PCT Ebbetts Pass to Carson Pass (2008.08.12)

    Did a real quick section of the PCT this weekend with Adam Thacher and his pops. We went from Ebbetts Pass to Carson Pass. Some good elevation changes, but the most dramatic part was the mix of Sierra Nevada granite with volcanic landscapes intermixed. Great wildflowers! Even had one that I couldn't figure out what it was and no one at the visitor station could either until someone brought in a book on montana flowers and we found out it was a western windflower (Anemone occidentalis). Some tasty goose berries were on the trail. Lots of lavendar, mint, a few onions and some of the brightest pink indian paintbrush I've ever seen. The flora along the trail was a drastic contrast of what I'm use to in the Sierra Nevada mountains south of Yosemite.

Volcanic Ridge with buckwheat and pink indian paintbrush


A good old raw wind swept Pass where one walks with the clouds


Jeff Davis Peak


Western Wind Flower (Anemone occidentalis)


My favorite Sierra Nevada rodent, the might Pika.


Tasty sweet trail treats - I think these are gooseberries. I mean they tasted great and I still have my liver. Usually they're more spiky so I felt a little thrown off.


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Oh and one final note on how small this world it - Aaron, the guy who gave us a ride from Carson Pass to Ebbetts Pass (Adam arrange the ride) happened to know my old girlfriend Merri Donovan...not surprising I guess...its that neck of the woods and if you probe deep enough any place you know everyone to some degree.