Earth Day hikes are Sunday
April 14, 2010 by Scott Sandsberry
YAKIMA, Wash. — Betsy Bloomfield, the new executive director at Cowiche Canyon, says this year’s annual Earth Day hikes — set for Sunday, four days before the actual April 22 Earth Day — will be “double the fun, and double the education.”
That’s because instead of the usual two experts — one geologist and someone focusing on the canyon’s wide-ranging flora and fauna — Sunday’s hikes will feature four.
And they’re good ones.
Two will be very familiar to people who have gone on the hikes in recent years, because geologist David Huycke and noted birder (and birding guidebook author) Andy Stepniewski are experienced at this Earth Day hike thing. Joining them on Sunday will be David Hagen, whose focus will be on the wildflowers blooming in the canyon, and butterfly expert David James.
What makes James’ inclusion interesting is that he’ll be able to point out one of rarities in Cowiche Canyon — a butterfly called the Lucia Azure (Celastrina lucia), which is only seen in a very view places on the east slopes of the Cascades. One of those is Cowiche Canyon, where that species of butterfly typically lays its eggs in the branches of the red-osier dogwoods along the Cowiche Creek that runs through the canyon.
The hikes will begin at 1 p.m. at the Weikel Road entrance to the canyon — that’s the one you get to by driving out Summitview and hanging a right when you see the big Summitview Cowiche Veterinary Clinic at the turnoff for Weikel Road. Bloomfield will start things off with a short talk on the 25-year history of the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, after which participants will split into two groups, each led by two of the four experts. At the halfway, turnaround point — roughly 1 1/2 miles into the canyon — the groups will switch experts, so all participants will get to hear insights from all four experts.
Bring water and good walking shoes. With the weather forecast calling for a warming trend, layered clothing is a good idea. The trail isn’t paved, but it’s fairly level and follows a good gravel path.
– Scott Sandsberry
Filed under Blogs, Out There
