Andes, Amazon, and Herpetology: Temperate Rainforest Salamanders

Recently I turned 26 years old. There is nothing particularly exciting about this milestone, so I winged it. To celebrate my birthday I went on a solo camping trip! Sounds sad and lonely, right? Guess again. Like so many people, I have done a terrible job of exploring my home state, Oregon. Getting older seemed as good an excuse as any to check out the little notch that is Oregon's northwest corner.

Temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest
(www.groundtruthtrekking.org)

You may not be aware of this, but Oregon is one of the world's major hotbeds for salamander diversity. In Deschutes County I grew up ignorant of this fact, with one single salamander species present. Just west of the Cascade Mountains the salamander count increases dramatically. The Roughskin Newt (Taricha granulosa), which I studied in college, is one of many species found in the Willamette Valley. But the valley is only the beginning. Even further west, Oregon's Coast Range is the real place to go for salamanders. This area receives a tremendous amount of rainfall, and is thus called a temperate rainforest.

With salamanders, frogs, hiking trails, and beer in mind, I decided to camp at Saddle Mountain State Park for the weekend. From the highway the road to camp was a mixture of sharp turns, potholes, and ambling newts. Before my first hike I was sure this weekend would be a success. The remainder of my time involved brisk hiking, driving, and more hiking. Below are the highlights...

My first afternoon/evening I took the trail up Saddle Mountain. It was a little chilly and damp from the get-go, which is pretty standard for a temperate rainforest in October. The trail was steep and muddy to the point that trail crews had secured chain link fencing flat on the path. This held the rocks in place and gave me traction as I went. Going up, the cold air became thicker with moisture, almost like I was inhaling rain clouds. I soon reached a so-called viewpoint, only to see an opaque white abyss before me. Nearby was the faint hint of some trees. I was brought back to my first cloud forest hike in Ecuador (see Otavalo and Quilotoa post). That Ecuador and Oregon could be comparable in any way was a surprising realization. I should mention that for the entire hike I was carefully scanning the ground, as usual. I do this to avoid tripping and to find animals (of course). Far up the trail I spotted a little snake crossing stealthily. Not more than five steps later I encountered a small rocky outcrop below a gentle trickle of water. I did some customary rock flipping and quickly spotted a little salamander perched precariously over a crevice! I quickly jabbed my free hand down and snatched it before it dropped. WOOHOO! I immediately knew I had found a Columbia Torrent Salamander! They are only found in the thin strip of temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest. Their Family, Rhyacotritonidae, includes just four species altogether. My primary goal for the trip was to find just one. What a find! And on the first day! I hustled the rest of the way up Saddle Mountain, battling strong wind and terrible visibility. When I reached the top I was once again confronted with total white-out in all directions. The wind picked up noticeably. I sat on a sturdy bench to somewhat shield myself from the gusts. It quickly registered that my clothes were soaked through by the moist air. It was then that I decided to head down. But when I stood up I could hardly believe my eyes! The clouds were streaming by me rapidly, providing brief glimpses of an incredible view. Down below were partially shrouded patches of forest, giving way to the mouth of the Columbia River on the horizon. The sun was setting as I watched in awe. Like any normal person I pretended I was Mickey Mouse during his dream in the movie Fantasia (start video below at 3:40). The whole scene was too astounding to walk away from, at least until it started getting dark.

Columbia Torrent Salamander (Rhyacotriton kezeri)

Above the clouds!

Temperate Rainforest

The second day, which was my actual birthday, was mostly a hiking day. I hiked along creeks and streams all morning and evening, with a proper beer break at the Fort George Brewery in Astoria. On my hikes I got the full temperate rainforest experience: mossy everything, impressive trees, and heavy rainfall. I spotted another torrent salamander, this time on a rock island in a creek. As I approached I watched it throw itself into the torrent, just as the guidebooks described. I also found an area where salamanders were literally popping out of the ground! Oregon Ensatinas (Ensatina eschscholtzii oregonensis) and Western Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon vehiculum) were in great abundance. When it came time to equip a headlamp another one of my major targets for the weekend revealed itself: a Coastal Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei). Much like torrent salamanders, tailed frogs are only found in the Pacific Northwest, and there are just a couple species in their Family, Ascaphidae. They got their name from the presence of a "tail" on the males. If you have much familiarity with frog mating mechanics you probably understand that the typical procedure is as follows: male and female embrace in amplexus, female releases eggs, and male fertilizes them. This is called external fertilization. Tailed frogs are unique because their fertilization is internal, which is why males have a tail-like appendage. These frogs breed in fast-moving streams where violent currents make external fertilization impossible to achieve. I found both a male and female tailed frog on my hike, allowing me to cross yet another major goal off my list for the weekend!

The drive back to the campground that evening proved equally fruitful. The Red-legged Frogs (Rana aurora) were bounding across the road, and little Western Red-backed and Dunn's Salamanders (Plethodon dunni) were meandering their way across as well. Just before I reached the campground I saw something a little different in my headlights: awkward thrashing movements and the flick of a long tail. I assumed it would be a newt, but I was very wrong. In fact, it turned out to be a Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile), one of the last things I had hoped to find! They belong to the Family Ambystomatidae with tiger salamanders, among others. The super cool thing about these guys are that they have extremely apparent poison glands, called parotoid glands (not parotid glands, which produce saliva in humans). The primary parotoid glands are located behind the head, much like in toads, but are also found less densely on the body and tail. I had never seen a salamander like this, and because my birthday was 30 minutes from its conclusion I spent a lot of time observing this beast. Just to clarify, this was a poisonous salamander, not a venomous one. It literally could not do anything to hurt me, unless I had been dumb enough to eat it. Anyway, my birthday ended on a very happy note! I was extremely fortunate to be able to make this trip at all, let alone cross so many amazing things off my list. I never did see the top priority on my list: the Pacific Giant Salamander. Another trip is in order, maybe for my 27th birthday!

THE ULTIMATE: Northwestern Salamander (Ambystoma gracile)

Thanks so much for reading this blog post! If nothing else I hope you take away these two things: 1) Amphibians are crazy cool; and 2) Great adventures do not always require a plane ticket. I promise no animals were harmed during this adventure. Here are some more pictures...