Tyler Starr
18 October 2008 from 1400 to 1500
Location: The North Loop Trail at Silver Falls State Park
Weather: Cloudy, around 60 ̊ F, no wind
General: The natural setting here is unbelievable. The trail we hiked followed a small river. At one point, the river went over a 136-foot drop. The waterfall was incredible. The water hit the bottom with a huge force, spraying mist into the air. The path wound around and back behind the waterfall in a small cave. The natural vegetation was so dense. Trees that looked to be over 100 feet dominated the upper canopy. There were several types of trees, coniferous and deciduous, that grew very high. The density continued all the way to the ground, where various ferns, shrubs, and grasses cover every open inch to absorb sunlight. Many of the trees have a stringy moss-like plant that completely covers the bark. I wonder whether this is parasitic at all. Many of the fallen trees have various fungi growing on them, decomposing the remains. One of these trees had a few bright orange growths, which I believe were some sort of mold (see picture). There were also very small bugs that were crawling around where this strange orange thing was. Another cool thing I saw was a spider. It was one of the biggest spiders I had ever seen in nature, maybe an inch long. It had very strange markings (see picture), and it was walking very slowly. It looked almost like it was injured. Perhaps it is old and was dying. Another interesting thing I saw was a particular plant that looked like huge clovers. It grew in patches like clovers, and had a similar shape, except it was about 2 inches wide.
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