September 2024 Hiking – two views of Hamilton Mountain, WA

October 5, 2024September 29, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We like to look at where we’ve been, we like to look at where we’re going…

And we could do that from both trails this month – we looked up at Hamilton Mountain, first from the Columbia River level, then from half way up the mountain.

September 16th – Strawberry (or Hamilton) Island, North Bonneville, WA

We have been out here before once, on a foggy day when a herd of elk emerged from the mist. Today, it is a good place for a flat walk with no danger of falling (hand healing protocol). We saw some birds, crossed a dry channel to an island in the Columbia River, and had a good view of the mountains on both sides of the river (2.5 miles, 100 feet).

Totem at the Trailhead

Trailhead map

Our Gaia track for the day

View of Hamilton Mountain from the west end of Strawberry Island

A selection of fall foliage, flowers and berries:

Hawthorne

Blackberries

Wild Carrot

Tansy

Blackberry leaves

We circled around the to the south and saw that the channel between Strawberry Island and Ives Island had mostly dried up, with a pond in the middle. As we walked down to investigate, we noticed two egrets along the shore.

South side of Strawberry Island, two egrets in the channel

Egrets

They flew up, and then to the west side of the channel slough,

and joined two Great Blue herons there.

Herons and egret

Heron and egret

It was a beautiful view down to Beacon Rock.

We then walked eastward, crossing the dry river channel over to Ives Island.

East end of the slough

View back to Beacon Rock

And a wide panorama view from Beacon Rock to Hamilton Mountain.

Micro-mudcracks on the rocks at the bottom of the channel.

Our return took us over the high point of Strawberry Island, where conveniently placed benches provide a nice place to admire the views in all directions.

Up to the high point

South – Columbia River and Oregon

East – Bonneville Dam

North – noting the shoulder of Hamilton Mountain (Little Hamilton Mountain), where our next hike would take us.

September 23rd – Little Hamilton Mountain, Beacon Rock State Park, WA

My husband’s hand is sufficiently healed, and he has the surgeon’s okay to hold a hiking pole. We need to get some elevation in our legs, so we will see how far up Hamilton Mountain we can go. I think about half way, and I am right. Without the hanging cliff gardens of spring wild flowers, I lost my “up” legs about half way. It is a steep trail and a good work out. Also, the views from Little Hamilton Mountain are better than the tree-obstructed views at the top, though we won’t see Mt Adams from here. It was a good day, a little warm, so I appreciated the tree cover on the way down (4.2 miles, 1355 feet).

View to the top of Hamilton Mountain from the power line cut on the trail.

Rodney Falls and Pool of the Winds, about a mile up the trail.

Downstream from the falls.

The next section is shady and steep!

No flowers, just reddening poison oak…

Looking up at the cliffs we must climb…

We made it to the viewpoint at Little Hamilton Mountain, in time for lunch and a good look around.

Western view

Mt Hood to the south

Looking down on Strawberry Island, where we hiked last week.

Zooming in on the benches at the top of Strawberry Island.

Eastward view toward Bonneville Dam

And Hamilton Mountain looming behind us – another 1000 feet up, but not today.

We rested in the shade for a bit at the falls on the way down.

Hardy Creek and falls

We have plans for more adventures next month, and hope to finish the year strong, after this time off for my husband’s hand surgery.

May 2024 Hiking, wildflower season…

June 4, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We went on five hikes in May. Though most were repeat hikes, we return for good reason – to see the wildflowers. And we found a new trail with mountain lady slippers in bloom!

May 2, Stacker Butte, WA – We hiked along the road above Dalles Mountain Ranch to the top of Stacker Butte on a foggy day – the clouds lifted and did not rain on us. All the wildflowers were out! (5 miles, 1000 feet)

Looking up from the trailhead…

Paintbrush, lupine, and balsamroot

Daggerpod, desert parsley, large head clover, and buckwheat

Looking toward the crest and some of the many cell towers at the top

Paintbrush, phlox, and all the rest

Lunch view from the top, looking north. Clouds blocked our view of Mt Adams; bight yellow wildflowers painting the slopes above Swale Canyon.

