perry creek is a hike that leads up to a short scramble up mount
forgotten. the first section of the hike follows perry creek through some
forest. the first mile or so
has long been known to be an excellent site for ferns , with an amount of diversity and rare species perhaps unmatched in all
of washington.
map of the route up perry creek to mount forgotten
the creek itself is in the mountain loop highway, across the
road from the popular ice caves. the creek is nestled between
stillaguamish peak and mount dickerman, and the climate is very
wet (over 150 inches of precipitation yearly) and cool.
this hike traverses a section of barlow pass volcanics, 45 mya basalt and
andesite lavas. these lavas also make up nearby peaks, including
stilliguamish peak, twin peaks, mount dickerman, and more.
the first section of the hike follows perry creek up a moderate grade. the
hike passes through many different zones, including coniferous forest,
stands of lady ferns and huckleberries, and dense maple thickets. these
are broken up by talus sections, which provide nice viewpoints into the
perry creek river valley. the diversity of habitats helps explain why it's
such a good place to find rare fern species.
perry creek - valley in the first part of the hike
i'm an eager beginner when it comes to ferns, and even i had an easy time
finding many species, including my first ophioglossaceae species. unlike
many forest hikes i'm used to, where the understory is ~entirely sword
fern or deer fern, this hike had a mosaic of all of our common species,
including oak ferns, many cute little asplenium trichomanes, polypodium
amorphum and more.
sceptridium multifidum. 2,700ftcloseup of the bursting sporangia
i was also pleasantly surprised by the diversity of lichen in this
section. i found a beautiful, large thallus of
Hypogymnia duplicata,
Placopsis
on some of the outcrops,
Pilophorus
and more.
hypogymnia duplicata, showing its characteristic drooping branches.
2,000ft.
placopsis lambii on part of an outcrop in the valley section. 2,400ft.
mount forgotten
mount forgotten, south face
meadow under mount forgotten. the scramble goes up the left gully in
this photo. 5,500ft.
after enjoying the rambling forest/river walk, you cross perry creek and
start a much steeper walk up to over 5,000ft, which breaks out in a
subalpine meadow. at this point the trail becomes rougher.
Cetraria subalpina shows up on some of the Vaccinium canes.
a short class 2 scramble up mount forgotten gives you some stunning views
of glacier peak and the mountain loop highway area. the rocky summit tops
out just over 6,000ft, and is very steep and is a great habitat for some
alpine lichen species.
