Carr Peak with Bill, Sadie and Zeke

Bill and I agreed this would be a photographic endeavor, to see what kind of wildflowers would be blooming.  We last were on the peak in late June and were already surprised of the variety.

I missed the sunrise and arrived ten minutes too late for us to drive up to the Sawmill trailhead and see the sunrise from above.  The pinks and purples of today's pretty sunrise remain unrecorded.

We got to the trailhead at 6:15am.  Two other cars were already in the parking area.  I figured we would have company on this trail.  We only encountered one group, a family of three and their young Weimaraner, and they had just ascended the peak.

We both held a steady pace as we hiked uphill.  The hike was easy for me, having bagged two peaks over 10,000' just a little over a week ago.  I don't want to lose my conditioning.

We agreed not to wait for the other since we knew the route.  With both of us taking photos, we knew we both would be stopping and going.  We both have a strong pace.  We never lost each other, though.

The first flowers we encountered were the white asters.  There were across the elevation range up to the higherl 8000' range.  Also saw some primrose.  Then came purple verbena. Firecracker penstemons then began to dot the fields once we hit the Miller Peak wilderness.  Once we got on the main trail heading toward Carr Peak, we hit the sunflowers and bright-eyed Susans. For a long stretch of today's hike we walked across fields of asters, sunflowers, and verbena.  What a lovely color combination.

Many of the same flowers that had been blooming in June were still around.  The red thistle is now blooming in the higher elevations and turning to seed in the lower elevations.  Most of the goldenrods have gone to seed, but other yellow flowers are taking over.  The only place where we found the white snow thistle, though, was in the middle, along the switchback of the main trail.  It seems to thrive in direct sunlight.

Chance of rain for today remained at 70% all day.  Humidity was at 68%.  The haze was pronounced.  Visibility was at ten miles, so even San Jose Peak in Mexico was diffused.

It was already approaching 73F as we neared the peak.  We could feel the humidity on our bodies. There was very little breeze, too.  Nonetheless,the joy of looking for flowers (we didn't have to look; they were everywhere!) made today's hike enjoyable.  While we didn't break any speed records, I can't recall the last time I had so much fun photographing flowers and landscapes.

One concern I have is the lack of water.  The little waterfall in the aspen grove had NO water!  Even the moss is turning brown here.  I had a liter of water for the dogs, but was surprised there was none on the trail despite last night's rain.  The ground was damp in the shady parts.

Butterflies, birds, and collared lizards entertained us.  My phone is too slow to capture birds, but I did come across a few lizards.

Winds were calm on the peak.  Onionweed is now in bloom, clustered around the peak where a month ago the penstemon where.  There were no ladybugs on the peak, though.  They tend to gather here in the third week in July and stick to a tight schedule.

We didn't stay on the peak long, just long enough to take photos and drink some water.  The dogs sought shade under the bushes and watched us.  Clouds were starting to billow and I did not want to get caught in a storm.

The hike took us 3:55 hours.  It didn't seem that long!  We had hiked as long as we did yesterday on the Perimeter trail loop.

I thoroughly enjoyed today's hike, the company, the weather, and the scenery.  Both dogs were very well behaved.

I came home to brag to Kevin about the fun I had hiking.  He didn't seem all that impressed.

And then, somehow, I fell asleep.  It had rained hard late in the afternoon.  I awoke at 6:30pm thinking it was Monday at 6:30am.  Why was Kevin asleep in bed?  Then I realized it was Sunday evening, not Monday morning.

I want to do the same kind of hike today next month hiking up Mount Wrightson.  If we get enough rain, that mountain top will be covered in all kinds of flowers.