Hiking Algonquin: Highland Trail

Before making our way to Ottawa, last week's vacation started with a trip to Algonquin Provincial Park to hike the 35km Highland Trail loop (there is also a shorter 19km loop).  In 2012 we canoed Massasauga PP, and Killarney in 2014, and I love covering ground in a canoe, but this year I convinced Alyssa that something more terrestrial was in order.  With our packs loaded up, and fuelled by lunch at 3 Guys and a Stove/Kawartha Dairy in Huntsville, we reached our campsite on Provoking Lake by Monday evening.

Here's me in the pines with Mew Lake in the background.

There were a few neat plants along the trails including a few patches of Spikenard (Aralia racemosa) in fruit.

Indian Cucumber (Medeola virginiana) was actually fairly common.  I don't see this alot, or at least in such profusion around Waterloo.

This small patch of Ground-cedar (Diphasiastrum digitatum) was the only one I encountered on the whole loop.  The foliage of this plant contains toxic alkaloids which make it unpalatable to herbivores.  Dense colonies of this species, as well as club mosses can provide favourable habitat for ground-nesting birds like Nashville Warbler.

Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides) is very common throughout the deciduous and mixed forests.

Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) along the trail on our way to Head Lake.  The genus comes from the Greek for 'upon the ground'.

The entire hike is probably 95% treed habitat, so when I got to the first marsh I dropped my pack and went exploring.  Moose tracks along a wet sandy shoreline led me to a patch of Michaux's Sedge (Carex michauxiana), I'd chalk this up as my botanical highlight for the trip.

Identifying wetland sedges in September isn't always the easiest, it's kind of like grabbing at scraps, but some were still in good shape like this Inflated Sedge (Carex vesicaria).

I noticed this insect, I think it's a Bee Fly (Bombylius sp.) but I could be mistaken, any ideas?

Creeping Snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula) which is similar to the plant in the second photo, Patridge Berry (Mitchella repens).  The Partridge Berry in the photo lacks some of the traits I would expect, namely the lighter coloured venation and slightly spade-shaped leaves but I am fairly sure that's what I'm looking at.

 

Some rustling in a dense stand of conifers flushed out this male Spruce Grouse.

I don't know what the American Toads are feeding on up there but I saw mammoths and lots of 'em!

We had some fresh signs of Black Bear and Moose, I pulled these hairs off a spruce branch in a well-used Moose trail.  Despite fatigue after putting in about 15km on day 2, Alyssa didn't believe me when I told her they were from a Samsquanch.

Unable to sit still and rest on our lunch break I slogged through the nearby marsh and found the remains of a gentian, Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita) would be my guess.

 

This Gold-thread (Coptis trifolia) caught my eye in the sunlight.  It's roots are a vibrant yellow-gold colour.

At night I fell asleep to the sounds of Common Loon and Barred Owl.  It doesn't get much better than sitting by a campfire, post Labour Day (ie reeeaally quiet, we didn't see a single person on the trail on day 2!) and just listening.

The fungal diversity kept things colourful along the way.  I'm by no means up on my mushroom ID.

I believe this is Golden Spindles (Clavulinopsis fusiformis).

 An Inky Cap (Coprinellus sp.)

A couple of coral fungi (Clavulina sp.)

 

The interesting Hemlock Varnish Shelf fungi (Ganoderma tsugae)...growing on a fallen Eatsern Hemlock.

Bear's Head Tooth Fungus (Hericium americanum)...a small portion of which may have met some oil and salt in a pan over a Whisperlite stove.

Getting back to those Stiff Goldenrod that I had mentioned a couple of posts back.  I made an effort to stop on my way out of the park and do some reconnaissance.  I found the plastic mesh remains of straw blankets worked into the soil, and in my opinion an unusual-looking monoculture of goldenrod (Solidago rigida, S. juncea and S. nemoralis).  No other rare species that I could see but a few tufts of Indian Grass I would likely attribute to being 'in the mix' also.  I've seen prairie associates like Indian Grass and Cord Grass growing along the rocky shore of the Ottawa River near Pembroke but the Indian Grass at the east gate seems a bit suspect given the circumstances.

There she be.

A shot of the basal leaves.

And with that we were off to get our fill of traditional Polish cuisine at the Wilno Tavern just east of Barry's Bay.  Fried sauerkraut and pierogies the size of baseballs, enough said.  The babushka in the photo is Alyssa hobbling not from the large meal but from the essentially 2 day 35km hike.