July 24, 2025 • 20 mins
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Jennie and Craig discuss their favorite alpine wildflower hikes across Washington for peak alpine wildflower season in Late July and early August.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jennie Flaming (00:00):
Jennie, welcome to the Washington State hiking
(00:07):
podcast. I'm your host. JennieThwing Flaming,
Craig Romano (00:10):
and I'm your co host, Craig Romano, Craig
Jennie Flaming (00:12):
and I are happy to have you here. We provide
practical and timely, seasonalhiking advice for hikers, trail
runners and potential hikers andtrail runners of all skill and
ability levels that is helpful,accurate, fun and inclusive.
Well, hey everybody today we aretalking about peak summer Alpine
(00:33):
wildflower hikes. And before wedive in, just want to mention
that Washington also has manyamazing spring wildflower hikes.
Those are in different places.
We've talked about them before.
We I'm sure we'll talk aboutthem again, but what we're
talking about today is ourfavorite Alpine wildflower hikes
(00:56):
for this magical mid and latesummer time. So hey, Craig,
Craig Romano (01:03):
hey Jennie. I love, I love the Alpine wild
flowers. It's again, you know, Ihaven't spent a lot of time in
the Rockies, so I so Iunderstand places like in the
San Juan Mountains in Coloradoare supposed to be incredible.
But I'll tell you some of thebest I've seen is right here in
the Cascades. Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (01:20):
and that's something that we're really
known for here in Washington,especially Mount Rainier
National Park aroundwildflowers. But of course, you
everyone listening knows by nowthat we're gonna have many
different ideas besides the oneseverybody's already heard about,
although maybe we'll talk aboutthose two anyway. So Craig, what
(01:43):
are some of your your favorites?
Yeah,
Craig Romano (01:46):
so I know where you want to start. You know,
because I love to send peopleoff the beaten path. And again,
if you live in Spokane, youprobably already know this, but
two of the best wildflower hikesin in in the state are in
eastern Washington, and there'sand there's some of the highest
summits over there. So I'm goingto send you to the kettle river
range. So many times copperButte, which is the highest
(02:08):
mountain in the range. It's 7140feet. It's just covered in
flowers. So the thing is, youdon't want to wait too late in
the summer here. 10 is a littlehotter and drier there. So the
flowers are going to be a littlebit earlier, like Rainier. You
know, August is still good July.
July is going to be a muchbetter time be over here. So
copper Butte is spectacularright next to it. WAPA Lucy is
(02:28):
another one really good forflowers, and that they could
start in May and June area, andthen Abercrombie Mountain, which
is the second highest summit ineastern Washington. This is
right above the ponderay River.
High Mountain, not, not a longhike you start up. It can be if
you do it from the crazy way,but if you do it the way in my
(02:49):
in my 100 classic hikes book orday hiking Eastern Washington to
shorter hike to get up there.
Really beautiful for wildflowersin that area. And then Hall
Mountain, which is across fromSullivan is another one. It's
good for flowers. So check outthose in the eastern part,
closer to where most of most ofyou guys live, out here in the
(03:09):
Cascades. If you've ever been toGreen Mountain, Green Mountain,
which is just a ridiculous namefor this mountain,
Jennie Flaming (03:16):
it's another one. There's more than one Green
Mountain. And
Craig Romano (03:20):
yeah, so I have to clarify that, right, which,
again, I wish we need to start.
I mean, there's been a big moveto get rid of a lot of the
offensive names off formountains, which I totally agree
with. But we also need to getrid of the battle names, you
know, all the goats and thegreens. And let's, let's, maybe
we could turn it into afundraiser for our parks, or
something that you get, youknow, I don't know. Anyways,
this is the Green Mountain offthe Suva river, so it had a fire
(03:40):
lookout in this area. It's oneof my 100 classic hikes. The
flowers are spectacular. On thisone, the valerium, it's
incredible. So again, any seasonhiker knows where there's
flowers there are bugs, becausewhat pollinates those flowers,
so be prepared for bitinginsects go up on a windy day. If
(04:01):
you have that preference, coolerand windy day will certainly,
certainly help on that goatrocks, snow, grass, meadow in
that area, flowery, just, justamazing. Cispus Basin, which is
much quieter, incredible Flower,flower meadow areas in there.
