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posted: June 30th, 2020 |
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This page continues June 8th from Page 1 (at 1:34 PM) while we were hiking/climbing the Denali National Park Savage Alpine Trail. June 8th concludes at Row 10 and then Row 11 begins June 9th and a STEEP climb on the Bison Gulch Trail up towards Mt. Healy, which is just a short distance to the north of Denali National Park. We did not make it to the summit of Mt. Healy, but we were quite satisfied with what we accomplished - we found flowers and we made it pretty much to the vertical limit of growing plants. This page ends at the end of June 9th. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| June 8th Continues from Page 1 (at 1:34 PM) |
As written above, this page continues June 8th at 1:34 PM, still hiking the Savage Alpine Trail in Denali National Park. The first two shots in this row show Ledge Stonecrop (Rhodiola integrifolia ssp. integrifolia) and the third shot shows another Two-flowered Violet (Viola biflora).
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Here is one more shot of Two-flowered Violet (Viola biflora) and that is followed by two shots which show piles of animal scat. We examined it closely and it had an abundance of Caribou hair in it, which makes one believe it to be wolf scat, but unless a group of wolves sat on a carcass for days and continuously dumped in the same spot, there is way too much of it, so - could it be bear scat? This is a puzzle.
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The first shot here shows a rock cliff. The outlined area shows the area of the following photo - isn't it amazing how many flowers can occupy one small rocky ledge. The third shot shows scenery while looking back down the trail.
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The first and third photos show an unknown, but attractive, plant and sandwiched between those shots is another scenery shot looking back towards the way we came from. Can you find the person on the trail? Ha! Obviously, it is not too difficult to practice social distancing here.
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Flowers, flowers, flowers - have we died and gone to heaven? Maybe not, as there is not much diversity, though still amazing to see. We were being harassed by the Arctic Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus parryii), one of which is shown in the center photo. It is obvious that these animals are given treats by uneducated tourists much too often, very sad.
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Now we are at the summit of the Savage Alpine Trail, the first photo shows that the trail heads down from here. Seeing as our rig was parked at one end, we did not continue down this trail, but turned around to get back to our starting point. The center shot shows more Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus parryii) harassment (us being harassed by them). The third shot shows Arctic-bell Heather (Cassiope tetragona). Note the three tiny insects inside of the flower.
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Here is one more example of Arctic-bell Heather (Cassiope tetragona) and that is followed by a scenery shot with Kazuya and then a "Flowery Field" photo.
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Here are two increasingly zoomed "Flowery Field" photos. The third photo shows that 99% of these flowers are all Narcissus-flowered Anemone (Anemone narcissiflora).
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The first shot here shows me on a small summit and surrounded by flowers. Beginning with the second shot, we are headed back to our starting point. The second shot shows a Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala) and the third shot shows another Lapland Rosebay (Rhododendron lapponicum).
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Here are two more shots of Lapland Rosebay (Rhododendron lapponicum) and then another shot of Narcissus-flowered Anemone (Anemone narcissiflora) in the Flowery Field.
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| End June 8th, Begin June 9th |
Now it's June 9th and another adventure awaits. Today we are heading up the Bison Gulch Trail and we are going to go as far as we can up towards Mt. Healy. Supposedly, Mt. Healy's summit stands at 5,577 feet (1,700 m). The starting point is at about 1,700 feet (518 m) and this time we made it to about 3,900 feet (1,189 m). On our previous climb here on May 12th we only made it to about 3,160 feet (963 m). Though my stomach was upset today and I did not feel very well, we made it to a higher elevation than we did on May 12th. The first shot here shows Alpine Milkvetch (Astragalus alpinus var. alpinus). The center shot shows the summit of Mt. Healy - the mountain near the center of the photo and the third shot shows the route of the trail.
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We were pleasantly surprised to find the Two-flowered Violet (Viola biflora) here. The second and third photos show Long-pod Stitchwort (Minuartia macrocarpa).
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This Capitate Lousewort (Pedicularis capitata) in first position was also a surprise, though we rather expected the Lapland Rosebay (Rhododendron lapponicum) shown in the center photo and also the Snow Arnica (Arnica frigida) shown in the third photo.
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In this row are three scenery photos. In the first photo you can actually find the trail above us. In the second shot you can find Mt. Healy and in the third shot you can find the Parks Highway and the parking lot for people who want to climb this trail.
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These three shots all show Lehmann’s rock-jasmine (Androsace chamaejasme ssp. lehmanniana).
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The first shot here shows me hiking up the mountain, the second shot shows another specimen of the Two-flowered Violet (Viola biflora) and the third photo shows Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala).
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Here is a really nice shot of the Two-flowered Violet (Viola biflora). The center two-shot panoramic image shows the trail and the summit of Mt. Healy and the third shot shows One-flower Cinquefoil (Potentilla uniflora).
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The first shot here shows that there were many species of flowers in every square meter. The second shot is Arctic Lupine (Lupinus arcticus) and the third shot is Mountain Avens (Dryas octopetala) and distant scenery.
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The first two-shot panorama shows the trail, Mt. Healy and me searching for flowers. Due to the fact that I am not wearing my backpack, you can discern that this was a short break to search the immediate area for flowers. The center two-shot panorama was taken from higher up on the mountain - you can easily find the summit of Mt. Healy. The third shot shows an amazing patch of Arctic Lupine (Lupinus arcticus) on the hillside.
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The first two shots in this row show Arctic Lupine (Lupinus arcticus) and the third shot shows that we are still climbing.
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This is the spot where we stopped and ate out lunch and also decided that we did not need to go any farther. In the first two shots you can find Kazuya out in the distance. In the center shot the summit of Mt. Healy really shows well. It's still nearly 1,700 feet (518 m) above us though. At this point I was feeling quite unwell and sat and rested while Kazuya checked ahead. The third shot shows One-flower Cinquefoil (Potentilla uniflora).
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The first shot again shows the One-flower Cinquefoil (Potentilla uniflora). Starting with the center photo, we are now descending and we've stopped at the Arctic Lupine (Lupinus arcticus) patch you saw in Rows 19 and 20 to try and get a couple more photos of this amazing blue patch on the mountainside.
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The small patch of Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia) shown in the first photo is a plant we found here back in May and wondered what it would now look like. It looked better back in May. The second and third photos show Ciliate Saxifrage (Saxifraga eschscholtzii).
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| End June 9th, End Page 2 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 3 for the continuation of this month's adventures. |
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