Wildflowers are the jewels of the trail, a splash of decorative color that pops against spring-green underbrush or sandy desert scrubland. These trailside beauties attract interested hikers and backpackers as easily as they do bees, birds, and other pollinators. Wildflowers offer you a great reason to pause, catch your breath, and deepen your connection with nature. Learning to identify plants and flowers was part of our hiking experience growing up and continues to enhance our trips to this day.
Hikers seeking a trail through fields of wildflowers are fortunate when hiking in Washington State, as our diverse environments are home to a wide variety of wildflowers that bloom at different times throughout the year. From Puget Sound lowlands to alpine passes to rolling desert scrublands, hikers can find flowers blooming from early spring to fall. Different ecological environments are home to different plants, and some hikes travel through multiple areas, which means that hikers can, for example, find water-loving calypso orchids in the lowland forests of a hike, then climb up into rocky alpine zones covered in phlox and heather.
While we’ve spent a great deal of time learning a lot about plants and flowers we’ve come across while exploring trails across the state, we are not experts. We are not botanists or biologists, and we have no formal training in these areas. Instead, we consider ourselves wildflower enthusiasts who enjoy the color and variety of the many, many wildflowers and flowering shrubs found in Washington. As a result, this book is not a technical manual for serious flowerhounds: You will not find extremely detailed specifications of wildflowers, plant descriptions filled with dense botanical terminology, or strict parsing of whether a particular flower is a weed, a wildflower, or a shrub. We leave that level of detail and assessment to more serious guides authored by experts in their field.
Wildflowers brighten the trail up to Windy Pass (Hike 15).
Western Labrador tea thrives on rocky slopes along the Summer Blossom Trail (Hike 18).
Instead, this book is intended as a guide for casual observers who enjoy taking in the bright colors on the trail and have a passing curiosity as to the name of the flower. Each entry includes a featured wildflower that grows along the trail as well as a checkbox that allows you to keep track of the flowers you have found. It’s a fun way to add something extra to your hiking experience and begin learning about the many wonderful wildflowers growing throughout Washington. Photographs of the featured wildflowers and many of the other wildflowers are grouped by color in the identification guide (see page 30). This book is not a comprehensive guide to wildflowers but rather seeks to be both a starting point for those who may want to get more serious down the line, as well as an excellent resource for those who enjoy keeping their wildflower appreciation on the lighter side.
While keeping the technical aspects light, we have included scientific (Latin) names for every featured wildflower. Many plants have multiple common names, and sometimes trying to identify a flower with only a common name can cause some confusion. Having the Latin name makes searching for more information in a flower guidebook or online much easier. In addition, sometimes the scientific name helps explain a particular common name or provides a little background on the flower’s history.
We hope that this guide sets you down a path of many wildflower-filled hikes and excellent experiences on the trail. The goal is to point you toward the wildflowers and provide everything you need to get the most out of your hike and, above all, have fun on the trail. Adventure awaits!
HIKING BEST PRACTICES
Hiking is perhaps the most approachable of outdoor activities. You do not need special equipment or training. The surroundings in which you undertake a walking journey from one destination to another distinguish a hike from merely a stroll. Your morning walk to your office, bus stop, or school and the daily trip down two flights of stairs to the office coffee machine are all walking journeys, but they are not hikes. Where the journey takes you and your reason for undertaking the journey are what make it a hike. Perhaps because hiking appears so easy, many hikers do not take the trail’s location and characteristics into consideration before they start barreling down it. Where you’re hiking matters—not all trails are the same.
The hikes described in this book vary from short jaunts relatively close to civilization to longer forays into the wilderness, and hikers need to prepare accordingly. This guide assumes that readers have some hiking experience and know they should approach trails with an abundance of caution. We cannot warn of every hazard that a hiker may encounter on any given trail, as trail conditions change frequently. If you are new to hiking, round up some more experienced friends to bring along. These broad guidelines—not intended as a primer on how to hike—offer some topics to consider as you plan.
Be Aware
Although most hikers return from their trips without incident, hiking is filled with potential hazards. Loose trail surfaces, rotten snow, rockfall, lightning strikes, falling trees, fast-running icy creeks, snakebites, charging goats, and much more can be found along the trails in this book. At the same time, prepared hikers who pay attention to their surroundings can usually avoid these dangers. In short, do not assume that trails are safe. Be aware that trail routes and conditions may have changed significantly since the time of this writing.
If a route ever seems unsafe, listen to your instincts. Always exercise caution and do not be afraid to turn around and hike another day, even when the rest of your group disagrees with your assessment. As beautiful and enjoyable as nature is, it is also indifferent and unforgiving.
Bring the Right Gear
Pages upon pages could be filled with discussions about the best equipment for any given hike, what is a must-have and what is superfluous. Some backpackers and hikers spend endless hours arguing that the gear they use, the way they pack, and the methods they use on the trail are superior. But the truth is that the gear you bring along on a hike depends on the destination and the people involved, as well as the weather conditions. However, there is one requirement: always pack the Ten Essentials. If you do not know what the Ten Essentials are, consider finding a more experienced hiker to accompany you on your first trails into more rugged country.
The Ten Essentials
The point of the Ten Essentials, originated by The Mountaineers, has always been to answer two basic questions: Can you prevent emergencies and respond positively should one occur (items 1–5)? And can you safely spend a night—or more—outside (items 6–10)? Use this list as a guide and tailor it to the needs of your outing.
1.Navigation: The five fundamentals are a map, altimeter, compass, GPS device, and a personal locator beacon or other device to contact emergency first responders.
2.Headlamp: Include spare batteries.
3.Sun protection: Wear sunglasses, sun-protective clothes, and broadspectrum sunscreen rated at least SPF 30.
4.First aid: Basics include bandages; skin closures; gauze pads and dressings; roller bandage
