Walking along the mountain trail before dawn, I watched as the first rays of the sun outlined the ridgeline and painted a salmon hue across the early morning clouds. It would be a hot July day, yet patches of snow were still spotlighted on the steep chutes of Devil’s Castle. Despite the fact t hat I was surrounded by a cacophony of color amid the wildflowers of Albion Basin, somehow my mind kept drifting to pillows of powder above Cecret Lake and ripping groomer runs down Rock ‘n’ Roll off Supreme. Well, that would have to wait four or five more months.  On a midsummer morning, there’s no place finer than Albion Basin at sunrise. The purple towers of petals on the larkspur, the brilliant red spikes of Indian paintbrush, the puffy light violet nettleleaf giant hyssop, and the blackened heads of coneflowers all form the pathway. A decade or more ago, you could often find me at 5:30 a.m. in the Catherine’s Pass trailhead parking lot gathering my Nikons and tripod to set up for my next gallery image. Today I’m carrying an iPhone and a GoPro, traveling light and absorbing the scene. You can find wildflowers anywhere in the Wasatch this time of year. But Albion Basin is different. It’s the towering alpine peak of Mount Superior. It’s the rocky crags of Devil’s Castle. It’s looking down on Grizzly Gulch across the canyon and following the trail up Catherine’s Pass toward Big Cottonwood. It’s just a different feeling. Every stand of red, yellow and blue flowers took me back in time. One gorgeous morning years ago, I set up a tripod-selfie as I knelt in front of a rainbow of color. I still remember carefully arranging the camera, setting the timer, then scrambling into place before the shutter clicked. Today was also like a journey through life. There was a bride in her flowing white gown, the photographer capturing her in the early morning light. Just above them, a young mother-to-be posed with her soon-to-be-born child still in the womb. Meanwhile, families carried newly born infants into the meadow for their first wildflower photo sessions. It struck me that each of us had come to the basin carrying something different. Some brought cameras. Others carried babies, bouquets or memories. Most simply walked quietly along the trail, stopping every few yards to take in another splash of color. The flowers themselves marked the passing of time. Their life is short, a few brilliant months between melting snow and the first hint of autumn. Yet every summer they return, drawing generations of families back to the same mountainside. That’s the true magic of Albion Basin. The landscape changes constantly, yet somehow remains familiar. Children grow older. Cameras get smaller. Friends and family members come and go. But Devil’s Castle still catches the morning light, and the flowers still rise from the meadow in a celebration of color. And skiers still long for opening day. As I walked back down the trail, the basin was awakening. More hikers were arriving. Cars were jockeying for parking places. Children wandered into the flowers as their parents called after them. The quiet solitude of sunrise was fading. But the memories it rekindled would remain long after the wildflowers were gone. DETAILS You can find wildflowers anywhere in the Wasatch in July. But there is indeed something special about Albion Basin. And that’s why crowds flock there. Here are a few tips. Getting There It’s less than an hour from Park City to Alta, a simple drive down I-80 to I-215 to Wasatch Boulevard and up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Sunrise this month is around 6:10 a.m. And while it will be another hour before that sunlight crests the ridge, the alpenglow and rim lighting around sunrise time are well worth getting up early. And it’s easier to park! Parking The Catherine’s Pass trailhead lot is ideal. It’s $12 per vehicle, payable any time of day (or night). There are 20-25 spots. It will fill by 7:30 a.m. most days. Then vehicles are regulated going up. The trailhead is literally in the midst of Albion Basin. Or you can park for free in the Albion Basin lot at Alta. Then it’s about a mile walk up through Lower Albion Meadows, with wildflowers all along the way.  Hikes If you want to get away from the crowds in Albion Meadows and Cecret Lake up higher on the mountain. The Lower Albion Meadows (Wildcat base) trail is a dreamy walk through wildflowers along Alta’s base and beside a stream. Snake Pit (Albion base) ups the ante a bit, offering a trail along a cascading stream. And for the adventurous, head up through Grizzly Gulch and over Twin Lakes Pass to Solitude and Brighton (Alta-Brighton trailhead across from Snowpine Lodge). Learn more at alta.com. And get a summer trail map to know where you’re going. Wildflower Etiquette Use the cool photo turnouts in the flowers that Alta and the U.S. Forest Service have added so you don’t walk on the wildflowers to get that colorful surround photo! And don’t pick them to take home! The flowers are a critical food source for pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, moths, butterflies, bats and various insects. And they typically produce 20 to 500 seeds per individual flower head. Because a single plant often produces multiple blooms over a season, one wildflower plant can yield anywhere from a few hundred to over 20,000 seeds! The post Sunday Drive: Rekindling memories in the wildflowers appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less