Clear Creek Sights

Joan and I spent time this late July and August hiking back and forth across Clear Creek Metro Park. Here's a snapshot of the park map. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

It's been a wet year, so there was plenty to see along the trails. At the very start of the Fern Trail, we caught the tail end of a bounty of flowers, including crimson beebalm and a tall phlox.

Viewed from the road berm.

From the other side of that patch, the American bellflower among others.

A view from the trail.

Nearby a young phoebe watched. At this time of year the birds don't sing much, nesting having been completed, but the woods are never completely silent.

An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.

A crane-fly orchid was growing demurely in the woods. We saw a couple of these; they are inconspicuous and easy to pass by.

We also saw two putty-root orchids bearing seed pods. This plant is unusual in that its leaves deploy in early winter and disappear in the spring as its competitors for sunlight leaf out.

There were vigorous patches of pinesap poking up through the leaf litter. This plant has no chlorophyll,

but rather is a myco-heterotroph, with a parasitic relationship on fungi in the soil. Other common names for it are Dutchman's pipe and false beech-drops.

Every hike saw at least two toads, sometimes three. Here's one:

And another one!

Along the Tulip Trail there was a swath of severe wind damage. A huge gust must have driven up the side of the ridge, smashing into trees anchored in waterlogged soil. The cut ends were fresh.

 Joan inspects the wide opening in the canopy.

The frequent storms this summer left the Tulip damp.

A burst of sunlight illuminated a patch on the Hemlock Trail. We consider the Hemlock to be the most scenic trail at Clear Creek.

Fallen timber has been used to buttress this creekside section of the Hemlock. Also, a portion of the trail near the creek was being rerouted to higher ground. 

Most of the fungi we saw had been trampled or sampled by wildlife, but this specimen, at least a foot tall, was still unblemished.

Frilly skirts.

Up in the meadow Joan spotted a caterpillar of the black-waved flannel moth, a first for us.

A peek from the front.

The stinging hairs are supposed to pack quite a punch. We didn't test it.

There's a lot to be seen if you don't zoom along the trails. Including rest stops and chatting with other hikers, Joan and I manage about 1½ miles per hour.