We only went on two hikes in December, one in town, and one out in the eastern gorge.
12/1/2025 – Mt Tabor, Portland
On a sunny day, we drove to our nearest extinct volcano, and walked around its circumference and up to the top, taking in views, and getting a good leg stretch (2 miles, 200 feet). There are many trails that circle around and through the park, and many users, running, walking, and stair climbing. It is a great public space on the east side of Portland.
As we gained elevation, we got a western view toward downtown Portland across one of the reservoirs.We continued upward on one of the forested trail to the top.There is a view to Mt Hood through the trees near the summit.And another view toward downtown.We hiked down the northern slope, and got a peek at Mt St Helens.The amphitheater near the parking lot has an outcrop of the volcanic layers.We passed Joan of Arc, glittering defiantly in the sun, in her traffic circle, on the drive home.
12/23/2025 – Catherine Creek, WA
We went with our daughter to this favorite winter hiking spot. This is our second time here since the Burdoin Fire last July. This time, we walked the East Loop above the Arch, and also made a quick trip down to the waterfall viewpoint on the lower ADA trail. (3 miles, 450 feet).
At first we planned to walk the loop that returns by crossing the creek below the Arch, but we wanted to be sure the creek crossing was possible, so we went to look.
Catherine Creek crossing on the lower Arch trail. The waterfall-like step is actually the plank bridge, now broken and underwater. The road/trail was not accessible without serious wading. So we took the trail above the Arch, and then the eastern return loop.Walking across the burned slopes toward the lower bridge across Catherine Creek. This one survived the fire.Once we reached the slopes near the Arch, we could see across the Columbia River to the west,And to the east.Bitterroot foliage coming up through a rocky, mossy area that likely escaped burning. There were a few unburned areas within this mostly burned slope.View from the top of the Arch, new fence in place.We ate lunch on the rocky outcrop just north of the Arch, then continued our loop to the east, passing scorched pine trees.We returned back across the lower bridge.
Then we took a quick walk down the paved ADA trail south of the parking area, to see the waterfall.
Catherine Creek Waterfall. This side of the road has dead, dry grasses on the slopes because it didn’t burn along the paved trail. But it looks like it did burn across the river.
We enjoyed this hike on an overcast but not rainy day. It was nice to spend some outdoor time with our daughter. And it will be interesting to watch the land here as it recovers from the fire damage.
I managed to do many of the traditional December things this year, despite the lead up to the winter solstice being a little darker than usual, as I carried the grief of losing two family members in November, and the chaos of our national wrecking ball situation. In some ways, the traditions kept me going through the otherwise difficult days. The solstice arrived, bringing longer days and more light. And we thoroughly enjoyed a two week visit from our daughter.
Knitting:
I finished two pairs of gift socks, and then re-made a cowl into a felted bowl.
Gift socks – Malabrigo Sock, PocionGift socks, Patons Kroy scraps held double.Lancelot Cowl, as finished last year, in a bulky alpaca yarn called Hobbii Apricity.
When I tried the cowl on this winter, it was just a bit too itchy for me. Since I knew the yarn would shrink and felt, I decided to unravel the last six rows and reknit it with a closed bottom into a bowl shape. Then I machine washed and dried it, and the fiber shrank and felted into a small bowl, with the textured stitches still visible in the fabric. I count it as a success!
Remade into a felted bowl..
Books:
I finished 8 books in December. The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans was probably my favorite of the bunch. I enjoyed seasonal rereads of The Tailor of Gloucester and The Dark is Rising. I learned a lot about the Gilded Age lifestyle in Consuelo Vanderbilt’s autobiography – The Glitter and the Gold.
December books
Museum Day:
The Portland Art Museum has just opened their newly expanded and remodeled gallery space. We bought a membership, and I hope to go monthly to see all the new exhibits and spaces. Today, we focused on the Rothko exhibit, where we saw examples of this Portland grown artist, from early career to the abstract art he is famous for. There was an adjacent exhibit presenting Abstraction Since Rothko.
Part of the Rothko GalleryMark Rothko placardNo. 16 (?)No. 10Abstraction Since RothkoMurasaki by Arlene SlavinCheran by Valerie Jaudon
I am always attracted to bright colors and patterns. And I love to see the close up view of the texture of the paint layers and brush strokes on the canvas. I am looking forward to looking at a lot of art next year.
Neighborhood walks:
The flowers of December sparkled amidst the holiday and protest decorations.
ViburnumRhododendronRose
Holiday decorations somewhat overlapped with the ongoing protest signs. New this year were some birds, and some frogs.
FlamingosPelicanFrog added into to this traditionally elaborate displayAnother frogA mixture of holiday and protestStraight protest.
Celebrations:
The first December celebration was Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, on December 16th.
