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| Lesser purple fringed orchid grows in wet, shaded woods, like those found along the North Country Trail in Wisconsin. |
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| Map of Chequamegon Hardwoods State Natural Area, courtesy WI DNR. Click for larger version. |
The segment runs 2.2-mile round trip through the contiguous Chequamegon National Forest and the Chequamegon Hardwoods State Natural Area. Stretching from New York to North Dakota, the North Country Trail crosses seven states over a 4600-mile course.
To reach the trail segment, from Mellen, Wis., drive west on County Road GG. Once inside the Chequamegon National Forest, turn right/north onto Forest Road 187. Then turn right/northeast onto Forest Road 188, which as veering east becomes Hanson Road. After passing the Beaver Dam Lake Road intersection, watch for where the North Country National Scenic Trail crosses the road. At the crossing, park off the side of the road and take the trail northeast.
Basswood forest
The trail heads through a northern mesic forest in which basswood, red oak, sugar maple, white ash and yellow birch dominate. Below it grow alternate-leaved dogwood, beaked hazelnut, and mountain maple. Beneath that shrub layer, more than 80 plant species can be found, including bloodroot, Jack-in-the-pulpit, bellwort, blue cohosh, nodding trillium, lesser purple fringed orchid, spikenard, spotted coralroot orchid, and green adders’-mouth.
Among the first of the wildflowers to bloom here in spring is bloodroot. Sometimes it pops up from soil that has just thawed. It sports a large white flower, about 1.5 inches wide, with 8-10 petals and a yellow center. The red orange juice in its stem has been used over the centuries as a dye and an insect repellent. It grows all across Wisconsin.
Jack-in-the-pulpit also blooms in spring. Its erect 2- to 3-inch long flower sits inside a green or purple hood at the top of a single stalk. American Indians cooked its below ground stem as food, so it's sometimes referred to as Indian turnip. The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals, however, so no part of it above ground is edible, as it causes a burning sensation in the mouth.
Large-leaved bellwort, also called merrybells, blooms in spring as well. Its drooping bell-shaped yellow flower is about 1-2 inches long with up to six petals. The long-leaved is one of two bellworts that grow in Wisconsin; four other species grow in eastern North America. Its found throughout the state.
Nodding trillium, purple fringed orchid
Blue cohosh, a 1-3-foot high bush, also flowers in spring. A cluster of yellow-green flowers with six petals sits atop the plant, which grows throughout Wisconsin. Don’t eat its blue berries, which are poisonous.
Blooming from spring into summer is the nodding trillium. The flower is a whorl of three wavy white petals that droops beneath the plant’s leaves. Don’t pick any part of this plant as the leaves then may not be able to produce enough sugar and starch for a bloom to appear the following year. It’s one of seven trillium species that grows throughout Wisconsin.
Among the sweetly fragrant flowers is the lesser purple fringed orchid. The lavender to rose six-parted flower is about three-quarters of an inch long. They forma dense, spike-like cluster. The flower blooms from June to August. It is found in most Wisconsin counties.
Spikenard blooms June to August. Though the plant can grow 2-4 feet tall, its greenish-white flowers are tiny and form parasol-shaped clusters. The plant really stands out in autumn when the pollinated flowers transform into dense groups of rich burgundy fruits. Birds enjoy these fruits, but for humans they are inedible. Spikenard is found throughout Wisconsin.
Coralroot orchid, maidenhair fern
Spotted coralroot orchid blooms from mid-June to mid-August. Each white flower sports purple spots and is not quite a half-inch long. Several of the flowers grow on a single stalk Though the plant reaches up to 31 inches high, it has no leaves. It is found in a majority of Wisconsin counties, mainly those in the Northwoods and along Lake Michigan.
Green adders’-mouth flowers from July to mid-August. A small orchid, its teensy green blooms are only millimeters wide and long. Each plant produces about 20 to 50 flowers. Exactly which insect pollinates it is unknown, but scientists suspect small flies, like fungus gnats, play a role.
The blue-green maidenhair fern often provides cover for and around these many wildflowers in this part of the forest.
At about 0.4 miles, the trail unceremoniously enters the state natural area’s southeast corner. Though originally logged off in the 1930s, large old-growth hemlock and big-tooth aspen both still can be found here; some old-growth hemlocks boast a diameter of five feet. Scattered gabbro rock outcroppings, some of which are up to 50 feet high, also can be found in the state natural area.
The trail departs the state natural area in little more than 0.1 miles. You’ll know you’ve left, as the route passes a wet area once you’ve re-entered the national forest.
Second-growth forest
Black ash, red maple, and white cedar are common on this wet-mesic forest portion of the route. Amphibians, including the red-backed salamander and wood frog, are here as well.
The rest of the trail is dry as it runs east through the northern mesic forest. The variety of trees in this second-growth forest makes for a colorful walk in autumn.
About 0.3 miles from the wetlands are a pair of knolls that mark the two high points along the trail. They top out at 1535 (the westernmost knoll) and 1538 feet (the easternmost) above sea level.
The trail’s crossing of North York Road marks a good spot to turn back. Alternately, this makes a great point-to-point hike if you have a driver disinterested in hiking.
