Enchanted Technicolor Thimbleberry Forest

The first stage of our recent 10-day whirled tour took us backpacking with my baby brother into a narrow, wet, steep-walled creek canyon. Three days, three people, three sets of eyes with three different perspectives and pursuits: fly fishing (Derrell), photographing (Greg) and gawking at plants (me). In this canyon where the craggy vertical walls nearly blot out the sun and thimbleberry thickets choke the trail, the plants seem to have an inordinate number of parasites and diseases, most of which exist in strange and beautiful technicolor. The diseases that didn't boast glitter, fur, tentacles, silk, stubble, or neon color were still amazing and interesting and, yes, sometimes kinda gross... but fascinating! They certainly kept me occupied in my own little enchanted botanical world while the boys did their things.