Un-opened flower of columbine, Aquilegia formosa. This species was common along the south shore of Caples Lake. |
In my last post, I wrote about my trip to Round Top and
Forth of July Lakes in the northern part of the Mokelumne Wilderness. A perfect
time for exploring the high Sierra, I planned another visit. The following week
I took my oldest son and returned to explore the Emigrant Lake
trail, also in the northern part of the wilderness.
We started at the western point of Caples Lake
and followed the southern shore of the lake under relatively dense tree cover.
After about 3 km, the trail left Caples
Lake to turn southward, and
the trail began to climb in elevation. It roughly followed Emigrant Creek, a
very small creek connecting Emigrant Lake with Caples
Lake . Ascending towards Emigrant Lake there were a few small beautiful
meadows, one in particular was a sea of waist-high bright green corn lilies,
not yet in flower.
The sky was clear but the wind blew in strong gusts at Emigrant Lake where the trail ended. Like the
lakes I visited last week, Emigrant
Lake sits at the base of
an arc of grey rock and snow. Ben and I climbed a few hundred feet up to a
ridge from the eastern shore and had a great view of Emigrant
Lake to the west and Caples Lake
to the north. Overall I found some plant species not observed on my earlier
trip. Here is a sampling:
Three species of Castilleja. |
Frasera sp. I only found one individual of this species, but its large stature and very interesting flowers made it stand out. |
Wyethia, or "mule's ears". This plant was common. |
Calochortus. I only saw two individuals of this genus, both growing on a relatively rocky, sun-exposed slope near Caples Lake. |
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