I’ve written up a hike report & photos from this past weekend’s lovely hike south along the Pacific Crest Trail from Ebbetts Pass to Nobel Lake. The photos are here and the hike report here.
We had lovely wildflower’age as well, including a few I’ve only seen once before. At this time of year, spring is in full bloom at the high elevations!
The wildflower list du jour was:
– Achillea millefolium / Common Yarrow
– Aquilegia formosa / Crimson Columbine
– Aster alpigenus / Alpine Aster
– Aster sp.
– Balsamorhiza sagittata / Arrow-leaved Balsamroot
– Calochortus leichtlinii / Smokey Mariposa Lily
– Castilleja sp. / Paintbrush sp.
– Chrysothamnus nauseosus / Rubber Rabbit Brush
– Cirsium andersonii / Anderson’s Thistle
– Cirsium scariosum / Elk Thistle
– Delphinium sp. / Larkspur sp. (Mountain Marsh?)
– Epilobium angustifolium / Fireweed
– Eriogonum umbellatum / Cushion Buckwheat
– Erysimum capitatum / Western Wallflower
– Gentiana calycosa / Explorer’s Gentian
– Ipomopsis aggregata / Scarlet Gilia
– Linum perenne / Western Blue Flax
– Lupine sp.’s / Miniature, White, and assorted other Lupine
– Mimulus guttatus / Seep-spring Monkeyflower
– Mimulus torreyi / Torrey’s Monkeyflower
– Monardella odoratissima / Mountain Monardella (purple, pale, and white ssp.’s)
– Orthocarpus cuspidatus ssp. copelandii / Copeland’s Owl Clover
– Penstemon newberryi / Mountain Pride
– Penstemon rydbergii / Meadow Penstemon
– Perideridia parishii / Parish’s Yampah
– Phlox diffusa / Spreading Phlox
– Potentilla glandulosa / Sticky Cinquefoil
– Potentilla gracilis / Fivefinger Cinquefoil
– Primula suffrutescens / Sierra Primrose
– Prunella vulgaris / Self-heal
– Pterospora andromedea / Pinedrops
– Sedum obtusatum / Sierra Sedum
– Sidalcea glaucescens / Waxy Checkerbloom
– Sphenosciadium capitellum / Ranger’s Buttons
– Solidago canadensis / Creek Goldenrod
– Veratrum californicum / California Corn Lily
– Wyethia heleniodes / Mule’s Ear Sunflower
Not a bad list for a day’s outing! The Explorer’s Gentian, Smokey Mariposa Lilies, and Sierra Primrose were the best finds of the day, as I don’t see them very often at all.
Adam Paul 