Wildflowers of Carson Pass

I had heard of the wildflowers around Winnemucca Lake for years, and every summer that passed felt like a missed opportunity. I usually do a couple backpacking trips a year, and for the first one of the season, I had to make sure I finally did this trail. I set out to spend the night at Fourth of July Lake, hoping to capture these wildflowers I had heard so much about.

All the photos I had seen in the past, always seemed to be around Winnemucca, which is one of the first lakes on the route. As we got closer, the wildflowers started to appear, making me more and more excited. We came around a bend and there it was, the lake that I had been dreaming about and hoping to see finally before me, except, there wasn't anything there that really struck me. I saw a photographer on the way in and asked him how the wildflowers looked, and he kind of shrugged and said, "they're ok, not near the magic I have seen in previous years," so maybe it was just an off year. We took a little dip in the cold lake, then carried on along the trail. I wasn't sure what else to expect, if there wasn't anything at Winnemucca, I began to wonder if I would see anything in regards to wildflowers. After all, it was apparently an off year.

We came around the backside of Round Top Mountain and began descending down the canyon to Fourth of July Lake. Little patches of red began to appear on the mountainside, the smell of flowers began to thicken, then all of a sudden it was a sea of red. I could not believe what I was looking at. The flowers with the steep, granite canyon behind it looking down at the lake, I had never seen anything like it. This was the wildflower shot I came for. 

What I love most about hiking, backpacking, and exploring is we just never know what we are going to see. We can plan, have ideas, and dream what could be, but the real magic may be something totally different than what we are expecting. The first step is to just get out there, and let nature show us something beautiful.