Bushwhackers and Beaver Dams
This morning, with the dew barely off the vegetation, fifteen of our most intrepid guests and one naturalist were dropped off at the head of William's Cove for a discovery bushwhacking hike. A well established trail, frequented by both bear and man, runs from the shore uphillthrough a majestic hemlock forest, and ends at an area of 'muskeg', dotted with serene pools surrounded by quaking mats of floating bog vegetation. In one of the ponds a large beaver lodge indicates that inall probability the beavers have raised the muskeg water level by damming the outflow. The objective of the hike was to find the stream that runs out of the muskeg area, and ascertain whether there is a dam at the point of outflow. Secondary objectives were to study and record the vegetation in the forest and the muskeg, and make general ecological, observations.
Our objectives implied that this was going to be a tough bushwhacking hike, through virgin old-growth forest, with a dense undergrowth of shrubs and a lot of deadfalls. The explorers reached the muskeg without difficulty, made extensive notes on the status of the beaver lodge and its surroundings, noting that there was no evidence of recent beaver activity. However, in other ways the bog was teeming with biological activity, from flowering plants to dragonflies. One of the guests made a fascinating observation, she discovered a flesh-eating sundew plant (Drosera rotundifolia) in the process of capturing a midge. We stood and admired the muskeg and its surrounded snow topped mountains as long as we could manage the unwanted attention of the local mosquitoes, and then embarked on the search for the outflow of the bog.
At times the going was extremely rough, and our group was starting to look more and more splattered and scratched, but the smiles on all the faces and the sense of humor expressed in the comments that flew back and forth, indicated that the sense of adventure and discovery was far greater that the discomfort we experienced. Two hours after our beach drop off, we came upon the first beaver dam, which confirmed our hypothesis. The water level in the muskeg was some six feet higher than the water level in a stagnant pool below the dam. Although we had fulfilled our prime objective, we were not satisfied, in that this was not the outflow from the muskeg. Hence, the hike of discovery continued, and after a further half-hour of strenuous bushwhacking, we located what we concluded had to be the main dam. It was a beautifully constructed dam, in excellent repair, indicating that the beavers are still inhabiting the muskeg. The cross-forest hike back to the beach for Zodiac pick-up was the most arduous part of the morning, but the slow, slogging progress failed to dampen our sense of success.
Back on the Sea Bird, at 're-cap' time, everyone participated in discussing the phenomenon of flesh-eating plants, while watching a sundew specimen consuming a mosquito under the stereoscope.
