Sawtooth Rock Meadow in Gorgeous Peak Bloom
Sawtooth Rock Meadow in its prime
The paintbrushes need to be this bright to show up with all the yellow and pink!
I just came back from a lovely day doing both Sawtooth Rock Meadow and Mt. June with my husband Jim. While Mt. June’s peak bloom won’t be for another week or two this year, the meadow at Sawtooth Rock is as gorgeous as I can imagine it being. It’s been a number of years since I’ve been here when it is this beautiful. Good timing and a cool, wet spring really helped. The rosy plectritis (Plectritis congesta) is amazing (the smell of so much started to get to me, however). Also at the peak of their bloom were Mimulus guttatus, Calochortus tolmiei, Lupinus albifrons, Delphinium menziesii, and the bright red paintbrushes, which here and nearby are hard to pin down to either Castilleja hispida or pruinosa but are beautiful none the less. There are also thousands of fading Lomatium utriculatum and some overshadowed but cute Phacelia verna. I don’t have time to write much, and frankly, I don’t think words are necessary. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words!
Mt. June seen from Sawtooth Rock Meadow. The long, south ridge shows clearly on the left in this photo.
Silver lupine (Lupinus albifrons) along the trail with hundreds of Calochortus tolmiei beyond
Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) against a sea of rosy plectritis (Plectritis congesta)
My wife Peg and I, and our friend Bart, just hiked Sawtooth at Tanya’s recommendation.
“Amazing!” was the first and last word Peg used to describe it. I recommend that anyone reading this go up tomorrow, the 4th of July, 2011. (This from a Western Oregon native who has been hiking the Cascades my whole life!)
All the flowers you mention in your narrative are in full glory. There are lots of other little surprises along the trail to see. Make sure to download Tanya’s plant list before you go.
Sullivan’s hiking book mentions a “fenced tree farm” which does not exist. Follow Tanya’s directions, and you will get there. There is a small logging operation (commercial thinning) that you have to drive through near the end, but fear not. You will get there if you follow her directions.
Is there really a cave on the south side of Sawtooth Rock (as per Sullivan)? We followed a little trail down the north side and found a dry overhang or two, but didn’t see any trail to the south side, and didn’t want to trample anything to try to explore it.
Thank you, Tanya, for the lead on this SPECTACULAR wildflower hike! We ran into John K. and Deborah T. up there, and they seemed to be enjoying it, too!
If you want a full day, you can do Mt. June before or after Sawtooth.
Bruce and Peg
Cheryl and I were ASTOUNDED by Sawtooth Rock Meadow when we visited yesterday afternoon. I am definitely adding this to the OregonWildflowers.org locations database… this is spectacular! Thank you very, very much for the recommendation!