Hike track link
The word was out, the lower Kern Canyon was exploding with Clarkia flowers. Whole hillsides were covered in pink/purple. A few photos were circulating through our inboxes that were almost impossible to believe. This we must see. The location was a small pullout on the side of Highway 178 in the lower Kern Canyon. But just go see flowers and not hike? Not happening! I looked at the old topo map and found some 4X4, ranch, and Forest Service roads and put together a hike. We hoped the roads still existed and were passable!
Our friend Brian decided to join in the fun. How could he not when my text to him started off with "Crazy hikers invitation." We arrived at the location with thick cloud cover and a cool breeze. It stayed cool all day, below 65F, hard to believe it was mid-May. While it appeared to be windy everywhere else, our route stayed mostly protected and pleasant. That's a good thing when you are our looking at delicate flowers. From our parking spot we knew we were in for a treat - whole hillsides of color.
We followed my route up the steep hill and the trail turned out to be quite good. Once on top we connected to some ranching/forest service roads through some nice oak grasslands (even with the cows), did a few miles on the paved Breckenridge Road, then descended back on an obscure ranch road past some nice springs and creeks. The last couple miles was a repeat of the steep hillside with incredible flowers. Cameras clicked hard all day.
The predominant Clarkia were Clarkia cylindrica (Speckled Clarkia) and Clarkia unguiculata (Elegant Clarkia). Some other late season flowers, including another Mariposa Lily!, made and appearance and the California Buckeye were ablaze in flowers.
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| Clarkia unguiculata (Elegant Clarkia) |
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| California Buckeye |
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| Clarkia cylindrica (Speckled Clarkia) |
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| Leptosiphon montanus (Mustang Clover) |
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| Collinsia heterophylla (Purple Chinese Houses) |
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| Walking the Breckenridge Road |
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| Triteleia laxa (Ithuriel's spear) |
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| Coyote Spring |
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| Delphinium hansenii (Hansen's Larkspur) |
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| Penstemon |
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| California Buckeye flower |
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| Clarkia cylindrica (Speckled Clarkia) |
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| Some late blooming poppies |
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| The Kern River far below |
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| Calochortus venustus (Butterfly Mariposa Lily) |
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| Photo by Brian's selfie-stick |
Just across the road, the malevolent Kern River roared down the canyon. And to think we still aren't at peak of snow runoff.
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