watchman

we had a great hike up 5 mile to watchman this morning. 2 vehicles already in the pullout when we got there before 8 a.m. beautiful morning, tho it was getting warm by the time we headed back.

lots of stuff blooming right now- from shrubs to flowers.

i think that this may be death camas.

this is some sort of legume- possibly a vetch.

not sure about this one- will have to check the shrub section of the plant book. very pretty, though.

there was the most amazing hillside covered in arrowleaf balsamroot glowing in the sun with s few other things mixed in.

some lupine blooming as well.

and the views from the trail are great. it's very open and you can see quite a ways.

there was more bike traffic than foot traffic, tho we did encounter a few runners. the bitterbrush is also still blooming and very fragrant.

we surprised a rattlesnake on the way out- one of the dogs startled it. margie heard the rattle, we called all dogs- who came- and everyone was fine. we were both grateful to have good recall and dogs who understand "off".

didn't see any sheep, did see scat that looked too big for coyote & too wild for dog, but very canine all the same. hmmmm.

have a great weekend! happy trails-