Guest bloggers: Amanda Flory and Mihalis Protopapadakis
Carnivorous sundews found in Balls Lake muskegs.
On our last full day at Prince of Wales Island, we explored the trail around Balls Lake, in Tongass National Forest. The AYS team helped us core trees of several different species. We then returned to the AYS headquarters in Klawock and taught them how to mount tree cores and analyze them under the microscope. We also celebrated Nick’s birthday!
The following morning we took the ferry back to Ketchikan and spent the day climbing Dude Mountain. There, we collected more cedar samples in a muskeg and a bear trail along the edge of a cliff. We spent the final day of our trip exploring the city of Ketchikan and the nearby beaches.
Bob and Dr. Wiles searching for cedars in the rainforest.
Salmon-spawing stream flowing out of Balls Lake.
Gary supervising tree-core collection at a Forest Service site.
The Wooster team and AYS group deep in the woods of Balls Lake.
Gary’s cedar cookie showcasing abnormal ring characteristics.
Freshly picked blueberries.
The team hiking along the Balls Lake trail.
The team skillfully balancing on a slippery log.
Teaching the AYS group how to process and examine tree cores back at headquarters.
The team sharing excitement over dendrochronology.
Celebrating Nick’s birthday with a delicious cake that David baked.
Happy Birthday Nick!
A bald eagle spotted on the drive to Dude Mountain.
The view from the bear trail along the cliff.
Amanda and Proto coring a yellow cedar.
The famous Creek Street boardwalk in southern Ketchikan.
The view from the team’s airbnb.
On the final day, the team visited tidal pools along the coast.
A starfish saved from low tide.
This trip was a wonderful experience. Thank you to all the great people we met along the way! Also a big thank you to Dr. Wiles and Nick for their guidance and these great memories. A big thank you to Bob Girt and the Alaska Youth Stewards Group in Klawock who hosted our trip on Prince of Wales Island. This work was supported by Grant NSF P2C2-2002454 and the Department of Earth Sciences at Wooster.
Nice work, Team Alaska!
That last photo of the starfish in the intertidal shows an interesting rock type in the background. It looks to me like a diamictite from an ancient glacial sedimentary system. Any idea how old it may be?