Hike to Tolsona Mud Springs

Leslie Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Our big activity for today was a hike from the campground to Tolosona mud springs. The mud springs are caused by methane bubbling up from coal beds deep underground.

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The dead trees along the side were caused by an increase in the mud flow after the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake.

The trail is described as primitive – I would second that. It was extremely muddy and crosses several areas of muskeg. If you recall from Petersburg in the southeast, muskeg is a swampy area that is partially underwater. There were places where it was impossible not to walk in cold water ankle deep. This picture doesn’t do the trail justice. Without our hiking poles it would have been impossible to get through the swamp. The poles are useful in determining how deep the water is -- before stepping in.

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We saw a number of animal tracks along the trail and thought it might have been bear. When we got to the mud springs, there were very clear moose tracks. Here’s an moose tracks followed by small moose tracks. (But no moose)

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Around the springs I saw some pretty wild flowers.

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A family of ptarmigans was slightly off the trail. There must have been a nest nearby because there were 6-8 of the birds.

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Notice the very shallow roots on this tree. That is typical of a tree that lives in permafrost. The permafrost doesn’t allow the roots to grow deep.

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Parts of the trail had this unique trail marker. You can see the old trail marker just below.

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