Cardigan botanical help needed

[MonadnockVol]

I climbed Cardigan yesterday from the AMC lodge side.

[Rant on] ( ) I've been to this particular lodge twice now and each time I've had the same reaction: that people aren't very friendly there. Has anyone else found this to be the case? I hasten to add that I'm NOT talking about the staff at the lodge nor am I talking about people I've met on the trails. Both of these groups tend to be very friendly. Rather I'm talking about the people who are staying at the lodge. Most places I've been in the woods, people tend to make eye contact, nod and even smile and say hello. But at this particular lodge - and it has happened both times I've been there - people tend to look right past you like you are in Manhattan. A lot of these people also seem to have more equipment than experience, so maybe they are just new to the whole outdoor ethos. Whatever. [Rant off] ( )

I did a loop hike: Manning to Mowglis to West Ridge to Clark to Cathedral to Holt (6.3 miles by my calculations). On Manning I found the remains (just feathers) of a ruffed grouse who met an untimely end but provided a timely meal for somebody else. I also found small yellow violets in bloom. Very pretty.

And here's where I need help. I'm pretty good on fauna but hopeless on flora. Near the yellow violets on the Manning trail (so woodland habitat, slightly wet area) were lots of green leaves with purple "blotches" (markings? spots?) on them. Each seemed to be a single blade but they grew in large clusters. I've tried to identify them, they're obviously common, but - as I've said - I'm hopeless on plants. I'm thinking trout lily, does that sound right?

In any event, there was still more snow (in spots) on Cardigan than I expected, but neither I nor anyone else had any problems barebooting it. There was decent visibility (I could see Monadnock to the south, and clearly make out the towers on Kearsarge). Moosilauke and Washington were showing lots of snow from my vantage point but everything else was showing dark green.

Oh and there were both moose tracks and scat, but still no moose for me!

- Monadnock Volunteer (aka Steve)

 

[Andrew]

Steve-

I would guess Trailing Arbutus. Trout Lily would not be up just yet and last years leaves are not durable enough to hold any shape through die off and winter. The Arbutus is an "evergreen" that responds to early spring sun and warming.

I'm on a personal strike to refuse referring to Yellow Violets as such. I've decided the name is too oxymoronic and now say "Yellowets", but maybe that groups too close to Bluets?......just my rant.

 

[Roxi]

Steve, sorry to hear that both your visits to Cardigan left you with feeling that other visitors to the lodge were unfriendly, or at least distanced. I recently stayed at the lodge to attend a Wilderness First Aid course offered by SOLO and had a wonderful time meeting lots of new people who were also staying at the lodge for the same reason. We had about 20 people in the course, all ages (20-something to retired) and from all different career paths. We were fortunate enough to have 3 doctors in the course in addition to various other professionals, and they were very willing to share their knowledge and experience when asked, and were also great listeners. Some folks in the course were more talkative than others, some more likely to initiate conversation than others, but I found everyone to be very helpful and friendly as we participated in mock rescues. I'm guessing how friendly/talkative someone is may have to do with their own comfort level and why they're there. After class on the first day, a small group of us did a short hike on the Manning trail (we had an hour before dinner) and enjoyed hearing and seeing the swollen stream prior to where the trail crosses it. It was fun hopping along the snow monorail.

On another note, I'm really glad you volunteer on Monadnock. That's one of my favorite mountains. I'm particularly fond of the Pumpelly trail.

 

[Jason Berard]

sorry to hear about the bad vibe at Cardigan Lodge.

I think they were trout lily leaves, from everything you said.
I've seen them on Moose Mtn. already this year, and it sounds like Cardigain may be about a week behind....
here's a pic.....sorry the leaves are a bit blurry:

 

[MonadnockVol]

Trout Lillies

Okay, I finally got this picture out of my camera. Trout lillies, right?

 

[vegematic]

Yup, looks like trout lillies to me.

-vegematic