And another place, again, offthe beaten path, if you go to
(04:22):
Mount Adams, you know, everyoneMount Rainier code, Adams Creek
Meadows is absolutely stunningto get up there. That's another
one of my 100 classic hikes. Alot of people, of course, do the
climb. So check Adam CreekMeadow is really, really
spectacular. And then just evenalong the ridges in the North
(04:43):
Cascades, one of my favoriteareas for long trail runs and
and hikes are in the Henry MJackson wilderness to run Tish
pan gap. That's kind of like thethe center of it. And I have
several, several long loops thatI do that already. They all kind
of. Intersect there. So goingpilot Ridge, the Blue Lake area,
which is near Johnson mountain,West Katy ridge. Katy Ridge,
(05:08):
incredible flower areas. Matterof fact, Katy Ridge is the front
cover of my day hiking centralcascades books, all flower so
benchmark mountain, White Pass,red pass. That entire region is
just nothing but long ridges andopen meadows for miles. So if
you're backpacking, you spenddays just frolicking in there,
(05:29):
some of my favorite, favoritewildflower hikes in the state.
So definitely, definitely start,I think I've given you a lot of
miles of places, yeah,
Jennie Flaming (05:41):
for other people, are going to be
backpacking trips, yeah, notdate day hikes,
Craig Romano (05:46):
like trail runs too. I've done, yeah, they're,
they're couple. My favorite2020, to 30 mile loops, yeah,
yeah, stuff, yeah,
Jennie Flaming (05:55):
um, I'm curious, Craig, what since Mount Rainier
National Park is so known forits wildflowers, I'm curious
what your favorite wildflowerhike is in the park.
Craig Romano (06:09):
Yeah, there's a lot that's funny. Grand Park is
spectacular, yeah, tell peoplehow to get there, yeah, talk
about the the shortcut way,which I'm opposed to. I really
have a problem with that people,because they there's a lot of
illegal things, yeah, well,let's keep it legal. So I come
in from from sun, from sunrise,yeah, it's only that way. That's
(06:29):
the the official way to come in.
So sunrise, a long hike to comein, but not, not difficult.
Elevation was long. You can doit in a day hike, but you can
get your permits at camp, andeven if you don't make it that
far, Berkeley pass, yeah.
Berkeley Park, which is on theway, is flower. And even sunrise
itself is great. It's not asit's not as flowery as Paradise
(06:52):
because drier, but it's also notas crowded. So I do like I do
like that side of the mountainmuch better than I do the
paradise side, yeah.
Jennie Flaming (07:01):
And even just that area around frozen lake,
which is like half a mile, threequarters of a mile from the
parking lot, there are beautifulwildflowers in that little
meadow right there, and that'svery close to the parking
Craig Romano (07:17):
area. And probably, you know, one of the
best places for flowers in thisarea. It's just outside the
park. Is in the tattoowilderness, yeah, south. You
know, I talked about Packwoodearlier. So definitely pack
would be great if you're stayingin pack woods, a great place to
access this trail from you'regoing to do like, a 10 Mile
ridge of just all open theflowers are incredible tattoos.
It's, it's one of my 100 classichikes, also absolutely
(07:41):
spectacular for but even forshorter, just up to, was it the
pinnacle saddle? Yeah, some goodflowers in there. It's a short
hike to get in there in thetattoos range. But certainly
don't, don't skip paradise. Imean, if you've never, certainly
if you've never been there, justbe, be prepared for a lot of
people. And again, we shouldemphasize, stay on the trails in
this area. Zoom in your lenses.
You know, leave, leave thetramping on the meadows to the
(08:05):
marmots. So everything is markedin an area. There are paved
trails there that you can get inthere that for easier walking,
give it, but definitely it'sreally important, because if you
go off trail trampling,certainly if you pick the
flowers to it, I mean, it's theperson next next to the line's
not gonna be so don't do that.
So don't do that again. Ifyou're a marmot, I'm okay with
(08:26):
that. Marmots like to eatlupines and things, yes, so, so
yep, if you identify as amarmot, no good. You got to be a
marmot. Okay? So,
Jennie Flaming (08:35):
yes, you know it's, it's so important, as
we've talked about this manytimes so far, and especially in
2025 it's just so importantright now to for us to make sure
people know what thoseexpectations are, and really
implore people to follow thoserules. Since our public lands
(08:58):
are really, really under stressmore than ever, it's just so
important that we're protectingthose wildflower meadows.
Craig Romano (09:06):
I know we've talked about this before too.
Unfortunately, there's alwaysgoing to be people are going to
take advantage of thesesituations. I know, because the
rules don't apply to them, andnow, with the lack of
enforcement, they think they canget away with it, and they
probably can, but morally,you're not getting away with
ethically, don't do it. It's notright. Set a good example. Set a
good example to your children,to the others, how to really
(09:28):
take care of the land. Be goodstewards, really. We need to, we
need to shine above. Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (09:33):
absolutely. I completely agree. I think, you
know, for me, a favoritewildflower hike in Mount Rainier
National Park would be a tiebetween spray park over on the
Mowich lake side and the Natchezpeak loop, which
Craig Romano (09:53):
is peak is great and it's on
Jennie Flaming (09:55):
highway 410, the Chinook i. One of my classes,
pass, yeah, it's a wonderfulhike. It's really, really busy.
