When I was in elementary school one of my teachers used the saying “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” to teach the seasons.    On a cool, windy early March day I hiked on the sidehill benchlands, keeping a brisk pace because of the conditions.    I did spot some early wildflowers like this Sagebrush buttercup (Ranunculus glabberimus) on the sagebrush grassland slope.   And,  some twisted sagewood…

Gnarled sagebrush before it leafs out has an otherworldy look. 

The hike was about an hour and a half and snow blew across the trails for the way back. 

This lichen-covered rock is probably an erratic, left behind retreating glaciers in the last Ice Age. 

The lower open slopes are the first to clear of snow, ice, and mud, and these areas make good early March hiking.