Spring wildflowers in the mountains
We are so blessed, especially at this time of covid, with endless miles of forested trails in the Ashland Creek watershed. The trailhead is literally our back door. From there we have access to a well-managed creek to crest trail system, which begins at Ashland Creek in Lithia Park and climbs all the way to Mount Ashland where it eventually hooks up with the Pacific Crest Trail.
Recently, when there was a surge in trail use and some of the most popular trails became one-directional, Charlie and I felt like we needed to bust out of our usual hiking routine and made a plan to hike portions of the Pacific Crest Trail within the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. 19 miles of the PCT run through the Monument in Southern Oregon, there are several access points about a half hour drive from here, and it’s wildflower time in the mountains!
A Monument to diversity
The BLM, one of the management agencies, has a good description of the area: “The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is situated at the crossroads of the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou mountain ranges, and represents an outstanding ecological wonderland. This convergence of three geologically distinct mountain ranges has resulted in an area with unparalleled biological diversity and a tremendously varied landscape. The Monument is home to more than 3,500 plant and animal species, many found only here, and was established in 2000 in recognition of its remarkable ecology and to protect its diverse range of biological, geological, aquatic, archaeological, and historic resources.”
Green Springs to Pilot Rock
The PCT trail south of Highway 66 from the Green Springs trailhead leads to Hobart Bluff and Pilot Rock. The trails pass through a diversity of biomes, each with their variations of plants and soils, weaving in and out of dense forests and across open hillsides with distant views of Mt. Shasta in the Cascade range to the south, Mt. Ashland in the Klamath Mountains to the west, Mt. Mcloughlin to the north in the Sky Lakes Wilderness, and Pilot Rock in the Siskiyous.
Trail Food
There are plenty of picturesque lunch spots on these trails and we usually pack a lunch or (if it’s a Tuesday) stop at Tuesday market on the way out of town.
Boccard Point
It was a little colder than usual in the valley on one of the days we headed up to the PCT. This time we planned a side trip to Boccard Point. The unmarked trail is just an old road being reclaimed by wilderness, and only a couple of miles out to the Point. What we didn’t expect was arriving at the trailhead in a snowstorm which kicked up along the way. We ate lunch in the truck while waiting out the storm, and slogged over the wet trail as the sky cleared to panoramic views of the Klamath, Siskiyou, and Cascade Mountains.
Green Springs Loop Trail – Howard Prairie Lake
North of Highway 66, the PCT traverses along Little Hyatt Lake, Hyatt Lake Reservoir, and continues on to Howard Prairie Lake. The lakes attract waterfowl and bald eagles and flower lined trails roll through dense woods and spill out onto exposed hillsides crowded with native wildflowers in gorgeous combinations.
Mount Ashland and the Siskiyou Crest
West of Interstate 5, the Pacific Crest Trail climbs Mt. Ashland and follows the Siskiyou Crest southeast to the Oregon/California border. The elevation is higher here and we hit the trail as soon as the snow melted. This subalpine country has pockets of fir, hemlock and pine forests, big open sunny slopes, dry, rocky outcroppings, springs and wetlands, and panoramic views in every direction. We found wildflower season at its peak and every bend in the trail or transition in the biome revealed a unique indigenous garden of variety and color.
Our day sections included Bull Gap to Grouse Gap, which skirts around the summit of Mt. Ashland, and several day hikes from Grouse Gap to the Oregon/California border, following the crest of the Siskiyou Mountains. One day we did a side trip on Split Rock trail which includes the McDonald Peak Botanical Area.
The search for Lewisias in the Red Buttes
Charlie has a habit of bringing home to me what he calls “orphan flowers”, meaning either it was the last of its kind at the Grange, or it looked like it needed a home. Over time I ended up with several Lewisias in pots on the back porch and I fell in love with them. They appear every spring in showy bunches of pink, white, and salmon.
Charlie said a good place to see the wild version of Lewisias was in the Red Buttes. So one day our destination was a portion of the PCT that skirts the Red Buttes Wilderness. We started at the Cook and Green Pass and hiked to Towhead Lake. This part of the PCT is in California, and we accessed it through Jacksonville, past Applegate Lake, and over many miles on rough Forest Service roads.
Another geologically unique area, the red peridotite rock in the Red Buttes supports unusual plant communities. Lewisias are one of the plants that like the soils there. And we did find cliff hugging Lewisias, along with many other wild and wonderful flora. We had lunch at Towhead Lake, steeped in the sweet scent of Western Azaleas and took a dip in her cool waters to wash off the trail dust.
PCT access from Dead Indian Memorial Road
It was towards the end of July when we returned to the northeastern end of the monument and did a couple hikes in either direction from where the PCT crosses Dead Indian Memorial Road. Wildflower season was mostly spent by then but we did discover Pipsissewa, Harebells and clouds of the diminutive and pretty Twinflower, as well as the fruits of strawberries and thimbleberries.
Where there’s Wildflowers, there’s Butterflies
Because of the unique diversity of habitat in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, more than 100 species of butterflies have been documented, claiming to be one of the highest diversities of butterfly species in the country. And we did encounter a lot of butterflies attracted to the wildflowers on the trails. Sometimes we would find ourselves engulfed in their soaring and erratic dances. They are a bit trickier than flowers to photograph, but we were able to capture a few. I tried to identify what I could, but don’t quote me. Special thanks to Emma and Candace of the Xerces Society for tagging the female Great Spangled Fritillary for us.
Spring 2020 Wildflowers – Southern Oregon Pacific Crest Trail
Our search for native wildflowers yielded an abundance of fritillarias, erythroniums and orchids. We found wild peonies and fields of valerian. We ended up finding over 100 different wildflower species on our hikes.
The taxonomy and common names of the wildflowers below are to the best of our research. As botanists know, the naming of flora has many regional variations, and sometimes we found it impossible to positively identify some of the flowers we found. The wildflowers below are loosely organized by color to provide some sense of organization.
