This bridge is on the Grotto Trail. It is one of 3 bridges that washed out on this trail this spring.
Dandelions: Taraxacum officinale
Mountain Bluebells:
Mertensia oblongifolia
Ballhead Waterleaf:
Hydrophyllum capitatum
Chokecherry:
Prunus virginiana
Yellow Mountain Violets:
Viola purpurea
Woodland Star:
Lithophragma parviflorum
Mullein:
Verbascum thaspus
Wild Strawberry:
Fragaria vesca
Maple tree leaning across Dry Canyon Trail
Dry Canyon Trail- Right Fork Hobble Creek
Goosefoot Violet:
Viola nuttallii
One of 32 cans picked up along the Dry Canyon trail.
Yellow Avalanche-Lily:
Erythronium grandiflorum
Dry Canyon trail
Arrowleaf Balsamroot:
Balsamorhiza sagittata
Indian Paintbrush:
Castilleja chromosa
Dry Canyon- Right Fork Hobble Creek
Sign repair in Maple Canyon, Mapleton.
First bridge crossing on Wardsworth creek:
BEFORE...
AFTER...
Where Mike stands used to be where the bridge began that spanned about 18 feet across the stream. The hole between where he stands and where I took the photo was previously solid land leading up to the bridge. We will be rebuilding a bridge here sometime this summer.
Stump cut in Santaquin Canyon.
Hazard tree on the Bear Canyon trail in Salt Creek Canyon.
Cottonwood alley, Bear Canyon trail.
Lllllllook out! Big ol' rattlesnake.
Damaged bridge on the Sawmill Hollow trail, Diamond Fork Canyon.
We don't find too many Ponderosa Pines on our trails. We enjoyed lunch under this beautiful giant. Sawmill Hollow trail.
Leaner on the Bennie Creek trail, Payson Canyon.
Larkspur:
Delphinium nelsonii
Bennie Creek trail, Payson Canyon.
Groundsel:
Senecio integerrimus
False Hellebore:
Veratrum californicum
Downed Aspen on the Bennie Creek trail, Payson Canyon.
Valerian:
Valeriana occidentalis
Nettleleaf Giant Hyssop:
Agastache urticifolia
Sometimes it just takes one user riding in wet conditions to create significant damage to a trail. Luckily we caught this before it got worse.
Ursus americanus
American Robin kill on the Bennie Creek trail.
Some type of wet fungus.
This big fir came down on the Bennie Creek trail.
As did this one.
Minor re-route where the original trail washed out into a 3 foot trench. Bennie Creek trail.
Baby Robins at the work site in Spanish Fork.
Salt Creek trail.
Adam falling a tree for use as a future bridge, Salt Creek trail.
Salt Creek canyon.
These eggs were part of 13 that were apparently abandoned by the mother Turkey. The guess is that the nest was built too close to a busy road and campground entrance.
Repeated exposure to snakes has weakened my fear response. They make good snack food too.
We were able to clear a debris pile in Salt Creek that was compromising the bank and subsequently a fence and parking spot in the campground. It's always amazing to watch how quickly the water carries away built up rock and sediment.
This was my first time seeing a white violet like this. This picture was taken on the Grotto trail in Payson Canyon.
This rubbery fungus was found growing all over the branches of this juniper tree on the Mapleton-Sawmill Hollow Trail.
First sighting of this flower for me in Sawmill Hollow, Diamond Fork.
First sighting of this color of violet for me. Found these in Sawmill Hollow also.
This is our second rattlesnake sighting this season. This snake was in Diamond Fork.
Diamond Fork is also full of Great Basin Gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer) that happen to look very similar to the Western Diamondback rattlesnake. This is said to be an adaptation that works in the gopher snake's favor. Upon closer inspection the Gopher has no rattles, a less "diamond" shaped head and a slightly different pattern. One of the Gopher snakes we hiked past hissed at us.
Sun and moon carvings in Diamond Fork...graffiti or ancient rock carvings?
