Have I been commuting to Rogers Pass?

The blue Forget-Me-Not, yellow Yellowstone Draba and pink Douglasia

A rest along the CDT ridgeline

Red Mountain, the Scapegoat Wilderness Area's highest peak, was showing off

The red shale of Rodgers Peak was eye-popping

 It sure seems as though I've been on a commute to Rogers Pass and the Continental Divide Trail these past two weeks.

There have been four trips there to see the early alpine flower bloom as the dominate flower has passed from pink Douglasia to the blue of Forget-Me-Nots.  The yellow Yellowstone draba have been a constant. It used to be that we waited until nearly Father's Day for such a show.

Usually we see our best display on the west side of Rogers (up from the staircase).  But this year the display be even better on the east side as the prolific blue flowers stand out against the brilliant red shale outcroppings heading along the CDT toward Flesher.

The trail is more carpeted in these miniatures than I can remember this early.

 Despite the dryness, the monarch of the west ---- Red Mountain (9,411 feet) is loaded with snow.

I found the ridge leading to Rodgers Peak inviting enough to go up one hike and down another.

Lady bugs are out on the top of Rodgers, and so are the ticks.  I'm nursing a fairly substantial tick bite at the moment. 

Katie led a Montana Wild group of 14 up Rodgers Peak that I joined, and really enjoyed the thrill they experienced seeing the alpine flowers.

We liked it so much we went up a second day in a row with friends Dave and Sandi Ashley from Helena.  On the west side the wildflowers sent up a strong, sweet smell.

If you've got to be stuck in a rut, the Rogers Pass you can't go wrong with the alpine wildflowers bloom.

The CDT flowers have me so agog I nearly forgot to mention our trip to the Pioneer Ridge in the Little Belts where the Calypso orchids are in bloom.

 

The Calypso orchids were in bloom in the Little Belts