Ridge walk (Forgetmenot Ridge, Kananaskis P. P., Alberta)

[Lori S.]

Finally, the rainy weather let up long enough for us to get a hike in!  First hike of the year, yesterday, was Forgetmenot Ridge in Kananaskis - an unrelenting, uphill grind on a very steep, rough trail, yet still a favourite as it is close by, and, despite (or thanks to)  the heart-pounding effort, you do get up there fast!

1) View from a brief rest spot about 1/3 of the way up... Nihahi Ridge in the distance, with the Elbow River in the foreground.  The Little Elbow was reasonably tame this time - surprising after all the rain - while the Elbow had many more flowing (shallow) channels than usual - and both as bone-numbingly cold as ever.  (NB. There is a bridge a ways further down.... but what fun is that?!   )
2, 3, 4) And further up, tucked in crevices and between slabs in the exposed limestone cliff face, Saxifraga oppositifolia ooops, that should be bronchialis!
 

[Booker]

Sorry, Lori ... certainly not Saxifraga oppositifolia!

[Lori S.]

Acckk, no, of course not!  It's Saxifraga bronchialis.  Thanks for bringing me to my senses, Cliff!  (Saxifraga oppositifolia does come along later, but don't hold your breath... we missed the bloom as usual!)

[Hoy]

A nice walk, anyway, and much steeper than anything around here!

[Booker]

Thanks for bringing me to my senses, Cliff!  (Saxifraga oppositifolia does come along later, but don't hold your breath... we missed the bloom as usual!)

Please don't ever bring me to my senses, Lori ... the world is in a big enough mess already!   

[Lori S.]

 

Perhaps so, from your previous descriptions, Trond?  In this area, river level is at about 1600m, and the ridges are at 2200 to 2300m+ elevation.  The highest point of Forgetmenot Mountain (a very minor height of land, to be sure, though a very interesting area of conglomerate slabs and boulders), which we did not visit yesterday, is at 2300m+.

1) And continuing along, once most of the climb is over, there is one little band of firs and spruce before gaining the ridge...
And the flowers begin!  
2, 3, 4) Silene acaulis in limestone rubble
5) Heading out to the ridge tops... now it is a nice walk, the hard climb is over!
6 - 10) The next sight... the most glorious mounds of alpine potentillas!  Potentilla uniflora, I suppose...  

We hike here frequently, and every time it is different but equally fascinating - we have never seen the potentillas in such splendour before!

[Toole]

Brilliant Lori 

[Lori S.]

Thanks for looking. 
1) Androsace chamaejasme
2, 3) Campanula uniflora
4) Scenery - turfy areas
5) Oxytropis sericea
6) ... and gravelly stretches
Most abundant were the mat-forming Dryas, the white flowers thickly dotting the scenery photos
7) Dryas octopetala
8 ) And when I took the time to look, I was surprised to find that there are vast tracts of Dryas integrifolia as well, possibly even more abundant
9) Lunch break ahead, behind the band of kruppelholz firs, and out of the very strong wind
10) Willow catkins, in this area where the snow has only recently melted off

[Lori S.]

1) Old snow, on this north-facing slope
2, 3) A bank of Phyllodoce glanduliflora behind the kruppelholz
4) Anemone parviflora
5) Zigadenus elegans, very common on the ridges, will not be in bloom for some time yet
6) Same for Castilleja
Back into the rocks...
7) Myosotis alpestris
8 ) I always enjoy seeing this - I think I've figured out what it is - Minuartia austromontana
9) And more gorgeous potentillas!
10) Physaria didymocarpa

[Lori S.]