I mean, Chinook pass is justbananas during the day, but I
have done the loop like in theevening, late day. Yeah, rhyme,
(10:17):
wildfire season, like August, 3,Saturday, right? But if you show
up there at 5pm It's going to belight till nine, right? You need
to make sure to have a headlamp.
But it's such a fantastic very,very buggy, I mean, like head
nut level bugs, but that's okay.
(10:37):
It's so worth it. And even justaround tip Sue Lake and along
the road, the flowers arebeautiful. And if you do the
loop, it's even better. Onething you know, since we've been
talking about trail etiquetteand rules and how important
those are right now, couplethings I want to mention. The
(10:58):
outhouses at Chinook pass arehorrible. So consider a stop
before you get there.
Craig Romano (11:08):
You just can't keep up with the
Jennie Flaming (11:10):
even in normal time. Yeah, whatever normal is.
And the other thing is thatthis, if you do the loop, which
is about a four mile loop, halfof it is on the Pacific Crest
Trail, and the other half is inthe park. So it's confusing when
it comes to dogs, because dogsare not allowed on the Mount
(11:34):
Rainier National Park part ofthe trail, but they are on the
Pacific Crest Trail. So ifyou're bringing your dog with
you. Make sure, of course, thatthey're on a leash, but also
just know that you can still dothis hike, just not the whole
loop, right? So when you getaround to basically about
halfway back, then you have toturn around and come back the
way you came. But that's a greatoption. So that would be one.
(11:58):
And for spray park, I mentionedthe last week that some of my
favorite hikes for this time ofyear involve a long gravel road.
That's the case with spray park.
You've got to drive up to Marchlake and then go from there.
It's very remote, no cellservice for like an hour or more
getting up there. But spray parkis an amazing Well,
Craig Romano (12:23):
and, you know, I just just, you just reminded me,
honestly, about spray park,which is one of the best places,
another one of the best placesfor wildflowers in Rainier and
it's, it's, it's a longer hikingyou can get there, either by the
Wonderland or Cox Creek. IsIndian, Henry's Indian. Henry's
hunting ground is absolutelystunning. The flowers in there.
And if you're doing it fromCotts Creek too, you're going to
(12:45):
be on a long ridge to come down,and you're kind of coming down
into into Indian Henry withRainier in the back, and the old
Ranger guard station there. Theflowers are absolutely
incredible in there. So that's agood place. And same thing, if
you're on a backpack or yourstrong hiker trailer, getting
into going beyond, going towardsthe sunset, Sunset Park, yeah.
(13:13):
And then Aurora, Aurora Lake. Inthat area, kopaci is gorge.
There's some incredible areas inthe crowds definitely thin out
in the air because you're awayfrom road access. One of the
tricks you can do, if you notbackpacking the West Side road,
you can mountain bike. So youcan mountain bike that road,
yeah, and then yeah, day hikesinto those areas from from the
(13:34):
feeder trails. Yeah, it's stillgoing to be a good workout, but,
but you can get in there, andthen you have some nice downhill
coming out on the road, whichmakes it a little bit easier.
Yep, yeah, those are, I mean,Rainier is definitely supreme
when it comes to to wildflowerheights. But certainly, you
know, look at Adams. Look at thegoat rocks, look at Baker. A lot
of these areas you're gonna,you're gonna get some incredible
(13:56):
flower displays as well.
Jennie Flaming (13:58):
Yeah, and a couple others I wanted to
mention over in the Olympics. Soone hurricane Ridge has some
pretty great wildflowers. Andyou know, you can drive there,
and you can also hike again,stay on the trail. Honey Ridge
is a replacement Kahani Ridgehurricane Hill. Some really nice
(14:18):
flowers up there. And thenanother one that I really love
for wildflowers is MountTownsend,
Unknown (14:27):
yeah, the Olympic Peninsula, alpine tundra. The
flowers are they're not. It'slike carpets of it, it's dry,
no, but the flowers, whatwouldn't it the coolest things
about the northeastern part ofof the Olympics is that you have
Piper's bellflower there, whichis one of the endemics. It grows
nowhere else in the world, andit's all on Mount Townsend and
(14:48):
over towards in throughout theBuckhorn wilderness. Same thing
Mark, if you go to Marmot pass,Marmot pass isn't really wide
open, but if you continue yourhike going down, you. Towards
into the dungeon s Valley, orgoing towards tubal cane. Matter
of fact, the hike above tubal Kmine is miles of beautiful
flowers. And I was just in therelast summer. Again, I forget how
(15:10):
much I love that. I've been inthere many, many times. It's
spectacular. It's a spectacularhike for wildflowers. So July.
