Manastash Ridge - Observatory Road, Manastash Ridge - Westberg Trail & Manastash Ridge - Boy Scout Trail — Tuesday, May. 18, 2021

Kay, Paul, Maggie, and John joined me for a Mountaineers hike up Westberg, west on the ridge road, a little dip down into South Riggs Canyon, and the Boy Scout trail on our return (see attached caltop for the 14 mile route). The large amounts of winter snow and the sunny spring has paid off, there are lots of flowers everywhere we hiked. We saw 64 species of flowering plants (Paul's list of the flowering plants is at the bottom, I like hiking with naturalists). 

What is especially nice is that there are different flowers in abundance in different areas. There are thick areas of Gairdner's penstemon (picture 3), thick, large, and colorful buckwheats (picture 1), balsamroot (thickest near woods on the ridge and at the top of the Westberg), paintbrush, showy phlox, bitterroot (picture 4, more than I have ever seen on a hike), yellow desert daisies/fleabane, larkspur, and lots of antelope brush lighting up the hillsides on the Westberg.  The 2 minute video will give you a little feel for the flowers. There were only a few royal penstemons, but they are striking (picture 2).  

WILDFLOWERS (64 species)

white (18)

chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata)

white campion / evening catchfly (Silene latifolia) — introduced from Europe

wax / DESERT currant (Ribes cereum)

showy phlox (Phlox speciosa)

common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

milk-vetch, species uncertain (Astragalus sp.) — 

46 species of milk-vetch grow in Washington, including 20 in Kittitas County!

tufted saxifrage (Saxifraga cespitosa)

saxifrage, probably Clayton’s (Micranthes, probably fragosa)

sagebrush stickseed (Hackelia diffusa)

western serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)

prairie-star, species uncertain (Lithophragma sp.)

panicled death-camas (Toxicoscordion / Zigadenus paniculatum)

lance-leaved spring-beauty (Claytonia lanceolata)

Siberian spring-beauty (Claytonia sibirica)

large false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum)

star-flowered Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum)

Sitka mountain-ash (Sorbus sitchensis)

yellow (20)

salsify (Tragopogon dubius)

bitterbrush / antelope brush (Purshia tridentata)

Douglas’s buckwheat (Eriogonum douglasii)

thyme-leaf buckwheat (Eriogonum thymoides)

arrow-leaf buckwheat (Eriogonum compositum)

Carey’s balsamroot (Balsamorhiza careyana)

Hooker’s balsamroot (Balsamorhiza hookeri)

Carey’s x Hooker’s hybrid balsamroot (Balsamorhiza careyana x hookeri)

desert yellow daisy (Erigeron linearis)

nineleaf desert-parsley / biscuitroot (Lomatium triternatum) — or a split-off species 

barestem desert-parsley / biscuitroot (Lomatium nudicaule)

tall western groundsel (Senecio integerrimus)

tansymustard, species uncertain (Descurainia sp.)

hawksbeard, species uncertain (Crepis sp.)

Columbian puccoon (Lithospermum ruderale)

nodding microseris (Microseris nutans)

large-flowered agoseris (Agoseris grandiflora)

heart-leaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia)

holly-leaf / tall Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium)

field mustard (Brassica rapa)

reddish: pink to red to red-purple (10)

common snowberry  (Symphoricarpos albus)

mountain snowberry (Symphoricarpos oreophilus)

Gairdner’s penstemon (Penstemon gairdneri)

bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva)

harsh paintbrush (Castilleja hispida)

old man’s whiskers (Geum triflorum)

redstem stork’s bill (Erodium cicutarium)

Columbia / small-flowered rockcress (Boechera pauciflora)

big-head clover (Trifolium macrocephalum)

rose, bald-hip or Nootka or pear-hip (Rosa gymnocarpa or nutkana or woodsii)

bluish: blue to violet to blue-purple (14)

blue mustard (Chorispora tenella) — introduced from SW Asia

lupine, probably elegant or prairie (Lupinus, probably lepidus, variety lobbii or aridus)

lupine, probably silky or silvery (Lupinus, probably sericeus or argenteus)

royal / showy penstemon (Penstemon speciosus)

large-flower Triteleia / Douglas's brodiaea (Triteleia grandiflora / Brodiaea douglasii)

western blue iris (Iris missouriensis) — this is a native!

two-spike larkspur (Delphinium distichum)

larkspur, species uncertain (Delphinium sp.) —

19 species of larkspur grow in Washington, including 11 in Kittitas County!

bluebells, sagebrush or shade or trumpet (Mertensia amoena or umbratilis or longiflora)

ball-head waterleaf (Hydrophyllum capitatum)

shaggy daisy (Erigeron pumilus)

few-flowered pea (Lathyrus pauciflorus)

thread-leaf phacelia (Phacelia linearis)

small-flowered blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora)

green (1)

Thompson’s paintbrush (Castilleja thompsonii)

brown (1)

chocolate tips (Lomatium dissectum)

BIRDS

Red-tailed Hawk

Steller’s Jay

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Western Meadowlark

American Kestrel

Common Raven

Chipping Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Sagebrush Sparrow

Western Bluebird

Spotted Towhee

Whitebreasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Dusky Grouse

Mountain Chickadee

Willow Flycatcher

Black-headed Grosbeak

Dark-eyed Junco

Osprey

Northern Harrier

BUTTERFLIES

Ochre Ringlet

unidentified white

More Information on this Trip Report

• https://caltopo.com/m/KS9C