The trailhead for this hike was the parking area north of SR-38 where it crosses the Santa Ana River. I had originally planned to hike up the Lost Creek Trail to South Fork, but found myself instead on a trail heading toward Heart Bar campground. I thought I would pass by Big Meadows but apparently missed a trail junction and ended up at Aspen Grove on Fish Creek. Then I hiked down the road to Heart Bar and found Big Meadows, and returned to my starting point via the Santa Ana River Trail. Even at this point in late September, there were over 35 species in bloom along the way. An asterisk next to the common name indicates a non-native species.

Southern goldenrod
Solidago confinis
Asteraceae

Western mountain aster
Aster occidentalis var. occidentalis
Asteraceae

Woolly mullein *
Verbascum thapsus
Scrophulariaceae

Great red paintbrush
Castilleja miniata ssp. miniata
Scrophulariaceae
[Named for Domingo Castillejo Muñoz, 1744?-1793]

Nevin's bird's beak
Cordylanthus nevinii
Scrophulariaceae
]Named for Joseph Cook Nevin, 1835-1913]

Ragged-leaf bahia
Bahia dissecta
Asteraceae

Wright's buckwheat
Eriogonum wrightii var. subscaposum
Polygonaceae
[Named for Charles Wright, 1811-1885]

Hoary-aster
Machaeranthera canescens var. canescens
Asteraceae

Parish's buckwheat
Eriogonum parishii
Polygonaceae
[Named for the Parish brothers]

Grant's woodland-gilia
Gilia splendens ssp. grantii
Polemoniaceae
[Named for George Barnard Grant, 1849-1917]

Shaggy hawkweed
Hieracium horridum
Asteraceae

Wheeler's common madia Madia elegans ssp. wheeleri Asteraceae [Named for George Montague Wheeler, 1842-1905]

Common scouring rush
Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine
Equisetaceae

Broom snakeweed
Gutierrezia sarothrae
Asteraceae
[Named for Pedro Gutierrez de Salceda, ?-?]

Southern monardella
Monardella australis
Lamiaceae

Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Asteraceae