Fasciitis disappears: Folsom Lake, CA, Highwoods Center Ridge, Pioneer Ridge traverse in Spring flowers

The Balsamroot have emerged in the Highwood Mountains

From a high point looking at Long and Neihart Baldy peaks on Pioneer Ridge travers

Belt Creek running bank full

 My plantar fasciitis in my left foot disappeared as suddenly and mysteriously as it appeared three weeks ago.

This allowed me to enjoy some good Spring hiking on a trip to California, the kind of hiking I was denied by the foot pain when we visited Portland.

We visited Katie's folks in Loomis, CA where their house sits just above Folsom Lake and the National Recreation Trail above it.  We hiked there daily, enjoying an amazing display of wildflowers we don't see in Montana, like the orange poppies, and orange monkey flowers and giant purple vetch flowers as well as a translucent mariposa flower shaped like a light bulb.  I was particularly taken by the extensive lupine blooms that lit up large fields in bright blue.  It is a favorite wildflower of mine in Montana.  I'm just not used to seeing so many orange wildflowers in Montana.

The orange Monkey Flower dotted the Folsom Lake hillsides.  I'm used to purple and yellow Monkey Flowers here in Montana

It was interesting to see the Folsom Lake, a reservoir created by the American River, at full pool after the massive snowfalls this past winter in the nearby Sierra Mountains.  I've become accustomed to seeing it drawn down quite a bit by the years of drought.  Our lower hiking trails were covered with water from the higher waters of the melting snowpack.

One pretty, but dangerous plant plagued us on our hikes --- poison oak.  It's something I unsuccessfully tangled with the past, and it got me again this trip as I brushed up against.  It is everywhere there.  Impossible to avoid.

The weather was a pleasant 65-70 degrees with cloudless, blue skies during our trip.  Just perfect.

When we got back the weather continued nice here, things have greened up,  and I got out for a pleasant out and back trip on the Highwood Mountains Center Ridge Trail, enjoying the yellow Arrowleafs, shooting stars, spring beauties, golden peas, and Pasque wildflowers.  There was still plenty of snow on the north face of Baldy, but Windy Peak was clear of snow.  The aspen have leafed out.

The following day I did the 6-mile Pioneer Ridge traverse and bumped into snow at 6,800 feet, that I could work my way around.

As I was hiking the sky became smoky as a cold front moved through bringing Montana the smoke from the out of control wildfires burning in Alberta and British Columbia.

Belt Creek, below, is running bank full and torrential.  If we got warm weather and some rain we could have flood.