A few weeks ago Mike Wang and I visited various Darlingtonia sites in Curry Co., OR and Del Norte Co., CA. As always – I am truly thankful that I got a chance to roll with Mike again. It was truly an unforgettable experience. It was pretty much a year since we last visited Darlingtonia country. (Here’s a post to day one and day two from last year!)
We had to do some hiking to get to some of these sites. The trails (and LACK of trails) were quite steep and rugged in some places. Finding the Darlingtonia in these remote regions was definitely not easy, but the grueling trek felt like a very small price to pay to be able to witness the plants growing in their natural habitat. Oh and the scenery? <Insert expletives here.> OMG. Ridiculously good. Melt-your-face-off mind-blowingly beautiful.
I can’t adequately put into words just how outlandishly magnificent this experience was so I’ll stop trying and let you see for yourself. I strung together a few video clips and created some photo slideshows that are sorted by day below. There’s also a few highlight snapshots underneath all that. Enjoy!
Oh yeah, and if you haven’t already done so – please be sure to check out Mike’s posts of our Darlingtonia 2014 excursion here, here, here and here!
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Darlingtonia Video
9-11 Oct 2014
Various sites in Curry Co., OR and Del Norte Co., CA
Day 1 – 9 Oct 2014 Photo Slideshow
Curry Co., OR
Day 2 – 10 Oct 2014 Photo Slideshow
Curry Co., OR
Day 3 – 11 Oct 2014 Photo Slideshow
Del Norte Co., CA
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A few highlight photos follow below. To see all the photos from this Darlingtonia excursion, please view the photo slideshows above!
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It’s pre 6am. I need to start this day off right. I need to start this trip off right.
It’s all about that PHILZ COFFEE!
The first patch of Darlingtonia that we stumbled across!
FCS Site – Curry Co., OR
The Wangster and I – FCS Site – Curry Co., OR
Seedlings growing out of the water. FCS Site – Curry Co., OR
FCS Site – Curry Co., OR
Above the fog at sunset. Curry Co., OR
Fueling up before the gnarly hike.
The ravenous Mike Wang in action!
Rugged and beautiful. Curry Co., OR
So scenic. That’s Mike in the photo to give you a sense of scale. Here we are hiking around looking for the Mountain Valley Meadow site.
Curry Co., OR
Mountain Valley Meadow site – Curry Co., OR
Mountain Valley Meadow Site – Curry Co., OR
Mountain Valley Meadow Site – Curry Co., OR
Mountain Valley Meadow Site – Curry Co., OR
Summit – Curry Co., OR
Haunting beauty. Curry Co., OR
Some timelapse iPhoneography happening here.
An iPhone Gorillapod comes in handy.
Trailside Site – Curry Co., OR
Mountain Creek Site – Curry Co., OR
Mountain Creek Site – Curry Co., OR
Mountain Creek Site – Curry Co., OR
Roadside Site – Curry Co., OR
Sphagnum.
Sphagnum Site – Del Norte Co., CA
Darlingtonia growing in sphagnum.
Sphagnum Site – Del Norte Co., CA.
Skeleton.
Sphagnum Site – Del Norte Co., CA
Darlingtonia seed Pod.
Sphagnum Site – Del Norte Co., CA
Red.
Alpine Farms – Del Norte Co., CA
Alpine Farms – Del Norte Co., CA
Alpine Farms – Del Norte Co., CA
Alpine Farms – Del Norte Co., CA
Seedlings!
Alpine Farms – Del Norte Co., CA
Goldmine Site – Del Norte Co., CA
Pinguicula macroceras growing vertically on a rock face!
Goldmine Site – Del Norte Co., CA
Goldmine Site – Del Norte Co., CA
Mike admires the Darlingtonia growing vertically on the rock face.
Goldmine Site – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Young plant/seedling growing next to charred piece of wood.
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Brilliant yellow.
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Check the mustache out on this bad boy.
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Site 734 – Del Norte Co., CA
Left: My preferred footwear – hiking boots.
Right: Mike’s preferred footwear – CROCS.
My mind can not compute how hardcore Mike is to be able to even hike in friquen’ Crocs… CROCS! Seriously. Now that dude is a beast.
Thanks again for everything, Mike!
