Blue camas - Camassia quamash

[East Side Hiker]

I figure some of you fantastic photographers can help me due to your many exploits taking beautiful pictures in the high country meadows.

I'm looking for Sierra meadows where you've seen blue camas growing. Anyone seen any?

[East Side Hiker]

Nobody's seen blue camas? I guess it comes up too early for people to get out and see.

[John Dittli]

Looks like a lower elevation wetside plant. No go for an eastside guy. Check it out here.

.

jd

[East Side Hiker]

It grows in damp forests, meadows and streamsides to about 10,000', and its on the east side at least from Carson Pass northward. I'm looking for it in the high Sierra south of Carson Pass as I've pretty much mapped it out completely from Hope Valley north to Prosser Mdw.

[will_jrob]

This is from Kibbie Ridge above Cherry Lake, near the Western boundary of Emigrant Wilderness at about 6500 ft. Early seaon, kayakers were heading up trail ,8 miles or so, to the put-in on upper Cherry Creek.

[East Side Hiker]

Thank you will_jrob for the info. When I worked in the Toiyabe, I used to go through that counrty fairly often. But I missed the blue camas - probably too late. I will track it down now that I know. Thanks again. Great photo by the way.

[East Side Hiker]

I suspect that blue camas grows in the lower west-side regions of the central Sierra. Probably in country that most of us do not backpack in - too low.

[giantbrookie]

I didn't see this thread until now. The best field of blue camas I've ever seen is in Bucks Lake Wilderness off trail above Silver Lake. You run into it if you head NW along the rangefront (doing this from memory w/o map so this might not be all that accurate)--this is going the "other way" from Silver Lake compared to going to Gold Lake. There is a bench just below the cliffs that is somewhat soggy in early and even to mid season. The blue camas there is absolutely stunning. The other wildflowers in this area are very nice too.

[East Side Hiker]

Is the access from the Oroville Quincy Highway? From the Silver Lake Campground? And the bench you speak of - is that where the headwater lakes of Mill Cr are, above Silver Lake? Or is the bench to the east of there?

[giantbrookie]

Is the access from the Oroville Quincy Highway? From the Silver Lake Campground? And the bench you speak of - is that where the headwater lakes of Mill Cr are, above Silver Lake? Or is the bench to the east of there?

Access is from Silver Lake. I'm currently looking at the USFS Bucks Lake Wilderness topo map, so my directions are based on that (and somewhat hazy memory of a little geology/fishing hike I did back in 1996). From the Silver Lake campground, take the use trail that goes along the N shore of the lake. At the west end of the lake, roughly follow the northern of the two ephemeral drainages that are shown on the Bucks Lake Wilderness map flowing into Silver L. At the head of this drainage, just beneath the base of the steeper slabs (say 6240-6320 elev or so)is a somewhat soggy area where I remember the blue camas. In all my years of seeing many great Sierran wildflower displays, this was one of the most striking sights I've ever seen--those flowers are gorgeous.

I just checked my old fishing log (this was done on a trip to evaluate whether some moraines were faulted, plus dayhike to Lost Lake to fish it)--the date of my visit was June 24, 1996.