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Early summer is usually the best time to see wildflowers in the Sierras. I can't give you an exact time frame because it depends on when the snow melts. Sometimes early summer might be in August if the snow melts late. Some areas are better for wildflowers than others. As much as I like Yosemite I don't think its the best place for wildflowers. I haven't done much hiking there in the last few years which might have something to do with my lack of rememberance of much in the way of wildflowers there. Also, only in the last few years have I made an effort to take wildflower pictures, which might be another contributing factor. While I've never asked anyone, I remember reading an autobiography about John Muir and remember reading about when he was a sheep herder in Yosemite. He made an effort to protect some areas of wildflowers from the Sheep. I wonder if the sheep are the reason that I don't see as many flowers there. At first the Calvary would tell the sheep herders to take their sheep out of the park and then ride off. Since the calvary was gone the sheep herder just stayed where he was. Eventually the Calvary started to take the sheep herder back to headquarters and then tell him to go get his sheep and get them out of the park. Faced with having to round them all up they stopped coming into the park. Some of my favorite areas to look for wildflowers are the Emigrant, Carson Iceberg and Desolation Wilderness. While I've never been there I've read that the Pacific Crest Trail in the Blue Lakes area is one of the best places to look at wildflowers. While Yosemite has lots of granite canyons, areas north of the park have had more volcanic activity so the soil is different, and is probably more favorable to flowers (remember, I'm not an expert!). If I'd have won the lottery I'd be on my way to Yosemite right now to get more flower pictures. As it is I only have a few from there and only one worth posting, but I have plenty from the other areas in the Sierras. The above picture was taken in the Desolation Wilderness and is one of my favorites. Click on it to see a larger version. Since the Desolation Wilderness is heavily hiked I don't like to say where the pictures are taken. If you really want to know email me and I might tell you. Some of these pictures I've already used on other pages but some haven't been posted before. I just wanted to make sure that I grouped all the flower pictures togeather.                                                                     |
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