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Tag: Oregon Caves National Monument

30 August 2010

Mycology at National Parks

Gaelyn with Lobster mushroom at Eagles Cliff Washington

Lobster mushroom – Eagles Cliff, Washington – November 1998

I am not a mycologist. I am a generalologist. Yet when I lived in the Pacific Northwest I learned to confidently gather about 14 species of wild edible mushrooms. And let me tell you, they are delish. I enjoy learning about all the plants wherever I am, but especially the edibles. You just never know.

Gaelyn deydrating mushrooms Oregon Caves National Monument Oregon

Dehydrating at Oregon Caves

In between seasons leading cave tours at Oregon Caves National Monument I volunteered one winter and helped with their mycology inventory. It’s a job I’d never been hired to do, but then you can volunteer to do a lot of things you’re not qualified for.

(all following images taken along the Widforss trail Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim)

Unknown mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

I’d walk trails hunting mushrooms, take photos on site, give each one a number, carefully pop it out of the ground and take more photos, then gently pack it in a box and go on to another mushroom.

Unknown mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

I built a lab in an abandoned building for the next step which included filling out a form with as much description as possible, photographing again, whole and cut in half, then put them in the dehydrator.

Unknown mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

Once dry, I’d package them in plastic bags and put them in the freezer to await shipping to the real mycologist in Portland. When I found choice edibles I was allowed to gather enough to eat, plus some for my supervisor.

Unknown mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

When I discovered such a variety of mushrooms hiking the Widforss Trail, including a choice Oyster, I emailed our Science division and asked about their mycology inventory.

Unknown mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

After about six people that couldn’t tell me a thing I was finally sent a list of the North Rim inventory, taken back in the 1950s. And by the looks of it, whoever found the mushrooms around our Administration offices didn’t know any more about mushrooms than I do.

Maybe Russula mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

I was invited to help out. I mentioned the need for a dehydrator so samples could be added to the Park’s herbarium. Maybe next year I was told.

Maybe Russula mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

Two weeks later I returned to the Widforss trail to look for mushrooms, taking more photos with identification in mind.

Widforss trailhead North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona

Barely 100 yards (91 m) from the trailhead I spotted a variety of species so sat down with my notebook, camera and knife.

Unknown mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

After eight species my pen ran out of ink.

Gem-studded Puffball Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

So I continued my hike just taking more photos and looking for the Oyster choice edibles but they were past their prime.

Unknown mushroom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

Then when I got home I discovered the choice Shaggy Manes growing under my 5th-wheel.

Poisonous Fly Agaric mushrom Widforss trail North Rim Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 

So, I’ll just keep on looking at mushrooms in the meantime and hoping for some more choice edibles.

 

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20 January 2009

The gypsy life of a seasonal park ranger Summer 2004

Ocotillo in the Mojave Desert California

Ocotillo in the Mojave desert

After a month of the gypsy life vacation in the desert I returned to southwest Oregon in the spring for a Park Ranger job leading cave tours at Oregon Caves National Monument.

Siskyou Mountains Oregon

View of the Siskyou Mountains, Oregon

I couldn’t park at the monument like before because a new headquarters building was being built where the only two RV spaces had been.

Headquarters under construction Oregon Caves National Monument Oregon

New headquarters building under construction

The first two months I parked on a friend’s property about four miles out of town.

Cave Creek campground sign Siskyou National Forest Oregon

Cave Creek campground

Then I became the camp host at Cave Creek campground only four miles from work. There are only 18 tent sites and I was never more than half full. I listened to the every changing babble of the water as the summer wore on and the water level dropped. Cold water as it comes out of the 42 degree cave.

Host campsite at Cave Creek campground Siskyou National Forest Oregon

My site at Cave Creek campground

Carson didn’t mind and would retrieve sticks for as long as I’d throw them.

Carson in Cave Creek Siskyou National Forest Oregon

Carson in Cave Creek

The summer season seemed to slip right by and before I knew it was time to head south for the winter.

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06 January 2009

Oregon Caves tour (Part two)

For part one of the Oregon Caves tour click here.

Welcome back to Oregon Caves National Monument. If you didn’t leave the cave at the 110 exit then there’s about 400 more stairs to go. 

Cathedral Arch

Caves actually get more beautiful with age.

Banana Grove

Niagara Falls

Up until 1886 Niagara Falls was the end of the cave. Then one day Walter Burch felt a breeze and found a small hole which he enlarged. He had to crawl through in his longjohns to get through, pushing his clothes in front of him and carrying a candle for light.
Walter climbed about 30 feet down a rope and crawled through the “blow hole” ….

Blow hole passage. Big stalagmite called the wishing post was once rubbed by every visitor.

…and found himself in what is now called Miller’s Chapel.

Miller’s Chapel

Named after Joquin Miller, also known as the poet of the Sierras, who helped the cave become protected in 1909. The “Chapel” part, because of a wedding.

Historic photo from NPS archives

Time to move on to the largest room in the cave.

Leaving Miller’s Chapel

The Ghost Room

Welcome to the Ghost Room, the size of a football field. Sorry no ghosts. From here we’ll be making a side trip…

Stairs up to Paradise Lost

…climbing about 90 steps round trip. You can pass on this if you want, but….

Paradise Lost

From the Ghost Room floor we are about 150 feet underground. It’s all uphill from here for the rest of the Oregon Caves tour.

Angel Falls

Entering the Wedding Cake Room

We’re on the last leg of our journey and will be passing through more human blasted tunnels and natural cave.

Broken flowstone shows calcite crystal formation

Black bear bones

During reconstruction of the trail in 1998 black bear bones dating 3,000 years old were discovered. Many fossils of small animals have been found near cave openings. But the oldest bones belong to a 38,000 year old jaguar discovered not far from the Ghost Room in the early 1990s.

Exit tunnel and air-lock door

If we can just make it through this door we’ll see the light of day again.

Looking out cave exit

I’ll bet you figured we’d never make it out of the cave. We only saw about one third of the total cave, the rest requires much crawling and climbing. There’s three and a half miles of cave passages. So, do you want to go back in and crawl around?

Looking back at cave exit

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Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

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