Green gentian

Frasera speciosa

Description: Greenish-white wheel-shaped flowers one-half to three-quarters of an inch across with purple spots grow from stalks that extend from above leaves near the top of a stem 2 to 5 feet tall. Lance-shaped leaves are up to 1 foot long near the base of the plant and decrease in size up the stem. Grows in open areas in mountains with medium-dry to moist soil. Blooms June through early August. (Peterson Field Guides’ Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, by John J. Craighead, Frank C. Craighead Jr. and Ray J. Davis.)

Recently seen: Storm Lake and Goat Flat in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.

The walk: To reach Storm Lake, turn west off of Montana Highway 1 onto Storm Lake Road – Forest Road 675 – about 17 miles southeast of Philipsburg and 12 miles west of Anaconda. Continue about nine miles to the lake, following a fork to the left just after crossing an irrigation ditch at about a quarter-mile and another fork to the left at about 3 1/4 miles. (The road is good until the last couple of miles, which are bumpy and rutted.) From the northeast corner of the lake, near its outlet, follow the trail south along the western shore. Look for distinct green gentians in openings among the trees on the shore. At the southern end of the lake, the trail climbs a series of switchbacks, rounds an open meadow and ascends several more switchbacks to Storm Lake Pass at about 2 1/4 miles. Look for gentians again among openings in the trees along the upper set of switchbacks. From the pass, the route traverses the steep southeast side of Mount Tiny to Goat Flat at about three miles. Look for more gentians in this high, open meadow. From the flat, return to the trailhead or continue on to Upper Seymour Lake. To reach Upper Seymour, follow a series of rock cairns and wooden posts generally along the eastern side of the flat to a rocky outcrop, where the trail descends numerous switchbacks to the lake at about 5 1/2 miles.

Justin Grigg

Pinedrops - made up of a red stalk with numerous golden, bell-shaped flowers hanging from it - is a unique flower that can currently be found in Pattee Canyon.

According to Wildflowers of Montana, by Donald Anthony Schiemann, pinedrops has no chlorophyll and gets nutrients from fungi on the forest floor.

Find it along the southside ski trails near the main Pattee Canyon trailhead.

 Justin Grigg

Beargrass

Xerophyllum tenax

Description: A dense cluster of small cream to white flowers atop a stem 2 to 3 feet tall with a large tuft of sharp-edged grasslike leaves at the base. (Peterson Field Guides’ Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, by John J. Craighead, Frank C. Craighead Jr. and Ray J. Davis.)

Recently seen: Highline Trail and Swiftcurrent Pass Trail in Glacier National Park; St. Mary Peak in the Bitterroot Mountains; and Turquoise Lake trail in Mission Mountains Wilderness; with reports from Glacier’s Triple Divide Pass and Edith Lake in the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness.

The walk: Glacier’s Highline Trail begins near the Continental Divide marker at Logan Pass, 34 miles northeast of West Glacier on the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The trail drops though a small meadow in a bend in the Sun Road, then crosses a narrow ledge - there’s a cable for support - before traversing the Garden Wall to the northwest. Look for beargrass on the steep, green hillsides in the area. At about 2 1/4 miles, the trail rises up and over a small pass between Haystack Butte and Mount Gould. It continues across the steep wall and arrives at Granite Park at about six miles. At 7.6 miles, it arrives at Granite Park Chalet, a good place to stop for a break. From here, hikers can retrace their steps back to Logan Pass at about 15.2 miles or follow the trail down to the Loop on the Sun Road at about 11.6 miles.

Justin Grigg

Hiking in Glacier National Park a little more than a week ago, we saw plenty of white bog orchids - a 1- to 3-foot stem topped by a spike of white flowers - on the moist floor of the Swiftcurrent Creek Valley above Bullhead Lake.

Closer to home, we found them over the weekend in gulches along Pattee Canyon’s southside ski trails. Catch them while you can, though, as they appeared to already be on their way out.

 Justin Grigg

Sky pilot

Polemonium viscosum 

Description: Bluish violet funnel-shaped flower with orange stamens stands atop a 4- to 16-inch stem with leaves that are made up of many whorled leaflets and covered in sticky hairs. Usually grows in clumps. Found in disturbed, open soils in alpine areas. Blooms June to early August. (Wildflowers of Montana, by Donald Anthony Schiemann)

Recently seen: Swiftcurrent Mountain in Glacier National Park.

The walk: The route up to the fire lookout atop Glacier’s 8,436-foot Swiftcurrent Mountain begins at the Loop, 24 miles up the Going-to-the-Sun Road from West Glacier. The trail begins by climbing long switchbacks northeast through forest burned by the Trapper Creek fires of 2003 to Granite Park Chalet at about four miles. From the chalet, it climbs about three-quarters of a mile more to Swiftcurrent Pass. At a junction at the pass, follow the route to the north, which ascends a series of short switchbacks out of the forest to the rocky summit of Swiftcurrent Mountain at about 6 1/3 miles. Look for sky pilot among the rocks near the top. A couple of words of caution: Last weekend there was still some snow on the trail, but it was easily crossed. Also, the summit area can be very windy; while it may be warm on the way to the pass, bring along a long-sleeve shirt or fleece for the top.

