Bear Mountain: Appalachian Trail / Paradise Lane Loop - Gneiss Boulder

This boulder reveals the metamorphic geology of the area - formerly sedimentary rock, changed and wrinkled by heat and pressure. This gneiss still shows the layers of the original lake or ocean sediments, transformed into another type of rock.

See also…

• Boulders
• Geology

6/29/2003

Bear Mountain: Appalachian Trail / Paradise Lane Loop - Stony Trail

These stones were probably placed by people to reduce the wear on the trail and the mud on hiker's boots.

6/29/2003

Bear Mountain: Appalachian Trail / Paradise Lane Loop - Elegant Polypore

A slug-eaten polypore mushroom, the Elegant Polypore (Polyporus varius) can be identified by the lack of gills and the black base to its stem.

See also…

• Mushrooms and Fungi

6/29/2003

Bear Mountain: Appalachian Trail / Paradise Lane Loop - Mushroom Tree

Trichaptum biforme (the Violet Toothed Polypore) here decorates a tree trunk with its distinctive dangling shapes. The moist environment has stimulated a green algae to grow on the surface.

See also…

• Mushrooms and Fungi

6/29/2003

Bear Mountain: Appalachian Trail / Paradise Lane Loop - Moth On Leaf

This unidentified moth is apparently "sleeping" the day away on this leaf, trusting to its camoflage.

See also…

• Arthropods and Insects

6/29/2003

Connecticut