Elephant Peak hike, MT …to the pass

Howdee all,

Yesterday I hiked with Sicksta Charlene, and brother in law,Tom and three of their friends. Jeff opted to play golf with the Livingston Senior League.

We had a rather late start..I think it must have been around 11 by the time we got to the trailhead.

It was a mostly up hike to the top.

Not up to the sky..but it felt like that on my knees. I was rather slow…thinking or maybe just excusing that i was the altitude.

  It was a warm, sunny day, mid eighties.

Sweat weather.

It was nice to take a few breaks, although short, on the way up.

Gabriela in pink, Tom on top of the rock by the creek, with Sicksta below.

         We hiked thru a large burn area, and then onto some beautiful meadows.

This photo below is looking back from where we came.

White Cow parsnip.

  We hiked thru areas of large boulders.

   Another shot looking back toward where we came from.

  More meadows and wildflowers…it kept getting better.

  Onward and upward thru..fields and fields of wildflowers.

At this point I took every opportunity to stop and catch my breath.

  More up…slow going, but beautiful.

Charlene and Toms friends left us after lunch in one of the meadows ..we continued up to the pass.

You can click on the photo album below to see some of the wild flowers.

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Just some of the flowers seen were….

Yellow Columbine,Bluebells,Asters,Elephant head,Monument plant, Larkspur,Lupine,Fireweed,Yarrow,Cow Parsnip, Indian Paintbrush.

Below ..we hit another level and more fields of wildflowers, more alpine and not as tall.At the pass…

This was far enough..we needed to get back before dark.

Views from the passA Valley below the passStanding on top of the pass.. Sicksta, On top of the world.  Doesn't she look like Moses?

Sicksta and me on top of the world The view going back down..Yikes..we have to go all the way back down there?

As we descended we were able to enjoy the wildflowers one more timeIndian Paintbrush and Aster On the way down, Sicksta picked huckleberries,whortleberries, raspberries and thimbleberries.  I ate a few…yummy 

 

After passing thru the open meadows we hiked thru some dark forest.

Tom found a few Boletus Edulus(porcini mushroom) I found a few hedgehog mushrooms and purple fairy club and a non-edible Amanita.

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I did see four different types of birds.

Three of which i was able to ID Golden crowned kinglets, Mountain Chickadees, and Oregon Juncos. I had distant views of a sparrow looking bird, maybe Pine siskins.

Mountain chickadee

   We made it out around 8pm…Dark, we were exhausted.

It was a great hike, very taxing on my knees going down, although they feel fine now.

I woke up last night with Muscle cramps in my calves.

Today I am just chillin, resting up for a Saturday hike.

Going to that beautiful farmers market this afternoon.

See ya!