How long a macro lens do you carry?

   Norm

Jack,
Just this afternoon I returned from a week in the Colorado
mountains hiking and photographing wildflowers.  I live in the
Denver area and have been photographing wildflowers in
Colorado for over 20 years.  See:
          http://www.clarkvision.com
My most serious wildflower photography began when I started
with large format (4x5), about 15 years ago.

I was in the San Juans the last few days, as I am most summers,
as well as many other areas around the state, and I am very
aware of the species of flowers in different areas and how they
change from year to year.  And I must say, the species
appearing in the same spot has varied a lot over the last few
years.  We have been in a drought for several years until
this last winter.  This spring was very wet and the winter
was a larger than average snow pack.  It was looking like it
might be a record year for wildflowers (the last was 1997).
June was the second wettest June on record in Denver.
But then it dried out.  The snow was still crushing any
vegetation in the high country (areas I visited in early
July that normally would be carpets of wildflowers were
either covered in snow as deep as 6 feet or the vegetation
was still smashed into the ground from the heavy snow pack).

The last month of dry weather smashed hopes of a great
or even good wildflower year.  Places I visited in the San Juans
in the last week had 1/4 to 1/8 the wildflowers seen in a
normal year.  I've been to multiple basins multiple times
including American and Yankee Boy basins.  Over the last
6 years, wildflower populations have changed dramatically
all across the state.  Flowers that were there one year
were not the next, nor the next.  This year there has been
very little color: mostly little white flowers (a couple
of varieties I need to look up).

While I do not doubt that people, including photographers,
can have an impact on an area, what you have seen this year
is most likely not due to people, but the heavy and late melting
snow pack combined with years of drought.  Yankee Boy basin
can be very crowded, and I would not blame any trampling
of vegetation solely on photographers (amateur or pro), but
by the shear mass of people tromping all over the area.

Personally, I no longer identify specific basins, but will only
specify the mountains (like "San Juans").  There are so
many basins with great wildflowers that one need not go solely
to Yankee Boy or American basin.  The basins I visited on this
trip had 1 to 2 dozen people, mostly 4-wheelers and hikers,
and only a couple of photographers.  In general, it is my opinion
that they had little impact compared to what the snow pack did,
the drought, or the month of virtually no rain.

When I photograph wildflowers, I try and find local bare
spots to put my gear down, and to stand in bare spots
while photographing (my back usually hurts from contorted
positions in the usual 45-minute session for one 4x5 scene).
But no matter how hard I try, some vegetation gets smashed
to the ground.  When I leave, I try and ruffle (if that is
the right word) the vegetation so it does not remain smashed
to the ground.  It should recover in a day or so, given some
rain.  It is no different than when deer or elk bed down
for the night.  Some vegetation gets smashed, but will recover.

So, in summary, the change in wildflowers you've observed is
natural due to changing conditions.  High mountain basins
are just now emerging from heavy snow pack and the vegetation is
still smashed to the ground in many areas, especially near
or above treelike.

"Old Timers" who say Yankee Boy isn't worth visiting any more
don't understand the ecosystem, or are annoyed with the crowds.
I rarely go to Yankee Boy any more but mostly because I
want to explore new areas.  Areas like American Basin are so
large that I suspect if you paid 100 people to spend 10 hours
per day trying to trample it down for a week, they couldn't
do it.

Here is a good example of the compaction issue due to the heavy
snow, and change in flowers:

Wildflowers in a drought year, July 4, 2002:
http://clarkvision.com/galleries/gallery.wildflowers/web/indian_peaks_wilderness
c07.04.2002.L4.07c-600.html

Same spot this year, on July 2, 2005:
http://www.clarkvision.com/tmp/JZ3F1588-b-700.jpg

Notice only a few white flowers in 2005, but many varieties in
2002, including bluebells near the top of the stream.
This has NOTHING to do with people impact.

Roger

Jack, I understand your concern about trampling flowers down.
Sometimes it's impossible though to miss some of the flora when getting
from Point A to Point B in certain areas.

I tend to just stay on the trails through our nature areas and that
seems to work quite well but it's not Colorado!  ;)

Pat