August 2024 Hiking

September 7, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

I went on four hiking adventures in August – two to the coast on very hot days, and two to the slopes of Mt Hood.

August 5 – Ecola State Park and Hug Point, Oregon Coast

I like to spend my birthday in nature. It was too hot for hiking inland, so we headed to the coast for the day. We started at Ecola State Park, had a picnic lunch with a view, and took a 3 mile hike down to Crescent Beach and back.

View south from Ecola Point

Looking north from Crescent Beach toward Ecola Point

High tide was in the middle of the afternoon, so we wandered around Cannon Beach for a bit. I treated myself to a few quilting fabrics at Center Diamond, then we had an early dinner in town.

Birthday fabric, including puffins that remind me of Iceland.

Next, we went to one of our favorite beaches – Hug Point. First we walked south, looking at all the landmarks from the summers we spent entire weeks here with our kids.

View south from Hug Point

I was pleased to see pods of pelicans flying along the surf line.

The Cave

Big Barnacle Rock and Castle Rock

The little blue cottage on the bluff where we spent many a happy summer week

Farther south, more pelicans on a sand bar

Pelicans!

Then we walked north, up over Hug Point.

Walking toward Hug Point,

as the tide is going out.

View north from Hug Point

and looking toward the beach just on the other side

Oyster catcher among the mussels, barnacles and anemones on the Hug Point road bed

The Waterfall

Goodbye for now…

It was a beautiful evening – not too crowded, hot, or windy. As we drove home, I was completely satisfied with my birthday adventure.

August 8 – Sitka Sedge State Park, Oregon Coast

Another hot day inland, we decided to investigate this relatively new State Park near Pacific City, a little farther down the coast from our usual spots.

Our trail through Sitka Sedge Natural Area, about 4 miles.

The entry trail along a dike separates the Sand Lake Estuary from a wetland to the south. Then the trail goes through a vegetated dune that runs parallel to the coast. We walked through the forest for a bit, and ate lunch looking back toward the estuary wetlands.

Sand Lake Estuary

Sandy trail over the dunes

Heron and gulls from our lunch stop

After lunch we emerged onto the foggy beach, and walked south for a ways, before circling back up and over the dune, completing the loop to the entry trail.

Emerging onto the beach

Looking north, beach off limits for now, as it is sand plover nesting season.

Looking south – lots of jellyfish in the flotsam

And back over the dunes…

It was a good place for a walk on a hot day – we saw a few birds and a hang glider, but not many other people.

Wetland south of the dike, with sand pipers

Sand pipers

Yellow legs

Cedar waxwing

August 14 – Umbrella Falls, Mt Hood

Another hot day, and an easier trail on Mt Hood. I still feel like I am getting my hiking legs back. I had never been to Umbrella Falls, always opting for the harder hikes in the area that go up higher on Mt Hood. Also, one can practically drive to Umbrella Falls from the Mt Hood Meadows parking area, but we wanted to hike. This trail offered a fair amount of shade, some wildflower meadows, a peek at the mountain and two waterfalls.

Mt Hood, from Hwy 35

Shady trail junction from the Elk Meadows Trail

Views across the ski runs of Mt Hood Meadows

We could see the top of the mountain from our shady lunch spot

Mt Hood, Sitka Mountain Ash berries

Umbrella Falls

Umbrella Falls

Fireweed

Meadows of pearly everlasting

Pearly everlasting

This tree spoke to me on the way down

Trail junction

It turns out that the trail viewpoint of Sahalie Falls requires scrambling down a steep cliff, but I could see from the map that we could drive to a better view point along the frontage road.

Sahalie Falls, from the old road

Trail Map – 4.3 miles, 700 feet elevation gain.

August 20 – Cloud Cap Shelter and TImberline Trail High Point, Mt Hood

One of my favorite spaces on the edge of the sky…requiring a long drive up a deteriorating road to the trailhead at the Cloud Cap Campground (elev. 5800 feet). Then up the rocky and sandy East Eliot Moraine trail, a few close ups of the Eliot Glacier during our lunch stop, a visit to the Cloud Cap Shelter, then a gradually rising track across the alpine slopes to the 7300 foot high point on the Timberline Trail. The mountain was mostly under the cloud cap today, but I still and always enjoy the elevation and the views!

