Paul and I did a clockwise loop with a few miles off-trail, see the caltopo route below. We saw 54 species of plants in flower, Paul's list is below, thanks Paul! On the upper flats there were thick areas of gold stars, sagebrush violets, and rock onions. The bluff above the northern entrance to the canyon has some thick displays of balsamroot and lupine (photo 1). The bootpath down from that bluff is steep and a little treacherous (even with poles).
FLOWERING PLANTS IN BLOOM (49 species)
white (13 species)
western serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
annual Jacob’s-ladder (Polemonium micranthum)
wax currant (Ribes cereum)
panicled death-camas (Toxicoscordion paniculatum)
sagebrush stickseed (Hackelia diffusa)
longhorn plectritis (Plectritis macrocera)
spring whitlow-grass (Draba verna)
chickweed, species uncertain (Cerastium sp.)
big-seed desert-parsley / biscuit-root (Lomatium macrocarpum)
Gorman’s desert-parsley / biscuit-root (Lomatium gormanii)
milk-vetch, probably Yakima (Astralagus, probably reventiformis)
cushion pussytoes (Antennaria dimorpha)
rock onion (Allium macrum)
yellow (14 species)
holly-leaf Oregon-grape (Mahonia / Berberis aquifolium)
golden currant (Ribes aureum)
nine-leaf / triternate desert-parsley / biscuit-root (Lomatium triternatum)
Umtanum desert-parsley / biscuit-root (Lomatium quintuplex)
Carey’s balsamroot (Balsamorhiza careyana)
Hooker’s balsamroot (Balsamorhiza hookeri)
hybrid Hooker’s x Carey’s balsamroot (Balsamorhiza hookeri x careyana)
arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
false agoseris / desert dandelion (Nothocalais troximoides)
desert spring gold (Crocidium multicaule)
Columbian puccoon (Lithospermum ruderale)
desert yellow daisy (Erigeron linearis)
arrow-leaf buckwheat (Eriogonum compositum)
field mustard (Brassica rapa)
bluish: blue to violet to blue-purple (7 species)
ball-head waterleaf (Hydrophyllum capitatum)
lupine, maybe silky (Lupinus, maybe sericeus)
rock lupine (Lupinus saxosus)
large-flower triteleia (Triteleia grandiflora)
sagebrush violet (Viola trinervata)
upland / common larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum)
small-flowered blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora)
reddish: pink to red to red-purple (12 species)
red-stem / common stork’s bill (Erodium cicutarium)
blue mustard (Chorispora tenella)
bulbous prairie-star (Lithophragma glabrum)
apple tree, species uncertain (Malus sp.)
showy phlox (Phlox speciosa)
midget / fragile phlox (Microsteris gracilis)
tufted phlox (Phlox caespitosa)
rockcress, probably Columbia / few-flowered (Boechera, probably pauciflora)
dagger-pod (Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides)
thyme-leaf buckwheat (Eriogonum thymoides)
big-head clover (Trifolium macrocephalum)
shooting-star, pretty or desert (Primula pauciflora or conjugens)
orange (1 species)
fiddleneck, species uncertain (Amsinckia sp.)
brown (1 species)
chocolate-tips (Lomatium dissectum)
green (1 species)
Rocky Mountain / Douglas’s maple (Acer glabrum)
BIRDS
Black-capped Chickadee
Spotted Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
European Starling
American Goldfinch
Canyon Wren
Violet-green Swallow
House Finch
Song Sparrow
Turkey Vulture
Steller’s Jay
Northern Flicker
Common Raven
Western Meadowlark
Horned Lark
American Kestrel
California Quail
Chukar
Yellow-rumped Warbler
BUTTERFLIES
Cabbage White (Pieris brassicae) — many
?Sagebrush Checkerspot (Chlosyne acastus)
Julia’s Orange-tip (Anthocharis julia) — several
Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) — several
Sheridan’s Green Hairstreak (Callophrys sheridanii)
MAMMALS
Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventer)
Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) — three groups, of 4, of about a dozen, and of 2
REPTILES
Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer)
Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus)
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