July is a great time to be inthere for
Jennie Flaming (15:18):
that. Yeah, Craig, what's your favorite
Washington Wildflower?
Craig Romano (15:23):
Well, that's a good no one's ever asked me.
Intro, I love the hair bells. Imean, they're gorgeous. The
Columbine, the elephant's head,yeah, which is actually not a
flower, right? It's a, it's a,well, yeah, elephants head, is
that an orchid flower? It's alost word, or or, I think it's a
(15:47):
lost word, but yeah, I guesstechnically, it's
Jennie Flaming (15:50):
a flower. It's pretty. It's a plant.
Craig Romano (15:54):
Of course, I love rhododendrons, which are spent
by this time they come out. Theycome out in May. And then the
Gentians, of course, at the end,the last, the last of bloom,
those bog engines are, aregorgeous. So in your boggy, wet
areas, they're going to come outin August, which is, I just
thought, I just thought, one ofthe best places to for wild
(16:14):
flowers, I doesn't even think ofit, is Little Giant pass over
the people, and it's welcome.
The flowers up there areincredible. Yeah, because I,
because I said I was in therewas the fall. The fall is
absolutely spectacular too, butI forgot being in the
summertime. Yeah, it's quitesplit. And then Flower Dome,
hence the name off of Buck Creekpass, if you're in the glacier
peak area. And it's not, it'snot really a day hike. It's more
(16:38):
of a backpack backpacking trip,miners, Ridge, same thing for
backpacking, which is nearimage, lake, a lot of those
areas backpacking, the flowersare stunning. In there,
absolutely stunning.
Jennie Flaming (16:50):
Yeah, my, my favorite is avalanche lilies,
um, gorgeous, yeah. But they're,they're like, they're
Unknown (16:59):
hard to see
Jennie Flaming (17:00):
because you have to catch them right as the snow
is, which is part of what I loveabout them. Um, but spray park
is a great place for avalancheLIS because, of course, that
time is like now, you know thesnow is just pulling back and
Craig Romano (17:14):
got away for the melting that's going to be
various, one of the best placesever seen. The Absolutely, I
mean, just miles, miles isJohnson Ridge, Scorpion
Mountain, which is off ofBeckler so skycomish, near
Stevens Pass. Yeah, it'sincredible. There's a whole part
of the ridge. South exposureusually melts out early June,
I'm sorry, early July, lateJune. Yep, the flowers are I
(17:37):
mean, just acres and acres andacres of them, because usually
you encounter patches of them,but it means entire slopes of
them. So that's one of the bestplaces that I've seen for them.
Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (17:47):
I also really love Lupin. And I think the
reason I love, well, first ofall, they're, they're beautiful
purple flowers, the fragrance. Ilove the fragrance of them, but
I think what I really love aboutthem is that they grow
everywhere. Yeah, they do. Youknow, you see them in places
that were devastated by Mount StHelens. Well, they're
Craig Romano (18:05):
they're a pioneer, they're nitrogen fixer. They're
one of the first plants tocolonize after disturbance.
Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (18:10):
you see them after a fire. You see them in
dry climates. You see them inwet climates. You see them in
the alpine you see them in thelowlands. They're just
Craig Romano (18:18):
so in the pine they're beautiful forest. You go
into these ponderosa pineforest, yeah, so with that red,
orange bark, with the purple,and then get the Arnica with
that, the the so again, I'vejust again, more we talk more
flowers. Tiffany mountain overNorth of Winthrop. It's an 8000
foot peak. It's a walk up. It'sone of the easiest mountains. At
8000 feet. Flowers areincredible. It's one of the best
(18:41):
flower hikes in there. Yeah. Imean, stunning. And now, now I'm
saying, I can't believe I didn'tthink of that absolutely
stunning. That whole area inTiffany, Tiffany Lake, there's,
there's other hikes you can doin that area, and it does not
get a lot of people. A North 20Mile is another one in that
area, yep, it's an old one ofthe oldest fire lookouts, flower
(19:07):
Bonaparte, another one in theOkanagan Highlands, near to
nasket. And then, if you've beeninto in the Satan, if you get in
there silver, Silver Lake. Thisis off a heart, off a hard pass
that's incredible. Just milesand miles of flowers in there
and Horseshoe basin, it's justall open bays. And again,
(19:29):
really, they and they come outearlier there, because your your
snow melt is earlier that parton the extreme east of the North
Cascades, yep. You will not belet down for the flower shows at
any of those hikes. No,
Jennie Flaming (19:40):
no, you will not. All right, everyone, well,
hopefully we inspired you tofind some new Alpine wildflower
hikes in the next month or so,and we will see you next week.
If you're enjoying the podcast,we would love to have you leave
us a rating or review whereveryou're listening. Screen that
will really help other peoplefind us. And don't forget,
(20:03):
there's a link to Craig's booksand my email list in the show
notes you.