Long view to the east, with wind turbines.

And looking south, back to the river, The Dalles, and Dalles Mountain Ranch.

Lupine and balsamroot

One of many meadow larks, singing.

There is a famous rusted out jalopy near Dalles Mountain Ranch – often seen in flower-filled photographs this time of year. The short trail usually has lots of visitors, but there were none today, so we visited for the first (and likely the last) time, and took our share of photographs.

May 8, Weldon Wagon Road, WA – We took the usual hike up through the forest to the open slopes painted yellow with balsamroot and desert parsley (4.7 miles, 1200 feet).

The open slopes, and Mt Hood

Along the trail

Fern leaf parsley

Bare stem biscuitroot/parsley

May 14, Tom McCall Point, OR – Again, our usual hike to the top, on an almost too warm day, with some later season blooms near the top (4 miles, 1000 feet).

Our objective – Tom McCall Point from Rowena Crest trailhead; Mt Hood peeking up on the right.

Looking back at Rowena Crest, the Columbia River and Mt Adams.

Penstemon, balsamroot, paintbrush and Mt Hood.

Looking toward Lyle Cherry Orchard from the top, and a distant yellow canola? field. We’ve never noticed that before.

Another view down river, with Mt Adams.

Blue flax

Clarkia

Whitestem frasera

And another pass through parsley alley on the return.

May 20, Cape Horn, WA – Our daughter joined us for this hike through the tall larkspur-lined trail – a seasonal treat! (3.3 miles, 600 feet)

Much of the trail looks like this – shady forest and tall larkspur, this time of year.

Larkspur

We walked all the way down to the waterfall viewpoint.

View up the Columbia River to Beacon Rock from the Waterfall Overlook.

A few other wildflowers seen today…

Red columbine, blue-eyed Mary, purple iris, white thimbleberry

Fringecup and larkspur

Honeysuckle

And more larkspur!

May 30, Lady Slipper Trail, Brooks Memorial State Park, WA – This was a new trail for us, about a two hour drive from Portland, in the Simcoe Mountains north of Goldendale, WA. We had heard that the Lady Slipper Trail here was a place one can see the elusive mountain lady slipper orchids. The plants are rare and endangered, so locations are not publicized. The park ranger told us approximately where to look.

Lupine in the picnic area, about 2600 feet elevation.

After lunch in the picnic area, we slowly hiked along the Lady Slipper Loop, looking carefully. We eventually found one patch of about a dozen blooming plants! (1.5 miles, 200 feet)

Mountain lady slippers near the trail

Another few clumps in a nearby clearing

Closer view

The other cheek

With forest beyond

Very pretty!

And we could see Mt Hood in the distance on the return trail.

After our hike, we stopped at the Maryhill Art Museum, as described in the previous post, before driving home. We have certainly seen our share of the wildflowers in May!

May 2024…

May 31, 2024 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

May was a busy month, with a visit from our daughter being the best part. We also planted our garden, and went on several hikes (next post). I cut out some new quilt block pieces and knit on several projects.

Sewing – Emily taught us to make her famous sock monkeys, and we got a good start. We will finish during her next visit.

Emily’s Sock Monkey

Other monkeys, in progress

Knitting – I finished a shawl and one sock, and started another scarf.

Modified Chloris Shawl

One sock done, one started.

Garter and Lace Scarf made from the Linello yarn I bought in Innsbruk last summer

Quilting – Friends All Around – I cut patches for quilt blocks from the leftover Transparency Quilt fabric.

Tentative patch placement – Modern Quilt Studio – Friends All Around blocks

Garden – We planted tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, marigolds, a few other flowers….

Neighborhood Rainbow – So many things blooming in our neighborhood! I collected a rainbow on my walk one day…

Art Experiences – Emily and I visited our friend Claire’s latest exhibit in a downtown hotel. I love her ability to capture the beauty I see all the time in our favorite natural places.

Paintings by Claire Christy-Tirado

Coyote Wall

View from Timberline

We also saw this nautilus when walking around downtown.

