In early May we drove to Lytton, then took the reaction ferry to the western side of the Fraser River, then drove up to the trailhead for Stein River Nlaka’pamux Heritage (Provincial) Park. We hiked upriver and back for 4 hours, stopping to enjoy the river, the wild flowering plants, pictographs, and the scenery.

A few images of the flowering plants are shared here. Included in galleries are shrubby penstemon (Penstemon fruticosus), field chickweed (Cerastium arvense), harsh paintbrush (Aquilegia hispida), heart-leaved arnica (Arnica cordifolia), silverleaf phacelia (Phacelia hastata), boechera/rockcress (Arabis retrofacta and others), small-flowered blue-eyed Mary, (Collinsia parviflora), round-leaved alumroot (Heuchera cylindrica).

Click an image for a lightbox view and a caption.

silverleaf phacelia

heart-leaved arnica

small-flowered blue-eyed Mary

geum triflorum

alumroot

boechera

boechera

harsh paintbrush

shrubby penstemon

chickweed

The hike starts at low elevation Interior dry belt ponderosa pine forests, but as the valley narrows, the the vegetation zone turns to north-aspect cedar/alder forests. One long section over the Devil’s Staircase is a rock-slope zone, open, but shaded for much of the day. Open areas higher in the valley still featured spring wildflowers. On the hike back in the last 2 km, we rounded a flank of the mountain and emerged back into the sunny Interior area. Also featured here are small-flowered woodland star (Lithphragma parviflorum), red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera obligifolia), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), old man’s whiskers (Geum triflorum), bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata), and western polypody (Polypodium hesperium).