Jennie, welcome to the Washington State hiking
(00:07):
podcast. I'm your host. JennieThwing Flaming,
Craig Romano (00:10):
and I'm your co host, Craig Romano, Craig
Jennie Flaming (00:12):
and I are happy to have you here. We provide
practical and timely, seasonalhiking advice for hikers, trail
runners and potential hikers andtrail runners of all skill and
ability levels that is helpful,accurate, fun and inclusive.
Well, hey everybody today we aretalking about peak summer Alpine
(00:33):
wildflower hikes. And before wedive in, just want to mention
that Washington also has manyamazing spring wildflower hikes.
Those are in different places.
We've talked about them before.
We I'm sure we'll talk aboutthem again, but what we're
talking about today is ourfavorite Alpine wildflower hikes
(00:56):
for this magical mid and latesummer time. So hey, Craig,
Craig Romano (01:03):
hey Jennie. I love, I love the Alpine wild
flowers. It's again, you know, Ihaven't spent a lot of time in
the Rockies, so I so Iunderstand places like in the
San Juan Mountains in Coloradoare supposed to be incredible.
But I'll tell you some of thebest I've seen is right here in
the Cascades. Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (01:20):
and that's something that we're really
known for here in Washington,especially Mount Rainier
National Park aroundwildflowers. But of course, you
everyone listening knows by nowthat we're gonna have many
different ideas besides the oneseverybody's already heard about,
although maybe we'll talk aboutthose two anyway. So Craig, what
(01:43):
are some of your your favorites?
Yeah,
Craig Romano (01:46):
so I know where you want to start. You know,
because I love to send peopleoff the beaten path. And again,
if you live in Spokane, youprobably already know this, but
two of the best wildflower hikesin in in the state are in
eastern Washington, and there'sand there's some of the highest
summits over there. So I'm goingto send you to the kettle river
range. So many times copperButte, which is the highest
(02:08):
mountain in the range. It's 7140feet. It's just covered in
flowers. So the thing is, youdon't want to wait too late in
the summer here. 10 is a littlehotter and drier there. So the
flowers are going to be a littlebit earlier, like Rainier. You
know, August is still good July.
July is going to be a muchbetter time be over here. So
copper Butte is spectacularright next to it. WAPA Lucy is
(02:28):
another one really good forflowers, and that they could
start in May and June area, andthen Abercrombie Mountain, which
is the second highest summit ineastern Washington. This is
right above the ponderay River.
High Mountain, not, not a longhike you start up. It can be if
you do it from the crazy way,but if you do it the way in my
(02:49):
in my 100 classic hikes book orday hiking Eastern Washington to
shorter hike to get up there.
Really beautiful for wildflowersin that area. And then Hall
Mountain, which is across fromSullivan is another one. It's
good for flowers. So check outthose in the eastern part,
closer to where most of most ofyou guys live, out here in the
(03:09):
Cascades. If you've ever been toGreen Mountain, Green Mountain,
which is just a ridiculous namefor this mountain,
Jennie Flaming (03:16):
it's another one. There's more than one Green
Mountain. And
Craig Romano (03:20):
yeah, so I have to clarify that, right, which,
again, I wish we need to start.
I mean, there's been a big moveto get rid of a lot of the
offensive names off formountains, which I totally agree
with. But we also need to getrid of the battle names, you
know, all the goats and thegreens. And let's, let's, maybe
we could turn it into afundraiser for our parks, or
something that you get, youknow, I don't know. Anyways,
this is the Green Mountain offthe Suva river, so it had a fire
(03:40):
lookout in this area. It's oneof my 100 classic hikes. The
flowers are spectacular. On thisone, the valerium, it's
incredible. So again, any seasonhiker knows where there's
flowers there are bugs, becausewhat pollinates those flowers,
so be prepared for bitinginsects go up on a windy day. If
(04:01):
you have that preference, coolerand windy day will certainly,
certainly help on that goatrocks, snow, grass, meadow in
that area, flowery, just, justamazing. Cispus Basin, which is
much quieter, incredible Flower,flower meadow areas in there.
And another place, again, offthe beaten path, if you go to
(04:22):
Mount Adams, you know, everyoneMount Rainier code, Adams Creek
Meadows is absolutely stunningto get up there. That's another
one of my 100 classic hikes. Alot of people, of course, do the
climb. So check Adam CreekMeadow is really, really
spectacular. And then just evenalong the ridges in the North
(04:43):
Cascades, one of my favoriteareas for long trail runs and
and hikes are in the Henry MJackson wilderness to run Tish
pan gap. That's kind of like thethe center of it. And I have
several, several long loops thatI do that already. They all kind
of. Intersect there. So goingpilot Ridge, the Blue Lake area,
which is near Johnson mountain,West Katy ridge. Katy Ridge,
(05:08):
incredible flower areas. Matterof fact, Katy Ridge is the front
cover of my day hiking centralcascades books, all flower so
benchmark mountain, White Pass,red pass. That entire region is
just nothing but long ridges andopen meadows for miles. So if
you're backpacking, you spenddays just frolicking in there,
(05:29):
some of my favorite, favoritewildflower hikes in the state.
