The Shasta Chapter CNPS hike up Gray Butte on Mount Shasta proved to be enjoyable, with many wildflowers still in bloom. There were a few new faces from Siskiyou County on the field trip.
There was an added bonus for all participants: Laura Bradley, Stewardship Manager for the Siskiyou Land Trust, brought a box of Mount Shasta Wildflowers: A Field Guide books that her neighbor Jane Cohn, a co-author of the book, donated. So we all got a free book on Mount Shasta wildflowers! Thank you, Jane!
Photo by Ren Redlich.
Photo by Ren Redlich.
Driving up from Mount Shasta, we stopped along the road at about 5,000 feet in elevation to identify native plants growing nearby. Here we saw bitter cherry, with bright red fruit, along several miles of Everett Memorial Highway. Also seen were thimbleberry, prince’s pine, scarlet gilia, pallid coyote mint, and naked buckwheat. The conifers included white fir, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, and Douglas-fir.
We started our hike at lower Panther Meadows and then hiked up a fairly easy trail to the top of Gray Butte, although the last 1/3 mile of uphill was a little difficult. On the way we saw bush chinquapin, slender penstemon, Davidson’s penstemon, spreading phlox, Mount Shasta arnica, and Shasta knotweed, among many other plants, including a few white-bark pines.
Photo by David Ledger.
Participants were given a plant list, although it was organized by plant family, which may have made it difficult for some. Afterward, two of us went up to Upper Panther Meadow and found thick patches of satin lupine, with Bloomer’s goldenbush along the side of most of the roadway. ~David Ledger
