Snow: The last 80 feet of gain up to 5050 Pass has snow that was slushy/slippery in spots and postholey in other spots; it took a little care going up this and a little more care coming down this for 2 of our Mountaineers' group of 3. Many people will have no issues with this snow. There were 4 short and easy patches of snow before this point and there were a few easy patches of snow on the side trail up to Valhalla.
Hike: All but the last .2 mile up to Valhalla is in old-growth forest and 2 miles of that is along the creek. It is a very pretty forest (photo 4) and the trail is often cushioned by small western hemlock cones. There are about 6 blowdowns, all are easy to get around/under/over.
Flowers: We saw 37 spcies of flowering plants, thanks for the list Paul! There are a variety of berries and other bell-shaped flowers out in the forest along with salmon berry, trillium, bunchberry, and a few fairy slippers. The open area towards the top of Valhalla has flowery slopes (photo 2), twinberry honeysuckle (photo 3), spreading phlox, Cascade/Martindale's desert parsley, (lots of) snow douglasia (photo 1), and small-flowered penstemon just starting to bloom.
Road Conditions: The road is easily passable for a sedan, there are some potholes that have to be watched for and avoided. There are many flowers along the road including blooming rhododendrons.
FLOWERING PLANTS IN BLOOM (37 species)
white (15)
foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)
Siberian spring-beauty (Claytonia sibirica)
western bunchberry / dwarf dogwood (Cornus unalaschkensis)
Pacific / western trillium (Trillium ovatum)
blue-leaf / Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
plumed / large false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum)
five-leaved bramble (Rubus pedatus) — just coming into flower
baneberry (Actaea rubra)
vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla)
marsh marigold (Caltha leptosepala)
raceme pussytoes (Antennaria racemosa)
Hooker’s fairy-bells (Prosartes hookeri)
queen’s cup (Clintonia uniflora) — just coming into flower
red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
mountain sweet-cicely (Osmorhiza berteroi)
yellow (7)
large-leaved avens (Geum macrophyllum)
pioneer / streamside violet (Viola glabella)
violet, round-leaf or evergreen (Viola orbiculata or sempervirens)
Martindale’s desert-parsley (Lomatium martindalei)
holly-leaf Oregon-grape (Berberis / Mahonia nervosa)
clasping twisted-stalk (Streptopus amplexifolius)
twinberry / bush honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata)
reddish: pink to red to red-purple (12)
salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Pacific rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum)
spreading phlox (Phlox diffusa)
kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
smooth Douglasia / cliff dwarf-primrose (Douglasia laevigata)
Calypso orchid (Calypso bulbosa)
red huckleberry (Vaccinium parviflorium)
tall / black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum)
oval-leaf blueberry (Vaccinium ovalifolium)
Cascade blueberry (Vaccinium deliciosum)
rosy twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus)
red columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
bluish: blue to violet to blue-purple (1)
hooked-spur violet (Viola adunca)
green (1)
heart-leaf twayblade (Neottia cordata)
red-brown (1)
Oregon boxwood (Paxistima myrsinites)
BIRDS
Varied Thrush
Dark-eyed Junco
Pacific Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Flicker
Canada / Gray Jay
Pine Siskin
Olive-sided Flycatcher
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