Vicia cracca
Tufted vetchBird vetch (Vicia cracca), also called tufted or cow vetch, is a climbing perennial in the pea family, with one-sided racemes of blue-violet flowers and branched tendrils that let it scramble over other plants. Native to Europe and Asia, it was introduced to Alaska as a forage crop and is now one of the Interior’s…
Gentiana algida
Arctic gentianArctic gentian (Gentiana algida) is a low, white-flowered perennial of Arctic tundra, alpine meadows, and stony slopes, ranging from Alaska and the Yukon across northern Asia and south into the Rocky Mountains and Himalaya. Its creamy, blue-streaked flowers are named for the cold.
Seward and Harding Icefield Trail
I’ve never hiked the Harding Icefield Trail in good weather. Neither Cassidy nor Elliott had hiked it at all. So when a window opened in the forecast, we left Homer for Seward. Arriving in the late afternoon, we stopped at the Exit Glacier Campground to find a spot and set up our tents before heading…