The Pass Creek Trail is always spectacular in wildflower season.  Here, just at tree-line, the alpine meadows are glowing with the hot pink of  Castilleja rhexifolia, the gold of  Senecio crassulus, the white of  Bistorta bistortoides, and numerous other splashes of color from at least a dozen other species. 

With our friends Jack and Inge, Betty and I walked slowly above tree-line up the steep Ice Lakes Trail on a sunny day that gradually gave way to clouds.  Eventually a few rain drops came and then, just as we topped out at Upper Ice Lakes, thunder, wind, and small hail pounded.  We put on extra clothes and our rain gear and knowing the danger that lightning posed to us, we turned, and without stopping for lunch, moved as quickly as we could down the trail.  But in just a few hundred yards I had to stop to photograph Castilleja rhexifolia in a massive field of Castilleja sulphurea.  You can see small hail tucked into several plants.  Perhaps you can also hear the thunder, feel my concern for our safety, and share our joy in this incredible beauty as we quickly plunged down the nearly three thousand feet of elevation we had just gained.