May 30th – We took a short hike at Brooks Memorial State Park outside of Goldendale, WA, then stopped to see the latest exhibit at Maryhill Museum.

The setting…

View from the museum plaza looking …east,

South,

And west.

I was particularly interested in seeing their new exhibit, a collection of historic and new paintings and photographs, arranged in geographic order from east to west along the Columbia River. I’ve shared a few of my favorites below.

The most impressive piece was a four panel journey along the Columbia River – beautiful!

And random extras – We were served by a “robot” waiter in a Burmese Restaurant.

Robot waiter

A lovely Mother’s Day card…

April 2024, hiking, etc…

May 16, 2024May 15, 2024 / margaretquilts / 2 Comments

April is prime wildflower season in the eastern Columbia River Gorge. Before and after our road trip to California in the middle of the month, we hiked some of our favorite wildflower trails.

April 2nd – Tom McCall Preserve/Rowena Crest, OR – We walked the lower section of Tom McCall Preserve, and then a loop on Rowena Plateau, on a day when the balsamroot were just opening, and unusual clouds were reflected in the Columbia River.

Looking back at the Rowena Crest viewpoint

Popcorn flowers in the meadow

Glacier lilies

Balsamroot just starting to bloom at the lower elevations

Fresh balsamroot

Parsley alley, with purple Columbia desert parsley

and fern leaf parsley

Over on Rowena Plateau…

Clouds reflected in the glassy Columbia River

And in the pond on the plateau

April 5th – Memaloose Hills, OR – My childhood friend Susan visited for the first time since the pandemic. We took her to see the balsamroot in the Memaloose Hills, on a slightly rainy and windy day.

Walking up the southside of Chatfield Hill with freshly blooming balsamroot.

More flowers of the day…

Shooting stars and balsamroot

Death camas

Blue-eyed Mary, chocolate lily

Big leaf maple

Buttercups, balsamroot

And we stopped to show her Multnomah Falls on the way home…

Multnomah Falls

April 22nd – Dalles Mountain Ranch, WA – We hiked the Upper Loop near the ranch through these famous blooming fields…

Balsamroot and lupine, Dalles Mountain Ranch

Balsamroot

One tree to rule them all!

Phlox, Mt Hood

April 22nd – Catherine Creek, WA – And we heard that the Lewisia had begun blooming at Catherine Creek, so we made a short side trip up to the Fairy Ponds on our way home.

Bitterroot on basalt

Camas

Swales of camas and orchards of Mosier

Bitterroot

April 30th – Mosier Plateau, OR – A short hike on a slightly rainy day.

Mosier Plateau, and the S curve of Coyote Wall across the Columbia River

Meanwhile, in Portland …

Dogwood and camus were blooming in the neighborhood….

Dogwood

Giant camas

I took my friend to Powell’s Books, where the small art gallery had a display of book art….

I finished knitting a cowl, and made progress on my travel socks…

Ebb and Flow Cowl, pattern by Michele Bernstein; Barrett Wool Company Evenfall yarn

Travelling sock

And in the spirit Keeping Portland Weird, someone in my neighborhood has gone full Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with their yard decor…I love it!

Meme of the month…

March 2024 at home

April 24, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

What we did in March besides our east coast trip:

In the neighborhood – We returned from the east coast in time to see cherry trees in bloom, and our neighborhood St Patrick’s Day parade:

Cherry trees at the St Patrick’s Day parade

Windflowers

Hyacinths

Tulip buds

By the end of the month, the cherry blooms had fallen, tulips were in full bloom, and the crabapple was just starting to bloom!

Crabapple

Tulips

Cherry blossom snow

Hikes – My one hike, on March 19, was to Lyle Cherry Orchard, Washington, on a beautiful, windless day. The balsamroot were just beginning to bloom:

View from the first tier up the cliffs – the Convict Road, back to the Columbia River. Columbia Desert Parsley in bloom.

Last of the grass widows under the cliff.

Looking up to our destination…

We saw the first blooming balsam root of the year on our way up.

Looking west on the way down – lots of balsam root starting to bloom on the lower slope.

