Church Mountain

On August 22nd, the crew took on Church mountain, north of Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan. It was a full day that added 9.6 miles and 3800 feet to our summer!

We hiked a nicely maintained trail going through gorgeous subalpine meadows at around 3 miles, full of Cascade blueberries, fireweed, and Parnassia fimbriata. From the meadows, a steeper climb took us to the Church mountain old lookout site, where all that remains of the lookout are rusted cables and debris scattered on the north facing slope.

We surveyed along the ridge to the northeast of the old lookout site and in the scree slopes on the north side of the ridge and just below the true summit of Church mountain. The wide sampling area and range of habitats yielded over 90 observed species! Many were subalpine species, notably Thuja plicata, Chamaenerion angustifolium, and Erythranthe lewisii.  We made quite a few additions to the project's running species list including Romanzoffia sitchensis, Erythranthe caespitosa, and Juncus mertensianus. 


Great views and a highly diverse peak! 

David, Erik, and Inthone descending into the south side meadows

Erythranthe lewisii

Arnica longifolia

Sedum divergens

Micranthes nelsoniana

Spot the interns!