Beware the Verglas Algae of August!

Yesterday while descending the Long Trail South from Camel's Hump on a running loop I do frequently ( up Burrows, across LT South, then Forest City to close the loop), I did a little unplanned dance while stepping down a rounded boulder at the top of a steep pitch - the culprit being a patch of the nearly invisible algae that seems to form late in summer in shady moist areas along some trails on boulders ( and of course, wet wood bridging) . Regaining my footing, I noticed two large backpacks at the base of the area I almost just slipped down, and no people in sight.

Traveling a bit further down the trail, two guys were running the opposite way ( back towards the packs) who didn't look like trail runner types, both with rather grim looks on their faces. Then I came across 3 or 4 people, one of them being a woman in a litter - she was smiling, so at first I thought it was people practicing rescue techniques. But then I noticed that one of them was on a radio or phone talking to someone, so I am speculating that she took a fall at the very place I almost did.

Anyway - watch it out there in those shaded moist bouldery areas - the stuff is wicked slippery and can have the appearance of dry or nearly dry rock!

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It turns out that is exactly what happened:

DUXBURY, Vt. -
It took rescuers nearly nine hours to get an injured hiker off Camel's Hump.

The Waterbury Backcountry Rescue Team was called at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday after a woman slipped and hurt her ankle.

Because of the tough terrain, many other agencies were called in for backup

Click to expand...

A timely reminder. I once watched a very experienced conservation coordinator take a tumble on rocks she had traversed daily for a decade. A few minutes later I did the same, a bit farther down the trail.

It would be interesting to try and find out what the exact species or group of algae this is, as well as the conditions that foster it's growth. Sure seems to be more of a late summer thing, but that's just my seat-of-the-slightly-scuffed-butt read on the matter!