Balsamroot

Quilting – I finally began to practice sewing with my new Juki machine. I made several sets of potholders out of fabric scraps. They make great gifts for people we were or will be visiting in our travels.

For east coast family,

Portland Airport Carpet fabric on the back…

For California people, fronts,

and backs.

This set for us.

Knitting – I didn’t complete anything this month, but I made time to block the Anthology Throw that I finished earlier this year, and it is very pretty in its final dimensions…

Blocked Anthology Throw, pattern by Curious Handmade.

I picked out some yarn for a scrappy cowl.

Leftover Malabrigo Rios, for a Herringbone Cowl (Purl Soho)

I purchased a new tote bag from the Rose City Yarn Crawl – I love the graphic of my favorite California poppies (more on that next month) as well as Portland roses, and the St John’s Bridge.

Rose City Yarn Crawl tote bag

Shadow of the month…

February, 2024…

March 4, 2024March 4, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

I’m trying something new here. My desktop computer is temporarily unavailable to me, along with most of my photo library. This month I will try to create my post using only my iPad, and the photos on my phone…

Around the neighborhood…

My monthly collection of shadows and cracks…

Wildlife in the neighborhood…

Street art, Northwest Portland

Hiking…

I only managed two hikes this month…have I mentioned it has been particularly cold and rainy this year? One urban hike, with friends, and one out in the Columbia River Gorge, at Catherine Creek.

February 4, West Hills Long Walk – It was almost seven miles, and 900 feet elevation, all on pavement, sometimes on busy roads, sometimes across one of several cemeteries that are on the tops of the West Hills. Our friends who live in the neighborhood guided us, as this is their regular walking area. Not my favorite kind of walking, because of the traffic and the pavement, and it turned out to aggravate my hip bursitis, which I am still feeling, darn it! But we did enjoy the time with our friends, and the views across the city.

February 12, Bitterroot Trail at Catherine Creek – We walked about 4 miles, on both the lower and upper trails, looking for grass widows, and we found them. We also saw a few salt and pepper parsleys, and lots of water everywhere. This is my one phone picture of the fairy pools. There are a few purple grass widows in the foreground – though the exposure, looking toward the midday sun, is not ideal.

Fairy pools at Catherine Creek, Washington

Quilting – I finished the top of my Modern Quilt Studio Transparency Quilt – Mystery Quilt. I also made the back, and it is now in my queue for quilting.

These mystery blocks were transformed into…

I am improv piecing the back for my Lodge Quilt, which I made from the Modern Quilt Studio summer mystery quiltalong, using the leftovers from that top. I enjoy the process of improv piecing so much more than the extremely precise sewing and point matching required for the Transparency quilt, but both techniques have their place.

Knitting – I finished a few items – hats for the Puddletown Knitters Guild Service Project, the Mystery Shawl for The Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knitalong, and the most recent pair of socks, and I started a new pair of socks for some upcoming travel knitting…

Six “Warm One” hats for donation, made of Knit Picks Mighty Stitch, held double.

Plumbing!… In December we had a leaky pipe that created a small flood in our basement – we found it and had it fixed before too much damage was done, but it prompted us to replace the 92 year old pipes that run through most of our house. We are currently experiencing the dust and noise created by cutting through plaster and tile – very efficiently, but still not pleasant. Then there will be the patching and painting. Meanwhile, we get a peek inside the walls of our house, which has very good bones…

While preparing for the plumbing work, I took down this twenty year old dragon from the laundry room wall to keep it out of the dust zone.

Quilts in the News….

I did not attend the Quilt Con show in North Carolina. I enjoyed looking at the images on Instagram, and was moved to tears by their Best in Show quilt. The artist, a teacher, crowd sourced the items shown from other teachers, and created this piece. (Images from Instagram)

Split image of front and back of the quilt.

I think the IPad format worked, though a bit time consuming having to learn the new touch prompts. One of the many things I am upgrading this month.

Hiking, January 2024

February 5, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Two hikes in January – it was mostly too cold, wet, icy to hit the trails this month.

First Day Hike – January 1 – Columbia River Gorge and Powell Butte

The skies were blue and the sun was out! We could see the mountain as we drove east out of Portland!

