In June, expect white iris, fuzzy cats ears, and starflower. This wilderness was once a favorite hunting ground for cougar bounty hunters. A few of the big cats remain, but they're nocturnal and so wary of humans that you'll be lucky even to see their tracks. Near the far end of Pine Bench, turn right at a T-shaped trail junction and continue 0.4 mile to an unsigned fork. Keep left for 100 yards and follow the sound of water to discover a delicious natural spring, pouring out of a cliff from four mossy spouts.
Several campsites are just beyond.
The vista atop this 200-foot cliff shows how Boulder Creek's valley is recovering from a 1996 fire that swept through nearly half of this Wilderness. The fire burnt underbrush but left a healthier patchwork of old-growth forest. Ponderosa pines are well adapted to such relatively dry spots for several reasons. First, they are among the few conifers with long taproots that enable them to extract water from deep ground layers. Second, they survive wildfire well because their needle clumps are located high in isolated clusters.