[Image] After doing the 5k Snake Valley Slither on summer solstice and then hiking up to the bristlecones that afternoon, my visiting family wanted a shorter hike, so I suggested one of my favorites, the South Fork Baker-Baker Creek loop. It's about 3 miles long, although with roughly 800 feet elevation gain (that's a guess). But by the time we got to the trailhead, the kids were complaining, and we weren't sure we wanted to listen them for two-three hours.
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But we gathered up our strength and set off, and before long were seeing neat things, like this woodpecker, a yellow-bellied sapsucker.
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This swallowtail was visiting the columbine as we walked under the aspens.
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Desert Girl was a little tired, but we bribed her and cajoled her, and she kept going.
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And finally we made it to the big meadow and found a spot to take a big snack break. Even better, it had water nearby.
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We started seeing lots more smiles.
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While the family hung out, I went off in search of good photo opportunities.
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This meadow is amazing, I always feel like I'm in Yellowstone and a bear might step out of the trees. But we don't have bears in Great Basin National Park, so that makes hiking and camping a lot less stressful.
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I was just blown away by all the bistort.
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This painted lady was busy pollinating some flowers.
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Nearby was another butterfly--a skipper?
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Besides the bistort, there were also fields of shooting stars.
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The colors were amazing.
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I had fun looking at this bee and seeing all the little hairs on it.
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Eventually I wandered back and this is what I found:
[Image]  Ah what fun with uncles!

We continued on to make the loop.
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The trail crew was making the trail a little wider and very smooth.
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It made for easy walking.
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We crested the ridge, passed some ponderosa pines, and came down on the north, shady side of the ridge. We found these orchids, spotted coral root (Corallorhiza maculata).
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When I saw the lack of green, I guessed they were parasitic, and found I was right. They parasitize fungi, which depend on the roots of other plants. The flowers are gorgeous.
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When we got down to Baker Creek, it was time to play in the water again. The kids even tried swimming, but the very cold water deterred them.
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On the way back we saw big mushrooms,
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this beautiful flower, death camus (Zigadenus species),
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and had a grand old time. It was a really enjoyable hike, and I highly recommend it!
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