Paintbrush and clouds at Mt St Helens, WA

June 26, 2019 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

June 21, 2019

Clouds thwarted our plan to hike to the top of Coldwater Peak, about 13 miles round trip from Johnson Ridge Observatory, and more than 3000′ total elevation gain. Most of Mt St Helens and the Mt Margaret backcountry, where Coldwater Peak resides, were socked in for the day. We didn’t even go to the top of Harry’s Ridge, as the thick cloud layer that hovered when we arrived at the saddle seemed immovable. Instead, we added a side trip to Devil’s Point on our return hike. On the plus side, the wildflower extravaganza was superb, and the all day cloud cover kept the hiking temperatures kind. This trail can be brutal on a hot and cloudless day.

Indian paintbrush, penstemon and yarrow at the trailhead…preview for the day.

First view of Mt St Helens, with her head in a cloud, and our best view all day.

Flowers along the trail.

More flowers – dwarf lupine and pussypaws added to the mix.

Flowery foreground to Mt St Helens and the pumice plain.

Clouds on the trail

The landscape of today’s trail. We are hiking in the blast zone, and all this greenery has emerged since 1980.

Approaching the decommisioned western arm of the Devil’s Elbow trail.

Flowers and clouds

Up the new Devil’s Elbow bypass trail.

View of Spirit Lake from the top of the bypass.

Paintbrush and dwarf lupine as far as the eye can see….

Still hoping the clouds will lift…

Yellow arnica in this section

Tiny saxifrage flowers

The same tiny saxifrage covers the slope that leads to the saddle with the trail junction between between Harry’s Ridge and the Mt Margaret backcountry.

At this point, we gave up on the clouds lifting, and headed back, enjoying the flowers along the way.

We took the now dead end trail to Devil’s Point to our lunch stop.

Devil’s Point ahead.

Loowit Falls drains the Mt St Helens Crater Glacier.

Looking back, Harry’s Ridge is still in the cloud.

Lunch views from Devil’s Point:

East: Spirit Lake and the Pumice Plain.

South: Mt St Helens with cloud cap.

West: Johnson Ridge and trailhead.

As we continued after lunch, the clouds lifted very briefly:

Harry’s Ridge

The Dome in Mt Margaret backcountry partially unveiled.

Hike #29 for 2019, 7.5 miles, 1500 feet. I felt strong at the end of the hike, like I could have made it to the peak and crawled back up the hill to the trailhead at the end of the day. We will return to try another day!

Extra flower photos:

Indian paintbrush and pussytoes

Pussypaws

Bunchberry

Partridgefoot

Penstemon, dwarf lupine and paintbrush

Glacier lilies in a shaded ravine

Huckleberries

Crafting:

Knitting progress on Le Petit Sac by Pam Allen, using Sparrow linen by Quince and Co. I often have to knit the left twist rows twice 😉

I patched, mended, and reinforced worn seams on six pairs of hiking pants.

Summer sky with windows.

Lewisia and Clarkia on Hamilton Mountain, Washington

June 18, 2019June 19, 2019 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Hamilton Mountain trail, Beacon Rock State Park, Washington, June 14, 2019

We hiked to the top of the upper rocky switchbacks, looking for wildflowers. I have previously hiked here earlier in the wildflower season – being slightly later meant getting to see both Lewisia and Clarkia in bloom. We had cloud cover most of the day, then Mt Hood peeked out as we began our descent. Hike #28 for 2019, 6 miles, 1500 feet.

Our destination:

Hamilton Mountain from the power line trail cut.

The waterfall area:

Pool of the Winds

Rodney Falls

Below the bridge

More woods:

Up the lower cliffs and out onto Little Hamilton Mountain viewpoint:

Hamilton Mountain still ahead.

Wildflower meadows in this area:

Drying out, but full of the Clarkia called Farewell to spring, and blue-eyed Mary.

Farewell To Spring

Farther up the trail, on the rocky upper switchbacks, Columbian Lewisia clings to the cliff edges.

Upper meadows with both Lewisia and a few Clarkias up on the slope, as well as bluehead gilia, Oregon sunshine, death camas and blue-eyed Mary:

We stopped near here at the top of the switchbacks for lunch. On the way down, Mt Hood peaked out from under the clouds.

