Today I organized a trip to Mohawk Trail State Forest for an Educational Workshop with old growth forest expert Bob L.  The learning involved would be a great addition to my naturalists studies.

Ten of us were blessed with the teachings of Bob L today.  We covered the following topics:

• After a brief introductions, we discussed that cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and grey birch (Betula populifolia) are often located along rivers and streams.

• The major water points of reference to Mohawk Trail State Forest are the Cold River and the Deerfield River.

• We touched upon the Northern Hardwood Hemlock Associated Environment.

• We were encouraged to guess the height of a White Pine (Pinus strobus) at the edge of the campground leach field;  none of the "students" were close (actual 146') due to not having anything to scale or reference to the tree.

Leach Field White Pine

Some of the specific points of interest we included today were:

• Visited the Pocumtuck Pines;

• Introduced to the Cherokee-Choctaw Grove;

• Learned of Bob L's first experience sensing "Indian Time";

• Learned of Dr. Lynn Rogers and his Black Bears;

• Had a close-up encounter with the Chief Jake Swamp Pine (the tallest tree in New England);

• We Visited the National Champion Sugar Maple;

• And finally, we ended the day observing a section of old growth forest complete with boulder field and extremely large grape vine.

The following are some bark identification guidelines we worked through today...

Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) / Swamp Maple close-up

Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) close-up

Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)

Bob L with Black Birch (Betula lenta)

Old Grape Vine

Red Maple (Acer rubrum), older bark similar to Shagbark Hickory

Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) for comparison to old Red Maple bark

Chief Jake Swamp (172.5') "Tallest Tree in New England"
White Pine (Pinus strobus)

Bob L at the base of the Chief Jake Swamp

JH gazing up at Jake's Crown

Chief Jake Swamp

Chief Jake Swamp

Champion Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), with beautiful old stone wall

Our Group with the Jake Swamp Pine

This was our first trip and learning encounter with Bob L.  My friend Tim Z also lent support as a representative of DCR.  Both provided incredibly valuable information concerning Mohawk Trail State Forest in particular, and our New England Forest in general.

We all gained a wealth of knowledge, and were able to share the experience with friends, old and new.  I am thankful for this adventure!