Post #1731350

2026-04-27 20:36 UTC

This weekend I took a trip up to the top of Baker Lake, in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington, fed by snow and glacier melt of one of our 4 active volcanoes, Kulshan or Mt Baker (just look at the color of that water!) It's a fantastic time to hike along the river and lakeshore, the trees haven't fully leafed out and there's a lot of life happening on the forest floor. Plant-heavy thread ahead. 1/9 #PNW #nativeplants #hiking #getoutside #mountains

Replies (7)

@eugeneparnell@mstdn.social 2026-04-27 21:07

Plant hiking Baker Lake part 2. Photos 1 and 2: this is stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). If you'd ever run into it, you'd remember. It's like a mild bee sting and the pain can last for hours. Those little hairs are the stinging parts. Photo 3 and 4: "False Solomon's Seal" and "False Lily of the valley", both species of Maianthemum, though they look very different. The ones in photo 3 (M. racemosum) will have very showy blooms in midsummer. 2/9 #PNW #nativeplants #hiking #getoutside #mountains

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@intrepidhero@vmst.io 2026-04-27 20:40

@eugeneparnell 😍 Wow! That water color, the young growth on the trees, the moss, everything!

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@jackwilliambell@rustedneuron.com 2026-04-27 20:42

@eugeneparnell Ah, up in my neck of the woods were you? I hope you stopped at Birdsview Brewery on your way home!

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@shansterable@ohai.social 2026-04-27 21:24

@eugeneparnell I camp at Baker Lake every year. There's no place like it. And every year I say to myself, if I were a designer, I'd assemble the palette of colors I see there - the blue-green water, the vibrant bright green moss, the dark evergreens, and the reddish brown bark and soil - and call it the Baker Lake Palette. All my favorite colors in that landscape. In August, the pristine water is just warm enough for a swim with a view of snow-capped Mt. Baker.

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@RunRichRun@mastodon.social 2026-04-27 22:50

@eugeneparnell The photos are great! Sounds like it was a good hike. Thanks for sharing!

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@tsupasat@infosec.exchange 2026-04-27 23:49

@eugeneparnell I'm super impressed and jealous of your knowledge of our local flora!

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@BirchB@mastodon.social 2026-04-28 02:43

@eugeneparnell Looking forward to the next eight

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