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Show Volume XII Issue XI THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 9 July 1, 2005 Hiking the Lewis oe PaTHWAy Pal | yy Helene Liebman, Exe cutive Director, Weber Pathways Ocpen VALLEY CHAPTER There are some delightful surprises along the Lewis Peak Trail thiss year. This is a 5 mile hike or ride that ends at the 8000 foot Lewis Peak with wonderful views of Willard Bay, the Great Salt Lake, the Promontory Mountains, and the greater Ogden area. The total round trip is 10 miles. You get to the Lewis Peak Trail from the North Ogden Divide Trailhead. Head south on the Skyline South Trail. After about 2 miles, you’ll come to an intersection—turn right to continue along Skyline South (and Pineview Trailhead); or left to the Lewis Peak Trail. The first surprise greets you as soon as you start hiking—an incredible display of two wildflowers in the Rose family—mountain nine bark and thimbleberry. Mountain nine bark is a shrub with dark green, lobed leaves that are strongly veined. The white flowers are clustered in a half circle, or corymb. Thimbleberry is another bush with large, maple-like leaves. The white flowers 1 to 2 inches and loosely clustered. Both shrubs grow along streams and in moist woods As you climb up Skyline South (it’s about a 1,400 foot climb over the next 2 miles), you’ll see lots of mountain nine bark. At the 2 mile mark you hit the second surprise—new directional and mileage signs at all of the intersections on the Skyline South and Lewis Peak Trails! Boy Scout Mueller from Troop 577 installed these signs last September, and you'll see them at several intersections along the way, plus one at the summit of Lewis Peak. The signs are a welcome addition to this network of tra As you continue up the hill on the‘Lewis Peak Trail there are a lot more wildflowers to see. In the open areas you’ll see puccoon, or wayside gromwell, of the Borage family. This is a bushy plant with small (about inch) cream or yellow-colored flowers. Puccoon grows in open places among sage- Bridge Out on North Arm Trail Peak Trail brush and juniper. Native Americans extracted purple dye from the roots of this plant. There’s also arrow-leafed balsam root and larkspur. Balsam root, of the aster family, has arrow-shaped leaves of a sage green color and large, yellow daisy-like flowers. Larkspur, from the buttercup family, is a somewhat low plant (5 to 12 inches high) with a brilliant purple flower. The leaves are shaped like a geranium’s and are almost entirely at the base. Each stem has 3 or more flowers on it. Larkspur and balsam root are found in dry areas and are especially abundant around sage brush. On this hike you’ll see them beside each other, and the color display is dazzling. Don’t confuse larkspur with penstemmon; there are two types of penstemmon on this hike—the taller, which I know as showy penstemmon (about a foot or higher) and the shorter, or dwarf penstemmon (about 6 inches high). Both have purple flowers and are in the figwort family. Penstemmons are a common flower in sage brush country and are often seen along roadsides as they adapt easily to disturbed areas. There are dozens and dozens of ip of penstemmons dou ghout sage brush country. In the shady areas further along the hike, you'll see a bushy plant, with clusters of small, white flowers, called baneberry. Baneberry is in the buttercup family and grows in moist woods and along stream oo KS here are many more species of wildflowers along the Lewis Peak Trail. Try hika it yourself and see how many you can Find! Geden Valley Pathways July Meeting OVP’s next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ogden Valley Library. We will be hosting Professor Sara Ewert from the Weber State University History Department. Sara will make a 30 minute presentation, complete with photos, on the National Park Service. Also, come out to see a display of some of the original PATHWAYS cont. on page 10 Are you considering buying Flooding on the North Fork River washed away a large section of the bridge on the Pineview North Arm wildlife trail. Forest Service representatives state that, currently, there is insufficient funds to rebuild the bridge that supports hikers and bikers on this popular pathway. For more information, contact Ogden Valley Pathways Chair Marion Horna, at <Hornadad2(@aol.com> or selling propert Ken Turner 801-710-8800 turner@relia.net 4786 E 2600 N, Ste. 101, Eden, UT Virtual Tour @ www.OgdenValleyProperties.com PINEVIEW REAL ESTATE For more area information and property listings log on to: www.snowbasinareaspecialist.com |
