From Mosses to Lake George

Last week my favorite Adirondack naturalist called me and asked if I'd like to go on a moss exploration. Would I! I nearly leapt out of my chair. She has been studying mosses and clubmosses for years and I'm eager to know more, mostly because it is so difficult to learn the names of mosses and to get information about mosses in the Northeast. There is no "Field Guide of Mosses" for the East, for instance, so what's a naturalist to do?

Evelyn invited another botanist to come along, so I had the benefit of two experts' instruction. Learning to use a hand lens was so interesting. I own four of them, and now I'll be able to give my clients a microscopic view of the moss world. I learned a tremendous amount, and not only from the direct teaching. It was lots of fun to see them interact and come to a meeting of the minds on moss and liverwort identification.

The ridge was an interesting habitat, primarily red pine with a bit of white pine mixed in, not at all the habitat that I'm accustomed to in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness. Not alot of vegetation, but plenty of moss. And some great views of the Mill Creek Valley.

Today found me exploring trails near Lake George. I climbed Pilot Knob Ridge, which is land owned by the Lake George Land Conservancy, a wonderful group doing all it can to preserve land in an area that is overwhelmed by privately owned land. From the top of Pilot Knob Ridge, there's a gorgeous view of Lake George, Crane Mountain, Gore Mountain, and a few of the High Peaks. Incredible!