The Mahood River Trail connects Mahood Lake to the Clearwater River. I have hiked it both ways and I always enjoy spending time at Sylvia and Goodwin Falls. Each time brings new surprises along the way. A few sightings are shared from one of those hikes.
Indian-pipe (monotropa uniflora) can be found in shaded confierous forests, It is a saprophytic perennial with a single bell-shaped white flower. It will blacken with age.
corpse plant
Striped coralroot is a saprophytic orchid. This specimen had finished flowering and capsules had developed for seed production.
coralroot
The areas by the foot of the two falls were both spray zones and several members of the mint family thrived, with some in bloom, including this hedgenettle (stachys).
In the same wet spray zone we spotted some marsh skullcaps (scutellaria galericulata). We usually spot these next to smaller lakes in shallow-, marshy areas, often on waterlogged logs, or by muddy submerged logs.
marsh skullcap
On a saskatoon shrub waxwings were feasting on the berries.
waxwing on saskatoon
But the falls stole the show on the trail, always an impressive sight in Wells Gray Park.
