Summer is warming up, accelerating snowmelt from the upper mountain and revealing more of our hiking trails. Our main trail out of the base area is called the Bear Grass Trail, and we expect that in the next two weeks, you'll see the Bear Grass flowering, which is almost a month behind last season. The hot temperatures are shedding snow, and the waterfalls are spectacular!
We have a lot of wildflower blooms to look forward to, but you don't have to wait. Our Summer Operations Manager, Josey Rice, took a hike - and provides this update:
"There are one or two flowers popping up in some places, but most of the concentration of flowers in bloom are in the areas near the streams and waterfalls. In another week or so, everything is going to pop, but I think for this week, maybe we concentrate on the waterfall and wetland areas.
If you hike the bottom of Bear Grass at Blue Chair (Trail 1) and then head to Umbrella Falls Cutoff (Trail 4), connect with thee Umbrella Falls Trail and then finish in the parking lot, there are a lot of flowers near the streams that trickle down, as well as the Umbrella Falls Trail after you get off Trail 4. There are also Alpine Lilies on Trail 2. The meadows are also super lush and green and it’s gorgeous with the blue of the sky. There have also been a bunch of deer and elk prints along this section as well.
The base area also has a ton of Shooting Stars right in Ballroom Carpet area, and the Elephant Head Orchids are under Blue Chair right now. The Umbrella Falls Trail near Sahalie Loop has a ton of Blue and White Windflowers, Valerian, and Buttercups. There are also Marsh Marigolds near every stream and waterfall. Even some growing on a log in the water."
As always, we ask that you stick to our trails and avoid walking in sensitive wetland or other areas. Enjoy your walk with nature!
Wy'east Howl this weekend
There's more than wildflowers to watch this weekend - Meadows hosts the Wy'east Howl trail running event Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's event includes watching competitors finish their 50k and 100k runs at Meadows. Sunday is a half marathon - all run on the trails at Meadows. Registration for this event is full, but you can still come up and cheer on the runners, and listen to the Retro Active Gamma Rays perform surf music Saturday from 2 - 5 PM at the Sahale Lodge.