Pacific Crest Trail

On a long weekend trip to Eugene with Cyndi we had the good fortune and pleasure of camping in the mountains.  The first morning we woke up and walked on a Forest Service road that was well off the beaten path.  We were rewarded with views of an incredible trillium and a Life Bird, the Hermit Warbler.

Trillium ovatum

Flowering Currant

Ribes sanguineum

Hermit Warbler

Setophaga occidentalis

On the second morning, we awoke next to the Pacific Crest Trail.  Cyndi on the Pacific Crest Trail.

The lichens were hanging densely off every available branch.

We saw this beautiful butterfly with deeply serrated wing shapes.  It is a Hoary Comma butterfly, Polygonia gracilis.  It is called by a few different names over its range.  Some call it a Hoary Angelwing.  This is one of the few North American butterflies that hibernate during the winter and wake up in the spring to feed and lay eggs.

We photographed a number of pollinators.  This interesting fly with a long proboscis was probing the Manzanita.