Avoiding the heat

There is a heat wave covering this part of Montana at present, with daytime temperatures up into the low 100’s, very hot for here, and so hiking has become an activity for early in the mornings. Today, my choice was the lower part of Munson Creek which is only a 10 mile drive from home and always a pleasant place to go.

Today Ocean Spray shrubbery lined the beginning of the trail, a pleasant way to enter the world of the forest above.

Just up the hill a short distance from the creek crossing a stand of Wild Bergamot was in full bloom.

Wild Bergamot ~ Monarda fistulosa

At intervals along the next mile of trail I found the three phases of life of the Brown-eyed Susan or Blanket flower.

Brown-eyed Susan, Blanket Flower ~Gaillardia aristata

Near my chosen turn around point, a little side trail leading to the creek again welcomed me with a doorway of Ocean Spray.

The creek was running cold and clear.

Nearly always on a hike, near the turn around point the thought occurs to me, “Since I’m already here, I might as well go…”, which always ends up with seeing something interesting and nearly always with a lot of physical exertion. This time I followed an elk trail which led down to the stream and a pretty little cascade.

The short side trip also provided a glimpse of a flower with which (to my surprise) I was not familiar, a Common Tarweed,

Common Tarweed ~ Madia gracilis

the seed head of another common summer plant, a Yellow Salsify,

and a pretty setting of the blossoms on a tall stalk of grass that I would not have seen had I not taken the short side trip.

All in all, a cool and pleasant morning walk before the heat of the day set in!

Mid May wildflowers

You know it will be a pleasant hike when it starts out like this:

Munson Creek

Oregon Grape ~ Berberis aquifolium

Howell’s Pussytoes ~ Antennaria howellii

A Dandelion was competing with some undergrowth for light and its stem was nearly two feet long.

Lemonweed, Western Gromwell ~ Lithospermum ruderale

This Pacific Trillium is about at the end of its blooming time and has turned pink.

Field Chickweed ~ Cerastium arvense

Heart-leaf Arnica ~ Arnica cordifolia

Arnica bud

More from along the Munson Creek trail

Near the start of the trail, where it first crosses the stream, the vegetation is heavy at the crossing. The flowering shrub to the right of the trail is called “Ocean Spray”.

Ocean-spray, Creambush ~ Holodiscus discolor

Sometimes a tree will fall across the trail. This one is a couple miles up from the trail head. For perspective, I leaned my hiking staff on the tree: the staff is 62 inches long.

Brown-eyed Susan ~ Gaillardia aristata

White Spirea, Shinyleaf Spirea ~ Spiraea lucida

Many flowers have already completed their summer and have already gone to seed. This one is from a Yellow Salsify.

I think this one is from a species of Butterweed.

Common St. Johnswort, Klamath weed ~ Hypericum perforatum

Thimbleberry ~ Rubus parviflorus

Scarlet Gillia, Sky Rocket ~ Ipomopsis aggregata

Liverleaf Wintergreen, Pink Pyrola ~ Pyrola asarifolia

Wood’s Rose ~ Rosa woodsii

First, the purples

This morning before the temperature climbed too far toward its eventual high in the 90’s I hiked a ways (about two and a half miles) up the Munson Creek trail (USFS trail # 372) toward Big Hole Peak. Almost at the start I noticed that the array of wildflower species there was remarkably different from the ones on the Spring Creek trail on which I hiked just two days ago and which is only about 9 miles to the east. Interesting, and not entirely explainable by a steeper trail and a slightly higher elevation.

Today’s post will feature the purples.

Western Mountain Aster ~ Symphyotrichum spathulatum

As the name “Nodding Onion ~ Allium cernuum” implies, these could be detected by smell before their appearance.

Wild Bergamot ~ Monarda fistulosa, well known for its pleasant smell.

It’s hard to resist a picture of the “Bluebell-of-Scotland, Harebell ~ Campanula rotundifolia” when they pose so nicely.

Pinkfairy, Deerhorn, Ragged Robin ~ Clarkia pulchella

A little break in the weather

KooKoo Sint Ridge

Munson Creek

Munson Creek waiting for winter

The mountains are in the Coeur d’Alene Mountain range, across the Clark Fork River from Munson Creek which flows out of the Cabinet Mountains.

The white color on the overhanging branches is not frost, but lichens which seem to be doing well from the moisture and unseasonally warm weather.