Ran Out Of Plants

Day 308: That's as far as I got. Then I ran out of plants. I might have pushed a bit further but for the fact that I didn't have sunglasses and the glare from snow can be quite intense. Besides, my duty for the day was only to conduct a MeadoWatch survey, but I just couldn't turn around at the last waypoint, not with more trail ahead of me. I decided to go until I hit snow, and as you can see, that's right where the "end of maintained trail" sign was positioned. I sat on the rocks for a while, talking to visitors as they came up, handing out wildflower brochures and information about the Park's volunteer program, delighting in the cool breeze drifting down from Paradise Glacier. I explained the demise of the famous Ice Caves and talked about climate change, and reminisced with several people who had been here decades ago.

I'd completed my MeadoWatch duties on the way up, charting the phenological stages of a dozen or so "target" plant species at 12 stations marked with surveyors' disks. I found very little Sitka Valerian, something which is normally abundant at this time of year, but was rewarded with meadowed slopes dappled with spires of Bistort and the occasional Paintbrush. I found an unusual colour variation among the Penstemons as well as several plants I have yet to identify, but no alpine lichens (much to my dismay). It was a delightful way to spend a day which in the lowlands would have been too warm to be comfortable.