But in the Gorge, the east winds were strong and cold, and fog banks covered many of the slopes. We turned around and drove back to town on the Historic Highway, stopping for views at Vista House. The winds were so strong I could barely open the car door!

Looking east – white caps on the river!

Looking west…

And Vista House.

We stopped again for a quick view from Women’s Forum/Chanticleer Overlook…

Looking back at Vista House, the Columbia River, Beacon Rock…

And then we drove to Powell Butte in east Portland, where hiking trails lead up the sides and around the top of this volcanic butte. It is also the location of an enormous covered reservoir, a main stop in the Portland water system. Lots of other people were there on this sunny first day, so that we had to hike up from the north parking lot on 148th Avenue because the upper lots were all full. But we persisted, and were rewarded, finally, with a chance to stretch our legs a bit on this beautiful day. It was a lot less windy here!

We could see Mt Hood beyond reservoir infrastructure as we reached the top.

The museum at the top utilizes pipes as part of an exhibit that explains the water system

Pipe as embedded surface art.

We made a loop to the high point on top, with better views of Mt Hood,

and Mt St Helens.

Eventually, we returned down the Blackberry Stairs to our car, after a 3.5 mile hike.

Thus we began the New Year as we mean to go on, with weekly hikes. Nature got a little bit the better of us in this regard…there was snow, ice, and below freezing temperatures for a week, and then a fair amount of rain. But I did get out for one more hike in January – to see the eagles!

January 23 – Balfour-Klickitat Natural Area, and Coyote Wall, WA

There was a lot of snow all through the Gorge, and more than I expected in the eastern Gorge. It was quite beautiful, and not as cold as it had been. We drove over the Hood River Bridge to Washington…

Looking east from the bridge

The views across the Columbia River from the Chamberlain Lake Rest Area on Hwy 14 were sparklinging in the sunlight!

We reached The Balfour-Klickitat Natural Area, just west of Lyle, and found that the parking area had not been plowed. We parked just below, on Hwy 14, and walked up along the Klickitat River on a snowshoe trail. We wore microspikes on our boots to assist our grip on the six inches of snow.

Looking back across the Columbia River from near the parking area.

Walking along the Klickitat River Trail

Klickitat River

A perennial stream enters the Klickitat River on the west side of this little lake.

We reached the overlook to the lake where bald eagles congregate this time of year, and there they were! We counted about 25 different eagles over the course of our observations.

The white plumage of bald eagle pops out against the gray tree branches across the lake.

Closer view

Another one

We noticed these two on our side of the lake…

Zooming in…

The more we scanned the landscape, the more we saw, though the brown juvenile birds are harder to see. Then we noticed a snag in the distance that was covered in birds!

Distant snag, circled in blue

Zooming in. Birds were coming and going. There are also three perched in the trees to the left of the snag.

Nine eagles perched on the snag in this view.

There were also ducks down on the lake, and flying about…

Ducks

Eventually the fog started rolling in, so we returned to our car.

Fog

Goodbye to the eagles for this year.

It is always a treat to see them before they return to Canada.

We drove back west on Hwy 8, planning to walk at Catherine Creek, if possible, but it was completely fogged in. We sat in the car, eating our lunch and hoping the fog would move on, but no luck.

Lunch view at the Catherine Creek Trailhead.

We continued west to the Coyote Wall Trailhead, once again parking near Hwy 14, because the parking area was not plowed. We walked under the cliffs, and along Look Lake to the frozen waterfall, and then turned back, as the fog was beginning to settle here, too.

Looking toward Coyote Wall from the snowplow berm near Hwy 14.

Our path along the old highway under Coyote Wall

Looking back toward sunlit cliffs at the top of Coyote Wall

Look Lake

Sunlight in the melted lake ice

Frozen waterfall

Waterfall icicles

Fog rolling in ahead…

View over Look Lake as we walk back westward.

We had seen enough for the day, and it was time to warm up again.

View to the west as we drove back over the Hood River Bridge. Even the sandflats out along the Hood River Delta were covered with snow.

We will be back next month to see the first spring wildflowers after the snow melts.

