Left: Lost Creek Ridge Hike Route; Right: Trail Through a Meadow Heading East
Hike Notes
Length: 13.0 miles GPS in camera
Duration: About 8 hours, 9:20 am - 5:40 pm with a break for lunch
Elevation: Starting 1,875 ft, max at 5,875.
Location: North Cascades, Lost Creek Ridge / Round Lake
Overview
The star attractions in the shaded, lower part of the hike were orchids and heath family myco-hetrotropics (parasitic) plants like candysticks (Allotropa virgata) and pinedrops (Pterospora andromedea), and then Lily family Queen's Cup (Clintonia uniflora). In the meadows the usual suspects: bistort, valerian, lupin, columbine, daisies and more.
It's quite a climb to Bingley gap (> 2,000 feet), and you are still not done until you do some more climbing to break into the meadows where your reward is at hand: leisurely meadow to meadow walking. From the meadows, Red Mountain, Bedal Peak, Sloan Peak and Glacier Peak seem so close.
We ate looking down on Round Lake, but did not go down for a visit, instead saving time to push on along the ridge. We turned around and start back to the car around 3:15pm before reaching Hardtack Lake.
Plant List
Photos in next section.
[Asteraceae] Aster Family
Luina hypoleuca - Little-Leaf Silverback
Petasites frigidus - Artic Sweet Coltsfoot
Solidago multiradiata - Northern Goldenrod
[Caryophyllaceae] Pink Family
Eremognne capillaris - Mountain Sandwort
[Cornaceae] Dogwood Family
Cornus unalaschkensis - Western Bunchberry
[Ericaceae] Heather Family
Allotropa virgata - Candystick
Chimaphila umbellata - Pipsissewa, Common Prince's Pine
Gaultheria shallon - Salal
Monotropa hypopitys - Pinesap, Many-Flower Indian-Pipe
Phyllodoce empetriformis - Pink Mountain-Heath
Pterospora andromedea - Woodland Pinedrops
[Grossulariaceae] Currant/Gooseberry Family
Ribes lacustre - Prickly Currant
[Liliaceae] Lily Family
Clintonia uniflora - Queen's Cup
Lilium columbianum - Columbian Lily
[Linnaeaceae] Flax Family
Linaceae borealis - America twinflower
[Orchidaceae] Orchid Family
Corallorhiza mertensiana - Western Coralroot
Goodyera oblongifolia - Western Rattlesnake Plantain
[Orobanchaceae] Broomrape Family
Castilleja parviflora - Mountain Indian Paintbrush
Pedicularis bracteosa - Bracted Lousewort
Pedicularis groenlandica - Elephanthead Lousewort
[Phrymaceae] Lopseed Family
Erythranthe guttata - Seep Monkey-Flower
[Plantaginaceae] Plantain Family
Penstemon davidsonii - Davidson's Penstemon
Penstemon procerus - Small-Flowered Penstemon
[Primulaceae] Primose Family
Dodecatheon jeffreyi - Jeffrey's Shooting Star
[Ranunculaceae] Buttercup Family
Aquilegia formosa - Red Columbine, Western Columbine
Thalictrum occidentale - Western Meadow-Rue
[Rosaceae] Rose Family
Rubus lasiococcus - Dwarf Bramble
Rubus parviflorus - Thimbleberry
[Saxifragaceae] Saxifrage Family
Leptarrhena pyrolifolia - Leather Leaf Saxifrage
Saxifraga mertensiana - Merten's Saxifrage
Tiarella trifoliata - Three-Leaf Foam Flower
[Valerianaceae] Valerian Family
Valerniana sitchensis - Sitka Valerian
Plant Photos
In approximate order from lowest to highest altitude.
Allotropa virgata – Candystick looking like a Christmas treat!
Left: Corallorhiza mertensiana – Western Coralroot; Right: Pterospora andromedea - Woodland Pinedrops
Left: Pinesap - Monotropa hypopitys. Left with Linaceae borealis - America twinflower
Left: Cornus unalaschkensis - Western Bunchberry; Right: Chimaphila umbellata - Pipsissewa, Common Prince's Pine
Left: Clintonia uniflora - Queen's Cup; Right: Tiarella trifoliata - Three-Leaf Foam Flower
Left: Ribes lacustre - Prickly Currant; Right: Thalictrum occidentale - Western Meadow-Rue
Left: Pedicularis groenlandica - Elephanthead Lousewort; Right: Penstemon davidsonii - Davidson's Penstemon
Left: Solidago multiradiata - Northern Goldenrod; Right: Luina hypoleuca - Little-Leaf Silverback
Left: Eremognne capillaris - Mountain Sandwort; Right: Saxifraga mertensiana - Merten's Saxifrage
Left: Phyllodoce empetriformis - Pink Mountain-Heath; Right: Castilleja parviflora - Mountain Indian Paintbrush
Left: Erythranthe guttata - Seep Monkey-Flower; Right: Dodecatheon jeffreyi - Jeffrey's Shooting Star
Left: Glacier Peak Viewed from the Lost Creek Ridge Trail; Right: Round Lake
Left: Sloan and Bedal Peaks Looking South from the Lost Creek Ridge Trail; Right: Example of the “Vertical Meadows”.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments go through a moderation process. Even though it may not look like the comment was accepted, it probably was. Check back in a day if you asked a question. Thanks!