Unfortunately, I couldn't capture the beautiful, deep turquoise colour that the lake is so well known for. Too many grey clouds were to blame, I guess, but you can still see the beauty of this lake and its gorgeous surroundings. Taken on 29 August 2013, when friend Sandy and I went off for a day in the Rocky Mountains, driving as far as Mistaya Canyon along the Icefields Parkway. This day trip included Peyto Lake, Mistaya Canyon, Bow Lake and Lake Louise. What more could one want? This photo was taken from the Lookout, at the end of a walk/hike through the forest - an uphill walk back to the car! I've seen this glacier-fed lake described as dog-shaped, fox-shaped, bear-shaped and wolf-shaped. The last time I saw this lake was 30+ years ago, so our recent visit was a real treat.
"Peyto Lake (pea-toe) is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. It was named for Ebenezer William Peyto, an early trail guide and trapper in the Banff area. The lake is formed in a valley of the Waputik Range, between Caldron Peak, Peyto Peak and Mount Jimmy Simpson, at an elevation of 1,860 m (6,100 ft). During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park. The lake is best seen from Bow Summit, the highest point on the Icefield Parkway. The lake is fed by the Peyto Creek, which drains water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier (part of the Wapta Icefield), and flows into the Mistaya River."
wikimapia.org/655560/Peyto-lake
Tags: Alberta Canada W of Calgary Banff National Park Rocky Mountains Highway 93 Icefields Parkway Peyto Lake nature landscape scenery mountains lake water forest trees viewpoint breathtaking Explore interestingness#399 explore2013September06
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I was so thrilled to see this rare fungus (Hydnellum peckii) again, when friend Sandy and I went along the Icefields Parkway to Peyto Lake (and a little further, to Mistaya Canyon), on 29 August 2013. I had seen it maybe three or so times before, but it is such a treat to see. So unusual and beautiful. There were several of these all together along the trail to the lake lookout - and nearby was a blue species, complete with a few blueish-white droplets. While we were looking at them and I was taking photos, a young guy stopped to see what we were looking at. He, too, took photos. A short while later, we bumped into him at the Peyto Lake lookout and he showed us his hands and fingers that had turned orange. I wondered if he had actually touched the fungus. On our walk back through the forest to the parking lot, I stopped to take a few more photos of them, resting my hands on the ground. Sure enough, I ended up with orange hands, too. Would this be from spores? This specimen may have been something like an inch in length, and has "teeth", not gills underneath, which unfortunately you can't see.
"Hydnellum peckii is an inedible fungus, and a member of the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses.
The fruit bodies typically have a funnel-shaped cap with a white edge, although the shape can be highly variable. Young, moist fruit bodies can "bleed" a bright red juice that contains a pigment known to have anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. The unusual appearance of the young fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names, including strawberries and cream, the bleeding Hydnellum, the bleeding tooth fungus, the red-juice tooth, and the Devil's tooth. Although Hydnellum peckii fruit bodies are readily identifiable when young, they become brown and nondescript when they age." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii
The following has been taken from the excellent UBC Botany Photo of the Day website (September 2013), which used this image:
"Hydnellum peckii, of the Bankeraceae, is a species of fungus that is widely distributed in North America. The aboveground growth is typically observed in the late summer or autumn, either growing in clusters or occurring singly. This species forms an ectomycorrhizal relationship with several different species of conifers.
The caps are often pinkish, but can be white to brown to black, as the colour and texture vary depending on age and the environmental conditions. In moist weather, bright red droplets often appear atop the cap, making this mushroom easy to identify. Characteristic to this genus, the spores are produced on pendant tooth-like projections called spines. The spores are brown, round to nearly round, and are prominently warted. The solid or woody stalk is cylindrical and is generally tapered toward the base (see: Arora, D. 1986. Mushrooms Demystified. Berkeley California: Ten Speed Press).
This mushroom is considered inedible, at least partly due to its burning-acrid taste and tough corky texture."
www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2013/09/hydnellum-peckii.php
Tags: Alberta Canada W of Calgary Rocky Mountains Banff National Park Highway 93 Icefields Parkway Peyto Lake trail to lookout nature forest mycology fungus fungi rare Strawberries and cream Bleeding Hydnellum Bleeding tooth fungus Red-juice tooth Devil's tooth Hydnellum peckii Explore interestingness#448 explore2013September02 UBC Botany Photo of the Day, 13 Sept.2013 Bankeraceae #GreatNature
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I was so thrilled to see this species of fungus (Hydnellum caeruleum) again, when friend Sandy and I went along the Icefields Parkway to Peyto Lake (and a little further, to Mistaya Canyon), on 29 August 2013. I had seen it maybe three or so times before, but it is such a treat to see. So unusual and beautiful. There were several of these all together along the trail to the lake lookout, mixed in with Hydnellum peckii, which I posted the other day. Love the blueish-white droplets that it is oozing. While we were looking at them and I was taking photos, a young guy stopped to see what we were looking at. He, too, took photos. A short while later, we bumped into him at the Peyto Lake lookout and he showed us his hands and fingers that had turned orange. I wondered if he had actually touched the fungus. On our walk back through the forest to the parking lot, I stopped to take a few more photos of them, resting my hands on the ground. Sure enough, I ended up with orange hands, too. Would this be from spores? This specimen may have been something like an inch or less in length, and has "teeth", not gills underneath, which you can see in my photo.
botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/aug2003.html
www.mushroomexpert.com/hydnellum_caeruleum.html
Tags: Alberta Canada W of Calgary Rocky Mountains Banff National Park Highway 93 Icefields Parkway Peyto Lake trail to lookout nature forest mycology fungus fungi Hydnellum caeruleum Blue-green hydnellum Blue spine Blue tooth #GreatNature
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A colourful mushroom, that I think is a Russula sp., seen along the forest trail leading to the overlook at Peyto Lake (off the Icefields Parkway / Highway 93, Banff National Park). Any kind of bright colour in the forest is always a welcome sight - purple, blue, red, orange, yellow : )
Tags: Alberta Canada W of Calgary Banff National Park Rocky Mountains Highway 93 Icefields Parkway Peyto Lake on trail leading to lookout nature mycology fungus fungi mushroom mushrooms red and white Russula sp.? macro close-up beauty in nature #GreatNature
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We found this plant - the only one we saw - along the trail to Peyto Lake (along the Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park) on 29 August 2013. I think it has to be a species of Silene, but ID will have to wait. I think it's such an attractive flower, I would say about three-quarters of an inch to an inch across, and in pretty good shape.
Not sure, but the closest I have found in Google Images is Silene auriculata subsp. lanuginosa (Bertol.) Arcang. (Silene lanuginosa). All other species of Silene seem to have each petal divided into two lobes, whereas this flower has the additional little white "fingers".
Later: it seems to be Parry's Campion - Silene parryi.
Tags: Alberta Canada W of Calgary Banff National Park Rocky Mountains Highway 93 Icefields Parkway Peyto Lake on trail to the lookout nature forest flora flower flowers wildflower white Silene Sp. macro close-up beauty in nature #GreatNature
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