December 2023 – all about the light..

January 2, 2024January 2, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

December is a month for hibernating, preparing for holidays and family visits, rooting for the solstice, and trying to get all the knitting done for holiday gifts. I only went on two hikes this month.

Early December...sun getting lower, shadows longer, I was counting down to the solstice with two advent-style knitting projects and a few walks on dry days.

Pro Palestine march passing our house

A little bit of knitting every day on the stocking and the mystery gnome…

Arne and Carlos Mystery Stocking

Imagined Landscapes Mystery Gnome

Hanukkah was early this year. We lit candles and had friends over for latkes on one of the nights.

December 12 – Hike – Lyle Cherry Orchard Discovery Trail, WA – We hiked the 4.5 mile loop on an overcast day – taking in the views and getting some good exercise.

Looking east as we ascend

View west from our lunch stop

Circling back below the Lyle town sign

And almost back to the Convict Road.

December 15th – We passed Joan of Arc on our way to lunch and bead shopping with the knitters…

December 20th – Hike – Dry Creek Falls, OR – Another dry weather window – we hiked a past Dry Creek on the Pacific Crest Trail to one of the pinnacles, but not all the way to the main pinnacles. It was a good seven mile hike.

Starting up the trail at Cascade Locks.

The pinnacle near our lunch stop. All the forest we have hiked through today has 2017 burn scars

Slight view across the Columbia River from our lunch stop.

Back to the PCT bridge over Dry Creek,

and upstream a short way to the falls —

Dry Creek Falls, pouring out of a notch in the columnar basalt.

They are quite beautiful!

Splash pool at the base.

And back at the trailhead, the park at the Bridge of the Gods is adorned with festive light displays.

On the Solstice, I took an enjoyable walk through the neighborhood – happy to know that longer days are ahead.

Christmas week – House guests, finishing the knitting, decorating the tree, wrapping and unwrapping presents, tamales on Christmas Eve and dinner with friends on Christmas day. A little bit of baking, but not too much. It was a relaxed and enjoyable week.

Tree decorated

New ornaments – from Italy and New Zealand

With gifts

Stockings

New books, bowls, and glasses

Trifle of Christmas

Dog of Christmas

Emily and Izzy at Multnomah Falls

Some of the Knitting:

Finished stocking

KC hat for Rachel

tiny cat for nancy

Hat for Izzy

Socks for Dan

Socks for Emily

Socks for Brian

Snow Matter What gnome and snowman

The month ended with more clouds and rain. I found a version of the Christmas story on instagram that resonates with me for its inclusiveness, and the reminder that although history repeats itself in terrible ways, there are always people who step up and help.

Weak sun through clouds

Rain wet streets and sparkling lights

Message of hope

November 2023 Hikes

December 14, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We had five walking adventures in November, four in the wilderness and one in town.

November 1 – Deschutes River Trail, OR –

We’ve taken this trail many times, especially on days like today when it is raining everywhere else within a two hour drive of home. This area had a fire several years ago, and another brush fire last summer, which we could see evidence of along the way.

Deschutes River near the trailhead

Looking upstream as we walk uphill towards Ferry Springs.

Looking downstream toward the confluence with the Columbia River.

Approaching the Ferry Springs crossing.

Ferry Springs – burned by a brushfire last July.

A few wildflowers flowers hanging on.

View upriver from our lunch spot near the rock arch.

Walking back along the Blackberry Trail, the Columbia Hills appear like a mirage from the mist.

Sumac

Heron

And the rain didn’t start until we were on our drive home (5 miles, 500 feet).

November 8 – Portland Arboretum and Crystal Springs Garden, Portland –

We wanted to see the beautifully curated gardens, including the spectacular Japanese maple, at Portland’s Japanese Garden in Washington Park. On this sunny Wednesday it seemed many had the same idea. The parking lots were packed and lots of people were walking toward the garden entrance – it seemed less than ideal. So we drove around to the other side of the park to the Arboretum, and there found a beautiful Japanese maple and many other trees in excellent fall colors with much less crowded paths.

White Mexican Orange flowers near the Arboretum headquarters.

