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Sky Pilot


In the sixties the Animals were singing a song which asked: "Sky Pilot, how high can you fly? You'll never, never, never reach the sky!" Well, this little plant is called the Sky Pilot. Perhaps it can't fly, but to me it HAS reached the sky. That is because it is the only plant I find on top of 14,000' mountains.

The pretty little plant produces a cluster of blue flowers, and is one of the only things that grows at over 14,000 feet elevation. Another is lichen, such as is seen in orange on the rocks surrounding the flower. Here is the view of 14,018' Mt Tyndall from the top of Sherherd Pass. The rare Polemonium eximium is in the Phlox family. In The Palisades, there is a 14er named after this plant, even though most mountains are named after people.

Picture #314 -  copyright © 2006 by John Sherman



          

























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