Catherine Creek, WA and Blogiversary! (18-16)

April 24, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Bitterroot Trail- Rowland Wall Loop 4/20/18 (hike#16)

The Bitterroot Trail branches off north of the vernal pools/fairyland swales that are just above the main parking area.

View up Sunflower Hill, where we are going.

Fairy ponds with camus

The trail follows the steep western edge of Catherine Creek, and we get great views of the arch as we continue north.

Bitterroot Trail

Catherine Creek Arch

Long distance views appear as we gain elevation.

Mt Hood to the west

View to the east of the Columbia River

A variety of spring flowers line the trail all the way up to our destination above the power line corridor on Sunflower Hill (named before cattle grazed away all the balsamroot).

Filaree and tomcat clover

Slender phlox

Tritelia

Shooting stars, camus

Manroot

The first clump of balsamroot we see marks a trail junction.

We have gone up to the top of the hill from here in the past. Today we decide to head downhill on the Rowland Wall trail.

We find a rocky promontory for a lunch perch. On this beautiful blue sky day we have a clear view of Mt Hood.

View to the west – the Labyrinth area and Mt Hood

As we continue down the rocky cliffs atop the wall east of Rowland Creek

we see our first blooming paintbrush of the season, and bitteroot foliage whorls, one of which is massive!

paintbrush

bitterroot foliage

buckwheat

I note the trails that criss cross Rowland basin below us, spying out options for future hikes.

Camus swale

Vernal pool

3.5 miles, 1000 feet.

Bitterroot-Rowland Wall Loop

Some of the other trails we have hiked at Catherine Creek

CRAFTING

The Elgol Cross Stitch is getting closer to completion; just the sky colors of pale pink, cream and white remain to be filled in.

I cast on the Cornwall socks for travel knitting; k2p2 ribbing, top down vanilla sock.

Blogiversary!

My first post, April 22nd, 2017, documented a hike up Coyote Wall. I have posted just about every week since then. I will be traveling for the next three weeks, so there will most likely be a delay in posting about our upcoming adventures.

The Labyrinth in bloom with a side of Poison Oak (18-15)

April 17, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Labyrinth Trail, WA 4/15/2018 (#15)

So many hikers in the eastern gorge today – predicted to be the best weather day of the weekend. We opted for the Labyrinth trail, teased by the blooming balsamroot near the waterfall off Hwy 14. We were not disappointed.

From the trailhead, we could see our destination – a tall fir tree on the cliff above.

We began by hiking along the old highway, then up the trail through the basalt labyrinth:

Waterfall on the old highway

Balsamroot near the trailhead

We hiked up past the upper waterfall,

Through the oak woodlands,

Over the desert parsley rocky balds,

Desert parsley cliffs

Bitter root foliage – to bloom next month

From here we could see west to the Coyote Wall meadows:

Our trail continued east, toward the prominent oak tree on the cliff edge:

Above here the views to the east,

and toward our destination (that tall fir tree) opened up:

When we reached the viewpoint near the fir tree, we could see our car parked below, near Rowland Lake:

Swaths of small flowers tinted many of the grassy areas:

Popcorn flower and filaree

Two-colored lupine

Miner’s lettuce and buttercups

Tomcat clover

Many other spring flowers were blooming along the trail:

Waterleaf

Lupine

Columbia desert parsley

Prairie stars, gold stars, broomrape

Shooting stars

Balsamroot

Blicolored cluster lilies

Fiddleneck

Serviceberry

Big leaf maple

On the way down, we looked back in the lovely afternoon light at the glowing landscape.

And just to add an element of risk to the venture, in addition to the (mostly polite) mountain bikers bombing down the trail, every nearly bare stick and twig, from the vines on the rock walls,

climbing poison oak

to the trail side shrubs,

glowing red poison oak leaf buds

to the grassy swathes,

chocolate lilies, buttercups, larkspur and poison oak

even the bare rocky talus piles,

poison oak shoots

were sporting the shiny deep red oily gloss of newly budding poison oak leaves. We tiptoed around them, knowing this place is my nemesis for the rash. Despite a lifetime of hiking and many years of of bushwhacking with geologists through the scrublands of the western US, and being exposed but never reacting, I finally got the rash after a hike here a few years ago, and have gotten it twice since, each time a little worse. This is my favorite trail in the eastern gorge, so I proceed with caution! Hopefully no rash this week.

One-eyed ghost tree along the trail – ogling the waterfall, or fleeing the poison oak?

