteme, and some of the trees were bent down. It reminded me of reeds that grow underwater and bend with the current, rather than rise above the water's surface. So many times there are patterns that are reflected in nature on the earth, at the beach or under water or in the sky with the clouds and sunlight.
Fungi grows on the end of this old downed redwood
Close up of the fungi pattern and colors
The bottom of this redwood was burned black from an old fire, but the edges of the hollowed out section were bright and reddish, like the edge of a curtain
A couple of kinds of fungi grew on this downed oak
Here's another tree branch that was about a foot off the ground that Bella walked right over. Good girl.
Narrow bridge. Bella used to be afraid of bridges, but she went right over this one.
Could this be Lactarius Rubidus (aka Candy Cap)?
This is a recently downed redwood. This is the downside of the trail. Look at how thick the bark is.
This is the upside of the redwood on the left side of the trail
This might be Amanita Pachycolea
There's two salamanders in this photo. I was taking a telephoto (from Bella's back) of the fungi growing on this dead tree and didn't even see the salamanders at first.
This deteriorating mushroom looked like a big blob of marshmallow cream.
Turkey tail fungi (Trametes versicolor)
And here we are back on the bridge over Waddell Creek
Cool looking redwood looked like it had been frosted
Hihn Hammond road goes up to the Middle Ridge Trail
Middle Ridge Trail
This could be Ganoderma Applanatum aka "Artists Conk"
Left: Ferns growning on a downed redwood
This was a pretty big tree that had fallen off the hillside and I had to dismount to get Bella to walk over it
Bella used this opportunity to rub her face on the tree trunk before she stepped over it.
It's getting to be late afternoon and the sunlight filters into the deep woods. Some of the tree trunks look like they have stripes.
Afternoon sun
Left: About an hour before sunset on the Middle Ridge Trail, just south of where it intersects with the Gazos Creek Trail