Trail 345 is always a most pleasant trail, but every five years or so it becomes a trail of the big flowers. These are photos taken along about a mile of the trail as it starts its climb from Weeksville Divide up toward Big Hole Peak.
Thimbleberry ~ Rubus parviflorus
Montana Outdoors 
A beautiful walk!
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — June 16, 2017 @ 8:55 pm
Yes, very pleasant! It is becoming a beautiful summer.
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Comment by montucky — June 16, 2017 @ 9:38 pm
In the three bear grass photos just before the thimbleberry, I almost can see them as space aliens, landed right there on a Montana mountain. I suppose their size contributes, and those nice, round, alien-like heads. 🙂 I don’t remember if you’ve mentioned it before; do they have a fragrance? If they do, I hope it’s pleasant, as many of them as there are.
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Comment by shoreacres — June 16, 2017 @ 9:11 pm
They do have a fragrance, but not strong and not sweet like a honeysuckle. They produce huge volumes of pollen though. When you touch one it creates a shower that looks like a small snow storm. My trousers were white after the hike as was my camera bag. I had to use a shop brush on both before I went into the house. The pollen is nearly pure white with a very slight green tint.
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Comment by montucky — June 16, 2017 @ 9:43 pm
Great photos! Those white flowers are unusual.. I have never seen them before. I am curious about the temperature in your part of the world. I think we will have some dry sunny days ahead of us..
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Comment by Mother Hen — June 16, 2017 @ 10:15 pm
The flowers are called “Bear Grass”. They grow only in 6 of the western US states, British Columbia and Alberta. Our temperatures here for the past several days have been in the 60’s, but are forecast to go up into the low 80’s by Monday. At the elevation where these pictures were taken, the temperature is about 10 – 15 degrees lower than in the valley.
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Comment by montucky — June 16, 2017 @ 10:39 pm
Bear Grass is truly a stunning plant. It stands like a small lamp among the tall dark trees.
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Comment by Hanna — June 17, 2017 @ 3:49 am
Yes, I see them every year and enjoy the individuals, but it’s a special treat to see so many through the whole forest.
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Comment by montucky — June 17, 2017 @ 9:41 am
See you on the 19th. Save some blue sky for me.
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Comment by Anonymous — June 17, 2017 @ 8:04 am
You bet! The forecast says mid 80’s and sun Monday and Tuesday and sunny all week.
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Comment by montucky — June 17, 2017 @ 9:44 am
What an amazing sight.
(Perhaps the bears eat them 4 years in a row and these fast in the 5th year 🙂 )
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Comment by Vicki — June 17, 2017 @ 6:55 pm
Maybe that’s how it works! I haven’t seen a bear yet this year!
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Comment by montucky — June 17, 2017 @ 7:50 pm
Enjoyed the pictures. There is a whole different dynamic in the flora compared to late July when I had seen this trail.
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Comment by Ron Mangels — June 18, 2017 @ 7:29 am
Definitely! So many things change from spring through late fall. I’m lucky to have several favorite trails close enough that I can visit them often. Sometimes a new flower will appear in just a day’s time and if you aren’t there at the right time you will miss it. This is an especially good trail for me because I can get to it with only a dozen mile drive, it’s about 15 miles long and has elevations from about 4,000 feet to 7,000 with lots of wildflower species blooming at different times. It also goes through some fairly wild country and only crosses two back-country roads in its length, so there can be some interesting surprises. It also receives very little human traffic.
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Comment by montucky — June 18, 2017 @ 7:42 am
What a year for beargrass! Up here too! Seems like we live in a magical realm.
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Comment by Tammie — June 19, 2017 @ 10:15 pm
A “magical realm” is a good description of the beargrass in the forests this year. They have bloomed profusely throughout at least 50 miles of forest that I have visited. It’s kind of sad though that most of the people who live in this area don’t even know that’s going on. I’ve told everyone I could to just take a short drive up to see them.
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Comment by montucky — June 19, 2017 @ 10:36 pm
The bear grass definitely gives everything a fairy tale look. It’s fascinating.
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Comment by Candace — June 21, 2017 @ 3:35 pm
It does! This is a superb year for it and I am enjoying as much of it as I possibly can.
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Comment by montucky — June 21, 2017 @ 4:42 pm
These flowers are fabulous! What a super place to go for a walk. Stunning pics too 😃
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Comment by Julie@frogpondfarm — June 22, 2017 @ 6:01 pm
I have hiked on that trail dozens of times and only once, years ago, have I seen another person. In another month a mile or two further up the trail there will be a plentiful supply of huckleberries too!
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Comment by montucky — June 22, 2017 @ 7:19 pm
FAncy not seeing anybody else .. what a spoil 😃
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Comment by Julie@frogpondfarm — June 22, 2017 @ 9:02 pm