February 15 Plant Walk – Armstrong Woods, search for Slinkpods

Sunday February 15, 10:00 – 2:00 pm
Armstrong Woods, Guerneville
Search for Slinkpods
Register on Eventbrite

Carpool options: Meet at 9:15am, either at the Sebastopol Lucky parking lot on Gravenstein highway or the River Road Park and Ride (River Road west side of highway 101) to share a ride and entrance fee.

It’s invigorating to hike in a beautiful spot in the winter! We will stroll through the misty glades of the recently burned old-growth redwood forest to search for early blooming Slinkpods, aka Fetid Adder’s Tongue (Scoliopus bigelovii), and other denizens of the dark woods. Then we’ll venture up into the light of the oak woodland, checking on the way to see whether Old Man’s Beard (Dolichousnea (=Usnea) longissima) is still festooning the Douglas firs in the canyon next to the road. Bring lunch, with tea or hot chocolate recommended for your thermos. Dress in layers, and bring warm gloves, hat and scarf. Easy to moderate hike of about 2.5 miles (or more if you continue further up the road), with some elevation gain. We will assemble in the parking lot outside the gate and walk in. Fee to park in the lot is $10 ($9 seniors), or no fee with a CA State Park Pass. Heavy rain cancels. Ann’s cell phone: 707-721-6120 (not sure it works at Armstrong Woods, though).

For a complete list of our plant walks, see our Plant Walk page.