Long my favorite author! (Internet meme)I have her ornament, which I bought at her house in Chawton, UK, hanging on my tree.I slowly put all the decorations on the tree,And hung a wreath on the door.We lit Hanukkah candles.The shortest day went by.We baked a very few cookies,and had a lovely traditional Christmas dinner with long time friends.
We also went on a few outdoor walks and a hike, to be detailed in the next post.
On New Years Eve, we stopped on our way home from doing errands to look at our volcanoes from the top of Rocky Butte.
Clear and cold view to Mt Hood from Rocky Butte on New Year’s Eve.Mt St Helens and our long shadows.
We had a delightful Thai takeout dinner with our daughter and several of her childhood friends, who also happened to be in town for the holidays. Then they went out on the town for the night, and we were early to bed, ready to say goodbye to this difficult year, with hope for better things in 2026.
We hiked the upper loop from the ranch ( 4 miles, 450 feet). We began the day with fog and mist, which evaporated by lunch time, and we finished our hike under clear blue skies. We visited the ‘one tree’, and had a quiet day on the trail.
Looking up into the Columbia Hills at the start of the hike. Lots of dried balsam root foliage in the foreground.The hills were still misty when we sat down for our lunch break,right near my favorite oak tree.I watched a flock of towhees in the nearby bushes,By the time we finished our lunch, the mists had evaporated, and the oak tree was illuminated under a blue sky,its leaves glowing in the sun.After lunch, we continued our hiking loop, which circles down to a view of the Columbia River and The Dalles. The sun angle was wrong for photography, but we could see Mt Hood under its cloud cap on the far horizon.We hiked back up to the Ranch along Eight Mile Creek.A satisfying hike on an autumn day, with very few other trail users today.
11/25 Portland Arboretum
We hiked a short loop (2.5 miles, 200 feet), past the view of Mt St Helens and our favorite Japanese maple tree, through the Winter Garden, and then back up the Beech Trail.
The snowy top of Mt St Helens was floating like a cream puff on the horizon.The maple tree was past its prime, color faded, but not yet leafless.Red hawthorne berries were glowing, as were the camellias and some of the foliage in the Winter Garden.Beech leaves lined our trail back to the start.
11/28 Catherine Creek/Rowland Wall
This was our first return to this favorite hike since the Burdoin Fire in July (2.7 miles, 720 feet). The blackened slopes have become green with newly sprouting grass. We passed many charred trees, and many that survived the conflagration.
The area of Lower Trail, south of Old Highway 8, did not burn, so looks same as it ever does in winter, with dried grasses fringing the landscape.
Unburned landscape south of the highway.
North of the highway, where the fires swept through, most of the golden grasses and shrubs were completely removed, and the landscape is covered with blackened earth and newly sprouted grasses.
Looking north from the parking area across the burned slope.We began by walking up to the Fairy Ponds.Trees near the Fairy Ponds show fire damage.
We continued walking up the Bitterroot Trail, to the ridge just west of Catherine Creek.Looking upriver from the ridge, all the way to the town of Lyle, where the fire stopped at the Klickitat River.Blackened soil and trees.Juncos were pecking around in the dirt here.Looking across to the Arch, which already has new fencing in place.Wider view of the Arch, and the lower trail in front of the Arch.
We walked up slope, and past the power pylons to the edge of Rowland Wall.
Looking eastward across the landscape, up the Columbia River. Oddly, green areas are burned, golden areas are unburned. Orange pine trees are fire damaged.Continuing uphill toward the power pylons.Near our turning place – the golden, unburned area at the top was burned in last year’s controlled burn of the area, and I guess they held a fire line there in July.Eastward from our high point. It was a gorgeous day!
From the edge of Rowland Wall, we looked at our familiar landmarks to the west to see how they fared.
The tall tree here can be seen from many of the trails in the area – I think of it as the ‘guide’ tree.Zooming in – it is still standing, but appears to have some fire damage.Next, we hiked down the Rowland Wall cliffs…I found bitterroot foliage in the usual places – a good omen!Chartreuse lichen on the cliffs – not burned.Wider view: guide tree on the skyline. Lots of burned trees in the volcanic landscape below the wall.
Next, the trail takes us back east toward our parking area. Some of the lower tree stands in this area were very badly burned.
View back toward the parking area.Many burned pine trees.I hope the frogs will be back in this pond, where we often hear them.This is the first time I have seen the rock cliffs behind these trees – all the undergrowth is gone.The ponds are still reflective on this beautiful day.
The experience was a little heartbreaking, but also hopeful – there were still birds, and some of the wildflowers were beginning to sprout up in the blackened dirt. We will return in spring to monitor the changes. I’m glad we can continue to hike here on rainy days in Portland!
Margaret Quilts 