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Tag Archives: wildflowers

A Short Jaunt on the PCT

Every summer I try to get up to the Harts Pass area as early as possible to catch the start of high mountain wildflowers. I have to wait til the road is open and passable. There are always new washouts over the winter and the Forest Service works hard to get it open for use. Hot weather has settled into the valley so it was a great relief to get up high and enjoy the cooler mountain air and sweet little creeks flowing with melted snow. The dogs were excited to be in snow too! The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) crosses through this region and can be accessed at several trailheads. We picked the one that goes generally south towards Grasshopper Pass from near the Meadows campground. It was a good choice with a cool breeze and enough water to keep the dogs hydrated and snow to cool their feet and bellies. The snow and water won’t last long with this hot weather. It’s too early for the through hikers to be here – they are the ones that start at the Mexican border and walk all the way to Canada. We had the trail almost all to ourselves except for the marmots, pikas and ground squirrels. We saw only three other day hikers. The wildflowers were over the top beautiful!

The trail starts out across this big talus slope
Happy hiker
Happy dogs
Slate Peak lookout can be seen on the far left
Anemone occidentalis or western pasqueflower
Western pasqueflower
Phlox and pasqueflower
Buttercup
Walking on the PCT towards Grasshopper Pass
The meadows really are that green!
Cairn
What is Luna thinking about now?
Pack with a view
Inukshuk
Antennaria rosea
Tiny bell-shaped flowers of heather
Jacob’s ladder, Polemonium sp.
the heart of the North Cascades
Shooting stars
Lewisia columbiana
I like Lewisia
There was lots of Lewisia!
Oh look – Sky found a stick!
How many kinds of plants?
Silver snags from an old forest fire
Silky phacelia
Jacob’s ladder
The snow is soft
Alpine larch trees with their fresh green leaves
Ballhead waterleaf
Frida enjoys a cool creek after the hike

Early Summer Fun

My dear friend came to visit from Wenatchee early this week and we got to enjoy good times spent outdoors. She and I learned to paddle kayaks on the Columbia and now she is a competitive paddler while I simply enjoy a day in my boat whenever I can. I do miss the water of the big river. Up here I have small lakes and they have their own charm, that’s for sure. On Monday we took our boats over the North Cascades to Diablo Lake, a reservoir on the Skagit River. Diablo and Ross Lakes both have greenish-colored water from all the glacial deposits of the high Cascade Mountains. They are deep and cold. We had smooth glassy water to begin and as we went up the gorge we had a nice wind behind us. Of course that was a wind we had go against on the return trip. As we got to the big open water, it was pretty stiff and we had an interesting swell when we turned up the Thunder Arm of the lake. It was lots of fun!

The next day we had planned a hike to a lookout but after a big rain storm and the threat of more rain showers we decided to stay closer to the valley bottom and enjoyed a nice three mile walk in the woods. The early morning rain left everything fresh and fragrant. The flowers were outstanding. The scent of the wild roses was enough to make a person swoon. Well, maybe not so much. It was lovely though. I managed to lose my lens cap along the way so if you are on the Patterson Lake trail and find a small lens cap, please let me know.

Liberty Bell is a distinctive landmark when crossing the North Cascades
That beautiful water of Diablo Lake
Heart-shaped moss on a rocky outcrop above the water
This barge passed us coming and going. The barge drive was kind enough to slow down and not make a big wake.
Ross Dam holds back Ross Lake
Horsetail Falls and the Highway 20 bridge high above us.
After this it was too rough to have the camera out.
A walk in the woods with lots of photo ops.
Luna liked the cool wet morning.
Wild roses
Tiger lilies. Lilium columbianum
An odd fungus on the end of a log
Lady-slipper orchids
Orange paintbrush. Castilleja sp
Cat’s ear lily. Calochortus elegans.
raindrops
More Lady-slippers
Some were past their prime
Wild onion. Alium sp
Elderflower. I made some cordial earlier this week.
Tall grass, hay field, foothills

Wildflower Walk

Here are a few, maybe a few too many, wildflower images from a dog walk last week.

Clematis?
White shooting stars!
paintbrush
strawberry
Fairy slippers
I don’t know
late serviceberry
douglas sunflower
More paintbrush
Geum?
previous day’s raindrop on lupine leaves
larkspu
wild geranium
Forgot this one too.
Impressive ponderosa pine snag
phacelia
pentemon
I don’t know. White forget me nots?
Patterson Lake
False solomon’s seal?
Rock cress gone to seed?
Balsamroot along the trail
chokecherry
A cocoon? Maybe tent caterpillars? It’s very big.
Trying to get 3 dogs lined up on the trail

Out with the Dogs

The dogs and I went up-valley on Friday for a change of scenery. The pass is still closed so traffic is light up there. That will change soon. The dogs were happy to see some dwindling snow patches and I enjoyed looking at the rivers and streams. Lost River was running clear while all the other streams were muddy with runoff. Glacier lilies were blooming where the snow had just melted. Butterflies probed into old dog poop looking for nutrients. Chipping Sparrows, Willow Flycatchers and many other birds sang their songs of spring time.

I always stop for this view.
Glacier lily
Glacier lily
Spring beauty
Buttercup
I should know the name of this mountain
This bridge is nerve-wracking for me. In the summer I wade across the river but not now.
Sky was not as confident as Luna
Luna says it’s a piece of cake.
Quite the rushing river
A small waterfall
Fresh cottonwood leaves
Cottonwood leaves in black and white
Cedar and sunlight
Forest and the trees
This creek must have escaped its culvert. Now it is going across the road.
That’s where the road should be.
Luna gets a stick out of the muddy torrent
Even muddy, it’s still pretty
Butterflies. How many do you see?
Disgusting, I know.
Sky is curious.

A Rare, Rainy Day

It seems like the snow just recently melted and yet, already everything is dusty so this morning it was lovely to wake to the smell of petrichor – the pleasant smell that comes with rain after a dry spell. Thanks to Mary Ann for sharing this word with me. It’s just a very light rain so things will not be moist for long. I’ll be watering tiny garden plants again tomorrow or the next day.

The dogs and I had a nice slow walk around our hillside. I am still nursing a sore back so I don’t do anything quickly. It was a good opportunity to study the small plants growing in our normally arid landscape.

This lupine grows near our house is often the first to bloom. It is next to a rock so probably benefits from the reflected heat and light.
Serviceberry in full bloom!
Old serviceberry along our road
Choke cherry, not yet blooming
Dog with a stick in a hurry.
Balsamroot
Balsamroot in front of our neighbors’ small barn
Tent caterpillars on a bitterbrush. They seem smaller than last year.
Currant
I don’t know this one
Bitterroot leaves
Tiny lomatium.
Bluebells
Mullein. Some say it’s native; others say it’s introduced. It has lots of medicinal qualities. It is beautiful. Birds like it. However, it is very invasive.