Looking northeast from the East Eliot Moraine – Mt Adams peeking through the clouds, and our starting point from the Cloud Cap Campground. The Cloud Cap Inn/Crag Rats Headquarters has a new roof!

Zooming in on Mt Adams

Looking along our trail up the moraine toward the Eliot Glacier

The Cloud Cap Shelter on the skyline

Zoom view

The mountain is trying to come out!

Eliot Glacier close ups…

Elliot Glacier

Eliot Glacier

Sun break

Crossing south to the Cloud Cap Shelter

No one else here, though we did pass a few groups of backpackers today.

Lupine and buckwheat

Southbound along the cairn-posted Timberline Trail

And looking back northeast – the Hood River Valley beyond.

Asters

Partridge foot

A few short snow crossings

Approaching the high point of the Timberline Trail

My husband took this photo of me walking along the high point ridge to our usual rest stop.

The other side of the ridge – Mt Jefferson on the horizon. The Timberline Trail continues down to Gnarl Ridge.

Mini lupine

Heading back to the Timberline Trail high point saddle – We can see Cooper Spur, but the top of Mt Hood is still hiding under the cloud.

We walk back along the edge of the sky.

We take the main Timberline Trail below East Eliot Moraine on the way down, and I look for the giant boulder that has been teetering on the edge the last few times we have hiked here.

It is still here!

Monkey flowers and lupine in Tilly Jane Creek

And this little ground squirrel, wishing us farewell until next time…

Later in the month, my husband had a surgery on his hand, so we will be curtailing our hikes for a few weeks. But there will be more adventures soon!

July 2024 update…

August 9, 2024August 9, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We were in Iceland for the last week of June and first two weeks of July. When I returned, I had a 24 hour travel day, a nine hour time shift, and a very mild case of Covid as part of my re-entry process. I made it through all, and then was able to share some time with visiting family members.

July 18-23 – Visiting with my family in Portland and Eugene. We spent a few days in Portland, and came across quilt shows in the Portland Central Library, and at Powell’s Books. We also visited the Peninsula Park Rose Garden.

Portland’s beautiful Central Library, with art show:

Quilt show at Powell’s Books:

Peninsula Park Rose Garden:

Family events in Eugene and Portland:

A favorite garden in Eugene

A belated birthday party

Knitting – I made progress on the Emotional Support Chicken, very fun! And started knitting a vest with the Allafoss Lopi yarn I bought in Iceland.

Emotional Support Chicken, in progress

Vest swatch

Hiking – Larch Mountain, Oregon – July 30th – I went on one short hike at the end of the month. It was cloudy, so no mountain views today. Lovely to be in the forest and see a few wildflowers.

Sherrard Point Trailhead – only a third of a mile, less than 200 feet, to the top.

Stairs to the top of Larch Mountain

Views to the south – Mts Hood and Jefferson behind all those clouds.

Looking north – clouds, rocks, wildflowers

Traveling – June 23 – July 13 – We drove completely around Iceland, more than 1200 miles of driving, and more than 50 miles of hiking. We visited every size and shape of waterfall; also, volcanic rocks, geothermal fields, glaciers, fjords, black sand beaches, birds, and wildflowers. I plan to create a more detailed post in the future. Below is a highlight photo collage.

Fjadrargljufur

Skaftafelljokull and Svinafellsjokull glaciers from the Sjornipa Overlook, Skaftafell

Harpa, Reykjavik

Reykjavik

Skogafoss

Ice Cave, Mýrdalsjökull⁩, Vik

Whimbrel and chick, Dryholaey

Reynisfjara – Black Sand Beach, Vik

Svartifoss

Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, Vatnajokull National Park

Atlantic puffins, Borgarfjordur

Icelandic sheep, Seydisfjordur

Vestdalfossar, Seydisfjordur

Godwit

Selbrekkufoss

Rjukandafoss

Dettifoss

Dimmuborgir lava field

Namafjall Geothermal area

Lake Myvatn

Godafoss

Nootka lupine, buttercups, cuckooflowers; Siglufjordhur⁩

Angelica, Siglufjordhur⁩

Arctic thyme, alpine lady’s mantle

Hruanfossar

Meanwhile, a couple of family members were also traveling:

From Iceland, my husband continued eastward to Chamonix, France. He completed an 80 mile hiking tour of Mont Blanc with a tour company!

