Hikes and Plants-Rocky Mountains, Eastern Slope, Alberta (Kananaskis, Banff)

[Lori S.]

Hi, Cohan.  These photos are from July and August.  The timing to go depends on what one wants to see and on the conditions that year.  For example, two years ago, we pretty well missed the glacier lily bloom.  We drove to the trailhead of our usual annual glacier lily hike, only to find it still under heavy snow (so we hiked somewhere else instead).  We returned the following weekend to try again, and hiked to the alpine meadows, only to find that, with a few days of warmer-than-usual weather, the show was already over!  Some blooms are quite fleeting!  Last summer, due to twice the normal snowfall, blooms were delayed, and we were still finding good bloom density of the later species in mid-August.  By contrast, in 2006, there had already been a hard frost by August 9th (hard enough to freeze water bottles!), such that the plants were already in fall colours.  Generally speaking, though, the best time would be from July 1st to perhaps the third week in July, to be safe.

Re. short hikes, there aren't too many that are both short and easy (short but grueling is another option, not one I assume would be of interest!) but I'd suggest Helen Lake in the northern part of Banff, past Lake Louise along the Icefields Parkway, as an excellent candidate.  Most of the elevation gain is done by driving, and it's good for a slightly later hike within that key period, due to the high elevation.  Well-marked trail, often a fair number of people (to be expected, as on all the easy and scenic trails).  Another easy one is Elbow Lake in Kananaskis; once up there, you can keep going on connecting trails of the Elbow Loop, as you wish.  Ptarmigan Cirque, from Ptarmigan Pass in Kananaskis is short and easy, relatively.  Also, Chester Lake in the adjacent Spray Valley P.P. is an easy hike, that gets you up to the edge of the alpine.   Anyway, I'd recommend buying/borrowing the trail guides and scoping it out.  (If backpacking, you'll have to consider where the campgrounds are, too, of course.)

Re. Rocky Mountain plants... I dunno, most of the areas in which we hike are protected; one would need to get a permit to collect seeds.  (I find it hard enough to ID some of these species with confidence in full bloom; in seed, yikes!  But that's just me...)  ALCLA in Calgary sells native plants, which they grow, primarily, I gather, for restoration purposes by commission; they do get the necessary permits, etc. for seed collection.  In my dealings with them, they have generally had sub-alpine species, but it may be worth checking into.


     

[Lori S.]

Speaking of glacier lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum), we were lucky to witness, in 2004, one the best blooms since the mid-1970's (according to mountaineering friends of ours who are long-term residents here).  These are from the alpine meadows at Healy Pass in Banff, on July 1st.  The perhaps equally-abundant (but less showy) white flowers are Claytonia lanceolata.

Photos:  Erythronium grandiflorum in Banff, Healy Meadows - close-up
             Erythronium grandiflorum in Banff, Healy Meadows
             Erythronium grandiflorum in Banff, Healy Meadows
             Erythronium grandiflorum in Banff, Healy Meadows

[cohan]

thanks for those tips, lori..
i will need to do some more research.. and doubtless it will be  a matter of luck, since i cant go out week after week to catch things..
yes, of course most of the areas are justly protected; and i know what you mean about seeds--you really do need to know the plants very well, to know them in seed, apart from few easy ones;
 but surely the number of parks is not the reason that there are a bazillion plants from everywhere else readily available? not to say you should have the answer...lol--its just frustrating to me...
i have looked at ALCLA, among others; they do have some nice things, though as you say virtually no alpines, nor much for  dryland plants, either;
beavercreek does have a few things, and wrightmans as well, but really very little

[cohan]

Speaking of glacier lilies (Erythronium grandiflorum), we were lucky to witness, in 2004, one the best blooms since the mid-1970's (according to mountaineering friends of ours).  These are from the alpine meadows at Healey Pass in Banff, on July 1st.  The perhaps equally-abundant (but less showy) white flowers are Claytonia lanceolata.

spectacular! are you growing any erythronium? they are high on my wish list, but not sure i will get that far(down the list) this year..lol

[Lori S.]

Cohan, it may be worth an e-mail/phone call to ALCLA, in which you specifically mention the species you seek.  They grow a great deal more than is necessarily shown on the website, as I have found in my few visits there.  

The only erythronium I am growing is E. dens-canis canis-densi(ooops), a European species - they've taken forever to get to blooming size (even though they were bought as corms, or whatever the correct term is.  Hence, my enthusiasm to try others has been dampened somewhat.)  Many other species are hardy here, though, according to what I understand the keener gardeners are growing.   

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Truly amazing and wonderful shots Lori !
Thank you so much for taking us along on your hikes !
I was fortunate enough to visit the area some 10 odd years ago and drove down the Icefield Parkway from Jasper to Banff - unfortunately in just two days so there was no time for extensive hiking  - just some sightseeing (which was spectacular enough)...   Some of the most impressive scenery I've ever seen.

And by the way... these Erythronium fields are awesome !!

I'm still hoping to go back some day... you may have triggered next year's holliday plans... 

Thanks again !

[Maggi Young]

Collapse Alert! Ian Young, a man proud to have been addressed by the late Wayne Roderick as  "a miserable erythronium grower"  has fallen in a faint at the beauty of these erythronium meadows....... I need to bring him round pretty quickly, since he leaves for the NARGS  Western  Study Weekend on Wednesday.  

