This past Thursday, I went for a hike with a couple of friends - Arjuna and Matt - to a 200 acre wood I had found on a map. It seemed fairly promising, and it took only about 50 minutes to drive up the highway to get their from the house.
We took a wrong turn and I pulled off a country road opposite a fellow whose Triumph motorcycle had blown a tire. In exchange for a phone number of a local towing company, he gave us advice on the best way to get to the woods - we were only a road a way from it. A quick U-turn on the road and Arjuna and I were on our way.
Once we found the parking lot, I called Matt and told him about this amazing place, and asked if he'd join us. I think by the time I'd hung up, he already had his knapsack on his back and was out the door.
View Larger MapHere is the location of the woods.
Arjuna posing by the entrance sign of the York Regional forest.
Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris). The name "campion" means "growing in fields". You can squeeze the flowers to trap air in the bladder or calyx, and then smash the bladder against your hand to create a loud pop as the bladder explodes.
Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris). Such fun.
Unidentified plant. (Anyone?)
Wild raspberry.
Arjuna sorting out his camera equipment. He carries over 600 lbs of camera equipment when he goes for a hike. He compresses it all into a couple of bags.
The forest.
The forest.
The forest.
Arjuna shooting pictures with his 600 lbs of camera equipment.
I left signs engraved in the path to direct Matt to our location as he was to meet up with us later, once he'd arrived. There is a network of paths, so whenever we took one fork or another, I'd leave a sign. It was fairly obvious. On the way back, I noticed that the soil had dried out, and the signs had been obliterated. If it weren't for all of our GPS devices, he might not have found us.
Heal-All (Prunella vulgaris). Its common name derives from wide use as a herbal remedy for throat ailments.
A caterpillar in the woods.
Pine trees in the forest.
More pine trees in the forest.
I believe that these are Lodgepole pines, but I'd have to check.
This is Eastern Daisy Fleabane (
Erigeron annuus).
This is
Red Baneberry (Actaea rubra). The berries are poisonous. As few as 5 or 6 of them can make you seriously ill.
These are Raspberries. The berries are tasty. They will not make you seriously ill no matter how many you eat.
King Devil (Hieracium pratense).
"The name Hieracium is derived from the Greek 'hierax', meaning hawk; allegedly keen-sighted hawks of yore ate the sap of the brightly coloured plants to sharpen their eye-sight."
Old dead tree limbs (Deadus Treeus Limbus).
Unidentified green berries (anyone?).
Shadows.
Deer print - there were a few about, but the sandy soil wasn't holding evidence very well.
A bird house in the middle of the woods. What the...?
Big lightning-killed birch tree (or so I speculate) - the trunk appeared
riven down the trunk.
This birch tree's bark is covered in part with
Stereum rugosum, also known as Bleeding Broadleaf Crust.
Big fluffy seed head (Biggus Fluffieus).
Devil's paintbrush, or Orange hawkweed (
Pilosella aurantiaca).
Grim-the-collier is also the common name for "Pilosella aurantiaca" (sometimes under the genus "Hieracium").
"By literary & folk tale-spinning, Grim-the-Collier left Hell or Hades in the guise of a physician (one of the devil's favorite disguises) & discovered that mortal women were a lot more desirable than ever he imagined. He ended up abused & heartbroken for his interest, however, & returned to Hell thinking the mortal Earth is much more horrible than his own home.
In some folktales & literary treatments he's permitted a more successful romantic life, but whether doomed or successful at love, he's still a devil. As floriferous hawksweed is still a weed.
This association with the devil is carried over in such names as Devil's Paintbrush & King Devil (though King Devil is more often applied to the bright yellow Hieracium pretense).
It's devilishness probably arose from its capacity to invade freshly upturned soil & displace even native grasses, which for fields & meadows intended to grow fodder for cattle meant ruin to farmers. "
Little tiny grasshopper fellow.
Large split tree.
Wild blackberries that are still red and not ready to snack upon.
A large tree had split at the base, and fallen down a slope.
Mullein shaft, second year.
