5/29-31,
WNPS Study Weekend: Botanical Rambles from the Columbia River to the Wenatchee Mountains.
Had to work on Friday, so couldn't participate the garden visits on Friday afternoon and the first evening gathering.
Still we drove out after work. Arrived at Chelan County Expo Center's campground ~8:30pm. It's near the town of Cashmere.
$15/night for the event (otherwise $20).
Quite a few campers here belong to WNPS, including our neighbors. One lady simply slept in her car.
5/30, Saturday. Guided walk to
Tyee Lookout with Richard R. ~10 people.
All are much more knowledgable than us.
We piled onto 3 cars. The road is pretty rough.
We walked the last 1.5 miles.
Moving slowly as we were talking about plants.
Two endemic plants:
Chelan Penstemon has very small flowers compared to other blue penstemons I know.
Long Sepal Globemallow is not in flower.
A couple of plants that are beyond their range. People were hypothesize the cause.
A few tweedies.
I didn't pay attention to
Little Sunflower, until it was pointed out to me.
It's rather large, single stem.
We stopped about 10 minutes before the summit for lunch break, on a baldy slope full of phlox.
Some
Strict Buckwheat, and
Northern Buckwheat (with very tall flower stock, mostly
Very nice here.
Then we continued up to the locked lookout. Solar panel.
I think you may be able to rent it from the Forest Service.
View is great, 360°.
On our way back, we stopped by an inconspicious pullout on hwy-97 next to the Columbia River.
Opened the metal gate, we all filed in.
The metal fenced area is very closed to the rocky cliff, with piles of fallen rocks.
On this cliff face, clings on
rock mat spirea.
A very strange plant. Not sure how they survive, without water, with no discernable soil.
The withered stalks are last year's flower stocks. They bloom in August, again, defy logic: too hot and dry.
We skirted around the rocks to get closer to the cliff.
There, we could even touch the lowest leaves of some of them.
Afterwards, Richard was kind enough and took us to see mountain lady slippers.
He saw them yesterday, so the chances that they are still there today is great. No one else came along.
The 3 of us walked swiftly on this woody trail, marked as Red Devil.
There they were. About 3 by the trail, 2 more clusters higher on the slope.
I've been trying to see these beauty a few times before, but never succeeded.
They are larger and prettier than I expected.
According to Richard, there used to be a lot more all along this trail.
Back at the expo center, people were already eating and drinking.
We each were given 2 drink tickets (per evening).
Salsa and chips in the adjacent event space.
4-5 different salsas. I liked most of those.
It's quite warm today, so very happy with the beer buried in the ice cubes.
It's WNPS' 50th birthday this year.
Each table has a quiz sheet about the society that we tried to fill.
I guessed only 1 correct answer!
Many thanks and a couple of rewards were honored at the podium.
I ran into Lacy, the horticulcurist I met last year to Eastern Ridge + Iron Peak trips.
There is even a speaker tonight on ecology. However, with my stomach full, still in jet-lag, I dozed off, so learned nothing.
Dinner is Mexican, with tortilla, rice, bean, pork, beef, chicken, tofu, from a local restaurant.
A lot of food. So much so, that they encouged folks to lived in the area to take home.
I also packed a container of pork, beef + rice, some salsa.
Put it in my small cooler with the lid open for the night.
5/31, Sunday.
In the morning, saw a
California Quail on the campground grass.
Tibbetts Mountain with Joan F, one of the key organizers of this weekend's gathering. She was in Forest Service before, so very knowledgeable about the area and plants.
I found a
report from a different TH in early May: tons of balsamroot. Maybe we'll come back again early May for balsamroot.
12 people this time including Joah. Again 3 cars. Again, everyone else knows more about plants.
One couple came from Bellingham, who have been to quite a few of these in the past.
We drove behind Peshastin S.P, on FSR-7410. Not sure where we parked, maybe at the turn of 7410-112.
We walked on the road, fairly wide, but no one else except for our group.
Again, we walked slowly checking out plants.
Saw many Chelan Penstemon, little Sunflower again, as well as Long Sepal Globemallow (on the right of this photo on the right, by the road, not in flower).
One special flower we saw is
purple Trillium (endemic to PNW, likes shade wet area but in dryer side of the land).
If it were not for Joan to point it out, we all would have missed it.
The prize for this hike is the rare
Wenatchee Valerian, which we didn't see until quite later.
I saw maybe 2 plants until our lunch spot. They look nothing like the common valerian I know.
The roadwalk is surprisingly scenic, open, view of the Enchantment Peaks to the west.
Some burnt trees. A few people in the group spotted a Hairy Woodpecker, uncommon. But I didn't see it.
We sat at a road turn (with broad open area) for lunch. Finished the taco filling I took yesterday.
I asked Joan's permission to go ahead further to hunt for what she advertised "a lot" of valerian.
She gave me 20 minutes.
My buddy and I did find quite a few ~7 minute further. Happily reported back.
The group decided to check them out too.
After that, Joan suggested turning around. But one lady claimed that she will go to the summit, regardless.
In the end, we all went up to the summit. It's a good decision, not only for the view, but also
quite many
whilte delphinium on the final ridge - new to me.
Everyone was pretty happy.
Only a few clematis, and the last few balsamroot, a bit more phacelia.
Not too late back at the camp.
Driving home on I-90, it's always very pretty near Kachess Lake.
First is Mt Baldy, which is a 0.9 mile (1-way) detour (on Domerie Peak Trail) from the main loop.
Last time I did this was with V.I., a common friend of ours who perished last May in a climbing accident.
We started in dry weather. However, due to the rain yesterday, the bushes were very wet.
My pant legs got so wet, that the water was dripping down to my shoes.
Then we walked into clouds.
Despite of the "most sunny" forecast, it drizzled, and then it snowed.
See the frozen trees here on the summit. Thankfully, we both packed rain jackets.
Back to Tara Point, continued north in the fog along Domerie Peaks trail towards Thomas Mountain.
It's just a bump on the ridge, all in trees. No view.
Further north, the trail deteriated. Very steep at a couple of places, so slow going.
Saw a group of young runners coming the opposite direction.
Saw a stretch of burnt trees too.
However, the ridge is mostly in trees, once awhile on open edge for a good view of Cle Elum Lake.
Peak 5049, Peak 5282 have better views to east.
On these baldy slopes, quite some flowers.
At the very north end of the loop, we took a short spur to bag French Cabin South Peak.
The two of us couldn't decide where is the "peak". All treed, not worth going.
On the way, a nice flat meadow, and some glacier lilies.
I refused to continue north to the north peak, as it a bit too much out of the way.
Took me some effort to convince O.K. to abandon that peak.
We returned to the junction with Silver Creek Tie Trail, and took that to the west.
The next peak, French Kiss, is a worthy stop, right by the trail. Open, good view.
Plenty ridge to ramble. Easy.
Saw another small group on the next bump.
Silver Creek Tie trail goes below French Cabin West Peak (5528'), where O.K. veered off to climb.
I found a log and took a break. Took my shoes off, ate another bar, ...
Eventually got bored, and went around checking out how the climb would go.
Ended up scrambling all the way to the summit.
On the way met O.K. on her way down. She waited for me.
This is a real climb. Nothing dangerous though. Class 2-3. No real track, just use common sense.
Back on the main trail.
Next junction, we turned south (left) onto Silver Creek Trail.
This trail mostly followed the creek, even though the creek is not always visible.
No views, saw many trilliums, some oregon anenome.
