Western Anemone

These robust-stemmed white flowers were dotted all along the trail to Chester Lake and beyond. These particular pictures were shot between Chester Lake and the Elephant Rocks. I could not find a picture that matched it in "Plants of the Rocky Mountains", but the Sunshine Meadow's Blog identifies them as Western Anemone.

I was impressed at how they were designed to withstand cold (being very hairy) and how their flowers likely reflected the light onto the developing ovaries, allowing faster development of seeds. In spite of being thick stemmed, the petals are nearly translucent, sometimes a pale blue near the stem, and have an almost ethereal or ghostly feel to them.