An Introduction to the Natural World

Click here to view nature photos.

The Mountaineers in Washington offered this course for the first time in the spring of 2005. My friend Cindy convinced me to take it with her. I was reluctant at first because our frequent weekend trips to our second home in Twisp. However, the thought of learning more about nature right here in the Pacific Northwest was very tempting. I love to go hiking. Why not know more about the plants I was enjoying so much? So I signed up.

The objective of this course was to teach how to identify common plants and animals with the aid of a field guide. We used the text "Field Guide to the Cascades and Olympics", by Stephen Whitney and Rob Sandeling, published in 2003 by Mountaineers Books.

The course consisted of 3 presentations and 3 field trips.

The presentations were held at the Mountaineers Seattle Clubhouse. We were able to enjoy slide shows and lectures. This got us prepared for our field trips.

Our 1st field trip was to Leavenworth. Cindy and I left the afternoon before and camped in her Vanagon at the Wenatchee State Park. It is situated on a beautiful lake and gave us ample opportunity for plant research. The next morning we met our group at the fish hatchery in Leavenworth.

Leavenworth is a little "German-style" town, situated east of the Cascades, where the climate is dryer than in Seattle. The primary focus of the field trips was bird-watching. We all brought binoculars. I have to admit, I saw only one bird on the entire trip. My fellow hikers were spotting them frequently and were constantly exclaiming "Look over here.....and over there!", and "this is a such and such.....". I could never quite find what they were pointing at - and even kept looking after the bird had already flown away. It takes a trained eye to see these little creatures flying through the air and landing on trees und bushes. After a while I decided "birding" was not for me. I just listened to their songs. That I could do! It was beautiful.

Our group of about 40 people was split into several smaller groups. I went with the "faster" Group on the Chiwaukum River Trail. I had my camera and a little notebook with me. Our guide would identify flowers, shrubs and trees, and I would take pictures and write down the names in my notebook. It was fun.

Our second field trip took us to the Teanaway Valley west of Blewett Pass. Cindy and I again camped out the night before. The next day we joined the group that was going on the ”DeRoux Trail“. The leader on this hike was a very thoughtful gentleman. He described everything in full detail. After a while Cindy and I felt the wildflowers on the upper meadows were calling us…so we just kept walking ahead of the group (which was a no no). We never quite made it to the very top but we saw many beautiful wildflowers on the way. I stopped frequently to take pictures. What a joy it was to capture the beauty of all of this at close range with my camera!

The third field trip to Mt. Rainier got off to a wet start. As the rain kept pouring down we were standing at the trail head to Spray Park, discussing whether we should brave ahead or cancel the excursion and drive back to Seattle. I was in favor of staying since I knew I would not be able to get back here for a long, long time. We finally went ahead. After a while the rain stopped. The clouds kept hanging low. We longed for the sun but she never came through to warm our chilly bones. Still, even in these conditions nature looked beautiful and intriguing. I took some of my best wildflower pictures there.

The most important learning from this class for me was that I was doing and seeing things differently than before. My whole awareness changed. I always used to enjoy "the whole picture" when hiking and focused on my goal to get to a certain point. Now by stopped and looked at plants while being in the moment. I appreciated every minute detail of their beauty. It was like entering into a totally different world.

The course is finished but we will meet one more time in September for a ”class re-union“. If we can show proof that we have viewed over 100 species, we will receive a graduation certificate.

Special thanks to Don Schaechtel, our course leader, and all the people who helped him to make this course an unforgettable event!

The images were taken with a Canon EOS Rebel digital camera. Please also view my nature photos.

back to top