Chilling in the Bruce, Part 5

The Bruce Alvars.

On the third day we visited the Bruce alvars--this is a Swedish word for rock formations with large flat plates of limestone broken up by cracks which support some very unusual vegetation. It's only recently that these formations on the Great Lakes were recognized as being similar to those found in Sweden and Estonia.

There is very little soil on the surface of these plates, making a harsh habitat for plants, baking in temperatures of over a 100 degrees in the summer, cold and windswept in the winter, with spring flooding which lasts a long time, delaying seed germination. Soil accumulates in the large cracks, known as "grykes," that can support a variety of trees such as jack pines, white cedar, quaking aspens, prostrate junipers, and there are some rare plants that are unique to the Bruce Alvars.

VNPS members explore the alvars.

Jack pine (Pinus banksiana)

On our first site at the crossing of Dyer's Bay Road, the trees were mostly jack pine and quaking aspens with low prostrate junipers (Juniperus horizontalis) and serviceberry. On the alvars we saw bearberry, columbines in bloom, calamint, Seneca snakeroot, wild strawberries, lyre-leaved sage, early saxifrage, and harebells. In places one had to step carefully to avoid stomping over the hundreds of yellow lady slipper orchids--quite dwarfed here compared to the ones in the rich woods. Ebony spleenworts, mosses and other ferns grew in the shelter of the grykes.

Ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron) growing in a gryke

Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)

Yellow lady slipper buds (Cypripedium calceolus)

Wild columbines (Aquilegia canadensis)

We were reluctant to wander in too far--in this unmarked terrain it would be easy to get lost, and I had no desire to find any of the endangered Massasauga rattlesnakes that live here. We stopped for a quick lunch at Crane River Park and then went back to the other side of Route 6 to check out the plants there.

Plaque at the Dyer's Road crossroad.

There was a boardwalk here, where we came across flowers of the rare native lakeside daisy (Hymenoxys herbacea) with its charming yellow flowers. We also found lake iris, big leaved aster, and death camas.

Lakeside daisies on the alvars.

Close-up of lakeside daisies.

Reindeer moss (Cladina rangiferina)

The light drizzle that had started as we were setting out on the boardwalk continued, becoming steadier--I was feeling so chilled by then, I began to lose interest. Lovely as the lakeside daisies were, once we had seen these, our spirits began to flag, and around three everyone decided to call it a day and head back to the resort. A good call, as we drove back on Route 6, the drizzle became a heavy downpour. I was one of the designated drivers and was having a hard time staying awake. I was so exhausted and chilled by the time I got back to my cottage, I got in bed under the covers and slept until dinnertime.

The Garden Wall I

Mt. Oberlin in clouds.

I woke to the sound of rain, got up to look outside, and yes, it was pouring out there! I lingered over breakfast hoping the weather would clear up later on. Kevin stopped by and I gave him my three duffel bags and portfolio for tomorrow's mule pack train.

While waiting for the weather to improve, I caught up with my Email on the hotel's computer. Getting on towards ten, the rain stopped and it seemed to be clearing. Today might be the perfect day to hike at the Garden Wall, with the plants fresh after the rain.

It would be chilly up there, so I put on every layer of clothing I had kept (everything else was in the duffels I'd given Kevin earlier), and unpacked my new hiking poles. This would be a good time to get the hang of using them, in preparation for the grueling hike to Sperry Chalet tomorrow. I bought a sandwich at a carry-out along the way and drove up towards Logan Pass.

Driving up to Logan Pass

The clouds played hide-and-seek with the mountains, and today the Weeping Wall was a veritable torrent. With fewer hikers and tourists out, there were plenty of parking places at the Visitors Center at Logan Pass. I ate half my sandwich in the car and then suited up for the trail. The Highline Trail, as it's called, begins at a meadow on the other side of the road by the parking lot at Logan Pass. It crosses a steep talus slope and then the trail continues above the Going to the Sun Road, which gradually drops down. All along this stretch the Highline trail is visible as a ledge running parallel several hundred feet above the road.

Looking down from the Highline Trail.

I steeled my nerves to look down from this precarious ledge to the road below, trying to reassure myself that my hiking poles would hold me steady. It was so narrow it would have been difficult to pass another person at this spot. 

The beginning of the Garden Wall

Once past this, the beginning of the Garden Wall was marked by rills periodically cascading down from the heights above and a profusion of plants unlike anything I'd ever seen. Plants grew anywhere the terrain gave them any kind of purchase.

Rocky Mountain Columbines (Aquilegia flavescens) under a ledge.

Black Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata)

I passed a lovely clump of Rocky Mountain Columbines (Aquilegia flavescens) growing under a moist ledge. Further on a golden twin flower covered by a purplish bract peeked out under a shrub, which I learned later was a native honeysuckle called Bearberrry or Black Twinberry (Lonicera involucrata).

Arctic Willow (Salix arctica)

Looking across the valley.

As I walked along I alternated between looking down at the plants and the spectacular views across the valley. The sun almost broke out once and then a veil moved across-- a steady rain started.

Rain moving in.

The Garden Wall

I pulled up the hood of my parka under my hat, and managed to keep fairly dry, but after a while my wool Tilley hat became completely soaked and droplets began to drip off the edge of the brim whenever I leaned over to look at or photograph the plants. I tried to keep my camera dry but it was almost impossible.

Mist on the Garden Wall.

In places the rocky ledge the trail ran on widened a bit and subalpine firs grew, giving some shelter from the wind. An incredible variety of species took advantage of the shelter--it truly seemed like a spring garden here.

Bracted Lousewort buds (Pedicularis bracteosa).

Twisted-Stalk (Streptopus amplexiflolius)

So many of the plants were completely new to me, though there were some I could guess at--these plants had eastern relatives that I was familiar with, or they were the native versions of cultivated garden plants--like Spirea, that I was well-acquainted with. Others, like the Bracted Lousewort, I had seen before on previous trips through the Rocky Mountains.

The leaves of the one above, Twisted-Stalk, looked very like Solomon's Seal, but the flowers were quite different. Some, like the False Solomon's Seal below, or the False Hellebore or Corn Lily (Veratum viride) seemed to be the same species that are also found in the east.

False Solomon's Seal (Maiamthemum racemosa) and blue Stickseed.