| 
14 July ~ 2007
The plain of it is most people are reluctant to wander far from roads and trails. That leaves the rest to us who like to get away from such things, and in the West that is a pretty big acreage.We crossed to the other side of a wide valley and set camp in a grove of massive spruce. I couldn't find a totally level spot, so I set my tent footside down, just were there was a subtle rise from a sunken log. At night I situated my arms and chest just above the rise, and it kept me from slipping.
All evening the next morning me and Ben and Maggie were serenated by Kinglets, Hermit Thrush's, and White Crowned Sparrows. Sometime in the night I heard grouse calling from the slope above. In the dim light of dawn I heard the winnowing of Snipes, high above us.
Part of the reason I came up here was to get a good look at the Rock Jasmine, Paintbrush, Larkspur, Monk's Hood, Penstemon, and Columbine before the short summer passes.
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|