chrisophylla's Favorites

What an incredible encounter! I was just past Panorama Point, searching for White-tailed Ptarmigan when I turned around and saw it running up the snow towards me. It stopped and stared at me for a minute, before bouncing up the snow and continuing up the ridge following before going up and over the ridge and out of view. I got some great photos and took a few videos as well. Quite a surreal experience.

Narthecium californicum. I saw Ron's pics of this a while back and decided that one day, I would have to see it. Glad that day finally came.

I watched this ermine catch 5 pika on trips up and down the slopes of Cracked Crag. Chipmunk-sized with a short tail (there are no perspective tricks going on in this picture, but if needed, I can upload others with a more side-on perspective. Pika observation recorded separately here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/14002186

4 stamen, 1 style. Blue corolla that is United, 4 parts; calyx 4 parts. So same number of corolla lobe as stamen. Gentian. Pretty tall 30-40 cm), linear cauline leaves in 2 pairs, and base of calyx comes to a somewhat acute point (like the mouth of a funnel). Gentian barbata (Hulten) and Gentianopsis dentosa ssp. yukonensis (Cody).