It reached a high of 115 degrees in Redding on the day that Shasta Chapter CNPS and Shasta Environmental Alliance co-led a field trip to Cold Boiling and Crumbaugh lakes in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Fortunately, it was much cooler at 7300 feet, but still getting to be a warm 82 degrees.
Photo taken July 8, 2024, © Doug Mandel.
This area had been burned by the 2021 Dixie Fire, so most of the “shade” was under dead trees, but a few small groves of trees did survive. The tree species at this high elevation were all conifers: red fir, mountain hemlock, lodgepole pine, and western white pine. Shrubs included Brewer’s mountain heather (Phyllodoce breweri), pinemat manzanita (Arctostaphylos nevadensis), and red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa).
The fire brought out an abundance of wildflowers with an amazing diversity around Crumbaugh Lake. One guide book called the north side of the lake where we walked “one of the most extensive wildflower gardens in the Park.”
A few of the blooming herbaceaous plants that we saw included Davis’ knotweed (Aconogonum davisiae), wandering daisy (Erigeron glacialis), Tiling’s monkeyflower (Erythranthe tilingii), small-flowered stickseed (Hackelia micrantha), California waterleaf (Hydrophyllum occidentale), narrow-flowered lupine (Lupinus angustiflorus), satin lupine (Lupinus obtusilobus), arrow-leaved ragwort (Senicio triangularis), and California corn-lily (Veratrum californicum).
After eating lunch surrounded by wildflowers at the lake, we walked about ½ mile farther, into a burned forest, before heading back—in all, an easy ~3½-mile hike with only a 300-foot elevation gain. The heat did get to one hiker who did not bring enough water, but after some of us shared our water with her, she revived and made it back to the trailhead. This is a good reminder to always bring at least 1.5 liters of water on hot-day hikes.
Photo © Brigitte Robertson.
We had 18 to 20 people show up—a pleasant and fun group. If you want to see a great diversity of wildflowers, take a hike to Crumbaugh Lake! The below slideshow features some photos of this fun field trip, taken by hike participants. Enjoy!
~David Ledger
