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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2012)
'e Clackamas P rint Wednesday, April. 25, 2012 aced @ clackam as.edu Canemah Bluff offers By Isaac Soper Arts & Culture Editor Name: Canemah Bluff Location: O ff o f South End Rd., turn left onto Fifth Ave; there will be signs for Old Canemah Park. Typ e; Groomed trails, wilderness Length: Multiple trails; total area o f 158 acres Difficulty: Easy to moderate Equipm ent needed: Boots; compass recommended if Hidden in Oregon 'City, a town on the verge, of subur bia, .sits a 158 acte protected wilderness area known as the Canemah Bluff. " In 2008, Native American artifacts and cefemonial sites were found by park workers in the. area, which was . 'used as a meeting place for mem bers o f , many tribes around Oregon; between 30,000 and 60,000 -members o f various tribes; would come to the Bluff and fish the Willamette River together,- | There ; are many different types of'wilderness in the loca tion, including, of course, the Bluff itself, along with ponds, dense forest, open fields and marsh lands. There are various .trees iftthe area that are becom ing rater by .the "minute, such1 as thé Oregon white oak or the Pacific madrone, both which are beautiful and unique trees. There are à few offshoots o f the trail that are terrtporar-- ily closed due-to water satura tion and mild flooding, but the new trail is very nice.. The new trail begins a tth e C a n e m a h Children sT ark (located 'at 815 Fourth Ave, Oregon .City), and Canemah Bluff area. Thé Bluff looks down upon the Willamette River. There are a plethpra o f beau tiful wildflowers in the area, including the bright yellow Oregon sunshine, the upside- down 'white fawn lily and the common camas. Apart from flowers, there are a wide variety of mushrooms and fungi that are very unique and magnifi cent in their own right. O n the hike, we were able to fin d a less- common black jelly, fungus and an elven saddle. Jelly , fungus is an edible fungi, although considered by many to share the same taste as dirt (see. story below). Many of the rocks and trees in the area have a thick covering of moss; in some spots we were able to find patches that were over four inches thick, . There are multiple trails that are slightlyovergrown that will rovide good views “o ff the eaten path.” Be careful, there is some, hoir son oak. Poison oak can be iden tified by its glossy oak-like leaf structure (that during warmer times o f the year will, turn from reen to red). Its .leaves are. in unches ;o f, three, “Leaves .of three, let them be.” . Apart from the cemetery trail, which heads to the Canemah tr ie ta r g e , ~ prp^ tected areas that make up the "fff ft&îls that can' provide fairly' easy hiking for hours and hours. Unless its a really busy time of year, Canemah is relatively quiet, over a period o f three hours; only four other people were seen, hiking on the main trail and the cemetery trail. ’ Most do not associate Oregon City with “wilderness.” Canemah is that. Once you hike away, from the childrens park, Canemah becomes a different world' all together. Cool Waterways, awesome -trails and jutting rocks to climb on, beautiful wildflowers, twist ing, white oaks, Pacific madro- nes— almost ‘human-like in appearance. Canemah is one of the best'places by far in Oregon City. A black jelly fungus grows oh ^O^anffrofraM , Oregon big-leaf maple tree. Wildman goes native, searches for local sustenance By Isaac Soper Arts & Culture Editor Food is an important part of a balanced diet. Other than gro cery stores, fast food restaurants and dumpsters, there are in fact, other ways to find food. Look out your back door. Do you see any weeds? W hat we commonly call weeds are in fact native plants. Quite a few of these native plants are edible, and in many cases, quite tasty. Throughout the year, find ing food in the wilderness can be relatively easy to impossible. As I entered the woods on the outskirts of town, I tried to find some of the basic edibles. For me, that includes plants that I know are edible, without my guide; such as the common dandelion, the blackberry -and the wild carrot. A few dandelions were found, though the slightly bitter taste of the petals and the leaves left me unsatisfied. Blackberries were no more than thorny vines; the wild carrot (also called Queen to mild lettuce and the petals Anne’s Lace)~couldn’t be found. had a uhique but, satisfying taste The Oregon grape, identified as well., Being the first large by its holly-like spiny leaves, was amount o f wild edibles I had flowering which means if|Tairly found on my search, I collected bitter but edible berries would a few bunches of the plant. . be in season £ soon. “Soon” was Some wild, plants can be; not soon enough; I was on a eaten raw, and some must be quest to fill my stomach and cooked, for instance, the infa hunger was setting in'. | mous stinging nettle, a plant I walked furdier, deeper into that when brushed up against the woods,, seeking, something makes you really itchy, until you palatable to eat. I looked down take a shower. Yes, it is a good to see the white .flowers and dis idea to have some gloves to har tinct leaves of the wild strawber vest the plant. If you do come ry. The flowers meant that there into contact with it, another would be no pickings though. wild edible, the dock, has the As I stood, I saw the thorny remedy. Just mash up the docks stems of the wild rose, o f which leaves and rub. the juice on the the leaves,, petals and buds site o f contact, and the sting will (known as rosehips) are all edi subside. ble. There werent any rosehips As much as I, enjoy eating or petals yet, but a few young mushrooms at home, without leaves made a quick snack. I a detailed guide, I didn’t even had to search for something consider eating the different more filling; I came upon some fungi that I’d seen.--. ostrich ferns. The young coiled Those who may be interested heads of the ferns (commonly in harvesting wild mushrooms called fiddleheads) are edible (the* edibles, not the psychedel if boiled in water. W ith only si ics) should look for an in-depth pocket knife and a water bottle, guide on what exactly to look the possibility o f boiling fiddle- for. If you eat a mushroom that heads was nil. isn’t edible, you will- most-likely Giving up on my prior die. knowledge and opening my If you do plan on going out guide, I started to search for in the woods (or in your neigh some o f the plants .1 wasn’t bor’s weed-ridden yard)' to pro as used to. Looking down at cure some wild edibles, make some interesting mushrooms, ;I sure th a fy o u purchase a guide noticed a large patch of wild to properly identify the plants violets, which have heart-shaped you are going to consume. If leaves and - -five-petal yellow you’re not' 100 percent sure it’s flowers, both of which are edi edible, do not eat it. There axe ble raw. The leaves tasted similar many edible plants that can easily be confused with deadly ones. In the case o f the wild onion- and the death camas, though they look very similar, the death camasfs, you guessed it, deadly. Other plants that are easily confused are the wild parsnip (also called cow , parsr nip) and the poison hemlock. I assume you can guess which one is toxic. Finding only a few edibles in the woods, due to my lack, of knowledge and practice, I still left the forest with a feeling of satisfaction, though the refrig-, erator looked pretty good once I got home. The Oregon grape displays its vibrant yellow flow ers after a warm* Spring rain. The fru its o f the p la n t w ill be edible by Summer.