Justin Grigg

White mountain avens

Dryas octopetala

Description: White to cream flower 1 inch wide with eight to 10 petals and many stamens on a 2- to-10 inch woody stem. Leaves are 1 1/4 inch long, lance shaped and toothed with edges that are rolled back. Often found in large patches in open, rocky areas from middle elevations to above timberline. Blooms June to August. (National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers – Western Region, by Richard Spellenberg.)

Recently seen: St. Mary Peak.

The walk: To reach the trailhead for 9,351-foot St. Mary Peak, turn west on Indian Prairie Loop off of U.S. Highway 93 about four miles south of Stevensville. Turn north onto St. Mary’s Road after about 1 1/4 miles, then west onto Forest Road 739 after about half a mile. Follow the forest road to its end at the trailhead, about nine miles from the highway. The trail switchbacks uphill through the forest for about 2 1/2 miles, then across the open face of the mountain 1 1/2 miles more to a lookout at the summit, gaining about 2,500 feet along the way. Some snow remains on the trail as you come out of the trees, but old footprints are easily followed. Look for white mountain avens, and other cushion plants, in open areas near the top, and take in the view of the Bitterroot Valley below and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness all around.

Justin Grigg

I’m headed up to Glacier National Park on Thursday for a long weekend to explore what I had hoped would be wildflower-filled high-country meadows.

Instead, I’ll be packing some winter gear as the Granite Park Chalet area - where I’ll be staying - still has 4 to 6 feet of snow.

Read more about the conditions in the park here.

Still, a quick trip to the Avalanche Lake area and up part of the Going-to-the-Sun road last month tells me I should be able to find some flowers in bloom.

 Find out when I get back next week.

 Justin Grigg

Missoulian reporter Rob Chaney has been hitting the trail lately in the occasional Western Montana Getaways feature, finding scenic vistas, lakes, streams and wildflowers along the way.

This is from his most recent adventure, to Bass Creek:

“Stonecrop, queen’s cup and clouds of false mitrewort wildflowers blossom along the creek, while the sunnier slopes are getting big blooms of Indian paintbrush.”

This summer, watch the Missoulian for more of Chaney’s trail notes, and read the full Bass Creek article here.

Justin Grigg

Roundleaf alumroot

Heuchera cylindrica

Description: Five cream to greenish-yellow sepals forming cup with five stamens clustered atop 6- to 18-inch stem with oval- to heart-shaped leaves on stalks growing from base. Glandular hairs cover top of plant. Found on rocky flats, slopes and cliffs. Blooms April to August. (Wildflowers of Montana, by Donald Anthony Schiemann.)

Recently seen: Mission Mountains, Blue Mountain, Pattee Canyon and Rattlesnake Recreation Area.

The walk: To reach the trail to Turquoise Lake in the Mission Mountains Wilderness, turn west on Kraft Creek Road from Highway 83, about 22 miles north of Seeley Lake. Follow the road 11 1/2 miles to its end (signs for the Glacier Lake trailhead point the way). From the trailhead, follow the wide path west to southwest along Glacier Creek. At about half a mile, a log bridge crosses Crazy Horse Creek. At about three-quarters of a mile, the trail crosses Crescent Creek. When the water is low, a log bridge provides safe passage; last weekend, however, the creek was overrunning the bridge, requiring hikers to ford ankle- to mid-thigh-deep water. At about 1 1/4 miles, the trail splits; follow the path to the northwest as is begins to switchback up the valley wall. At about 2 3/4 miles, the trail splits again; follow the southwest path. Begin looking for roundleaf alumroot on the upper switchbacks. As the trail levels and turns south, it leaves the trees and crosses grassy patches, slabs of rock and lingering snowfields, providing views of Glacier Lake below, the Mission Mountains to the west and the Swan Range across the valley to the east. The trail drops slightly to Lagoon, Lace and Turquoise lakes, ending at about six miles. Look for more roundleaf alumroot among the rocks along the trail. (If you lose the path in the snow, continue walking south, staying generally level. When Lagoon and Lace lakes come into view in front of and below you, respectively, make your way between the two and you should reach the southern end of Turquoise Lake.)

Justin Grigg

A hike up into the Mission Mountains from the Seeley-Swan Valley over the weekend was like taking a step back into early spring: Growing from grassy patches among the rocks and lingering snowfields were Western springbeauty and glacier lilies.

Also, lower down, we found plenty of last week’s flower of the week - pointed mariposa lilies.

Find out where we went and what else we found in the Unwind section of Friday’s Missoulian or here at WildflowerWalks.com.

 Justin Grigg