Steigerwald Lake, WA (18-44)

October 10, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge 10-7-2018

Rainy weekend. We were too early for the migrating birds, but saw foggy cliffs across the Columbia River, a few waterbirds and reflections in Gibbons Creek and Redtail Lake, late season flowers, berries and a few fall colors. (hike#55) 4.4 miles

Late lupine, berries, fog on the cliffs across the river.

I always appreciate the welcoming path entrance.

Teasel, blackberry

Water birds on Gibbons Creek

Evening Primrose

Chicory

Fuzzy lettuce lines the path

Views of Vancouver Point and Reed Island from the dike path.

The door to the art trail is closed for winter nesting season. Time for the birds to come home.

Fish ladder

We walked to the end of the refuge.

Sand bars between Reed Island and the Washington shore.

Vista House under the fog on the Oregon cliffs.

On our return walk we saw a few more birds.

Snowy egret across the channel

We learned from a trail steward that the refuge is planning to breach the dikes to the Columbia River to reestablish the natural flood plains and wildlife habitat, beginning sometime next year.

Knitting

I finished another round dish cloth.

I started knitting a Fiore washcloth. I learned the picot cast on, and I am relearning stranded knitting and catching floats for this project.

Garden

Zinnias and peppers

Sumac

NE Portland changing colors. View from a walk up Alameda Ridge.

Red, White and Purple at Three Corner Rock, WA (18-28)

July 8, 2018 / margaretquilts / 2 Comments

Three Corner Rock 4th of July, 2018 (Hike#40)

This easy hike follows the Pacific Crest Trail south from the 2090 road in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The beautifully maintained and graded trail switchbacks up a ridge lined with a variety of summer wildflowers. The last 3/4 mile is on a rutted red access road which goes to the saddle – and to the volcanic pile of Three Corner Rock that is holding down the ridge from blowing away on this windy July 4th.

We scramble part way up the rock to a windbreak and have lunch – only one of our hiking party braves the blast to scramble all the way to the top.

Meanwhile, we admire our five volcano view: Jefferson, Hood, Adams, St Helens, Rainier, along with views of the Columbia River all the way to Portland to the west. This was a good place for a lookout back in the day!

Mts Hood and Jefferson beyond the cell tower.

Mts St Helens, Rainier and Adams.

Silver Star Mountain

Among the flower palette are tons of red paintbrush, white bunch berry, and purple penstemon – nothing blue blooming up here today.

paintbrush

bunchberry

penstemon

Other wildflowers – some are first sightings this year:

columbine sparkler

twin flower

Prince’s pine

lousewort

Oregon grapes and foam flower

tiger lily opening

anemone? seedpods

The map and June flower comparison is on my blog post from last year. 4.4 miles/1200 feet.

We stopped in Cascade Locks on the way home to buy fresh salmon for our 4th of July barbecue dinner.

Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River.

Native fish market at Bridge of the Gods. The burned skyline shows how close the Eagle Creek fire was to Cascade Locks.

CRAFTING

Pinwheel Quilt completed and just waiting for baby:

Fabric baskets for a sister’s birthday:

I started a quilt for the Welcome Blanket project:

Some quilting! and Chinidere Mtn hike (18-26)

June 28, 2018 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Quilting!

I started the Pinwheel Baby Quilt I am making for an expected family member.

Chinidere Mountain 6/22/2018 (Hike#38)

This trail starts at Wahtum Lake, on the upper end of the Eagle Creek fire zone. The area has been off limits since last September, but this particular trail recently reopened to public use. Connecting trails down Eagle Creek are still closed.

6 miles/1200 feet

The trail immediately descends down 250 steps to Wahtum Lake.

From the shore we can just see the rocky promontory that we are hiking to – Chinidere Mountain.

(Photo taken on the return trip after the fog had lifted)

We continued on the Pacific Crest Trail around the east side of the lake, through an area with several hanging gardens and lots of flowers. The Chinidere cutoff at about 2.5 miles switchbacks up the side of this rocky promontory that stands above the forest. When we arrived, the top was still covered in fog and a cold wind swept the spine of the mountain.

Approaching the top

Cliff penstemon

Summit

Flowers, fog, wind

Mt Hood beyond the clouds

Just 10 feet away we could sit comfortably in the windless sunshine and enjoy our lunch, hoping for the clouds on Mt Hood to lift.

Wahtum Lake from the summit

Wahtum Lake after the clouds lifted

Below us to the north, we could see the mosaic burn of the upper part of the Eagle Creek fire.

Brown areas burned by the Eagle Creek Fire

As we headed down the trail we walked out onto the ridge viewpoints to admire the wildflowers growing in the sunny rocky meadows and watched the clouds blow across Mt Hood.

Lots of wildflowers today – lovely.

rosy twisted stalk

salmonberry flowers and berries

bunchberry

fairy bells

avalanche lilies

bead lilies

starry Solomon Seal

windflowers

arnica and columbine

coral root

penstemon and buckwheat

bear grass

wallflower

beargrass

paintbrush

spring beauty

By the time we drove down the road the mountain was free and clear!

Lookback:

On a clear day we could see all the volcanoes, north and south, from the top of Chinidere Mt.

June 2016 – Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson

June 2015 – Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier and Mt Adams

Cape Horn again, June 16th, 2018 (18-23)

June 19, 2018 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Cape Horn Trail, Washington, June 16, 2018, (Hike # 37)

We hiked the upper section of the Cape Horn trail, from Strunk Road to the Waterfall Overlook, with stops at the Nancy Russell Overlook. The last of the larkspur and lupine were hanging on. Prolific flowers were cow parsnip, tiger lily, candy flower, columbine and penstemon. 3.5 miles, 600 feet. Previous hikes: May and November, 2107.

Upper trail

Into the woods

Tiger lilies and cow parsnip

Waterfall

The views:

East along the Columbia River toward Beacon Rock

West toward Sand Island

The flowers:

Tiger lilies

blackberry

lupine seed pods

snow berry and wall flower

salmon berries

speedwell veronica

penstemon

columbine

candy flower

cow parsnip

checker mallow

tall bugbane

Oregon sunshine

larkspur

cow parsnip

lupine and oxford daisy

CRAFTING

I’ve turned the heel on the first of the Cornwall socks:

I began the Jane Austen House cross stitch kit, a souvenir from my visit there in April.

GARDEN

We have planted tomatoes, basil, jalapeño, cucumber and parsley – time tested and always consumed in our household.

Garden flowers in bloom:

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.