Bitterroot Outdoor Journal – A Visit to Como

This week, a short hike along the Lake Como hiking trail brought Bob Danley of the Bitterroot Outdoor Journal some great wildflower views. He was happy to see some Camas blooming, since one of his favorite Camas views is still covered by snow.

Como Lake is in the Bitterroot National Forest northwest of Darby and includes many areas for the public to camp, horseback ride, swim, boat and, in this case, hike. The trail completely surrounds the beautiful lake and takes you past the main waterfall that fills the lake every year. If you start at the north side (Trail #502 at the Three Frogs Campground), the first part of the trail is paved for those who might be handicapped or otherwise walking-impaired.

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As Bob walked farther up the trail, he saw many wildflower species. And, along the trail, he noticed the Golden Current shrubs (photo below). The bushes have yellow tubular flowers and can reach about six feet tall.

In one forest opening, he spotted Camas (photo below) and the blooms were on. It's a member of the lily family and can be between a foot to two feet tall. The blue to purplish star-shaped flowers look almost watery when you view a field of them.

Other wildflowers that can be seen along the trail were the blue-flowered Wilcox's Penstemon, the Prairie Smoke with its hanging reddish-pink flowers and the Bonneville Shootingstar, a primrose that has magenta-pink flowers hanging its stems.

Lots of birds at Lake Como and one of them is the Williamson's Sapsucker, which was seen digging in the tree bark. It has black wings, back and wings with a red chin, yellow belly and white stripes on its face (photo below).

The Bitterroot Outdoor Journal is heard Wednesday mornings about 7:45 a.m. at 1240 KLYQ AM Radio and at www.klyq.com. Bob also has some websites such as his Image Wildlife site.