Neff’s Canyon Trail

Mountainous hiking trails are remarkably close to Salt Lake City. One example is Neff’s Canyon trail; its trailhead is shown on the map below, right at the east edge of the Salt Lake City suburbs.

The trail is steep, ascending 3562 feet over its 3.5-mile length. For my first visit, on January 9, I only ventured a mile up the trail, and climbed 700 feet according to my Garmin. This first mile seemed steep to me, but the further 2.5 miles are even steeper.

The trailhead of Neff’s Canyon Trail

Near the trailhead the dominant trees are Scrub Oak, only a mile up the trail White Firs have taken over.

Dramatic view of mountainous geology seen from the trail.
From the trail you can look down on Salt Lake City and see the Oquirrh Mountains in the distance.
Another view of Salt Lake City and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.

Signs of Fall in August

Already in August there are clear signs of approaching fall in North-Central Minnesota. It may be that leaves are turning early this year because of our dry conditions.

Looking east in early evening from west side of Leech Lake
Leaves yellowing slightly on tree on the west shore of Leech Lake.

Alder and hazel bushes rimming the shores of our lake are starting to yellow.

Staghorn sumac along roadsides is starting to turn red.

This maple was red on August 16, exceptionally early.

The Lost 40; A Remnant of Old Growth Forest in Minnesota

Because of a surveying error in 1882, 144 acres of forest in North-Central Minnesota were never leased to a timber company and therefore were spared from logging. Today the area is designated as the Lost 40 SNA (Scientific and Natural Area) and features a hiking trail of about one mile winding through huge red and white pines.

The red marker indicates the location of The Lost 40 in North-Central Minnesota
The map above shows detail around the Lost 40 SNA, including the ~1 mile hiking trail.

The highlights of a visit to the Lost 40 SNA are the towering red and white pine trees that are up to 240 years old.

A plaque along the trail provides the history of the Lost 40

A visit to the Lost 40 isn’t complete without a stop at the Hoot-n-Holler in nearby Alvwood MN.

Mill Creek Canyon, Utah

A benefit to life in Salt Lake City, Utah is the proximity of the city to the Wasatch Mountains. Recently for a hike in the mountains we drove up Mill Creek Canyon to the Upper Big Water Trailhead, just 9 miles east of the 215 Beltway in the city.

Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa)

Trees in Mill Creek Canyon include Subalpine Fir, Engelmann Spruce, and Quaking Aspen.

Many wildflowers were blooming on this day in early August.

Bigleaf Lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus)

Dwarf Fireweed (Epilobrium latifolium)

Cow Parsnip (Heracleum sphondylium)

Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja miniata)

Richardson’s Geranium (Geranium richardsonii)

Mill Creek

White Wildflowers Predominant in Late June

In late June, around the time of the summer solstice, nearly all the wildflowers in our area of North Central Minnesota are white. This seems unusual because other times of the year I see colorful wildflowers. May and early June have yellow and pink wildflowers, while in July through October you see magenta, yellow, and purple. The very first wildflowers of the spring are on blooming shrubs, and they are also predominantly white.

From quick online research I learned that bright white flowers are more visible to a wider range of pollinators. In particular, white attracts flies better than other colors, while bees are attracted to both white and colors. So, the prevalence of white flowers in earliest spring is understandable because there is likely more flies than bees at that time. The late June dominance of white wildflowers is not as easily explained. It could be coincidental, or maybe there is a subtle relation to available pollinators.

Bouncing Bet

Oxeye Daisy

Yarrow

Hoary Alyssum

Harebell

Of course, there is an exception. Tiny purple harebells also bloom in late June, but they are very inconspicuous.

Utah and Minnesota Kayaking

Within the last month I’ve kayaked in Utah and in Minnesota — there was quite a contrast. The pictures below illustrate how different the two places are.

Deer Creek State Park, Utah

On Memorial Day we brought two kayaks up from Salt Lake City to Deer Creek State Park, near Heber, Utah (appreciating a YouTube video that reminds how to use our J-bar kayak carrier). The water was choppy and chilly, but the views of the still-snowy mountains were awesome.

Big Bass Lake, Minnesota

After relocating for the summer to our Minnesota cabin, on June 13 we brought kayaks to Big Bass Lake, in the Chippewa National Forest. The red line in the map above shows the route we took kayaking around the lake (Garmin GPS).

Zoom in on the picture to see a fawn, whose drink from the lake we interrupted.

Norwegian Maple

When we moved to Salt Lake City the yard of our new house had two mature Norwegian Maple trees. Norwegian Maples (Acer platanoides) are popular shade trees in the intermountain west because they grow quickly and tolerate alkaline soil and an arid climate.

Norwegian Maple in mid-April in Salt Lake City backyard.

Norwegian Maples are native to Central Europe, and were introduced to the United States in the mid-1700’s. They are commonly used in this country as shade trees, particularly as replacements for American Elms that were lost to Dutch elm disease in the 1960’s.

There are significant drawbacks to Norwegian Maples. They are considered an invasive species and can out-compete native trees because they are very hardy and reproduce quickly, each tree producing huge numbers of seeds. Norwegian Maple sales are actually banned in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Norwegian Maple could be considered too effective of a shade tree. Its numerous large leaves create such dense shade that grass struggles to grow beneath it. The tree drops all these leaves very late in fall, so raking up after them is challenging. This year our trees still hadn’t dropped their leaves when snow started falling.

In springtime Norwegian Maples first produce clusters of small light-green flowers, followed by its new leaves. The slideshow below shows this progression of buds to flowers to leaves on one branch of our backyard tree from April 10-30.