 Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada |
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Sky
Pilot I must admit, I am a wildflower
lover! When I was packing for Mt. Whitney Pack Trains in the
High Sierra I was always fascinated by the incredible array of
wildflowers. It seemed as though every color and shape was either
splashed amongst the rocks or growing in the meadows. From flowers
as small as an eraser on the end of a pencil on the Owens Valley
desert floor to those which were larger than a saucer in some
of the Sierra alpine meadows, there was never a lack of wildflowers.
No matter where you looked, there was an abundance of color.
From the carpeted sandy flats of Monache and Mulkey Meadows to
the knee deep Larkspur and Shooting Stars of Crabtree and Kerrick
Meadows, there was always enough color to keep you coming back
for more. Though I love them all, perhaps my favorite is the
Sky Pilot, or Polemonium Californicum as some may call it. This
hearty little flower can only really be appreciated by those
who have made it higher than 10,000' in the Sierra, for it's
in the rocky crags in the narrow little region between 10,000'
- 13,000' that this jewel grows. I would often see the Sky Pilot
while going from Whitney Portal to Crabtree Meadows on the John
Muir Trail over the 13,777' Trail Crest Pass. This truly is the
"High Sierra" flower! |
 Anderson's Thistle |
 Shooting Star |
Lewis' Monkey Flower |
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 Sierra Blue Cup |
 Apricot Mallow |
 Sierra Tiger Lily |
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 Brittle Bush |
 Mariposa Lily |
 Monks Hood |
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 Sierra Penstemon |
 Sierra Primrose |
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by Ardath Dietrich
 Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada - 2 (Terry Bishop photo) |
| Sage
Brush Sage Brush is more than a anthem of the west, it might well be a scourge  of the west to cowboy or packer who has to loose herd stock through
it. Whatever it is, there is more than enough of it to go around.
From the high desert floor of Owens Valley well up the eastern
slopes of the Sierra Nevada Sage Brush seems to know no bounds.
I still recall the time five packers, including myself, pushed
stock from the Elder Ranch near Diaz Lake, just south of Lone
Pine, some thirty miles south to Sage Flat. (Sage Flat, and Olancha
Pass, was to be the trailhead for the Trail Riders of the Wilderness
this particular summer because the snow was still so deep on
the trail going over Mt. Whitney, we're talking about in late
August, that it was impassible to stock.) As we headed out of
the Elder Ranch down Lubken Canyon Road towards the Owen's Valley
Aqueduct, three things became apparently clear: 1. It was going to be one long dust eatin' ride for whoever brought up the rear (and sometimes that was me), 2. No amount of singin' in the saddle was going to make this a pleasant trip, 3. We were all about to gain a new appreciation for this plant called the Sage Brush.  We had never seen
so much Sage Brush in all of our lives, up close and personal.
Over that thirty miles of dry dusty trail, there must have been
100 varieties of Sage Brush, or so it seemed. Having on chaps
took on a whole new level of appreciation too! For those of us
who had them, they were "leg savers." I was so thankful
that Tommy and Barbara Jefferson had given me a wonderful pair
of rust colored deer chaps on my fifth anniversary of packing
for the outfit. I cherish them still to this day. Why Tommy never
trucked the stock to Sage Flat for this trip I'll never know.
When we all finally reached Sage Flat you'd have thought we were
related to coal miners. Only the whites of our eyes were showing
through all of the dust. But what a trip! Without that trail
drive there would be nothing to share with you. |
"Sierra Sounds"
by Blanch Stallings
 Mule Ears |
 Corn Lily |
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 Hooker's Evening Primrose |
 Pinedrops |
 Pinedrops |
 Western Peony |
 Sierra Plum |
 Manzanita |
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 Sierra Larkspur |
 Alpine Mountain Sorrel |
 Sierra Gentian |
 Elephant Heads |
 Sierra Columbine |
 Lone Pine Beardtongue |
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 Brittle Bush |
 Snow Plant |
 Corn Lily |
 Western Columbine |
 Sierra Bleeding Heart |
 Sierra Evening Primrose |
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 Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada (Photo of Sky Pilots near Mt. Whitney by Laszio Hulicsko) |
"The Range of Light from Mt. Whitney"
by Blanch Stallings
 Yellow Yarrow |
 White Evening Shinleaf |
 Skyrocket |
 Sierra Wallflower |
 Wolly Sunflower |
 Western Blue Flag |
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 Pink Pussypaws |
 Rockcress |
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 Marsh Marigold |
 Owens Valley Checker Bloom |
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 Sierra Tiger Lily |
 Sierra Onion |
 Sulfur Flower |
 Checker |
 Stickseed |
 Steers Head |
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 Sierra Penstemon |
 Sandwort |
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 Spreading Flox |
 Spotted Coral Root |
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 Heartleaf Arnica |
 Elephant Head |
 Death Carnas |
 Congdons Bitteroot |
 Indian Paintbrush |
 California Fuchsia |
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 Fremont's Tidytips |
 Brewers Miterwort |
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Sierra Nevada Wildflowers by Mark Johnson (Courtesy of and copyright Mark Johnson) |
|
 Eastern Sierra Wildflowers |
 High Sierra Indian Paintbrush |
 |
Packing & High Sierra Stories | |
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Mt. Whitney Packers of the 1940s - 1970s | |
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Early Lone Pine | |
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One Packers High Sierra Experience |
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Brochures of the Eastern High Sierra |
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Cerro Gordo |
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This page was last updated on
22 April 2024