Starvation Creek again (18-22)

June 13, 2018 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Lower Starvation Loop Hike, June 10, 2018 (hike #36)

We did this hike in early May last year, in the rain, with rainbows, and with early spring flowers. This year it was still a bit rainy, but we managed to hike on a wet weekend when Mt Hood actually received more snow! We saw the late spring flowers – always interesting to see what blooms next. And our daughter, temporarily home from college before heading off for her summer adventures, joined us. I got to practice my uphill in a steep section, but the hike was much shorter than last week. And I don’t think my new treatment regimen gave me any setback at all, so Yay! (3.2 miles, 800 feet)

Views from the high point:

East – Columbia River and trailhead parking below

North to Dog Mtn

West, Wind Mtn, no rainbows this year

Cabin Creek crossing, a fairy glen:

Photo shoot with Dad:

Wildflower suite:

tritip onion

paintbrush

lupine

strawberry leaf

tiger lilies

dogbane

mock orange

ookow

tritely and clarkia

primrose

Wet foliage:

lupine

ferns

Waterfalls:

Lancaster Falls

Hole In The Wall Falls

Cabin Creek Falls

Wildflower Lookback:

May 2017 – monkey flower, rosy plectritis, blue eyed Mary and shooting stars in the meadow

June 2018 – dry meadow

CRAFTING

I finished cross stitching the Elgol scene, and removed the guidelines.

Next I will decide how to frame it. And get started on one of two new cross stitch projects waiting in the wings.

I find the focused attention of counted cross stitching soothing these days. I also ordered fabric to make a baby quilt for our niece.

Phlox Point in Bloom (18-20)

June 3, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Hardy Ridge/Phlox Point, WA June 1, 2018 (Hike#35)

This hike was my hardest yet, post surgery – 8.2 miles/2200 feet. The first part is a road walk through beautiful forest along equestrian trails in Beacon Rock State Park. Then steep switchbacks lead up to the saddle of Hardy Ridge where the ridge walk to Phlox Point is lined with flowers and views of the Columbia River, Mt Hood and Mt Adams. I thoroughly enjoyed the hike, but am still feeling the last 2 miles – it was just a bit long for my stamina. I am glad I did it, as my next stage of treatment begins next week, and I don’t know if I will have a physical setback. And I love hiking through lush blooming wildflower meadows!

Lower trail

Views from the top:

West, Columbia River

South, Mt Hood

Southeast, Hamilton Mountain

Southeast, Bonneville Dam

East, Mt Adams, Table Mountain

Phlox Point ahead –

North from Phlox Pt

Our first bear grass of the season:

So much Indian Paintbrush!

Orange and red

Paintbrush with blue eyed Mary

Paintbrush

Serviceberry

Phlox

Blue-Eyed Mary and biscuit root

I tallied at least 51 different flowers, not counting varieties of each.

choke cherry

Hooker’s fairy bells

penstemon

mariposa lily

yellow violet

Oregon sunshine

Columbia wind flower

rose

columbine

lupine

oxeye daisy

youth-on-age

bleeding heart, candy flower

inside out flower

clover

cow parsnip

penstemon

Of note, lupine, larkspur, mariposa and tiger lilies, and nodding onions were mostly in bud form, and should be blooming profusely soon.

CRAFTING:

Just a bit of knitting, and I am down to cream and white on the Elgol cross stitch – filling in the empty spaces seems to be the best soother of my current anxiety about upcoming treatment.

MEANWHILE: The garden is almost ready for planting. And I have decided to add the England trip reports in separate posts.

Re-entry/Tom McCall Point (18-17)

May 16, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

After two and a half weeks in London, Cornwall, Devon, and a visit to Jane Austen’s house and quilt in Chawton, we are back home in Portland, Oregon. I barely had time to jot notes of our adventures, let alone write blog posts. Historical sites, museums, hiking, and travel days; navigating narrow hedgerows via Lady Google. Wildflowers were in bloom, and the weather mostly cooperated when it really mattered. I am writing this at 4 am because I am still adjusting to the 8 hour time shift. I plan to add blog posts about our adventures as I go through my photos.

Tom McCall Point, OR 5/13/2018 Hike #30

Meanwhile, we took advantage of our jet lag by going on a hike at sunrise on our first day back. Tom McCall Point is a favorite seasonal wildflower hike in the eastern gorge (3.6 miles/1100 feet).

The early morning low light gave a luminous glow to the landscape.

Tom McCall Point – our goal

Looking back toward the Rowena Plateau trailhead and the Columbia River

Deer in the meadow below

The views opened up as we climbed higher.

Mt Hood

Early spring flowers were mostly past, but the balsam root at the top was splendid, along with lupine, penstemon, and bicolored cluster lilies.

BiColored Cluster Lily

Balsam Root

Balsamroot

flax

rose

lupine

penstemon

fiddle neck

pea

fringe pod

lupine

parsley

There were only a few other people hiking that early.

Dan approaching the summit, Mt Hood beyond

Mt Adams

We had the summit to ourselves for twenty minutes before heading down.

We also took a short hike at the nearby Memaloose Overlook – I had read that bitterroot (Lewisia) can sometimes be seen blooming on the rocky cliffs nearby. We didn’t find any, but did spot some pink Clarkia blooms for the first time this season, so it seemed a worthwhile side trip.

Clarkia near Memaloose Overlook

Knitting

I knit a couple of inches on my Cornwall socks while on the plane. It turns out I chose a color that reflects well the fields and seas of Cornwall.