So definitely, definitely start,I think I've given you a lot of
miles of places, yeah,
Jennie Flaming (05:41):
for other people, are going to be
backpacking trips, yeah, notdate day hikes,
Craig Romano (05:46):
like trail runs too. I've done, yeah, they're,
they're couple. My favorite2020, to 30 mile loops, yeah,
yeah, stuff, yeah,
Jennie Flaming (05:55):
um, I'm curious, Craig, what since Mount Rainier
National Park is so known forits wildflowers, I'm curious
what your favorite wildflowerhike is in the park.
Craig Romano (06:09):
Yeah, there's a lot that's funny. Grand Park is
spectacular, yeah, tell peoplehow to get there, yeah, talk
about the the shortcut way,which I'm opposed to. I really
have a problem with that people,because they there's a lot of
illegal things, yeah, well,let's keep it legal. So I come
in from from sun, from sunrise,yeah, it's only that way. That's
(06:29):
the the official way to come in.
So sunrise, a long hike to comein, but not, not difficult.
Elevation was long. You can doit in a day hike, but you can
get your permits at camp, andeven if you don't make it that
far, Berkeley pass, yeah.
Berkeley Park, which is on theway, is flower. And even sunrise
itself is great. It's not asit's not as flowery as Paradise
(06:52):
because drier, but it's also notas crowded. So I do like I do
like that side of the mountainmuch better than I do the
paradise side, yeah.
Jennie Flaming (07:01):
And even just that area around frozen lake,
which is like half a mile, threequarters of a mile from the
parking lot, there are beautifulwildflowers in that little
meadow right there, and that'svery close to the parking
Craig Romano (07:17):
area. And probably, you know, one of the
best places for flowers in thisarea. It's just outside the
park. Is in the tattoowilderness, yeah, south. You
know, I talked about Packwoodearlier. So definitely pack
would be great if you're stayingin pack woods, a great place to
access this trail from you'regoing to do like, a 10 Mile
ridge of just all open theflowers are incredible tattoos.
It's, it's one of my 100 classichikes, also absolutely
(07:41):
spectacular for but even forshorter, just up to, was it the
pinnacle saddle? Yeah, some goodflowers in there. It's a short
hike to get in there in thetattoos range. But certainly
don't, don't skip paradise. Imean, if you've never, certainly
if you've never been there, justbe, be prepared for a lot of
people. And again, we shouldemphasize, stay on the trails in
this area. Zoom in your lenses.
You know, leave, leave thetramping on the meadows to the
(08:05):
marmots. So everything is markedin an area. There are paved
trails there that you can get inthere that for easier walking,
give it, but definitely it'sreally important, because if you
go off trail trampling,certainly if you pick the
flowers to it, I mean, it's theperson next next to the line's
not gonna be so don't do that.
So don't do that again. Ifyou're a marmot, I'm okay with
(08:26):
that. Marmots like to eatlupines and things, yes, so, so
yep, if you identify as amarmot, no good. You got to be a
marmot. Okay? So,
Jennie Flaming (08:35):
yes, you know it's, it's so important, as
we've talked about this manytimes so far, and especially in
2025 it's just so importantright now to for us to make sure
people know what thoseexpectations are, and really
implore people to follow thoserules. Since our public lands
(08:58):
are really, really under stressmore than ever, it's just so
important that we're protectingthose wildflower meadows.
Craig Romano (09:06):
I know we've talked about this before too.
Unfortunately, there's alwaysgoing to be people are going to
take advantage of thesesituations. I know, because the
rules don't apply to them, andnow, with the lack of
enforcement, they think they canget away with it, and they
probably can, but morally,you're not getting away with
ethically, don't do it. It's notright. Set a good example. Set a
good example to your children,to the others, how to really
(09:28):
take care of the land. Be goodstewards, really. We need to, we
need to shine above. Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (09:33):
absolutely. I completely agree. I think, you
know, for me, a favoritewildflower hike in Mount Rainier
National Park would be a tiebetween spray park over on the
Mowich lake side and the Natchezpeak loop, which
Craig Romano (09:53):
is peak is great and it's on
Jennie Flaming (09:55):
highway 410, the Chinook i. One of my classes,
pass, yeah, it's a wonderfulhike. It's really, really busy.
