After a lull in collecting, we are at it again, this time with late season Eriogonum species (elatum and strictum), yellow rabbitbrush, and hoary tansyaster. We also are going to do a second collection of Erigonum umberllatum found from a late-blooming population up high. During my time here as a CLM intern I really have gained an appreciation for the rough-and-tough, grow-nearly-everywhere nature of buckwheats. From scorching desert rock outcrops to wind-whipped alpine tundra, from the ashes of recently burned areas to gravel substrate at a 65° slope, buckwheats prevail. This genus not only colonizes and thrives in areas other plants may be too picky, or too “high maintenance” for, but it is one of the most important plants to have around for beneficial insects, and it helps suppress weeds. My mentor recently found a paper published this past May elaborating on how fantastic buckwheats are for conservation, restoration, and pollination. You can read it here: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1603/EN13342
I guess my love for buckwheats is a living metaphor for my love of the West.
Growing up in Colorado I may have taken the breathtaking mountains, the sweet, but bitter-sharp smell of the aspens, and the laid-back warmth of the people for granted. It was really never until this summer, traveling between Idaho and Wyoming, spending every single weekend climbing, hiking, or exploring new towns and new wilderness that I realized how amazing and special the West truly is. Eriogonums to me are a symbol of the West—ever progressing, gloriously rugged, resilient, adventurous, and determined in spirit. Their spherical pom-pom inflorescence is like something only from fable and are often overlooked by most, but are sought after by those who realize their importance and character. My eyes have opened to the workhorse that the West is, much like the buckwheat, and how important public land—just like the buckwheat—is to conservation and restoration and producing resources. So here is a sticker-clad worn water bottle toast to buckwheats and to the spirit of the West, and may both ever endure…
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act being signed into congress, here are a few photos from my past two weekends: This is El Capitan above Alice Lake in the Sawtooth Wilderness
Did an awesome 21 mile backpacking trip through the Alice/Toxaway loop in the Sawtooth Wilderness with Joe, our mentor, and Zander. The moon was so bright, it was the first time we had experienced moon-shadows!
Over labor-day weekend I explored the Absarokas in Wyoming. This is on the way up to Franc’s peak–the highest point.
Elk hunting in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness by the WY/MT border outside Yellowstone. Really trying not to get eaten by a Grizzly.
The Panorama view from Sleeping Bear Peak in the Absarokas. This time I was trying to see Grizzlies at a moth site