Category Archives: Rattlesnake

Missoula-area forests bloom with variety

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I’m starting to see more variety in wildflowers blooming in forests around Missoula. Here are tweets from the past week to help you get out and enjoy the weekend!

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Trillium and more bloom around Missoula

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Midweek snow covered wildflowers around Missoula, but it melted fairly quick and the bloom continues! Here are some sightings from the past week.

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Balsmaroot, phlox, more in bloom around Missoula

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Several new wildflowers came into bloom this past week on public lands around Missoula. Follow me on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram for more frequent reports and photos!
 

An April flower event and more in Missoula

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There area few nature-related events coming up in the remainder of April in the Missoula area:

  • From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 20, Larry Evans will instruct a spring mushrooms field day for the Montana Natural History Center. Learn about mushrooms, then spend the rest of the day hunting for fungi. Meet at the center, 120 Hickory St. Cost is $70 for MNHC members, $80 for nonmembers. Call 327-0405 to register.
  • On Sunday, April 21, the Clark Fork Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society will hike up Spring Gulch into the Rattlesnake Wilderness for Earth Day in search of the steer’s head wildflower. It’s noted that last year’s hike was about 15 miles round trip with 2,500 feet of elevation gain, and well worth it. Meet at the main Rattlesnake trailhead at 9 a.m. Call 728-0189 for more information.
  • Next Wednesday, April 24, there will be a Naturalist Trivia Night at MNHC, 120 Hickory St. Bring a team of up to 10 people or join others at the 7 p.m. event. Coffee and tea are available; bring your own snacks or other drinks. It’s free for MNHC members and there’s a $4 suggested donation for nonmembers.

Wildflowers in season around western Montana

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Spring wildflower season is getting going around western Montana – here’s what I’ve been seeing on Missoula-area recreation lands lately. And remember to follow me on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram for more frequent reports and photos!
 

Take in fall colors, then enter photo contest

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Western Montana is awash in fall colors, and more should be on the way!

For me, the first seasonal changes were seen around the streets of Missoula and in Pattee Canyon. And recent outings suggest that larch trees should be going golden in the Rattlesnake Recreation Area and the Seeley Lake area soon – in the past week, both were between yellow and green.

Here are some fall color resources:

For any photographers out there, Missoulian is running a fall photo contest on its Facebook page. The top three vote-getters will receive prizes.

Here are the rules:

  • Upload up to 5 photos a day.
  • Must be a fall photo.
  • Must be from this year.
  • Must be from the Missoula Valley.
  • Deadline to enter is Nov. 2.
  • Voting ends Nov. 9.

Wildflower events bloom late for May

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I’m late with my roundup of wildflower-related events this month, but there’s still plenty going on:

On Saturday, May 12, Lone Pine State Park in Kalispell will hold events in honor of National Wildflower Week, May 7-13. A hike for the whole family will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. followed by a wildflower craft, and an adult hike will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Call (406) 755-2706.

The Montana Native Plant Society has several events this month:

The Clark Fork Chapter will hold a Dyer’s Woad Pull at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, on Mount Sentinel. The two-hour pull will help control the noxious weeds and restore native grasses. Meet at the Mount Sentinel trailhead at bring rain gear, just in case. Call 544-7189. A second weed pull is planned for Tuesday, May 29, at the same time and location.

Also, a wildflower walk is planned for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, in the Rattlesnake Recreation Area’s Spring Gulch. Annie Garde and Madeline Mazurski will lead the easy hike, which leaves from the main Rattlesnake trailhead. Call 258-5439.

The annual Montana Native Plant Society Plant Sale will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 26, at the Missoula Farmers Market, at the north end of Higgins Avenue. More than 50 species of native plants will be available.

On Tuesdays in May, The Native Plant Society’s Flathead Chapter will hold wildflower walks along Bigfork’s “Wild Mile” corridor. Anne Morley and Neal Brown will lead the two-mile outings along the Old Swan River Road from 10 a.m. to noon. Meet in front of Showthyme. Contact Morley, (406) 886-2242, or Brown, (406) 837-5018.

