Columbia River Gorge

13. Latourell Falls and Sherrard Point, 7/14/2017

/ margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Latourell Falls and Sherrard Point  7/14/2017  (#37)

Health issues and visitors slowed down my hiking this past couple of weeks, but we ventured out again to the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge, with our visiting son, to an easy waterfall hike and an iconic viewpoint.

 Latourell Falls

Latourell Falls is one of the westernmost waterfalls in waterfall alley of the Columbia River Gorge.  The lower falls is easily seen from the old highway; the short trail down to its base was crowded on this beautiful Friday afternoon in July.  We chose to hike the easy 2.4 mile loop (500′) which took us to views of both upper and lower falls, and an overlook of the Washington side of the gorge.  Most of the usual forest flowers were past, or dusty remnants, with the exception of hedge nettle along the lower part of the trail in pleasing tall swaths, and  bright yellow arnica at the upper falls.

Lower falls
Cedar shadows
Hedge nettle
Both tiers of Upper Falls
Upper falls
Upper Falls
arnica
View across to Cape Horn, WA
Friends of the Gorge trail map

Sherrard Point

We then backtracked along the old highway to Larch Mountain Road, and drove the 13 winding miles through forest lined intermittently with orange tiger lilies, purple foxglove, white cow parsnip and yellow wooly weed. Sherrard Point, the view point at the top of Larch Mountain is a short (0.3 miles) walk up a wooded path that was  lined with many forest flowers.  At the top, the cream puff cascade peaks were all floating in the distance, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Adams to the North, Mt. Hood directly to the south, and Mt. Jefferson a bit farther south in the haze.

St. Helens, Rainier, Adams
Mt Hood
Mt Adams
Mt Rainier
Mt St Helens
lupine
greenery
windflower
bead lily and bunchberry
bead lilies
penstemon
yarow
flower list

 

 

9. Grassy Knoll and #Hearts4PDX

/ margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Grassy Knoll   6/17/2017   (#33)

Bear siting on the approach road

This lovely trail is not heavily used, possibly because the trailhead is a very slow 10 miles on a potholed road (6808) that is on a ledge above a steep drop down to Bear Creek.   We saw a bear on the road within the first mile after the end of pavement.  We drove around a bend, and there ahead was a large shaggy deep brown bear who looked back at us then hustled down the road around the next bend, away from us.  By the time we made our way to that spot in the road we could not see any sign of the bear.  There were steep, heavily forested cliffs above and below the road, but I have seen a bear run up a similarly steep mountainside in Yellowstone, so I have no doubt the bear could have gone either way.  This was the first time I have seen a bear in the Pacific Northwest.  I have seen them previously in Yosemite and Yellowstone.

Wildflower Hike

The trail begins by traversing a grassy slope that is full of wildflowers – buckwheat, lupine, paintbrush, penstemon, groundsel, bluehead gillia, and lots of mariposa lilies.

Trailhead meadow
Penstemon and lupine
Drymocallis
Groundsel
Buckwheat
Stonecrop
Paintbrush and lupine
Blue head gillia and Mariposa lily
Balsamroot

The next mile or so is very steep uphill through the shady woods. Dan compared the trail to the steep part of Dog Mountain. Forest flowers abound, especially windflower and Solomon seals.

Starry Solomon seal
Bead lily
Devil’s club
Coral root

The trail breaks out onto an east facing rocky view point with abundant bright pink cliff penstemon and views across Big Lava Flow to Mt. Adams and Little Huckleberry Mountain.

DSC05703DSC05709

Back into the forest and along the ridge top, there are views to Mt. Hood to the south, and more varied wildflowers in the dappled light.

Mt. HoodBeargrass
Fringe cup
Vine maple

The trail passes a mossy outcrop with lots of white onion flower, penstemon and phlox.  Last year this area was covered with Mariposa lilies and other kinds of onions.

Eventually, there is a view ahead to Grassy Knoll.