Garden

And while we were gone, the spring turned to summer. The yard is a bit overgrown, and new flowers are blooming.

native iris

columbine

Chinese fringe flower

phlox

rhodies

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

Weldon Wagon Road (18-12)

March 27, 2018March 27, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Weldon Wagon Road trail 3-25-2018 (#12)

Early flowers were out along this trail through the oak woodlands and open slopes in southwest Washington above the White Salmon River near Husum. This was my most elevation gained so far as I recover (4.5 miles/1300 foot rise), and I felt good. Progress!

Lower trail through oak woodlands

Views to the open slopes ahead.

A seat with a view at the halfway point

Last spring, the exposed upper slopes were a bright green and yellow balsam root meadow. Today we saw just one plant blooming along the trail,

and otherwise, the meadows and woodlands were still waking up, sprinkled with grass widows, buttercups, a few prairie stars, toothwort, yellow bells, blue eyed Mary, and Columbia Desert Parsley.

hound’s tongue

lupine foliage

blue-eyed Mary

yellow bells

grass widows and buttercups

yellow parsley

Columbia Desert Parsley

buttercups

Heading down in the afternoon

LOOKBACK: to May 2017 when the balsam root was in bloom-

May 2017

Knitting

Another scrappy tortilla washcloth for the 2018 stack:

I reknit the toes of the socks I finished last week so that the stripes would match.

The reknit toes

Elgol Cross Stitch update

I have been filling in the foreground with shadows and light – mostly pinks:

Cross stitch depicting the view from Elgol on the Isle of Skye.

Blooming in the garden

Tulips opening

Euphorbia

Shadows on a neighborhood stair

Rooster Rock and Memaloose Hills (18-11)

March 20, 2018April 9, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Rooster Rock 3/15/2018 (#10)

We took a short afternoon to explore the trails at Rooster Rock State Park. To the east, the beach trail gives views of Sand Island and the burned skylines in the gorge.

Looking east toward Sand Island and the beach trail

Sand Island

Burned Angel’s Rest and trees along the skyline

To the west we hiked to a close view of Rooster Rock. This park is very popular in the summer, but quiet today in the off season. (3 miles).

To the west

To the east

The waterfall above Hidden Lake

A robin

Looking east, Rooster Rock

Reflections

Rooster rock

Memaloose Hills 3/18/2017 (#11)

This is the earliest we have hiked this April-May wildflower eden between Mosier and Rowena in the eastern gorge.

Pinnacles along the lower trail between I-84 and Rt 30

Grass widows, gold stars, and a view across the Columbia River toward the labyrinth.

From the ledge above the lower trail one can look over to a cliff that hosts a great blue heron rookery. We only saw a few birds here today (grey spots), but in a previous year there were countless herons on this cliff.

Look for the grey blobs on the green slope near the top of the cliff

From the Hwy 30 Memaloose viewpoint one can look directly across the river at Catherine Creek in Washington.

It was interesting to see the early season flowers – gold stars, yellow bells, glacier lilies, early buttercups, Columbia desert parsley, and a few others.

Columbia Desert Parsley

Grass widows

Yellow bells and blue eyed Mary

Buttercup

Oaks toothwort

Yellow parsley

Glacier lilies

Fern

We hiked up a nearly barren Chatfield Hill, with extensive views at the top.

Hiking up

View to the west from the top

To the north and east

To the east, Tom McCall Point and Columbia desert parsley

Since the full flower bloom was not out, we returned by the loop through the oak woodlands on the north side of Chatfield Hill.

I hope the next time we take this hike it will be in full wildflower glory: a view from today compared with April 2015.

March 2018

April 2015

4 miles/800 feet.

Quilting

I spent a day photographing 13 of my quilts, and adding labels where omitted. I am getting closer to writing the stories of these quilts, which is why I actually started this blog!

Knitting

I finished the Strong Heel Socks, though I plan to reknit the toe where the knot in the yarn interupted the stripe sequence.

And in the garden:

Star magnolia

Crawford Oaks Trail (18-9)

March 5, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Columbia Hills State Park, WA, Vista Loop 3/3/2018 (#9)

We walked the lower loop from the Crawford Oaks trailhead, passing Eight Mile Falls.

Eight Mile Falls from the trailhead

Signs along the way document the depth of the Missoula floodwaters – always an exercise for the imagination that this landscape was scoured many times!

Eight Mile Falls from the trail

Back toward the river and Horse Thief Butte

Eight Mile Falls from the trail

The trail continues on a oak lined road along the creek, then crosses the creek.

Gold Stars and oak trees

We then headed south toward the river on the Vista Loop, along along the Missoula Flood scoured benches of volcanic rock, with views east and west in wide angle view.

View east along the Columbia River

West view back toward The Dalles; shoulders of Mt Hood behind the clouds on the right.

The trail crosses the power line corridor a couple of times.

Mt Hood is behind those clouds.

The crest of the Columbia Hills was draped with snow.

Dalles Mountain Ranch and Columbia Hills

Early spring blooms were sprinkled throughout the dried grasslands.

Gold Stars

gold stars

grass widows

parsley

fillaree, salt and pepper

yellow bells

A lovely 5 mile/1000foot hike – I had no problems, but I could feel my quads and triceps were a bit out of shape.

Quilting

I finished the crosshatch quilting in the center of the Jane Austen quilt, and made the binding. Still pondering center motifs.

Knitting

One sock done, another started. The strong heel fits fine – not sure why it isn’t more widely known, especially for people who don’t like to pick up stitches, and don’t like the wrap and turn short row heel.

Also, another scrappy tortilla is in the pile.

In my garden:

The first wind flower

In the meantime:

It has been almost two months since my surgery. I feel almost normal, but unfortunately, the growth hormone levels have not actually decreased as low as expected. It could still happen, but if not, then there will be trials of medication in store for me. I am visualizing a completely healthy and functional pituitary.