The Flathead Chapter will give a presentation titled “Beautify Your Yard With Native Plants: Tips, Tricks and Inexpensive Ways to Add Native Plants to Your Landscape” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 16. Laura Law will discuss how she transformed her Columbia Falls yard from lawn to a series of small gardens incorporating native plants. There will be a slideshow and tour of Law’s garden.

On Thursday, May 31, Morley will also lead a two-mile guided naturalist hike on the Sprunger-Whitney Nature Trail starting at 10 a.m. Meet at the trailhead. Drive about seven miles south of the Swan Lake Trading Post in Swan Lake on Montana Highway 83, turning west at the Point Pleasant and Sprunger-Whitney signs one-half mile south of mile marker 64. Follow the signs to the trailhead. Call (406) 886-2242.

The Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club will lead a couple of hikes in May:

A women-only outing is planned for Saturday, May 19, on the trails that loop around Lake Como, south of Hamilton. The hike is 7 1/2 miles with minimal elevation gain and a stop for lunch at the falls. Email Janet Fiero at janetfiero77@gmail.com to sign up.

A loop hike on the Stuart Peak Trail and Wallman Trail in the Rattlesnake Recreation Area will take place Wednesday, May 23. It’s eight miles with 500 feet of elevation gain. Email Mary Owens at mowens320@gmail.com to sign up.

The Montana Natural History Center is offering a “Native Wildflower ID Crash Course” from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24, at the Fort Missoula Native Plant Gardens. There is a $5 suggested donation; MNHC members are free.

And the Swan Ecosystem Center will lead a walk to Holland Falls, above Holland Lake, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 27. It’s part of the Loon and Fish Festival in the Seeley Lake area.

Give back, get out on Public Lands Day

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Saturday, Sept. 24, is National Public Lands Day, and several opportunities to lend a hand or get outside are available in Montana.

In Missoula, volunteers are needed for four service projects.

For more Montana events, check the National Public Lands Day website.

Also on Saturday, National Park Service sites are waiving entrance fees. Sites include Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. If you’re going to Glacier, remember that services and Going-to-the-Sun Road are beginning to shut down.

Wildflower events for Mom and more in May

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I’m a little late for a couple of early May wildflower events, but here’s what’s going on the rest of the month:

The Clark Fork Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society has a Mother’s Day outing to see trilliums on Sunday, May 8. Tarn Ream will discuss her 10-year study of Trillium ovatum on an easy trip into the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area that will be co-led by botanist Peter Stickney. Meet at 2 p.m. at the main Rattlesnake trailhead. Call 258-5439 for information.

On Saturday, May 21, the Montana Native Plant Society will hold its annual sale at the Missoula Farmers Market. More than 70 species of Montana native plants will be for sale from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the market at the north end of Higgins Avenue.

Also May 21, the Montana Natural History Center will discuss “Flower Power” for its Saturday Kids’ Activity. The program will look at flowers’ ability to attract pollinators from miles away. It’s at 2 p.m. at 120 Hickory St. Admission is $1 per child for MNHC members and $3 for nonmembers. Children must be accompanied by an adult, and the program is suited for ages 5 and older.

On Sunday, May 29, Alpine Artisans and the Swan Ecosystem Center will lead a hike to Holland Falls to view early blooming flowers. Check with the Swan Ecosystem Center for additional information.

Walk for July 15

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Nodding onion

Allium cernuum

Description: Cluster of 25 to 40 small white or pink flowers, with stamens longer than petals or sepals, that hangs from a bent stalk 6 to 18 inches tall with grasslike leaves growing from the base. Found in dry to moist valleys, open hills and ridges. Blooms mid-June to early August. (“Peterson Field Guides: Rocky Mountain Wildflowers,” by John J. Craighead, Frank C. Craighead and Ray J. Davis.)

Recently seen: Pattee Canyon and Rattlesnake national recreation areas.

The walk: Follow Van Buren Street and Rattlesnake Drive a little more than four miles north of Interstate 90. Turn northwest on Sawmill Gulch Road and continue about a quarter-mile to the main Rattlesnake trailhead. Follow the wide main path along the creek and through the forest, connecting with smaller trails on the west bank along the way. Look for nodding onion in the first couple of miles from the trailhead. Turn around at your leisure, or continue up the 15-mile main trail.

Justin Grigg