The flowers and wildlife were plentiful during a hike at Silver Lake

“Andrea and I are running up to Harriman to hike around Silver Lake. How about going with us?” my wife asked me last Saturday morning. “You need to get back in shape before you decide to start rock hunting again.”

I knew that they had wanted to do the hike the week before, but the trail was closed due to bear activity, so they did not go.

I finally reluctantly agreed that the three of us would make more noise, which would make it safer if the bear decided to come back. On the drive up, I listened to them chatter about the beautiful flowers that they expected to see on the four-mile hike around the beautiful lake. Their excitement was catching, and I hoped to capture some pictures of the flowers and hopefully, a few birds and animals. None of us were disappointed.

As we started the hike near the dam, the Silvery lupine and Sticky geranium were everywhere with a mixture of Yellow salsify (Goat’s beard) and the beautiful blue and yellow Showy fleabane flowers. Dark-eyed juncos and a variety of flycatchers were harvesting what insects they could capture.

The chipmunks were energetic, and I could not capture them with my camera, but a red squirrel finally stopped long enough to allow a picture to be taken. About one-and-a half miles into the hike, we saw in the trail where a small herd of elk had come down for a drink. We only caught glimpses of them as they appeared as ghosts sneaking through the thick trees.

As we neared the half-way mark, we finally saw our first humans as mountain bikers caught up with us and since I was always stopping for pictures, even a group of hikers caught up. My wife and her friend were patient with me, stopping from time to time with a question or making sure that I had not become brunch for a bear.

They stopped when they ran into a flock of Canada geese with a “big black bird” sitting on a stump out in the water. It was a double-crested cormorant, a fish-eating bird, that really enjoys Silver Lake and all the small fish in it. When we got to the stream feeding the lake, we saw schools of minnows and small fish feeding on the hatching flies floating on the water.

Damselflies, dragon flies, and a host of little blue butterflies were along the second half of the hike. At one point I saw a very colorful butterfly that I identified as a member of the fritillary family, but after I got home and researched it, I think that it was a rare Gillett’s checkerspot. They are only found in Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and a small portion of Canada. They need twinberry and huckleberry bushes for their larvae to feed on. We saw both of those plants with their green berries developing along the trail.

That was not the only rare sight that I saw along the trail, in a large patch of colorful Sticky geranium, I photographed a rare one that had white flowers.

Along the northeast side of the lake, we saw a single sandhill crane and a flock of pelicans trying to corral some small fish. The pelicans would get in a circle and then would swim towards each other trying to herd the fish together as they would scoop them up with their large bills. We also watched as Caspian terns would dive for fish that were swimming near the surface.

To an out-of-shape old man, the four-mile hike seemed more like a ten-miler, but the sights and sounds made it well worth the time and effort. When we got done with the hike, I watched a demonstration on the use of bear spray and was reminded that Harriman State Park is in bear country and hikers should know how to use it.

Harriman State Park is a gem and a great place to recreate in. I prefer to hike it because of the things that I see by walking slowly. I hope all of you had a wonderful July Fourth and are enjoying the summer.