Today's hike

[BlkHawk73]

Took a short hike with the offspring this afternoon. Only about 3.6 miles for the loop.

The way up:

The way down:

 

[Mike Armstrong]

Neat pix!

I'd keep it short too if I had to deal with those rocks (SOME "trail")! But I'm sure the view and exercise were well worth it.

What are the flowers? (Look like native orchids to me--often called some kind "lilies" in the US).

 

[BlkHawk73]

The flowers are Lady Slippers and are very rare here. Not sure exactly but was always under the belief there were laws protecting them due to their scarcity. We counted 35 of them.
A lot of the hike was under a one or oak canopy with typical trails but gotta have some good rocks to traverse. This was hike #1 for us this yr and just a warm up for the upcoming ones. Two, maybe three more planned before hopefully tackling out goal for the yr - Mt Washington in NH. That'll be a overnight thing as that hike itself is a 7-8 hour climb with the headwall and peak being steep and lots of hand over hand rock scrambling. 8) Next yr I'm hoping to do Maine's highest peak and then in the next 2 years Vermont's peak.
Yes that second pic of the rock wall had to be climbed. Really not that bad.

 

[don44]

Thanks for sharing !

 

[Mike Armstrong]

Yeah, those Lady Slippers are a member of the orchid family and they ARE endangered/protected. Great to find them up there!

We have a few species of native orchids here in SoCal, but they are tiny and exist only in a few wet and shady places where livestock can't get. Needless to say, those factors make them very rare in a dry, sunny region full of cattle!

 

[WendyZXZ]

Great pictures there, it looks like a fine time out!

 

[TinkerDave]

The flowers are Lady Slippers and are very rare here. Not sure exactly but was always under the belief there were laws protecting them due to their scarcity. We counted 35 of them.
A lot of the hike was under a one or oak canopy with typical trails but gotta have some good rocks to traverse. This was hike #1 for us this yr and just a warm up for the upcoming ones. Two, maybe three more planned before hopefully tackling out goal for the yr - Mt Washington in NH. That'll be a overnight thing as that hike itself is a 7-8 hour climb with the headwall and peak being steep and lots of hand over hand rock scrambling. 8) Next yr I'm hoping to do Maine's highest peak and then in the next 2 years Vermont's peak.
Yes that second pic of the rock wall had to be climbed. Really not that bad.

I know that in NH, you are forbidden from digging the Lady Slippers, also known as Paphiopedilums (genus name). They are actually terrestrial orchids (as opposed to epiphytes (tree-growers)). Digging them destroys their root system and they die. We have them all over our six acres and they are my wife's favorite. There are other types of lthe lady slippers found in New England, but the pink one are the most common. TD