First camping trip of 2024 is in the books! I went with a tried-and-true destination: the Teanaway area, to hike the Esmeralda Basin trail. This is one of my favorite hikes because there are usually plenty of early-season wildflowers, the uphill grade is fairly reasonable, and the views from Fortune Creek Pass are stunning. This time, I was able to manage my time so that I was able to spend ample time at the pass and work on several different shots. Due to the wet and cool June we've had, the wildflowers were a bit early in their cycle - no lupine yet, for instance - but the early bloomers were still abundant.
First, some phlox; best guess is spreading phlox (Phlox diffusa). I don't think I've photographed these before! Certainly not recently. F/4.5.
Next, Columbia lewisia (Lewisia columbiana). I can't get enough of those striped petals. I've photographed these before here, but it's been a long time, so it's nice to have a new perspective of them. F/4.5.
This next one is from the pass at the end of the hike; I found these little white flowers blooming there that I haven't seen or noticed before. I think it's a variety of anemone, and I have it narrowed down to two - Drummond's anemone (Anemone drummondii) or cliff anemone (Anemone multifida). I'm guessing the former due to the small size. F/4.5.
There were a lot of fun little gardens of shooting star blooming throughout the hike, particularly near streams; here's one such scene. Best guess is Jeffrey's shooting star (Primula jeffreyi), although there are several species of shooting star in Washington. F/6.3.
The last of the wildflowers is scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata). F/5.
Now for some mountain views! Here's Mount Daniel from the pass. F/16.
Lastly, Hawkins Mountain. I thought the foreground trees were interesting - some of them are growing upright, and some are growing in more of a dense mat, perhaps due to the harsh and windy climate at the pass. F/18.
That's all for now. Enjoy the improving weather!
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