We paddled twice around Stake Lake, then secured the boat and went for a 5 km hike on the trails, stopping to enjoy the flowering plants along the way.

Just emerging was cinquefoil (Cinquefoil villosa).   Like buttercups the petals are highly reflective and photograph close-ups tend to be overexposed.   They were abundant in open areas, trailside.

Rosy pussytoes (Antennaria microphylla A. rosea) were staring to flower and will become more robust over the next 2-3 weeks.   Pussytoes are mat-forming and usually have runners looking for a new spot to root.

Red paintbrush (Castilleja miniata) was abundant, with some clusters which seemed to shine with a neon brilliance.

Red columbine (Aquilegia formosa) has such a distinctive shape that makes it instantly recognizable.    As a young man hiking in the mountains it was the first wildflower I learned.

A Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) landed on dandelions as part of its pollinator tour.

We took a side trail (snowshoe single track) through the forest and found some bunchberry (Cornus canadensis).   This flower had just emerged.   The bright white bracts stay white even when the small flowers darken, then are replaced by red berries in the summer.

False Solomon’s-seal (Smilacena racesmosa) was spotted in wet open spots in the deep forest, with star-like flowers stacked, pyramid-like on the ends of stems.

Kinnikinnick (Arcostaphylos usa-ursi) is an evergreen shrub that has small urn-shaped pink flowers in the summer. 

Early blue violet (Viola adunca) was flowering on the trail’s edge at 1325 m in June when it had flowered earlier in the upper grasslands – douglas fir forest in late spring.

There were no surprises along the trail, but we are happy to enjoy the seasonal wildflowers that emerge each month, like a reunion of old friends.