If you want to see the balsamroot carpets in the summit meadows, go as soon as you can because it will not get any better than it is right now. However, if you are a repeat visitor, please be advised that this has not been a very good year for balsamroot in the Gorge. It has looked dazed and confused, undoubtedly in response to the prolonged wet winter.<P>
Flowers currently blooming at lower elevations (primarily in forested areas) include: Fork-Toothed Ookow (<I>Dichelostemma congestum</I>), Small-Flowered Blue-Eyed Mary (<I>Collinsia parviflora</I>), Nine-leaf Desert Parsley (<I>Lomatium triternatum </I>var. <I>triternatum</I>), Slender Popcorn Flower (<I>Plagiobothrys tenellus</I>), White Western Groundsel (<I>Senecio integerrimus </I>var. <I>ochroleucus</I>), Annual Agoseris (<I>Agoseris heterophylla</I>), Broad-Leaf Star Flower (<I>Trientalis latifolia</I>), Thimbleberry (<I>Rubus parviflorus</I>), patches of Columbia Gorge Lupine (<I>Lupinus latifolius </I>var. <I>thompsonianus</I>), Baldhip Rose (<I>Rosa gymnocarpa</I>), Wild Strawberry (<I>Fragaria virginiana</I>), Smooth Woodland Star (<I>Lithophragma glabrum</I>), Threadleaf Phacelia (<I>Phacelia linearis</I>), and Farewell-to-Spring (<I>Clarkia amoena</I>). The wildflowers at the large boulder near the top of the initial switchbacks are particularly impressive and profuse.<P>
Flowers currently blooming in forested areas at higher elevations: Chocolate Lily (<I>Fritillaria lanceolata</I>), Vanilla leaf (<I>Achlys triphylla</I>), Columbia Windflower (<I>Anemone deltoidea</I>), Spotted Coral Root (<I>Corallorhiza maculata</I>), Inside-Out Flower (<I>Vancouveria hexandra</I>), Star-Flowered Solomon`s Seal (<I>Maianthemum stellatum</I>), Hooker`s Fairybell (<I>Disporum hookeri</I>), and Candyflower (<I>Claytonia sibirica</I>). Also blooming at higher elevations (e.g., above the upper trail junction) are Arnica, Fringe Cup (<I>Tellima grandiflora</I>), Western Sweet Cicely (<I>Osmorhiza occidentalis</I>), Mountain Arnica (<I>Arnica latifolia</I>), Western Baneberry (<I>Actaea rubra</I>), and PROFUSE Candyflower.
<P> Flowers currently blooming in the meadows: Northwest Balsamroot (<I>Balsamorhiza deltoidea</I>) of course (though well past peak in the lower meadows), Rosy Plectritis (<I>Plectritis congesta</I>), Harsh Paintbrush (<I>Castilleja hispida</I>), Spring Gold (<I>Lomatium utriculatum</I>), Columbia Gorge Lupine (<I>Lupinus latifolius </I>var. <I>thompsonianus</I>), Upland Larkspur (<I>Delphinium nuttallianum</I>), Bicolored Cluster Lily (<I>Broadeia howellii</I>), Douglas’ Catchfly (<I>Silene douglasii</I>), Meadow Death Camas (<I>Zigadenus venenosus</I>) in the lower meadow only, Spreading Phlox (<I>Phlox diffusa</I>), Western Buttercup (<I>Ranunculus occidentalis</I>), American vetch (<I>Vicia americana</I>), more Wild Strawberry and Small-Flowered Blue-Eyed Mary, and some Cascades Penstemon (<I>Penstemon serrulatus</I>). Cliff Penstemon (<I>Penstemon rupicola</I>) and Stonecrop (<I>Sedum sp.</I>) is blooming on the boulders just prior to the summit spur trail. Hundreds of Taper-tip Onion (<I>Allium acuminatum</I>) will soon open in the upper meadows.
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<FONT COLOR="RED">CAVEAT</FONT>: The poison oak (<I>Toxicodendron diversilobum</I>) is PROFUSE along both the Dog Mountain and Augspurger trails below approximately 1800 feet. Make sure that you know how to <a href="http://www.poisonoak-id.com/" target="_blank">identify it</a>! I recommend wearing long pants and carrying Tecnu just in case.
Reports