Kendall

Are these nettles or the thistle with the poppy purple flowers on top? I wonder if eradicating them (digging them up) is considered trail work for ultra service?

I sent you a PM about a WMW run tomorrow.

Both canyons have some Stinging Neddle but the Battle Creek side has fields of it near the top. The knarly looking one with the big purple flower on it is the Scottish Thistle (national symbol of Scotland--non-native and noxious weed in Utah). The plant that looks similar to Stinging Neddle and confuses people (small purple flowers) is Mint.

I bet the Forest Service would approve trail work for Thistle removal--I intended to ask last year about the same thing but waited to the last minute and found another project.

Ah, today's botanical lesson. The only bad thing about waiting until those thistles are big to remove them is that you can only fit 1-2 in a big black garbage bag. They need their own portable incinerator.

I saw a few thistles on the Pipeline and Grandeur Peak trails...and you know it's just a matter of time until they overrun the place.

I know...I know, I'm sure you know all that--sorry, I got a bit preachy. My passion for picking up rocks is counter-balanced by my hatred for those thistles. I stomp and cut them down every chance I get. I went out with a crew a few years back and we cut and bagged only the top/flowers and bagged them. I've thought about running with some Round-up...in a camelback ... probably not.

No, seriously, I knew about the thistles but not the purple-flowered mint or the type of thistles and that it is the national symbol. And I had forgotten about stinging nettle, but doing a Google image search brought up some cringing childhood memories! I'm a thistle stomper, too...break them right at ground level. Great idea to lop off their little heads; not a great idea to put Round-Up in your hydration system. :-)