Mont Blanc

And my daughter was able to travel with friends to Portugal, then on to Paris for a bit of Olympics!

Portugal

Paris

Looking forward…with hope…

June 2024

July 14, 2024June 20, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

June, so far…Three hikes, watching the tomatoes grow, pulling weeds, checking off the medical and dental appointments, some home maintenance, and getting ready for travel. Then off we went to Iceland for three weeks… (See next post)

Some views from the tram plaza at OHSU:

Knitting – I’m making slow but pleasant progress on my Garter Mesh scarf, using the Linello yarn I bought in Innsbruck last summer. I enjoy watching the rainbow unfurl as I go. And I’ve got the second sock of a pair ready for airplane knitting.

Knitting in progress…

I started knitting an Emotional Support Chicken, using leftover sock yarn. So fun! This one really calls to me, even though I have other things to work on.

Garden – The tomatoes, basil, and flowers are growing – I have foiled the snails and squirrels so far. I’m hoping for an overgrown profusion of flowers and tomatoes when we return.

Tomatoes, basil and marigolds

Snapdragons, zinnias, cosmos, dahlias, and pentstemon.

Delphinium in the neighborhood

Hikes –

June 6 – Saddle Mountain, OR – We love this hike, though it seems steeper each year. The yellow monkey flowers were particularly bright this year, and I found the first of the Lewisia columbiana, just starting to bloom. All the Cascade Mountain peaks were out today.

Saddle Mountain from the trailhead, and a meadow of candy flowers

Monkey flowers along the trail

Topknot Rock

Meadows, approaching the penultimate high point.

But we still have to go down the saddle and then up to the summit; fortunately, the wildflowers pull me up.

Mts Rainier, St Helens and Adams from the top

Panorama – west to north – Pacific Ocean, Astoria

Panorama – north to east – The High Cascades: Mts Rainier, St Helens, Adams, Hood and even Jefferson in the haze south of the lower summit.

Some of the flowers:

Monkey flower and rosy plectritis

Iris

Meadow rue

Shooting stars and saxifrage

Prairie smoke

Paintbrush, viola, chickweed

Paintbrush, buttercup, checker mallow, phlox, chickweed

Lewisia columbiana

Saddle Mountain bittercress, fleabane

Tufted saxifrage

June 11 – Salmon Creek Greenway Trail and Klineline Pond, WA – One day our appointments were near Salmon Creek in southwest Washington, and we had some extra time for a walk here. It was okay – a bit too hot to walk very far on this unshaded trail, and far enough into the summer that things were getting a little weedy and dry – not a wilderness experience, but a valuable resource for locals – a swimming and fishing pond, a bike path along the creek, and nearby sports fields. We could hear lots of birds in the trees.

Bridge over Salmon Creek

Salmon Creek from the bridge

Klineline Pond

Another pond along the greenway

June 19 – Lookout Mountain, Oregon – Somehow we got the idea that this hike was accessible, and the trailhead (6000 feet) is, but half a mile and 400 more elevation feet up the trail, and it was all snow. We weren’t really equipped for that, so we spent a little time looking at the abundant shooting stars, marsh marigolds and buttercups in the High Prairie Trailhead meadow.

High Prairie Trailhead

400 feet higher – the trail disappeared under snow.

High Prairie Meadow, Mt St Helens beyond

Shooting stars and buttercups

Marsh Marigolds

On our return drive, we took a short walk on the Cook Meadows side trail that we explored last summer in July when it was bursting full of wildflowers. We saw just the beginnings of the bloom there.

Cook Meadows view of Mt Hood, June 2024

Same view, July 2023, with scarlet gillia

Some of the flowers we saw today:

Trillium, Oregon anemone

Balsam root

Jacob’s ladder

Dusky horkelia

Yellow paintbrush

The first of the season King/Coho salmon was available from a native fish market in Hood River, making our trip worthwhile, even if our hike was abbreviated.

And of course, Happy Solstice and Happy Pride Month!

Next stop, Iceland!

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!

