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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

First Up: Osha Trail

We were hoping for cooler temperatures up here in the Sacramentos, and all I can say is that it's a good thing I ran back to the cabin to get my jacket before leaving for the Osha Trail.  At 50 F with a stiff wind, we were glad to be dressed properly.  We saw more tent caterpillars than ever before, most tents firmly ensconced on chokecherry shrubs.  After uploading the image of the checkerboard stump it occurred to me that this might be a method of helping the stump break down more quickly.
Special sniffing posture

Becca and Pacrat

Why does the forest service use a checkerboard pattern on cut trees?

Dr. K and Becca

Rocky Mountain Iris

Hungry moth

Chokecherry

Tent caterpillars

4 comments:

Scott said...

Packrat: From the frying pan (of the desert) to the 'frige (of the mountains), not the fire!

The cross-hatched tree stump likely was done to (1) accelerate breakdown and (2) make the stump less slippery if someone stepped on it. When arborists cross-hatch a stump, they usually leave deeper channels to hold a fungal concoction applied to enhance the breakdown.

Dr. K said...

The caterpillar tents were fascinating.

Scott said...

Where does the name "Osha" come from?

packrat said...

Scott:

Thanks for the info on the cross-hatching of tree stumps; I figured it was probably to help break down the stump, and Dr. K felt pretty certain it was to offer traction to hikers stepping on the surface.

As for the name of the Osha Trail; Osha is a plant that grows between 9,000 and 10,000 feet here in the Sacramentos.

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