Surveyor’s Ridge Trail, May 15, 2024
This is a long trail, and I only did a small portion of it; a relatively easy portion. I drove Forest Road 17 to a turn off, FS630, up to the parking area for Bald Butte, or as some call the area: the singing power lines. Instead of hiking up the old road to the top of the butte, I went south along the trail till it crosses road another forest service road, and then a bit more to the junction with trail 688A. The elevation is around 3850 feet and it is still spring on this hillside. Blooming were lots of trilliums and small flowered blue eyed Mary’s. The ballhead waterleaf plants were also in profusion, especially near the beginning of the hike. There were lots of upland larkspurs and nine-leaf desert parsleys. I found only one calypso but lots of red flowered currants. And for me, a new wildflower, big-leaf sandwort.
A small low plant, big-leaf sandwort
Western Trillium
Ballhead waterleaf
The lone calypso
Upland larkspurs were plentiful along the trail
Red flowering currant