I mean, Chinook pass is justbananas during the day, but I
have done the loop like in theevening, late day. Yeah, rhyme,
(10:17):
wildfire season, like August, 3,Saturday, right? But if you show
up there at 5pm It's going to belight till nine, right? You need
to make sure to have a headlamp.
But it's such a fantastic very,very buggy, I mean, like head
nut level bugs, but that's okay.
(10:37):
It's so worth it. And even justaround tip Sue Lake and along
the road, the flowers arebeautiful. And if you do the
loop, it's even better. Onething you know, since we've been
talking about trail etiquetteand rules and how important
those are right now, couplethings I want to mention. The
(10:58):
outhouses at Chinook pass arehorrible. So consider a stop
before you get there.
Craig Romano (11:08):
You just can't keep up with the
Jennie Flaming (11:10):
even in normal time. Yeah, whatever normal is.
And the other thing is thatthis, if you do the loop, which
is about a four mile loop, halfof it is on the Pacific Crest
Trail, and the other half is inthe park. So it's confusing when
it comes to dogs, because dogsare not allowed on the Mount
(11:34):
Rainier National Park part ofthe trail, but they are on the
Pacific Crest Trail. So ifyou're bringing your dog with
you. Make sure, of course, thatthey're on a leash, but also
just know that you can still dothis hike, just not the whole
loop, right? So when you getaround to basically about
halfway back, then you have toturn around and come back the
way you came. But that's a greatoption. So that would be one.
(11:58):
And for spray park, I mentionedthe last week that some of my
favorite hikes for this time ofyear involve a long gravel road.
That's the case with spray park.
You've got to drive up to Marchlake and then go from there.
It's very remote, no cellservice for like an hour or more
getting up there. But spray parkis an amazing Well,
Craig Romano (12:23):
and, you know, I just just, you just reminded me,
honestly, about spray park,which is one of the best places,
another one of the best placesfor wildflowers in Rainier and
it's, it's, it's a longer hikingyou can get there, either by the
Wonderland or Cox Creek. IsIndian, Henry's Indian. Henry's
hunting ground is absolutelystunning. The flowers in there.
And if you're doing it fromCotts Creek too, you're going to
(12:45):
be on a long ridge to come down,and you're kind of coming down
into into Indian Henry withRainier in the back, and the old
Ranger guard station there. Theflowers are absolutely
incredible in there. So that's agood place. And same thing, if
you're on a backpack or yourstrong hiker trailer, getting
into going beyond, going towardsthe sunset, Sunset Park, yeah.
(13:13):
And then Aurora, Aurora Lake. Inthat area, kopaci is gorge.
There's some incredible areas inthe crowds definitely thin out
in the air because you're awayfrom road access. One of the
tricks you can do, if you notbackpacking the West Side road,
you can mountain bike. So youcan mountain bike that road,
yeah, and then yeah, day hikesinto those areas from from the
(13:34):
feeder trails. Yeah, it's stillgoing to be a good workout, but,
but you can get in there, andthen you have some nice downhill
coming out on the road, whichmakes it a little bit easier.
Yep, yeah, those are, I mean,Rainier is definitely supreme
when it comes to to wildflowerheights. But certainly, you
know, look at Adams. Look at thegoat rocks, look at Baker. A lot
of these areas you're gonna,you're gonna get some incredible
(13:56):
flower displays as well.
Jennie Flaming (13:58):
Yeah, and a couple others I wanted to
mention over in the Olympics. Soone hurricane Ridge has some
pretty great wildflowers. Andyou know, you can drive there,
and you can also hike again,stay on the trail. Honey Ridge
is a replacement Kahani Ridgehurricane Hill. Some really nice
(14:18):
flowers up there. And thenanother one that I really love
for wildflowers is MountTownsend,
Unknown (14:27):
yeah, the Olympic Peninsula, alpine tundra. The
flowers are they're not. It'slike carpets of it, it's dry,
no, but the flowers, whatwouldn't it the coolest things
about the northeastern part ofof the Olympics is that you have
Piper's bellflower there, whichis one of the endemics. It grows
nowhere else in the world, andit's all on Mount Townsend and
(14:48):
over towards in throughout theBuckhorn wilderness. Same thing
Mark, if you go to Marmot pass,Marmot pass isn't really wide
open, but if you continue yourhike going down, you. Towards
into the dungeon s Valley, orgoing towards tubal cane. Matter
of fact, the hike above tubal Kmine is miles of beautiful
flowers. And I was just in therelast summer. Again, I forget how
(15:10):
much I love that. I've been inthere many, many times. It's
spectacular. It's a spectacularhike for wildflowers. So July.
July is a great time to be inthere for
Jennie Flaming (15:18):
that. Yeah, Craig, what's your favorite
Washington Wildflower?
