Paleo Mermaid: Hiking - Yuba River Wildflower Hike

Our first "Big" hike of the season. Karen and I went with an area Meet Up group on this one. We elected to joining the group for several reasons ... To meet other hikers, to learn the locations, and to just plain have fun while getting great exercise outdoors! The leader for this hike and several others, Linda, knows LOTS about wildflowers ... Super handy for us newcomers who are just now learning the local flora and fauna!
Here's the information we were given before the hike:

Description:

This is the ultimate place to go for wildflowers - they even put labels out on the flowers! We'll take two of the trails at South Yuba River State Park at Historic Bridgeport, west of Grass Valley. These are both beautiful trails, going along the river. We should get to see lots of wildflowers in bloom, so we'll go at an easy pace to enjoy them. The Buttermilk Bend trail is 2.4 miles RT, easy, elevations: 550’-800’, taking 1½ hr. The Point Defiance Loop trail is 3.1 miles, easy with some moderate uphills, elevations: 570-’540’--980’-570’, taking 1½ -2 hours.

Expectations:

We'll hike at a leisurely pace, but be prepared for a few uphills along the way. The Point Defiance trail has rocky footing on part of it, so hiking shoes/boots are recommended.