Reservations/Crowds: We got a reservation at 7 PM the night before--they were all sold out by 7:05. There was no line to enter the park around noon on a Thursday. The parking lot had a few spaces left as well.
Temperature/Weather: The temps were in the mid-high 70s, which combined with the direct sunlight was uncomfortable but still hikeable. A bit of smoke rolled in around 3 PM, enough to smell but not enough to cause problems for me (mildly asthmatic).
Route: We did the Burroughs Mountain Loop clockwise, starting along the Sunrise Rim trail, which had a decent number of flowers, most notably the asters (which should be in full bloom in a week). The climb up to first Burroughs was difficult in the sun and temps, though. It also had a 0.5 mile stretch of high exposure, which might be slightly scarier than going along the Sourdough Ridge trail, since there are a lot more trees along the trail there. No snowfields on either 1st or 2nd Burroughs. We turned back at 2nd Burroughs, as we probably didn’t have enough water (2/3 L) for 3rd.
Bugs: There were no bugs for 75% of the hike, but when we got to the Burroughs they were awful. No mosquitos but a lot of flies.
Fauna: A group of hikers coming back from 3rd Burroughs around 3 pm reported no mountain goats--maybe it was too hot or the wrong time of day. Other hikers on Sunrise Rim saw a bear near the trail. We heard pikas but didn’t see them. And of course, the very chubby chipmunks.
Flora: The early flowers, particularly heather and smallflower penstemon, are fading from the meadow on 1st Burroughs, but there was still a lot of buckwheat and others, making for an amazing expanse against the mountain. 2nd burroughs had a lot of partridgefoot and some still-blooming heather of several varieties, with some paintbrush, fading lousewort, and others at the top.
- Longer list: northern goldenrod, lupine (dwarf and miniature), aster, fleabane, arnica (particularly in the forested sections), white mountain heather, yellow mountain heather, pink mountain heather (fading), Jacob’s ladder (faded), rainiera (faded), coiled-beak lousewort (faded), sickletop lousewort, elephant’s head (faded), Sitka valerian, paintbrush (magenta and red, magenta is fading), buckwheat (pyrola-leafed? full bloom), Cusick’s speedwell, small-flowered penstemon, either cliff or Davidson’s penstemon, cinquefoil, American bistort
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