Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Gunnery Pass

This wild plant was growing along the Gunnery Pass Trail in Kananaskis (off Highway 40) when we went for an all-day hike on Saturday. Usually, when I see this plant, most of the flowers are not yet open. It is a member of the Figwort family, is native, and grows June-August on moist montane slopes.

Couldn't resist taking a shot or two of this beautiful orangy-red Painbrush with orange Lichen growing on the rock in the background. Saw this on Saturday, when three of us went on the amazing hike to Gunnery Pass. Usually, my Paintbrush photos have a dark green background of leaves, so I thought it would be fun to shoot it differently this time. A rather messy photo, but different : ) Love the way there are so many colours of Paintbrush, from yellow, to almost white, bright red to deep red, pink to salmon. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this wildflower, the bracts are red and the flowers are green with red tips. "This is probably a reddish morph of C. rhexiifolia (usually crimson to purplish but sometimes to look like C. miniata...)" Thanks to Mark Egger for this ID!

This was such a bright Indian Paintbrush plant, taken on a hike at Gunnery Pass, Kananaskis, on 18th July 2009. For those unfamiliar with this species, the red parts are the bracts, the very small, narrow, green parts are the actual flowers. Came across it while I was saving another few folders of images to my external hard drive, so that I could delete them and give myself a bit of desperately-needed free space on my computer. Thanks to Mark Egger, for the ID, Castilleja miniata - much appreciated! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castilleja

Hooker's Thistle, also known as White Thistle, grows July-September in meadows and open woods. A native thistle, it has narrow, spine-tipped bracts which are covered in woolly to cobweb-like hairs. This particular plant (and many other specimens of it) was growing on the Gunnery Pass Trail, Kananaskis, where three of us hiked three days ago. "The species name commemorates British botanist Sir William J. Hooker (1785-1865), director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Between 1829 and 1840, he made numerous plant collections across Canada and the United States." From Plants of Alberta, by France Royer and Richard Dickinson.

On an all-day hike along the Gunnery Pass Trail, off Highway 40 (Kananaskis) on Saturday, we saw several of these attractive (most likely Northern) Checkerspot butterflies towards the end of the hike. I don't know which kind of Checkerspot it is - would welcome any ID help : ) Holy smokes - what a slow day at Flickr today!! Later: thanks, Doug, for the info!

Yes, I survived the full-day hike yesterday, though my body isn't moving quite like it should today, LOL. The scenery was spectacular and the wildflowers just wonderful. Two of us were taken to this trail by a friend who had been there a handful of times before. Both guys have had a lifetime of walking and hiking - and then there was me, LOL. However, we were stopping constantly to search for plants, record them and photograph them, so it was not a brisk-walking hike, thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn't have gone. Lost count of the number of times I glanced at the mountain sides to check that there were no Grizzly Bears in sight, though one had been along our trail at one point, turning over large rocks to see what was underneath. Thanks, David, for sharing this special place with us, and thanks for your patience with a slower walker : ) I SURVIVED!! Thanks, too, for finding the only Parry's Townsendia for us - I was thrilled to bits with this, as I had never seen one before. The flower in my photo is way past its best, but I still love it. The setting was perfect, too, surrounded by rocks and Lichens and other wildflowers. We were astounded by the number of Long-bracted Orchids there were everywhere, including at the top of this mountain ridge. Parry's Townsendia is a native wildflower that grows July-August on dry hillsides and grassy slopes. The flower head is 5-7 cms across. The achene (fruit) is a pappus of long, soft bristles, more attractive (in my opinion) than the actual flower (which looks rather like a Fleabane).

Yes, I survived the full-day hike yesterday, though my body isn't moving quite like it should today, LOL. The scenery was spectacular and the wildflowers just wonderful. Two of us were taken to this trail by a friend who had been there a handful of times before. Both guys have had a lifetime of walking and hiking - and then there was me, LOL. However, we were stopping constantly to search for plants, record them and photograph them, so it was not a brisk-walking hike, thank goodness, otherwise I wouldn't have gone. Lost count of the number of times I glanced at the mountain sides to check that there were no Grizzly Bears in sight, though one had been along our trail at one point, turning over large rocks to see what was underneath. Thanks, David, for sharing this special place with us, and thanks for your patience with a slower walker : ) I SURVIVED!! We walked along this valley, gradually climbing upwards until we reached Gunnery Pass (1874 m, 6150 ft) and then returned to the car via the next valley. This photo was taken from on the way up the ridge that was our high point, looking back along the valley from where we had come. Have to admit that I was very conscious of the fact that the further we went, the further we had for our return journey : )