wildflower report

I was backpacking in Washington this weekend and discovered lots of lupine below 5,000 feet. There was also a lot of Columbia lily, avalanche lily and columbine. This is pretty much in keeping with the reports given here so far. Things seem to be blooming a tad late.

Above 5,000 feet, things were a little unusual. Paintbrush were in all stages of bloom (pre-color, blooming and burned out), as were aster. Pasqueflowers were just losing their petals. Lupine were absent. The big bloom is yet to come, or it's not coming at all this year. If you're looking for wildflowers between 5,000 and 6,000 feet, I'd check in the next seven to 15 days. That's my somewhat-educated guess.

I'd check myself, but I'm headed down to the Sierras for two weeks of backpacking. Yeah!

The attached photo is from years past. (Nikon F100, 28-85 zoom, Velvia). As soon as I get some of my new images scanned, I'll start posting them.

Nice perspective displayed, Ian. I have an affinity for slope displayed well in an image, and this does just that. It seems a bit heavy on the cyan to me, and could use some burning in ulc, otherwise a nice take.

Hi Trevor. I agree, this image is a little off-color. If you have time to take a crack at it and re-post, I'd really like that. I've had trouble getting the color balance right on this. The ULC is, I think, just the accumulation of atmospheric haze. It was in the scene, so I'm not sure I'd burn it. It's definitely something to consider, though. Thanks.