Thompson Pass

Date: July 19, 2012
Time: 1:30-5:00 p.m.
Weather: Sunny with clear sky and blinding sunlight

Arctic Willow—Salix arctica

Pussy Toes—Antennaria

Alpine Bearberry—Arctostaphylos alpine

Arctic Daisy—Erigeron humilis

Yellow Spotted Saxifrage—Saxifrage bronchialis

One-Flowered Cinquefoil—Potentilla uniflora

Low-Bush Cranberry, Lingonberry, Mountain Cranberry—Vaccinium vitis idaea

Labrador Tea—Ledum palustris groenlandicum

Dwarf Blueberry—Vaccinium caespitosum

Capitate Lousewort—Pedicularis capitata

Mountain Avens, Eight-Petaled Avens—Dryas octopetala

Pixie Eye Primrose—Primula cuneifolia

Alp Lily—Lloydia serotina

Alpine Azalea—Loiseleuria procumbens

Alpine Arnica—Arnica alpine angustifolia

Moss Campion—Silene acaulis

Mountain Harebell—Campanula lasiocarpa

Coastal Paintbrush, Yellow Paintbrush—Castilleja unalaschensis

Moss Heather—Cassiope stelleriana

Roseroot, Rosewort, King’s Crown—Sedum rosea

Bell Heather—Cassiope tetragona

 It was a beautiful day; a wide view from the pass was spectacular! We walked around the caldera to observe tiny short plants and flowers there. The ground was covered different kinds of lichens and berries, so the feeling of walking on them was somewhat soft and cushiony. The field looked a plain filed without any flowers or plants at a first glance, but when we looked down very carefully, lots of species lived together, and flowers were unobtrusively blooming. They were so pretty and delicate looking.