Last Tuesday my women's hiking group explored Camas Meadows, WA. Flowers were magnificent!
We hiked a loop through Camas Meadows, up to a ridge, scrambled down an extremely steep hillside, through the woods, and back to Camas Meadows. Saw huge elk tracks.
Camas Meadows is a protected area. No hunting, camping or motorized vehicles.
Karen and I returned to Camas Meadows to see what was blooming on June 29, 2017. Wildflowers were stunning:
Pink Wenatchee Mountains Checkermallow.
Blue Wenatchee Larkspur and Yellow,Northern Mule Ears Balsamroot.
Camas was a plant used by the native Americans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camassia note: there is also a variety known as Death Camas).. They are becoming an endangered species but are still found in the San Juan Islands. One Island, Yellow Island [nature.org] is noted for Camas. The island was used by the Native Americans for it's edible flowers and the invasive Madrona's were often burnt off to make room for the needed flowers. This practice is still done by the Nature Conservancy today. For anyone interested there is an additional short video about kayaking the area:
Poisonous Death Camas flowers are white in North Central Washington.
Camus flowers in Camus Meadows are blue, and not poisonous.
@LiterateHiker Death Camas and an edible Camas are both white. One has to be careful but the natives learned the difference. I have been to this island many times. On my first trip my, then, partner lost her balance in getting into the kayak and half of her went in. She jumped out of the freezing water and stripped then and there in front of everyone to change into something dry. She shivered for a couple of days afterward. The water can be coooold!.
That's why I never eat wildflowers. Even "edible wildflower" books are sometimes inaccurate. The only wild mushrooms I eat are morels.
@LiterateHiker How about dandelions? BTW that dress is really nice. You are really talented.
No, I never eat dandelions. Too many pesticides and herbicides.
Thank you! Have been sewing clothes since the summer before seventh grade. My best friend's mother taught us to sew that summer, to keep us out of trouble. It worked.
Great job with the different angles! Keep going!?
A friend of mine grew up in Camas Meadows. Her father was a ranger for the U.S. Forest Service.
"We would be riding our bicycles in the driveway, and bullets whizzed by our heads," she said. "That's when hunting was allowed."
Her father got the U.S. Forest Service to prohibit hunting in Camas Meadows. Also, no camping or motorized vehicles.
Photos: Blue Wenatchee Larkspur and yellow Mule Ear Balsamroot. Pink Wenatchee Mountains Checkermallow. These two flowers (with the Wenatchee name) only grow in the Wenatchee Mountains area- nowhere else in the world. June 2017.
Beautiful place to frolic in the flowers, spin around until you fall down, and camp under the stars.
Posted by CallMeDaveFlowers are still emerging, and mosquitoes too.
Posted by CallMeDaveFlowers are still emerging, and mosquitoes too.
Posted by CallMeDaveFlowers are still emerging, and mosquitoes too.
Posted by CallMeDaveI've never been a big wildflower person, but this is the season for it here in Appalachia. Other people can identify every variety. I'm not there yet.
Posted by CallMeDaveI've never been a big wildflower person, but this is the season for it here in Appalachia. Other people can identify every variety. I'm not there yet.
Posted by xen0catI started getting into kayaking last year; I have a couple of folding kayaks (Oru brand) that I try to take out in summer months. eastern panhandle of WV area.
Posted by CallMeDaveWhere the turkey crossed the road
Posted by CallMeDaveFrom 1931 to 1953 the Appalachain Trail took an entirely different route through SW Virginia.
Posted by CallMeDaveFrom 1931 to 1953 the Appalachain Trail took an entirely different route through SW Virginia.
Posted by CallMeDaveFrom 1931 to 1953 the Appalachain Trail took an entirely different route through SW Virginia.
Posted by CallMeDaveI hiked over the dunes the morning (OBX)
Posted by CallMeDaveI hiked over the dunes the morning (OBX)
Posted by CallMeDaveHeart pine.
Posted by CallMeDaveNorth Mountain hike with a big crew from Appalachian Trail Club. 15 hikers. 12 miles. (I post mostly so this group doesn't go defunct)
Posted by CallMeDaveNorth Mountain hike with a big crew from Appalachian Trail Club. 15 hikers. 12 miles. (I post mostly so this group doesn't go defunct)
Posted by CallMeDaveNorth Mountain hike with a big crew from Appalachian Trail Club. 15 hikers. 12 miles. (I post mostly so this group doesn't go defunct)