While Redding temperatures were scorching near 108 degrees, the August 8 field trip to Panther Meadows bought clear air and pleasant temperatures for the 15 participating hikers to enjoy the wildflowers and beautiful scenery.
As an added bonus, Jane Cohn, principal author of Mount Shasta Wildflowers: A Field Guide, offered free copies of her book to all.
This was a Sierra Club hike, also sponsored by the Shasta CNPS and Mt. Shasta Area Audubon, and led by Shasta CNPS Outings Chair David Ledger.
The Forest Service requests hiking groups at Panther Meadows be under 10 people, to avoid trampling the fragile meadows. We split into two groups with Caitlin Bean leading one group and David Ledger leading the other. Due to a packed parking lot at the lower meadows, we started at the top and walked down and along the road back to our cars.
This proved to be advantageous, as there was a greater variety in the meadows, and along the roadside the plants were in thick clusters and many in full bloom.
While only a partial list, there were nine plants in the sunflower family, five in the buckwheat family and four in the heath family. Some plants spotted included alpine laurel, Kalmia polifolia; cascade heather, Phyllodoce empetriformis; dwarf huckleberry, Vaccinium caespitosum; and pine-mat manzanita, Arctostaphylos nevadensis.
~David Ledger