These photos are breath-taking ..... stunning photos of a truly remarkable sight.... and site!!
Lori,  you have made at  least two Scots VERY HAPPY!!

[Kristl Walek]

Lori,
FABULOUS...and my heart-felt thanks for this......although you also made my heart ache miserably to know I've had to give up my dreams of relocating to the Alberta Rockies.

Cohan, and others, there is a wonderful Youth Hostel right in the heart of Kananaskis Provincial Park, which is always happy to have even "seasoned youths" as myself as guests. I have always been able to reserve the private room, as well (sometimes for up to a week) which allows for really great exploration time of the area.

There are good easy hikes, and plenty to be seen right at the sides of the roads---but of course the really spectacular plants (and animals) are higher up.

[cohan]

Cohan, and others, there is a wonderful Youth Hostel right in the heart of Kananaskis Provincial Park, which is always happy to have even "seasoned youths" as myself as guests. I have always been able to reserve the private room, as well (sometimes for up to a week) which allows for really great exploration time of the area.
There are good easy hikes, and plenty to be seen right at the sides of the roads---but of course the really spectacular plants (and animals) are higher up.

tks, kristl, another good tip..i will need to do a bit more planning/research than usual--typically we just decide a day or two before and off we go--which is nice, but you can miss the less obvious spots... last fall we drove up to the athabasca glacier, and stopped to eat lunch at a roadside pulloff not too far from there--this was a nice spot with some interesting plants, though it was cold and snowing, so we didnt stay long...

my friend has never been to banff, so we may go that way this year..

[Lori S.]

but you can miss the less obvious spots...

 Yes, it would take a good chunk of time (even a good chunk of a lifetime) to come away with more than some fleeting glimpses, really.  

So, sorry, Kristl! It sounds like you really enjoyed your times out here, and I hope you can continue to visit!

Thanks, Luc and Maggi!

Helen Lake area photos:
1. The Dolomites, with Mt. Hector and Hector Glacier in the background.  (BTW, the approach trail (such as it is) to get up to Hector Glacier goes through a lovely understory of Rhododendron albiflorum... the most I've seen in one spot.)  
2.  Seedheads of Anemone occidentalis... I've heard these referred to as "hippies on a stick"!
3. Cirque Peak, behind the kruppelholz of alpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa).
4. Helen Lake.
5. Alpine fir.
6. Bow Crowfoot Glacier and Bow Lake, and the spires of alpine fir.
7. Map(?) lichen on white Gog Quartzite.

[Lori S.]

Here are some of the plants and scenery from dry, windblown Forget-Me-Not Ridge and Forget-Me-Not Peak (only a modest one) in Kananaskis Provincial Park... elevation ~2200-2300m.

Photos:
1. Forget-Me-Not Ridge, Little Elbow River in distance.
2. Forget-Me-Not Ridge
3. Potentilla nivea -this area has the most breath-taking clumps of P. nivea (or at least I assume that's what it is!)
4. Physaria didymocarpa.
5. Oxytropis podocarpa, in flower - a very abundant plant there.
6. Oxytropis podocarpa, in seed.
7. Turfy areas...
8. And scree ridges...
9. Campanula uniflora.
10. Saussurea nuda var. densa.

[Lvandelft]

Super pictures again Lori!
Great to see such plant as the Physaria in the wild.
I never realised it would grow up there in the scree.

[cohan]

Here are some of the plants and scenery from dry, windblown Forget-Me-Not Ridge and Forget-Me-Not Peak (only a modest one) in Kananaskis Provincial Park... elevation ~2200-2300m.

some more great views and plants--the physaria is cool--one of my favourite spots west of here is in the Kootenay Plains;  i have never got there in blooming season, though i dont know how much bloom there is--there are lots of rosettes of something silvery, and i was hoping there would be some 'cabbages' of some kind, but i fear they are mostly/entirely composites.... hopefully i will find out this year...

the saussurea is very cool, my poor wildflower book doesnt mention this genus, but the name seems familiar--probably from some alpines catalogue/list?

[Lori S.]

Thanks, lvandelft and cohan!

Cohan, I wasn't even aware of Kootenay Plains but have just looked it up... looks like a nice place to explore.  At that relatively low elevation, "silvery rosettes" may be antennaria or artemesia, as a couple of possibilities?  It doesn't seem to me like native Brassicaceae ("cabbages", yes?) make up a very big part of the flora here...

Yes, the genus Saussurea is present in Europe, Asia, and North America (according to the Google entry... what would I do without Google?) 
For books that cover native alpine species, it seems one has to get either publications that are aimed fairly specifically at alpines (these are not usually comprehensive, though, e.g. Plants of Kananaskis Country, Hallworth and Chinnappa, or contain only rudimentary description along with a picture of the flower, often not the plant itself!) or the really comprehensive treatments, e.g. Flora of Alberta, Moss and Packer, in which only verbal description and range maps are provided.   It's good to have a battery of books in the former category, to help interpret the books in the latter category (in other words, to provide some nice, colourful pix to look at!)

[Lori S.]

Other plants of the drier, somewhat lower elevation areas:

1. Oxytropis sericea (or so I believe, judging from the bloom time, etc.).
2.  Eriogonum umbellatum(?)
3. Silene parryi
4. Silene parryi, close-up