The trail switchbacks through a glorious meadow with abundant flowers, and increasing views of Mt. Hood to the south, and Mt. Adams to the east. At the top are the remains of a fire lookout.

DSC05759

Mt. Hood, Dog and Wind Mts. in the foreground

DSC05778

Mt. Hood and the lookout footings

DSC05767

Mt. Hood behind Mt. Defiance

DSC05796

To the west – Three Corner Rock is the point on the left, and Silverstar Mountain the double peak on the right of the skyline

DSC05782

Mt. Adams and Little Huckleberry Mountain

We continued up the trail for about a mile, through more forest and two more wildflower meadows.  We saw more flowers we hadn’t seen yet.

Meadow rue
Paintbrush
Buckwheat and chickweed
Trillium
Kittentails

The uppermost meadow was covered in yellow glacier lilies and small pink western spring beauty.  Looking back from the high meadow we had another view of Mt. Hood before heading down the trail for the day.

Glacier lily and western spring beauty

We first hiked this trail last year about the same time in June, but on a rainy and overcast day, so we were glad to see the views this time.  Another difference is that last year was a low snow year so wildflowers were all much earlier, and the suite that we saw included later season bloomers, such as Clarkia and a lot more blooms from the onion family. Other than the Clarkia, we saw almost all the same flowers, plus a few early season extras in the upper meadows above Grassy Knoll, which we did not hike to last year.  Our total for this hike was 63 different wildflowers that I could identify, the highest total for this year.  We hope to go to both Saddle and Silverstar Mountains next week, where we may see even more different flowers.  This hike was about 6 miles and  1500 feet elevation.

DSC05837

Mt Hood from Grassy Knoll

IMG_1191

Flower list

Screen Shot 2017-06-17 at 8.42.50 PM

GPS track

Yarn Projects Finished

I retaught myself how to crochet, and made 6 #Hearts4PDX for the yarnbombing event planned for June 26th, in honor of the Hollywood Transit Center attack victims. I appreciated the opportunity to do something positive in response to this event.

DSC05653

#Hearts4PDX

I finished knitting a pair of socks from the pattern Ludwig by Stephanie van der Linden.  These have been my “on the go” knitting for a few months.

8. Three Corner Rock and Elgol Update

/ margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Three Corner Rock   6/11/2017   (#32)

 

DSC05591

Three Corner Rock is one of the high points and former fire lookout locations in southern Washington along the Columbia River corridor.  It is a relatively easy and well graded hike of about 4.5 miles round trip and 800 feet elevation to a high point of 3550 feet.  We started from the intersection of the Pacific Crest Trail and GG 2090 road, which is about a 10 mile drive along a well graded gravel road north from Skamania, Washington.

The trail leads through shady forest and early season flowers – Alaskan Bunchberry, the distinctive four-petaled white flowers of the Dogwood family, were especially abundant along the entire trail.  Also common were vanilla leaf, anemones, and fading trilliums.

Alaskan bunchberry
Alaskan bunchberry
vanilla leaf and trillium
trillium

After a few switchbacks we entered into avalanche lily territory, many dripping with water that made them looked like they were melting.

DSC05624DSC05560DSC05563DSC05566

There is one rocky lookout to the east along the trail. Full landscape views don’t really appear until saddle/summit meadow.  Three Corner Rock is to the north of the saddle, and a cell tower is to the south.  We were pleased to see our first blooming bear grass of the year in the summit meadow, as well as plenty of the dogwood, paintbrush, lupine and a few Queen’s Cup lilies.

DSC05605

View to west – Silverstar Mountain is the double peak on the skyline.

DSC05613

Dan, Three Corner Rock, blooming meadows

DSC05602

View to the east – Mt. Adams shoulders

DSC05598

Lupine, paintbrush and dogwood

We ate lunch near the top of Three Corner Rock – the path to the old lookout platform on the very top is a rock scramble that we did not feel the need to make.  To the east we could see the base of Mt Adams and part of the ridge line of the Goat Rocks/Dark Divide area.  We could see a bit of the Columbia River to the southeast, and SilverStar Mountain and the logged patchwork of the southern Gifford Pinchot National Forest to the west.  We will have to return on a cloudless day day to see the full cascade views.

