Mexican Gold Poppies surround hikers; Photo by Walt Shields.
Hikers (front to back): Walt Shields, Pam Wakefield, Elissa Cochran, Tom Atkins, Katie Atkins, Karen Shickedanz, Sue Bush, Linda Vautrin-Hale, Bruce Hale, Tim Butler; Photo by Elisabeth Wheeler.
Elisabeth Wheeler
On SaddleBrooke Hiking Club’s recent hike to Catalina State Park, members expressed amazement over the thirty types of wildflowers in bloom along the trail. They had great fun rock-hopping over the running stream six times on the way to Sutherland Loop.
The venture became a kind of scavenger hunt, because leaders Tim Butler and Elisabeth Wheeler had prepared a list of wildflowers for the group to find and identify. Among those on the list: Blue Dicks, California Suncups, white Easter Bonnets, Texas Toadflax, Scorpion Weed, Owl’s Clover, Chicory, Sleepy Catchfly, Blazing Star and Silver Puffs.
Dense fields of Mexican Gold Poppies and lupine grew in spectacular bunches along the loop ridgeline. Cameras and cell phones in hand, hikers snapped numerous photos along the route.