Walking toward the Maple Trail…

Approaching the sumac grove

Sumacs

A selection of leaves and berries…

And a beautiful Japanese Maple…

After lunch, we decided to check out the fall colors at Crystal Springs Garden, on the east side of town. It was also beautiful there, with colorful reflections in the lakes, and also not very crowded.

We passed the Portland Tram, that I rode in last week, on our way across town.

A pink azalea blooming very late

Japanese Maple near the entrance

Northern lake, with technicolor reflections…

Cherry tree

And another upside down tree

Crossing over to the southern part of the garden…

Ducks on a log

Party meadow

Waterfall

The reflections in the southern lake were mesmerizing…

November 14 – Cape Horn, WA –

It has been a while since I have walked the full seven mile loop, but we decided try it on this windy day (7.4 miles, 1460 feet).

We started clockwise, downhill, a one and a half mile roadwalk.

Highway 14 viaduct across Cape Horn above.

Crossing the lower scree slopes.

Lower cliffs, upstream view to the Needle and Beacon Rock

Several hundred feet higher on the trail – one of the viewpoints that has had a wall and viewing platform added in recent years.

Upper viewpoint to the east along the Columbia River.

Through the woods near the top of Cape Horn.

View to the south from the uppermost viewpoint.

Whitecaps on the Columbia River below, and a horse in the meadow.

View to Silver Star Mountain, to the north, as we switchback down to the Salmon Falls Road Trailhead.

November 20 – Horsetail, Ponytail and Triple Falls, OR –

This trail is in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge waterfall zone, and was very hard hit by the 2017 fire. We have not been on this trail since before the fire, but had seen recent trip reports that the trail was repaired and open, so went to see how it fared. We hiked the clockwise loop, starting at Horsetail Falls, then up hill to Ponytail Falls, then across Oneonta Gorge, past the Oneonta Falls, then uphill to Triple Falls, and circling back down to the Highway, and to our start point. We walked through a lot of burned forest, and across several repaired trail sections. The very cliffy trail up to Triple Falls had several obvious washouts that had been repaired, but seemed somewhat fragile. With the local downpours last week, I would not be surprised if the trail were washed out again. (5.0 miles, 1000 feet).

Horsetail to Triple Falls trail

Horsetail Falls

The trail ascends the cliffs above the falls

Top of Horsetail Falls

Ponytail Falls – the trail passes behind the falls

View from behind the falls

Looking back at Ponytail Falls

Looking east at the viewpoint before heading up to Oneonta Gorge

Westward view from the viewpoint

Heading upstream toward the new bridge over Oneonta Gorge

A peak from the trail down into Oneonta Gorge

Crossing the bridge

View down stream from the bridge

Middle Oneonta Falls upstream from the bridge

Looking down at Oneonta Creek from Oneonta Trail

Burned forest on the slopes above Oneonta Creek

We reached the Triple Falls viewpoint after walking along the repaired trail through the severely burned forest. For comparison, I’m adding a similar view from September 2013.

Triple Falls, Nov. 2023

Walking back along the Oneonta Trail through the burned landscape.

Circling back along the highway, toward the Oneonta Tunnel, which was completely burned in 2017.

View from the tunnel bridge up the Oneonta Gorge, trail closed since before the fire because of hazardous log jams in the gorge.

Back to Horsetail Falls.

November 28 – Hummocks and Boundary Trails, Mt St Helens, WA –

We have hiked the Hummocks Loop here a few times, but gone farther along the Boundary Trail toward Johnston Ridge one other time, in May of 2020, when they first reopened the trail after the initial pandemic shutdown. We encountered only a few other people out on the trail today (5.7 miles, 1100 feet).

Welcoming party at the Trailhead – white tail deer, Mt St Helens beyond.

Walking along the lakes that have formed between the hummocks.

Partially frozen lake

Frost on the trail

The famous upside down log, still in depositional position from the eruption in 1980.

View of Mt St Helens from the trail junction with the Boundary Trail.

The trail rises above the hummocky plain, and switchbacks up Johnston Ridge, past sheered-off tree stumps, to the ridge crest. From the top are views in all directions, and we can see the mountain all the time.