Oregon anemone
Penstemon
Huckleberry
Western teaberry
trillium
Flower list
GPS track

On our drive back we stopped to see Steep Creek Falls.

DSC05638

Steep Creek Falls

Elgol Cross Stitch Update

In September of 2016 we spent 5 days on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Dan had a photo workshop one day which included spending the evening on the beach at Elgol, looking across the sea to the Black Cuillin Mountains.  This was a remarkably beautiful location, with interesting rock formations and amazing light as the sun set behind the mountains.

I purchased an Elgol cross stitch kit designed by Isle of Skye Crafts from the shop in Portree.  It is a bit daunting in size and pattern – I think there are more than 20 different pink/purple thread colors.  I leave it out on a table where I can add a few stitches whenever I have a few minutes.  I have enjoyed watching the landscape appear from the cloth. I have been taking a picture about once a month.

DSC07923

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

7. Hamilton Mountain and Hollywood Transit Center Memorial

/ margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Annual Wildflower hike up Hamilton Mountain   June 2, 2017   (#31)

We started our annual hike up Hamilton Mountain, looking forward to the wildflowers,  waterfalls and views.  There were clouds in the gorge, but the weather report predicted a sunny afternoon.

DSC05366

Hamilton Mountain from the power line cut on the lower trail. The lower cliff lookout is on the far left cliff.

After about a mile, Pool of the Winds and Rodney Falls are near the bridge that crosses Hardy Creek.

DSC05377

Pool of the Winds

DSC05382

Rodney Falls

This was our first time trying the side trail to what surely must be called Little Hamilton Mountain – a grassy open summit above the lower cliffs.  This lower summit has better views of the Columbia River than the actual top, which is covered by trees and bushes.  Also, it is a lovely meadow full of phlox, death camas, paintbrush and other flowers, and would by itself be a perfectly satisfactory destination if you didn’t mind the upper cliffs of the mountain looming over you, calling you up.

DSC05438

Dan in the cliff top meadow

DSC05440

View east to Bonneville Dam

DSC05473

View west to Beacon Rock and Larch Mountain

DSC05441

Upper cliffs looming

The upper cliff switchbacks once again had plenty of Columbia lewisia, one of my favorite flowers, and cousin to the bitterroot.

DSC05456

Columbia lewisia (pink) and Oregon sunshine (yellow) on the upper cliffs

We stopped briefly on the summit to see Table Mountain, Mt Adams in clouds and Mt Hood, but the black flies were biting.

DSC05483

Table Mountain, Mt. Adams

DSC05484

Mt. Hood

Lewisia also grows on the saddle beyond the summit, where we spent a bit of time after lunch.  We continued on through the beautiful and quiet forest on Don’s Cutoff Trail, where bright white Columbia wind flowers popped out of the shadows.

DSC05500

Columbia lewisia along the saddle; Mt. Hood in the distance

DSC05503

Hamilton Mountain and Dan

We had lovely views and lots of flowers – the most ever for a hike this year. The hike is about 8.5 miles and 2000 feet elevation.

 

Honeysuckle
Indian plum
Lupine
Goats beard
Phlox
Rosy plectritis and western featherbells
Columbia Lewisia
Death camas
Stonecrop
Penstemon
Windflower
Flower list

Hollywood Transit Center Memorial    Sunday, June 4th

We payed a visit to the Hollywood transit center in our neighborhood of NE Portland to pay our respects to Rick Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche who died, Micah Fletcher, who was wounded but is recovering, and the two young women who were harassed.  I brought five roses cut from our garden.  We spent some time reading the chalked words of tolerance, persistence, resistance, and love. Dan took this photo, which shows in pink chalk the last words of  Taliesin.

unnamed

Hollywood Transit Center memorial, photo by Dan.

 

SaveSave