Wyethia fields forever

I've always had an affinity for Wyethia species, perhaps because they seem so unobtainable in the trade. Wyethia or Mule's Ears comes in a number of different flavors and these ones appear to be Wyethia mollis or Wooly Mule's Ears, seen on a hike in the Sierra near Pinecrest on June 18th, 2012. Unfortunately, I've never managed to see a whole field in bloom before in person, but I think the texture and leaf hues are interesting in their own right.

 Holy mules ears, Batman:

Indian Paintbrush was growing among them:

Finally, an early bloomer.  Imagine a whole field of these:

There's other interesting things to see, like this fallen piece of what appears to be mistletoe:

 That's quite a precipice to the left:

A closer look at the precipice:

Everyone goes over for a look:

 This flower has a nice view at the edge too:

 The trail goes up:

 Summit lunch:

 There were plenty of cool critters on the hike: