NZ2020: Day 14, To Lake Ohau

December 6, 2021February 5, 2022 / margaretquilts / 3 Comments

February 7, 2020

Today began with an easier hike (than yesterday) near Queenstown, then we drove north to the vicinity of Aoraki/Mt Cook.

Driving route to Lake Ohau

Queenstown: After breakfast at a local cafe, we took a last walk through Queenstown and along the Lake Wakatipu waterfront.

Wall art in our breakfast cafe

Quiet morning in Queenstown

Queenstown waterfront

Sam Summers’ Hut Hike – 5.4 miles, 800 feet

Then we drove west along the shores of Lake Wakatipu to the Mt Crichton Loop Track trailhead.

Trailhead map – our trail circled in light blue

Dipping schist along the trail

View back to Lake Wakatipu

Juvenile lancewood, or horoeka

Adult lancewood

A bog near our turnaround junction

Small lake

Lake Dispute, Lake Wakatipu

Waterfall on Twelve Mile Creek

Quartz layers in the rocks behind the waterfall

Sam Summers’ Hut

An old gold mining lodging

Rustic…

The history

Interior…

Meadows and sandstone outcrops on the return hike

Twelve Mile Creek

I enjoyed the hike, and it was good to stretch our legs on an easier trail, after the challenging hike yesterday, and another challenging hike planned for tomorrow.

Arrowtown: Next, we drove back through Queenstown, and on to Arrowtown, where we stopped for a picnic lunch in the park, and a short wander around the western style gold rush town.

Western facades in Arrowtown

Driving north: For the next few hours, we drove north along Hwys 6 and 8, with several short stops, and lots of interesting scenery along the way.

Last glimpse of The Remarkables as we leave Arrowtown

Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge

Wine country near Gibbston

We stopped at a fruit stand near Cromwell, with orchards of ripe nectarines (southern summer!), and delicious homemade ice cream.

At Lindis Pass, over 3000 feet in elevation, we walked up to a viewpoint over the dry tussock landscape. The golden rolling hills reminded me of the high deserts of eastern Oregon and California.

We took one last break in Omarama, where I found a few post cards, but no knitting wool.

Lake Ohau: We arrived at Lake Ohau around 5 pm. Once again, I was taken by surprise, by the startlingly turquoise blue of the lake, and the barren mountain slopes streaked with colorful landslips beyond. I was not expecting anything so stunning, as we had just been passing through the dry summer landscape of the Mackenzie Basin. And into my mind came memories of the southwestern US, where I spent a fair amount of time geologizing in my younger days. Here in New Zealand, I was seeing glacial lakes such as those that filled many of the basins of western North America in the ice ages. It was like going back in time, in a way, and I was grateful to see a version of this ‘geologic setting’ in real life. So striking in starkness and color. Another of the amazing experiences I would have on this trip. And there would be more beautiful images later today!

Lake Ohau, Ben Ohau

Our lodge room had ‘picture’ windows overlooking Lake Ohau and the near and distant mountains. Standing beyond but higher than all was the stunning Aoraki/Mt Cook, 12,218 feet tall, the highest mountain in New Zealand. From our vantage, it was a giant chunk of glistening white, it’s peak plateau about a mile long, it’s faceted shear white slopes facing us, calling attention to itself, and I felt lucky to see it.

Our lodge room

Lake Ohau

Aoraki/MtCook

The other glaciated mountain at the end of Lake Ohau

After a dinner in the lodge of pumpkin miso soup, salmon, and chocolate mousse, we returned to our room to see the moon rising and the the mountain glowing in the twilight, then in alpenglow. I seemed to be sitting in a picture postcard.

Later, the rising moon was reflected in the lake, and Aoraki/Mt Cook shone with moon glow.

We also saw Orion in the sky, but have not yet seen the southern cross. This day ended well, and tomorrow we were looking forward to getting closer to Aoraki/Mt Cook.

