This report includes a wildflower photo album. This report is a continuation of a trip that started at Rocky Top (see Rocky Top trip report).
Snow Mountain Ranch - I followed the Wildflower trail uphill and the Cowiche Mtn West trail downhill. Compared to the variety of wildflowers at Rocky Top, the display here was meager. Perhaps I should have explored other trails. Balsamroot near Cowiche Creek was bright and not wind tattered like those at Rocky Top but buckwheat was sparse. Also seen: desert parsley, flox, tragopogon, triteleia, Agastache (?) and the non-native blue mustard. Bitterroot first appeared at the junction of Wildflower & Cowiche Mtn trails. Along the Cowiche Mtn West trail, I saw several small blue butterfies. Could these have been the rare Lucia Azure Butterfly (Celastrina lucia)?
There’s a trash bin in the parking lot and a sanican next to the bridge over Cowiche Creek.
Cowiche Canyon - Because I wanted to scope its access to Cowiche Canyon for a possible future group outing, I started at Wilridge Winery. It’s a steep ~0.5 mi one-way on a south facing slope (something to keep in mind if planning to do this on a hot day). In the canyon, lots of violet-green swallows swooping overhead. Dogwood and chokecherry in bloom. The canyon walls festooned with buckwheat, purple sage and balsamroot. My favorite find was the Grand Collomia wildflower, what an amazing plant! Take care - there’s poison ivy within a few feet off the sides of the trail, with more occurring closer to Cowiche Creek.
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