Ken DeCamp

I was fortunate enough to be born to parents who spent every available minute in the back country and hauled me on my first backpack trip into Glacier National Park when I was but 4 months old. As I grew up they instilled in me an enduring passion for all things wild and, in particular, the fact that those grand landscapes we treasure would be nothing but piles of rock and dirt if it were not for the little things that make each scene unique… the critters big and small, the wildflowers, shrubs and trees, the lichens and fungi. For me, personally, it was the amazing diversity of plant life that really caught my imagination and led me to ultimately produce this wildflower guide. I am fascinated by wildflowers and have made it my work to capture as many of them as I can with my camera. To that end I have literally walked hundreds of miles and shot thousands of photographs of wildflowers, not only in Northern California but throughout the Pacific Northwest, the Blue Ridge Mountains and Switzerland. The obvious outcome for all of this was the desire to share with people everywhere, the beauty that unfolds with each flower. This guide is the end product of 7 years of intensive work not only by myself but by my professional co-authors Julie Knorr and Julie Kierstead Nelson who spent untold hours making sure each entry was scientifically correct. While this guide is designed mainly for amateurs like myself, we wanted it to be as accurate and up-to-date as botanically possible. My hope is that you find this guide beautiful and indispensable and a permanent fixture in your pack or on your bookshelf. I would like nothing more years down the road than to find people in possession of this guide wrinkled, torn, dirt encrusted and in serious need duct tape to keep it all together. Enjoy!