And, despite this being the middle of July, it is a rather late spring up there...
1) Saussurea nuda, as close as we saw to blooming...
2) And another, with a serrated-leaved Rhodiola integrifolia (which is slightly unusual - the leaves are usually entire)
3) And a more normal one...
4, 5, 6) Claytonia megarhiza, always a curiosity to see such succulent foliage amidst the dry, sharp-edged rocks
7, 8, 9) Townsendia parryi(?)... ridiculously-oversized, 5cm-wide flowers on such tiny plants!  Charming!
10) And across the edge of the ridge, down the steep south-facing slope, there is respite again from the wind and a rich garden in bloom!

[Lori S.]

On the warm, south-facing slope, there are a few different plants than on the ridge...
1) Pulsatilla patens grow here and are mostly in seed.... the odd one is still in bloom
2, 3) Polemonium pulcherrimum
4) Phacelia sericea
5) Sedum lanceolatum
6) The purple patches on the slope are Delphinium bicolor, which are up to about 15cm tall here.  (These also occur on the ridge, where they are a bit shorter yet.)
7) Anemone multifida

[McDonough]

Wow, great series Lori... you've been having some fun!  Some very choice plants there, but I am most taken with Campanula uniflora... this dang thing does a pretty good imitation of a gentian, doesn't it?  Such a choice and rarely seen campanula, are you able to grow it in your garden?  I see that you're not sure about the Potentilla ID (Potentilla uniflora), are there many Potentilla in the area that make the identification difficult?  Regardless, it is a very fine Potentilla, probably one of the better rock-garden worthy ones.  Here again, can you grow it in your garden, and if so, does it remain compact and floriferous as your photos show.

It is so refreshing to see, and to read, about cool air, cold winds, snow patches, when it is blazing hot here... supposed to be 95 F tomorrow, yet another day in the 90s.  The scenery views remind me of some of my travels in Wyoming and Montana... endless skies and expansive vistas.  Thanks for posting all of this.

[Booker]

Magnificent hike, Lori ... we are off to the Dolomites today ... hope we see plants as pristine as these. Many thanks for posting.

[Lori S.]

You're welcome, Mark and Cliff!  
Wow, Cliff, hope you have a fabulous time in the Dolomites!

Campanula uniflora... are you able to grow it in your garden?  

I don't know - I've never tried.  I wonder if other Calgary-area alpine enthusiasts are growing it?

I see that you're not sure about the Potentilla ID (Potentilla uniflora), are there many Potentilla in the area that make the identification difficult?  Here again, can you grow it in your garden, and if so, does it remain compact and floriferous as your photos show.

According to Moss & Packer's Flora of Alberta, there are 6 potentilla species that are: 1) alpine, and recorded  in this area; 2) small (5 species up to 15cm, and 1 additional species 10 - 30cm); and 3) with trifoliate leaves (4 species strictly trifoliate, and 2 additional species with 3-5 leaflets - I suppose I could discount those 2).  Potentilla uniflora seems likely, but I haven't plowed through all the distinguishing characteristics, so I'm not entirely sure.  Re. garden-worthiness, I don't know that either.  I'm sure there are local alpine gardeners who do know both the ID and the answer to the last question... if only they could be coaxed into posting here.  

Continuing...
1, 2)  On the warm slope, the Castilleja are much more advanced than on the ridge
3) Contouring our way around the bend, there is another north-facing area where the snow has just left...
4 - 6) And the Salix have just come into bloom
7) As have a little army of tiny Dodecatheon
8 ) More snowmelt bloomers, Ranunculus eschscholtzii
9) And Ranunculus pygmaeus
10) And Cassiope tetragona

[Hoy]

I am very jealous on your ridge walk, Lori! I recognize some of the plants from mountains in Norway but the majority are unfamiliar. Such rich areas are not in the vicinity for me. We have high mountains (the highest are well above 2000m) and we have rich flora many places, but due to the ice age the flora of Norway has been decimated a lot. The bedrock is mostly hard sandstone, granite or gneiss, not the best for showy plants. 

Campanula uniflora exists in the highest mountains here but I have never seen it live.
Does Dryas octopetala and D. integrifolia grow intermingled? Don't they have different habitats?