July 3, 2016
A brief visit to Trail 345
Today I briefly visited a favorite old trail even though the day was a little warmer than I like for hiking. But a trail that had no visitors on a holiday weekend was still a good place to be.
USFS trail 345 on a bright summer day.
White Spirea, Shinyleaf Spirea ~ Spiraea lucida
Alaska rein orchid, slender-spire orchid ~ Piperia unalascensis
Sickletop Lousewort ~ Pedicularis racemosa
Scarlet Indian Paintbrush ~ Castilleja miniata
Pointedtip Mariposa lily, Three-spot Mariposa lily, Baker’s mariposa, ~ Calochortus apiculatus
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Montana Outdoors 
The wildflowers continue to amaze. Superb images of them too.
Thanks for sharing Terry.
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Comment by Vicki — July 3, 2016 @ 10:34 pm
Thanks Vicki. Every time out there are more or different ones in bloom. Soon I will see come from higher elevations.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 1:30 pm
Always like to see Indian paintbrush.
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Comment by Malcolm R. Campbell — July 3, 2016 @ 10:38 pm
I do too. They are unusual blossoms, but very bright!
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 1:30 pm
A great feast to the eye even in photo presentation. It should have been a greater feast to have enjoyed real ones. Congrats. Thanks.
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Comment by nvsubbaraman — July 4, 2016 @ 12:39 am
Thanks. I know you would love to see them in person!
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 1:31 pm
Due to the hotter climate down here, it’s been a couple of months since we’ve had any paintbrushes flowering in Austin. I did see a yellow-green paintbrush still fresh in Illinois last month.
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Comment by Steve Schwartzman — July 4, 2016 @ 8:54 am
They are gone from the lower elevations here now too, but above 5,000 feet they are in full bloom.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 1:32 pm
Beautiful flowers, that last one is really unique!
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Comment by bayphotosbydonna — July 4, 2016 @ 9:25 am
The last one has a small area of distribution, native only in Washington, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 1:38 pm
The sickletop lousewort has an orchidlike appearance too. Could it be related? Amazing to find the Alaska rein orchid. Orchids of any kind would be amazing to find. I think I’ve seen lady slippers but they’re not as rare a find as others. In your photo of the rein orchid, the flower near the middle of the stalk looks like a little monkey. Do you see that? On the right of the stem about halfway up, two eyes are looking this way. So cute!
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — July 4, 2016 @ 2:11 pm
Yes, I see the “monkey”! The structures of the Rein orchard and the lousewort are somewhat similar, but the lousewort is in the figwort family.
I always get excited when I find wild orchids. We have over a dozen species of wild orchids native to this area. I’m afraid I’ve missed seeing some of the prettiest ones this year, but I did find another today… in my yard!
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 6:13 pm
Wow! I think that’s such a treat to find an orchid anywhere in the wild. I have a couple of domestic potted ones and I love them but to find a “real” one would be wonderful. (Glad you found the monkey.)
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — July 4, 2016 @ 7:31 pm
I had not noticed wild orchids in my yard before today, when I found dozens of them in an area that I have left entirely natural (it’s a thicket full of hawthorn and other shrubs). they are White Bog-orchids: beautiful!
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 8:52 pm
I don’t recognize a single flower in this post but I’d love to see them all, especially that tiny orchid.
The mariposa lily is unusual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a flower with spines on its petals like that.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — July 4, 2016 @ 3:26 pm
This time of year brings out some of the more unusual wildflowers, especially the orchids. This afternoon I discovered some white bog-orchids blooming (of all places) on my own property.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2016 @ 6:35 pm
That’s great! At least they’re easy to see.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — July 5, 2016 @ 2:48 am
Beautiful photos. First photo is my favorite. Here it has been raining nearly “all the time”. 🙂 It happens.
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Comment by Sartenada — July 5, 2016 @ 2:34 am
It has been very dry here lately, but now there will be a little rain coming up and cooler weather for a week or so. It will be very welcome!
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2016 @ 6:51 pm
The paintbrush’s colors are so pretty and vivid. It’s hard to believe time is passing so quickly — they’re well and truly gone here, now. The Mariposa lily is so unusual. For some reason, it just seems like it should be smooth and silky — and then there are all those hairs sticking up! I love that you found the white bog-orchids close to home. I have my fingers crossed that we might see some photos of them, too.
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Comment by shoreacres — July 5, 2016 @ 5:12 am
We are fortunate here because we can see many species of wildflowers early in the valleys and then a month later again several thousand feet higher on the mountains. I did get a few photos of the white orchids, but none yet that I’m happy with. I’ll try in the next few days for a good photo.
There are several different species of the Mariposa Lily: this one is the most common and now they are blooming in profusion.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2016 @ 6:54 pm
I have a couple of Spirea bushes in my front yard. They are beautiful even though the blossoms have gone by.
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Comment by heartandsoul974 — July 5, 2016 @ 6:27 am
I love the Spirea. I think I missed it this year, but there is a pink one that blooms heavily along one of the cirque lakes, and that lake is named appropriately “Blossom Lake”.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2016 @ 6:57 pm
Glad you could find an uncrowded place to roam. These are spectacular photos—the variety is amazing. Thanks for sharing! hugs
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Comment by Beth — July 5, 2016 @ 12:42 pm
This is a very special region, one that still have hundreds of old trails that have little or no traffic. It’s a lot of work hiking some of them because they are long and steep, but the rewards are incredible. Very often I can hike through ten miles of beautiful back country without encountering anyone at all.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2016 @ 7:00 pm
a beautiful glimpse of summer!
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Comment by Tammie — July 6, 2016 @ 11:38 am
Yes, and I’m seeing a lot of flowers that bloom in late summer already.
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Comment by montucky — July 6, 2016 @ 9:48 pm
Looks like a beautiful trail and no people around is amazing on a holiday anywhere, at least around here.
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Comment by Candace — July 7, 2016 @ 10:57 am
What a difference a thousand miles makes! I remember even twenty-some years ago how difficult it was to avoid the crowds in Arizona. That’s a large part of the attraction for me here.
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2016 @ 10:36 pm
What a profusion of flowers! All beautiful. I can almost feel the heat in your pics, but it looks cool in the shade of the trees.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — July 7, 2016 @ 11:41 am
It was very warm in the sunny places, but most of that trail is in the shade and was very pleasant.
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2016 @ 10:37 pm
Gorgeous flowers, Montucky! Mountain country is sublime!
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Comment by Watching Seasons — July 8, 2016 @ 1:12 pm
This is a great time of year here. A little later though fire season will be upon us and that isn’t always so pleasant.
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2016 @ 11:12 pm
Lovely! The Indian Paintbrush is my favourite along the hiking trails:)
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Comment by Inger — July 17, 2016 @ 1:05 pm
It has been a favorite of mine too, ever since I was a kid.
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Comment by montucky — July 18, 2016 @ 7:12 am