Hundreds of Chocolate Lilies! Maybe a thousand. Unbelievable. We usually only see a couple or three of them early in the Spring. The lily show went on and on in the middle section of our trail. And we had solitude, all alone all day in this floriferous forest. The forest here is open and airy with almost no brushy undergrowth, just grass, flowers, ferns and small shrubs. Big ponderosa pine are the main tree species. We. counted 22 flower species in bloom. Most common were clumps of yellow Arnica. There were no trail obstacles on our route and no streams to cross.
We hiked in the Roslyn Urban Forest which surrounds this tiny town on the East slopes of the Cascade Mountains. Our peak elevation was 3000 ft. which would have been snow covered about 5 or 6 weeks ago. It was a cool windy day with all of the precipitation left behind in Seattle and on the West slopes of the mountain range. The trails here are not well known and the mapping is poor. However the Washington Trails Association (WTA) trail guide gives good directions. There is a spaghetti bowl of trails in this forest, all multi use for hikers and bikers and skiers. We navigated with a map and altimeter. Didn't need the compass.
This was a strenuous but rewarding day for us. You younger folks would smile at our paltry mileage and elevation gain statistics.
Bob & Laurie
80+ hikers
Comments
Diana on Roslyn Urban Forest
Can you tell me which trails you were on where you saw the chocolate lilies? They are so pretty.
Posted by:
Diana on May 19, 2025 11:36 AM
Robert Michelson on Roslyn Urban Forest
We went up 1A which is also called Alaska Alley, also Ewok. After passing two fire dept small structures the trail goes to the right . From there on up for about 1/2 mile there were mass lilies. But blending into the grass. Elevation was about 2600 ft.
Posted by:
Robert Michelson on May 19, 2025 09:39 PM