Gold Hill Trail – A Fall Hike

Forest.

For. Rest.

Fall in North Idaho isn’t known for its color. Our forests are dominated by pine and fir with accents of larches that turn gold before casting their needles each fall. I did not expect Gold Hill to be so gold with fallen leaves! Areas of the trail were covered in leaves as it wound through yellow thimbleberry bushes, mosses and ferns.

I hadn’t gone far before stopping to photograph dewy leaves adorned with crystal beads. One of my favorite mosses, aptly named star moss, is growing all over. I love how it looks like a sea of stars when viewed directly above.

A flaky freckled pelt lichen turned over by a wild footfall revealed a reticulated, textured underside similar to mushroom gills. A spectacular variety of mosses carpet the entire forest floor in some places.

It’s been a banner year for the tiny, delicate fir cone mushrooms (strobilurus trullisatus). A pair of hollow western slippery jack mushrooms push through the leaf litter trailside. Tiny bonnets accent the mosses as the trail ascends. The sharp, linear stripes on the mycenae caps contrast nicely with the soft, lush foliage of the gooseneck mosses. They make the most beautiful tiny landscapes!

Pixie cup lichens are common amongst the mosses on decaying tree stumps. Witches butter fungus glows on downed trees. This shiny, bright jelly fungus will dry up a few days after rainfall. The thin, shriveled mass will then revive in subsequent rains.

At every switchback where the trail turns upward, my dog, Tybee, stops to study the wildlife trail that veers off in the opposite direction, paralleling the hillside.

A few red alders grow with stands of birches and aspen. All three of these light-barked trees are captivating.

We started in the darkness of the dense woods, and I felt like I was hiking to the sky. Maybe I could have chosen a trail more suited to basking in a rare sunny fall day. Then, there was the first snow on the ground this season! It’s the perfect place to be.

Fall meets winter in a shaded draw where heavy, wet snow barely covers the trail. I’m getting close to the top. Probably. Maybe.

Despite the unexpected appearance of winter at 3500 feet, a cluster of rosy scarlet bonnets pops against the dull landscape/ground/forest floor. My macro (close-up) lens comes tomorrow, and I’ll be able to get a proper image of these tiny, hairlike fungal projections. Purple silverleaf fungus is even more striking with accents of hoar frost.

My next distraction comes in the form of a fallen tree. Sapsuckers make the best bark art. They are a type of woodpecker who drill patterned holes in trees. The tree’s defenses make sap to heal the wounds, which the sapsuckers then eat. I can’t recall ever seeing such beautiful marks on an aspen or birch. And a curl!

Bark curls always catch my eye, especially in white bark. I love how the mosses accentuate this one as it collapses into the soil.

A puzzle piece of the sapsucker’s art hangs on a thin branch along the trail. It seems like a person probably placed it there, but there are other possibilities…

The sun is dipping lower. This next rise must be the viewpoint (my own “personal summit” today).

Nope, the trail turns back into the woods. Probably just around the next bend…

At 3.2 miles and over two hours in, we reach the overlook 1100 feet up from the trailhead. We’re short of the summit, which is 2.8 miles from the trailhead per All Trails.

I gasped at the view.
We both took it all in and basked in the sunshine. It’s 3 p.m. The sun will set at 4:15. There’s no time for dawdling on the way down. My camera battery is running low anyway, so I can’t stop for pictures anyway.

Like most outings, I found so much more than I ever expected. I think Tybee enjoyed himself just as much.

If you’re interested in purchasing or licensing any images you see here, please email me at SNewenham at exploringnaturephotos.com, and I’ll make it happen.

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