I Spy on the Trails - June 18-30, 2023

We were thrilled to get almost 2 inches of rain on Saturday 6/17 - it's been about 5 weeks since measurable moisture.  Like many areas, the Driftlesss  had very poor air quality recently from wildfire particulates. I hiked masked often during these weeks. 

Clear air atop Maglessen Bluff 6/16/23

Same view with Canadian wildfire smoke  6/28/23

Most of the flowers I am seeing are in prairies and pollinator garden prairies. They are tough natives with deep roots that can survive. The birdsong more than made up for the lack of flowers in the woods though. 

I spent time in the middle of these two weeks at a conference in Chicago which increased my urban hiking and cultural intake but gave me much less nature to observe. I will say the cooled Lake Michigan air was a welcome respite in a city of concrete and glass.

Wildflowers

Red admiral butterfly

• Purple stemmed angelica
• Motherwort
• Hairy wood mint
• Fringed loosestrife
• Enchanter's nightshade
• Prairie coreopsis
• Harebell
• Leadplant
• Butterfly weed
• Sandbar willow
• Purple-stemmed angelica
• Ferns (maiden hair, interrupted, lady, ostrich,bulblet)
• Sweet cecily
• White avens
• Jacob's ladder
• Canada anemone

Wildlife (seen/heard/detected)

Perfectly hidden Leopard frog

• Northern leopard frog
• Sandhill cranes and colt
• Great spangled fritillary
• Meadow fritilllary
• Eastern comma butterfly
• Red admiral butterfly
• Hackberry emperor butterfly
• Deer (buck/doe/fawn)
• Black-capped chickadee
• Eastern kingbird
• Yellow warbler
• Common yellow-throat
• Red-winged blackbird
• Northern cardinal
• Common yellowthroat
• American redstart
• House wren 
• Song sparrow
• Eastern wood pewee
• Hairy woodpecker
• Red-headed woodpecker
• Goldfinch
• Indigo bunting
• Baltimore oriole
• Eastern towhee
• Red-eyed vireo
• Yellow-throated vireo
• Warbling vireo
• Veery
• Scarlet Tanager
• Great crested flycatcher
• Black-and-white warbler

What are YOU noticing on your hikes?

This week's hikes: Maglessen Bluff Hike, Rushford (MN); Beaver Creek State Park, Caledonia (MN); Whitewater State Park, Alture (MN); La Crosse River Conservancy, Onalaska(WI)

Sandhill crane

Beaver Creek State Park

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.     

All images - Marge Loch-Wouters

Wildfires and Hiking

It looks like we in the Driftless region (as well as others in the eastern northern tier states) may be in for a long summer of wildfire smoke. The Canadian fires just don't create a haze that obscures things far away. Whenever levels of wildfire smoke are high, that very same far-off haze is affecting the air immediately surrounding us and that we are breathing.

While that, of course, seems obvious, if you are also exercising or hiking with increased respiration, you are also increasing the volume of particulate matter that you are inhaling. Levels of PM2.5 are the wildfire particles of particular concern.

There were plenty of comments from campers, hikers, runners and bikers on social media in MN over Memorial Day weekend when many parts of the state experienced high alert days for very poor air quality. People recreating outside reported itchy burning eyes; sore throats, persistent coughs and some reported feeling pressure in their chests. 

There are two very easy things we can do to help protect our lungs and health when hiking and breathing hard on poor air quality days:

1. Be aware of the air quality daily. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has a free website and app, AirNow.gov that lets you check air quality in real time plus a five day forecast; maps tracking smoke; whether the air quality is affected by ozone or wildfires and suggestions for when to be cautious if we are in an at-risk group. Just input your zipcode or the zipcode of where you plan to hike and voila.

2.  Have a KN95 or an N95 mask along on hikes, just in case. While masks are not super comfortable in summer, I note that hikers have managed to continue hikes with soaked boots after stream crossings; no raincoat in a downpour; not enough bug dope while the mosquitoes and deerflies swarm; doinked knees and ankles and elbows and noses and, well, whatever befalls them. Most of us come out bragging at the end of an adverse/uncomfortable hike despite the discomfort. I think a mask is a doable thing to protect our health. We can do it!

Check the resources below for additional information on how to protect yourself.

Resources

The Wildfire Smoke May Be Gone. But the Health Threat Remains. Wen, Leana S. Washington Post, June 12, 2023 A very good, science-based article that cites research on the effects of wildfire smoke. You can access the article for free by putting in your email address.

Wildfire smoke, COVID-19, and striking comparisons. Jetalina, Katelyn. Your Local Epidemiologist. Newsletter, June 9, 2023. A very good article that is science-based and points out the dangers of wildfire smoke and the need to mask up on high alert days.