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…

Oh, California! southbound…April 2024, part 1

May 13, 2024 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Road trip! My husband’s 40th Med School Reunion was in San Francisco, so we planned a road trip through Northern California and back, and had a very fun adventure. Part of my heart will always be in California. I was born and raised in southern California, then went to college and worked in northern California, before going to grad school in Arizona, then ending up here in Oregon. California is complicated because it is crowded, traffickey and hot, but my word, it has some of the most beautiful landscape in the world! Here we live an easier life, a good life, but dipping back into a the Golden State for a visit was pure pleasure…

Location Map, California Road Trip, April 2024

April 7th – We drove south as far as Dunsmuir, CA, about 6 hours. We had one planned stop for a short hike in the Cathedral Hills just outside of Grants Pass to see the famous Indian Warrior flowers. And there they were, right in the parking lot of the trail head, in plain sight. Very rewarding!

Cathedral Hills, Grants Pass, Oregon

Indian Warrior and Shooting Stars

We continued south into California, with our first views of Mt Shasta…

Here we come…

Mt Shasta under clouds

Black Butte

April 8th, also eclipse day…We planned our stay in Dunsmuir, CA, so that we could hike in nearby Castle Crags State Park in the morning. I had never had time to stop here before – we always whizzed by on our way to a farther place. We were in luck with great weather and a clear view of the surrounding mountains from the Castle Crags Viewpoint. We took a short hike along Castle Creek while occasionally looking at the sun through our Eclipse Glasses. The 28% bite migrated from south to north across the bottom of the sun over the couple of hours that we were walking. Nothing like the totality experienced elsewhere, but still an interesting phenomenon to observe.

Castle Crags from the viewpoint.

Mt Shasta from the viewpoint.

Grey Mountain, from the viewpoint.

Walking along Castle Creek, during the eclipse.

From there we drove south, passing Mt Lassen, and the extremely green hills along I-5 that will turn into Kate Wolf’s “golden rolling hills” as soon as it gets hot. There were many miles of almond groves, and clusters of poppies blooming on the verge. Eventually we reached San Francisco Bay. We crossed over the Bay Bridge, pierced the heart of the city before rush hour, and checked into a hotel near the airport for the night.

Crossing the Bay Bridge

San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate from the Bay Bridge

April 9th – to Carmel by the Sea…Our good friend K flew in from Chicago, and we scooped her up at the airport, and headed south and west to Carmel. We had so much fun catching up during our drive that the miles went by quickly, and soon we were eating our lunch at the beach on Carmel Bay. Turquoise blue water and lovely cliffs. After a walk on the beach, we checked into our hotel in Carmel Valley.

Carmel Beach, looking north

Flowers at the beach

Tide coming in

Carmel Valley from our patio

April 10th – Point Lobos State Reserve – We hiked along the rocky coast from Whalers Cove to Point Lobos in the morning.

Whalers Cove

Oyster catcher

Ceanothus

Sea gull

Giant miner’s lettuce

Wave action on the rocks

Rocky view point

Zooming in on the cormorants

Up to the high point of Point Lobos

Looking north

Looking south

Blue jay

Otter

Seal and pup

After lunch, we drove a bit south of Point Lobos to Calla Lily Valley – a stream lined with the lilies, apparently very popular with the “influencers”, but not too crowded when we were there.

Dropping into Calla Lily Valley

View downstream, to the beach

Upstream, toward the highway

Calla lilies

Mustard

Calla Lily Beach

We returned to Point Lobos, and walked the short Bird Island Trail at the south end of the preserve, where we saw birds, otters, seals, and more poppies. Lovely!

Trailhead

Rocky coast, turquoise water

Sea arch

Seal

Seals sunning in China Cove

Seals

The next cove south, overlooked by private properties. Thank goodness for the foresight to preserve Point Lobos!

Bird Island as the fog rolls in

Cormorants

Cormorant

Poppies, Cypress, seals

Weston Beach – with gently dipping sandstone…

April 11th – Time to head north again. We drove up Highway 1, passing strawberry fields, and stopping at a few of the beaches along the way.

Fresh strawberries for lunch…

Bean Hollow Beach

Wave cut bench

Ice plants at Bean Hollow Beach

Diving pelican

Our last stop was Devils Slide, where the old Hwy 1 was abandoned in 2012 and replaced by tunnels. We walked along the old road, admiring the Pacific Ocean and the wildflowers. From there, we drove through the tunnels and into the city.

Devil’s Slide, tunnels on Hwy 1

Ice plant and cliffs

Wildflowers along the road/trail

Mustard

Poppies

Last look before driving inland

Driving through the tunnel to Pacifica, then San Francisco…

Next stop…San Francisco!

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.

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.