Craig Romano (15:23):
Well, that's a good no one's ever asked me.
Intro, I love the hair bells. Imean, they're gorgeous. The
Columbine, the elephant's head,yeah, which is actually not a
flower, right? It's a, it's a,well, yeah, elephants head, is
that an orchid flower? It's alost word, or or, I think it's a
(15:47):
lost word, but yeah, I guesstechnically, it's
Jennie Flaming (15:50):
a flower. It's pretty. It's a plant.
Craig Romano (15:54):
Of course, I love rhododendrons, which are spent
by this time they come out. Theycome out in May. And then the
Gentians, of course, at the end,the last, the last of bloom,
those bog engines are, aregorgeous. So in your boggy, wet
areas, they're going to come outin August, which is, I just
thought, I just thought, one ofthe best places to for wild
(16:14):
flowers, I doesn't even think ofit, is Little Giant pass over
the people, and it's welcome.
The flowers up there areincredible. Yeah, because I,
because I said I was in therewas the fall. The fall is
absolutely spectacular too, butI forgot being in the
summertime. Yeah, it's quitesplit. And then Flower Dome,
hence the name off of Buck Creekpass, if you're in the glacier
peak area. And it's not, it'snot really a day hike. It's more
(16:38):
of a backpack backpacking trip,miners, Ridge, same thing for
backpacking, which is nearimage, lake, a lot of those
areas backpacking, the flowersare stunning. In there,
absolutely stunning.
Jennie Flaming (16:50):
Yeah, my, my favorite is avalanche lilies,
um, gorgeous, yeah. But they're,they're like, they're
Unknown (16:59):
hard to see
Jennie Flaming (17:00):
because you have to catch them right as the snow
is, which is part of what I loveabout them. Um, but spray park
is a great place for avalancheLIS because, of course, that
time is like now, you know thesnow is just pulling back and
Craig Romano (17:14):
got away for the melting that's going to be
various, one of the best placesever seen. The Absolutely, I
mean, just miles, miles isJohnson Ridge, Scorpion
Mountain, which is off ofBeckler so skycomish, near
Stevens Pass. Yeah, it'sincredible. There's a whole part
of the ridge. South exposureusually melts out early June,
I'm sorry, early July, lateJune. Yep, the flowers are I
(17:37):
mean, just acres and acres andacres of them, because usually
you encounter patches of them,but it means entire slopes of
them. So that's one of the bestplaces that I've seen for them.
Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (17:47):
I also really love Lupin. And I think the
reason I love, well, first ofall, they're, they're beautiful
purple flowers, the fragrance. Ilove the fragrance of them, but
I think what I really love aboutthem is that they grow
everywhere. Yeah, they do. Youknow, you see them in places
that were devastated by Mount StHelens. Well, they're
Craig Romano (18:05):
they're a pioneer, they're nitrogen fixer. They're
one of the first plants tocolonize after disturbance.
Yeah,
Jennie Flaming (18:10):
you see them after a fire. You see them in
dry climates. You see them inwet climates. You see them in
the alpine you see them in thelowlands. They're just
Craig Romano (18:18):
so in the pine they're beautiful forest. You go
into these ponderosa pineforest, yeah, so with that red,
orange bark, with the purple,and then get the Arnica with
that, the the so again, I'vejust again, more we talk more
flowers. Tiffany mountain overNorth of Winthrop. It's an 8000
foot peak. It's a walk up. It'sone of the easiest mountains. At
8000 feet. Flowers areincredible. It's one of the best
(18:41):
flower hikes in there. Yeah. Imean, stunning. And now, now I'm
saying, I can't believe I didn'tthink of that absolutely
stunning. That whole area inTiffany, Tiffany Lake, there's,
there's other hikes you can doin that area, and it does not
get a lot of people. A North 20Mile is another one in that
area, yep, it's an old one ofthe oldest fire lookouts, flower
(19:07):
Bonaparte, another one in theOkanagan Highlands, near to
nasket. And then, if you've beeninto in the Satan, if you get in
there silver, Silver Lake. Thisis off a heart, off a hard pass
that's incredible. Just milesand miles of flowers in there
and Horseshoe basin, it's justall open bays. And again,
(19:29):
really, they and they come outearlier there, because your your
snow melt is earlier that parton the extreme east of the North
Cascades, yep. You will not belet down for the flower shows at
any of those hikes. No,
Jennie Flaming (19:40):
no, you will not. All right, everyone, well,
hopefully we inspired you tofind some new Alpine wildflower
hikes in the next month or so,and we will see you next week.
If you're enjoying the podcast,we would love to have you leave
us a rating or review whereveryou're listening. Screen that
will really help other peoplefind us. And don't forget,
(20:03):
there's a link to Craig's booksand my email list in the show
notes you.
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