New sock yarn for travel knitting –

Klickitat Trail; Poetry to the Rescue (18-14)

April 10, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Swale Canyon, Klickitat Trail, WA 4/8/2018 (Hike #14)

Chasing east out of the rain, we started from the Harms Road trailhead north of Lyle, WA, and walked 8 miles round trip on this nearly flat former rail bed. We began on a high grassy plateau, then slowly dropped between rim rock cliffs.

Bright yellow parsley lined the trail and slopes, and other spring flowers were blooming locally.

yellow parsley with gold stars

grass widows

a duck

Oregon grape

Columbia desert parsley

shooting stars and saxifrage

message written with old nails

Dutchman breeches

yellow parsley, red shrub

golden currant

We saw large marmots on the cliffs across the river

marmot in the center

the marmot across the river

and a couple of smaller ones near the trail.

A waterfall and some rocky pools marked our turnaround point, about 4 miles in.

waterfall

rock pools

The trail continues, but we turned around here.

This was a great trail for a long walk with friends on an overcast windy day.

My first post-surgery 8 mile day, a good omen for the upcoming trip to Cornwall.

GPS track – Swale Canyon trail

Crafting:

I have been playing with leftover Smithsonian reproduction fabrics, including a feathered star and a lot of four patches that I pieced before I was inspired to use the collection for the Jane Austen quilt.

I have been filling in cross stitches on Elgol.

I need to choose a knitting project for upcoming travel – probably socks.

Garden:

Crabapple blooming

Other Adventures:

Another trip through the MRI this week – the neurosurgeon was able to show me the small void in my brain where the tumor had been. I am grateful for a good outcome and still contemplating additional medication going forward.

Poetry to the rescue!

I silently recite verses memorized long ago to take my mind off of the enclosed space and noise inside the MRI.

Lochinvar rides by my side, then I walk along the beach with the Walrus and the Carpenter as the clanging alternates between jack hammer and diesel engine.

I compose bad haiku to describe the experience-

dissociation/I pretend all is normal/while the machine clangs

poetry verses/distract from the jack hammers/of the MRI

Time passes. I wonder how Emily completed mental tasks while inside an MRI machine and participating in a scientific study.

Then Alexander Hamilton drops in from a forgotten spot in the middle of the Caribbean to keep me company.

I don’t mind the journey so much with my poetry companions, but I also think I need to learn some new verses before the next trip in six months.

Spring Flowers, Mitchell Point, Oregon (18-13)

April 3, 2018April 3, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Mitchell Point trail 3/31/2018 (#13)

Mitchell Point is a steep promontory east of the burn area and west of Hood River on the Oregon side of the Columbia RIver Gorge. It has been closed since the fire last fall, but has recently reopened. We took this short, steep hike (3 miles/1300 feet) to both upper and lower points. Oaks toothwort, Oregon grape and red currant were blooming along the lower trail.

View of Mitchell Point from the trailhead

red currant

Oregon grape

After crossing the rocky scree slope I found one trillium, my first of the season, in the upper wooded trail on the way up.

Hounds tongue and glacier lilies were blooming in the upper saddle and power line corridor.

hounds tongue

glacier lilies

At the top we enjoyed the steep hillside meadows full of gold stars, grass widows, prairie stars, yellow and white parsleys, slender phlox, blue eyed Mary, popcorn flower, filaree, and saxifrages.

yellow parsley, prairie stars,

grass widows, yellow bells, salt and pepper

lots of gold stars

phlox, blue eyed Mary, grass widows

The upper trail traverses the spine of the ridge, with great views in every direction along the Columbia River. We stopped for lunch on the rocky crest.

Yellow meadows near the top

West view from the top

North view

East view, with saxifrage

On the way down, I found two fairy slipper orchids in the upper wooded trail area where I remembered them being abundant the last time we were here in April of 2015.

fairy slipper

douglas fir

saxifrages

We crossed the rocky scree field again.

Trail across the scree slope

Looking directly up at Mitchell Point, where we ate lunch

NW view

We then took the spur trail to the lower point, and found another grassy and flowered meadow, and also some blooming larkspur and a good view of where we had been. We missed this trail the last time we were here.

Mitchell Point from the Spur Trail

The grassy slope of lower Mitchell Point

View across the river and meadow flowers

Looking east

Looking back up at Mitchell Point

Closer view of the top

Balsamroot

Tomcat clover

Larkspur, gold stars

Lookback:

In midApril of 2015, the tiny meadow flowers were past bloom, but the balsam root was in full flower. Since one can’t be everywhere at once, it is a joy to see each location in a different season of bloom.

March 2018

April 2015

Easter eggs

Garden

Tulips

Margaret Quilts

Quilting, Knitting, Hiking

Month: April 2018