At the start of May I traveled south to Merritt, then up to the Lundbom Lake area. The hike was up Sugarloaf Mountain (open grasslands with south-facing slopes), then back into the hills to hike grasslands hills and mixed forest gullies in a 4 hour loop route. As I hiked I stopped to enjoy wildflowers, flowering shrubs, and various trees and plants leafing out. There were a number of birds active and the pollinators were busy.
The images shared here include the following:
- redstem stork’s-bill – Erodium cicutarium
- woollypod milkvetch – Astralagus purshii
- small-flowered blue-eyed Mary – Collinisia parviflora
- crossflower – Chorispora tenella
- silky lupine – Lupinus sericeus
- corn gromwell – Bulossoides arvensis
- bigseed biscuitroot – Lomatium ambiguum
- wax currant – Ribes cereum
- lemonweed – Lithospermum ruderale
- beetle – Eleodes sp.
- arrow-leaved balsamroot – Balsamorhiza sagittatus
- rockcress – Boechera sp.
- Scouler’s willow – Carex scoulerii
- valley violet – Viola vallicola
- slender phlox – Microsteris gracilis
Even though it was a strenuous hike, I saw it as a nature hike, stopping to spot various species, and taking a number of photos, a few of which are shared here as a Google Photos slideshow (link):
Hiking the Lundbom grasslands is an annual event, but I hope to return for another hike in summer or fall. See Kamloops Trails for more on this route.