To the north – Coldwater Lake and Visitor Center.

Eastward panorama – Mt Margaret backcountry and Mt St Helens

Some closer views:

Mt Whittier

Coldwater Peak

Zoom in on the volcano monitoring equipment on top of Coldwater Peak

Mt St Helens Crater

Mt St Helens – snowy high point

Toutle River Valley

Here is a set of photos from nearly the same spot on the ridge, one from May of 2020, when the hillsides were green:

November 28, 2023

May 27, 2020

Heading down, I realized we had a good view over to the Windy Pass area on the east side of the mountain, which we were looking toward from the south side on our hike to June Lake in October.

Shadows growing long in the crater as we hike down.

Closer view of the Windy Pass area

And an excellent view of some of the hummocks in the afternoon light.

Back at the Boundary Trail Junction

The top of the mountain is glowing.

We stopped on our drive out at the Castle Lake Viewpoint for a last look at the area as the sun was setting…

Castle Lake Viewpoint

October 2023 adventures…

November 15, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Our five hikes in October ranged from urban Portland, to wilderness areas at Mt St Helens and Indian Heaven, and to our reliable dry trails in the eastern Columbia River Gorge in Washington.

October 1st, Oaks Bottom, Portland

An oft-repeated sunny walk around the Willamette River bottomlands just south of downtown Portland. Not much wildlife today, but there was new artwork on the railroad underpasses since the last time we were here (3.4 miles, 150 feet).

New artwork on the southern railroad underpass

We could hear the screams from upside down people at Oaks Park today.

View of the giant mural and the lake along the bike path.

A few cormorants

New artwork on the northern railroad underpass,

on both sides.

Early fall colors and

reflections in the lake.

The train, and the hills of SW Portland.

October 4, Indian Heaven, WA

We repeated one of my favorite loops in Indian Heaven, from Thomas Lake to Rock Lakes, to the less trodden path through the lakes and high huckleberry meadows along the Old Cascade Crest Trail (6.4 miles, 750 feet).

Colorful foliage from the trailhead on…

Thomas Lake

Heather Lake

Mt St Helens from the viewpoint above Eunice Lake

Mt St Helens

High meadows of huckleberry foliage

Naha Lake

Reflections

More reflections

Bright red foliage

High meadows

A glimpse of Mt Adams through the trees

We arrived at our lunch stop, Rock Lakes.

Rock Lakes

Rock crossing

Reflections

Moss

More red

After lunch we continued a little farther east, then south through the high meadows and unnamed lakes along the Old Cascade Crest Trail – all water reflections and colorful foliage. A delight! These are just a few of the images.

Unnamed lake

Magenta foliage, with a few last huckleberries

Lakes and huckleberry bushes along the trail

South toward Gifford Peak

Looking back at partly burned East Crater

Gradients of color in the foliage

And in the reflective lake water…

Monet water

We also caught a glimpse of Mt Rainier through the trees on our return hike…

Eastern flanks of Mt Rainier, and the Tatoosh Range?

On our drive home, I took this photo as we crossed the Bridge of the Gods. The burned zone in the Gorge is starting to look like fuzzy grey hair on the slopes.

Crossing the Bridge of the Gods, looking toward Oregon.

October 12, June Lake, Mt St Helens, WA

Our only new hike this month. We have been to June Lake before, but this was the first time we continued to the east on the Loowit Trail, the 30 mile loop around Mt St Helens. The mountain top remained covered in clouds all day. We saw fall colors on the slopes below the snow line (6.5 miles, 1200 feet).

Trail map

The first mile through the forest along June Creek is relatively flat.

Glimpse of the cloud-covered mountain from near the trail head

Approaching the lava flow that has dammed the creek to form June Lake. Tiny hiker on the lower left.

June Lake

Lower cascade

Reflections

Fall colors mirrored

More reflections…

More Monet water

Past June Lake, the trail ascends steeply to join the Loowit Trail around the mountain. We went eastward this time, through forested trail, and over the toes of lava flows, ascending to an eventual viewpoint of the mountain.