Mullein shaft, second year - detail.
This Yellowjacket wasp with was feeding on the nectar from
Rudbeckia hirta - alternatively known as the following: Black-eyed Susan, Blackiehead, Brown Betty, Brown Daisy, Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba), Gloriosa Daisy, Golden Jerusalem, Poorland Daisy, Yellow Daisy, or Yellow Ox-eye Daisy.
I am known by the name Mungo.
That Silver Birch, covered with
Stereum rugosum.
Black-eyed Susan -
Rudbeckia hirta.
Purple Loosestrife (
Lythrum salicaria)
Overlooking the old field that will eventually be transformed into woods, because this region is protected from development.
Wild strawberries.
Milkweed flowers. Carl Linnaeus named the genus after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, because of the many folk-medicinal uses for the milkweed plants.
Wild strawberries, hunkered down against some
Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense).
Arjuna sat seriously in the tarp tent.
Arjuna remained serious in the tarp tent.
Even as I moved away, he sat seriously in the tarp tent.
Matt threw his knife to embed it in a downed tree trunk. The Gods of Camping rightfully punished him by hurling it back at his knee. Matt staunched the flow of knee blood with a knee blood staunching application of pressure and a knee blood staunching bandana. Matt was thoroughly embarassed. Now that I have published the account of his injury, he has nowhere to hide.
Full disclosure: I subsequently set my finger on fire (as in, there were literally flames coming off of my finger) and my heel on fire because the Gods of Camping punished me for trying to fill up my still-flaming Trangia stove with methanol with a deft pour. Deft, no. Daft, yes. I still have a bandage on the blistered burn of my finger.
Arjuna sat happily in the tarp tent. But in this photograph, he remains seriously serious.
Matt's bloody knee.
Scone mix with water, and fried in oil over the Trangia. I used a little bit of brown sugar to give the mix a nice flavour.
Ready for tea, and waiting for the kettle to boil.
The central guy line of this tarp tent is supported by the two support beams which pitch forwards.
Close-up detail of how the two support beams are loosely bound together.
The lighting was spectacular - the smoke picked up the sun.
(
Photo by Matt)
The fire left smoke in the air.
(
Photo by Matt)
The fire ended up as a pile of glowing ashes and embers.
(
Photo by Matt)
A Raspberry.
Mungo posing in the woods.
Mungo posing in the woods, sans hat, avec fill flash.
A shot of the woods - 200 acres is a large amount of woods...
Eastern Daisy Fleabane (
Erigeron annuus)
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Eastern Daisy Fleabane (
Erigeron annuus)
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Weathered tree trunk - the area is returning to its natural conditions.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Conifer bough.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Gnarled tree trunk.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
A path in the woods
(
Photo by Arjuna)
More Field Horsetail.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Gnarled tree trunk.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Me smiling somewhat stiffly in my tarp tent set up.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Me standing satisfied with the fact that it took about 4 minutes to set up my tarp with the fancy new configuration using an A-frame set of 2 boughs.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Field Horsetail.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Mungo making a meal.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Matt and Mungo getting their Trangias lit.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
My Trangia stove.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Mixing scone dough.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Getting the oil heated up so I can fry up the scone dough.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
I tried frying up little scone fritters in the oil, but it didn't really work.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
I made a make-shift spatula from some cedar wood - here I am thinning it out with my Mora.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Matt set about busily shredding some birch bark to make a fire.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
Using the non-stick lid of my Trangia kit was more successful - I was able to make a little pancake. I topped it off with brown sugar and we all had one to nibble on. Tasty.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
I will plan better next time that I bring scone mix. Each new hike teaches me new lessons each time - i.e. I make mistakes each hike and learn from each one. I guess I could call it hiking and mistaking. Or mis-hiking.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
The fire was nice, despite the fact that the temperature was warm. It is just a nice luxury to have a fire.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
While the scone mix wasn't very successful, a cup of tea fixed that all up.
(
Photo by Arjuna)
When I returned home, James was playing near his play tent.
Cheers,
Mungo
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