Welcome to the hillside! This is the least-heavily wooded part of the Alder forest. Because of this, there is a larger variety of small plants than in other parts of the forest. In this area, you are likely to to find:

Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Aparigidium (Microseris borealis)

Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Insect -- European Paper Wasp (Polistes dominula); Plant -- Fragrant Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)

Juniper Haircap Moss (Polytrichum juniperinum)

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis Margaritacea)

Quackgrass (Agropyron repens)

Red Alder (Alnus rubra)

Red Campion (Silene Dioica)

Wolf Spider (Arctosa littoralis)

Black Slug (Arion ater)

Unidentified Fungus

Unidentified Plant (for now)

Seashore Lupine (Lupinus littoralis)

Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus)

Huckleberry Grasshopper (Melanoplus fasciatus)

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)

If you look closely at the thimble berry plant, you may notice some things that resemble tumors. These are the result of the Thimbleberry Gall Wasp (Diastrophus kincaidii), which lays its eggs in the stems of the thimbleberry. When the eggs hatch, the larvae begin feeding on the material of the stem, and the plant reacts by forming this tumor-like growth. Apparently, this does no permanent damage to the plant, and the plant can continue living with the growth.

The tumor from the Thimbleberry Gall Wasp after hatching. The fresh galls are the color of the stem that they are on, sometimes with slight discoloration.