On a recent day off, we spent the morning hiking 3.7 miles around Christian Pond. Christian Pond was named after Charles A. "Tex" Christian, who managed one of the first lodges in the area. The trail goes through a willow-filled basin before coming to a ridge overlooking the pond.
We saw this mother duck with her 6 little ducklings in the pond. The mother duck was teaching her ducklings to dive below the water for food, and it was fun to see the ducklings imitate their mother's action.
The meadows were covered with various types of wild flowers. Here is a sampling of these "spring flowers" which we found during the last week in July. First, some "Nuttall's violet" or purple daisies.
"Wild Buckwheat" are shown below.
"Roundleaf Harebell" are a vibrant blue in color. The name means little bell.
Lastly,"sagebrush buttercup", which have been blooming for several weeks now. The flowers pictured below are in an area which is shaded most of the day.
The trail is mostly through areas of sagebrush with an assortment of pine trees for some shade.
We found this female grouse along the path. The female grouse had a baby following close by but we were unable to get a "family photo".
We also got some different views of the mountains.
Mount Moran as seen from afar is pictured below. Skillet Glacier is more distinct from this distance.
While it was good to go hiking, we completed this hike mostly in the scorching sun on a very dusty trail because we have had very little rain in the last month. Even though it was late July, the flowers were very colorful despite the lack of rainfall. It was probably the first - and last - time we will hike this trail.
Love that type of hike. So many things to see on the way, and a great way to take a break from walking!
ReplyDelete