More flowers of the day:

phantom orchid

dogbane

honeysuckle

tiger lily

bluehead gilia

snowberry

stonecrop

buckwheat

death camas

taper tip onion

nodding onion and Oregon sunshine

farewell to spring clarkia

paintbrush and Oregon sunshine

taper tip onion and Oregon grapes

Columbian lewisia

campion

dog rose

Saddle Mountain, Oregon, June 10, 2019

June 15, 2019 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

We have been up this trail many times.The profusion of wildflowers this time of year is always a draw. A combination of shadowy forest and rocky open slopes over 1600 feet of elevation change creates a myriad of habitats and bloom times. We saw at least 66 different types of blooming flowers. I’ve detailed our 2017 hike here. Some standout views for today:

Shady forest

View to the top

The knob

First view of the ocean beyond the knob

Steep chicken wire lined rocky trail up the cliffs

The saddle

Bistort, Mt Rainier

Flowers all the way to the top

View to Mt Rainier, Mt St Helens and Mt Adams from the summit

View to Astoria from the summit

Looking back to the sea and the summit on the return hike

Notable flowers:

nodding onion, arnica

vanilla leaf

saxifrage

mallow

Hooker fairy bells

Olympic onions

ble eyed grass

anemone

tufted saxifrage on a cliff

tufted saxifrage

Columbian lewisia

prairie smoke

This was hike #27 for 2019, 6.8 miles, 1900 feet.

Wahkeena-Multnomah Loop After the Fire – A Glorious Wildflower Explosion Amidst the Blackened Trees…

June 13, 2019June 24, 2019 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

June 6, 2019 – Wahkeena-Multnomah Falls Loop

This area was burned by the Eagle Creek Fire of September 2017. The trails above the waterfalls were closed for over a year, then have been reopened and closed periodically since fall 2018. Instability along the trail, falling trees and sliding slopes have been valiantly repaired by our intrepid trail keepers. The trails were open today. We hiked up Wahkeena Creek and down Multnomah Creek. Much of the understory removed by fire has returned as lush greenery. It was a beautiful hike on a beautiful day, and there were sooo many flowers!!! Of course, by the time we circled back around to Multnomah Falls there were also sooo many people, but most don’t go above the Benson Bridge. I enjoyed my first foray back onto these trails. (Hike #26 for 2019, 5 miles, 1600 feet)

Wahkeena Trail

Approaching Multnomah Falls from the parking area.

Wahkeena Falls

We started by climbing past Wahkeena Falls, and up several hanging garden switchbacks to Lemmons Viewpoint:

Tiger lily blooming near the viewpoint.

View across the Columbia River

View upriver to Beacon Rock

The trail continues up Wahkeena Creek beyond Fairy Falls and onto the ridge between the drainages:

Fairy Falls

Millions of candy flowers line the burned forest floor.

The next section of trail, along the upper ridgecrest, has always felt very special to me – a quiet flat trail in the deep forest, high on a steep ridge above the river – immensely peaceful and idyllic. My first time through after the fire was trepidatious, but the trail retains it’s magical quality. Despite the scorched trees and more open view, the feeling of peace remains. These trees will all come down at someday. Today I marvel at the explosion of flowers the extra sunlight has nurtured.

A couple of comparisons from a June 2014 Hike:

2019

2014

2019

View downslope to the river.

From here, the trail crosses a couple of flowery drainages before heading down to Multnomah Creek:

Larkspur ahead!

Arnica and columbine

Arnica, bleeding heart

Columbine, iris, bleeding heart

Multnomah Creek

The trail passes several waterfalls along Multnomah Creek:

New sign, burned sign

Multnomah Creek

Flower lined trail

Monkey and candy flowers

Ecola Falls

Wiesendanger Falls

Dutchman Falls

A side spur leads out to the viewpoint at the top of Multnomah Falls (where the crowds of people begin):

The top of falls viewpoint

Looking straight down the falls

View of the parking area, river and beyond

A dozen or so paved switchbacks lead down to the trailhead. Lots of people and flowers along the way:

Rebuilt rock wall along the trail

Burned trail post

Approaching the Benson Bridge

Looking down to the view plaza from the bridge

Multnomah Falls from the view plaza

Looking back from the approach area

Burned trees along the ridgeline

Trailmap

More flowers:

corydalis

nine bark

paintbrush

vetch

littleleaf candy flower

fireweed

pea

geranium

yarrow

mock orange

Oregon sunshine

fringe cup

lupine

Back in Portland, June 5, 2019

June 5, 2019June 5, 2019 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We returned last weekend from two and a half weeks visiting in Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado. There were planes, trains, subways, busses, automobiles, a boat, and bicycles; a baby, dogs, cats and the Blue Angels; tornado damage, lakes, rivers, mountains, wildflowers, poison oak, and topiary; a birthday, a graduation, ice cream, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Appalachian Trail! I will report on all that later. Meanwhile, back in Oregon, the weeds have grown and new flowers are blooming.