NZ2020: Day 13, Ben Lomond hike

November 16, 2021February 5, 2022 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

February 6, 2020

After two days of being sidetracked by flooding, heavy rain and road damage, the road north was opening for limited time windows while being repaired. We departed from Te Anau at 5:30 am to drive to Queenstown. We waited in the dawn at Five Rivers for the 7 am opening.

Queue waiting for the partially flooded road to open

Sunrise with llamas

We arrived at the Queenstown Skyline Gondola on schedule for the 9 am opening.

A ten minute gondola ride took us up the first 1500 feet of the Ben Lomond trail.

Great views from the Upper Gondola complex.

Views below to Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu

We still had about 4 miles, and 3400 feet to hike to the top of Ben Lomond. We started up, through sun, mist, and a little rain. The weather got better through the day, but many of the surrounding mountains retained a high cloud cover. The cooler temperature was perfect though, as it gets warm hiking continually up. This was a challenging hike for me! We took a steady pace, with rests.

Lower trail. Ben Lomond is the high peak on the skyline.

Looking back toward Lake Wakatipu.

Getting closer to our destination.

First we have to get to the saddle,

then up the rocky and steeper ridge.

Looking back down at the saddle.

Up the rocky section, with mist wafting in and out.

A feral goat below on the rocky crags.

The last steep pitch…

At the top, my relief of making it to the peak was almost completely sidetracked by the surprise of finding mountain parrots at the summit!

Kea, or mountain parrot, perched on the summit cliff of Ben Lomond.

There were five or six of these large birds (about 18 inches tall), flying around, undaunted by the people, and fairly aggressively scrounging for hiker lunch crumbs. I am accustomed to seeing marauding chipmunks where I come from, so this was an unexpected reward for the last three hours of steady upward effort.

Kea and hikers on summit of Ben Lomond

Kea, metamorphic rocks

Kea, flashing orange back feathers while flying.

Face close up

Mists rolling in

I watched the keas for a while, and rested, while clouds rolled in and out from the steep southern cliffs. We looked around as much as possible before beginning the hike down. I would have liked to stay longer, but it was very cold and windy.

Lake Wakatipu

Clouds wafting across

The view!

Southern alps to the west

Starting down – view back to The Remarkables and Queenstown, with our trail in view.

(Geology interlude) As we looked back toward Queenstown on our return hike, I noticed the effects of the rain on the rivers downstream from Lake Wakatipu. The very brown and muddy Shotover River flows into the deep blue Kawarau River (the Lake Wakatipu outlet). Downstream farther, the Kawarau River is muddier in color. (I saw this happen a long time ago at the confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers in the Grand Canyon, on a once in a lifetime river trip.)

Confluence of Shotover and Kawarau Rivers

Wider view, muddier Kawarau downstream.

We continued down the mountain, on tired and satisfied legs.

Resting, Southern Alps beyond.

Clouds have lifted, this peak finally exposed.

Last look at Ben Lomond

and the tiny people enjoying the summit.

The down trail crosses over the luge track at the Gondola Complex.

We took the gondola back down to town, then checked back into the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We had a group dinner in town, and said goodbye to our additional tour members and guide. We still had two more days with our guide Kaleb, and we were going north toward Aoraki/Mt Cook.

NZ2020: Day 12, Southland improvisation; Te Anau Bird Sanctuary

November 5, 2021November 16, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

February 5, 2020

After the previous few days of constant rain, we were happy to see blue sky this morning. The roads in most directions were still closed by flooding. Fortunately, our guides had grown up in the area, and chose some of their favorite places for our day’s adventure in Southland.

Snow on the mountains near Te Anau

Today’s route, and stops in Southland.

Clearing skies above the Southern Alps as we drive south.

Clifden Suspension Bridge

We stopped here to stretch our legs, and to look at the historic bridge over the Waiau River as it continues south to the sea. We had been walking along its banks yesterday near Lake Te Anau.

Historic Bridge

Clifden Bridge

Muddy river – from the recent storms

The Waiau River is connected all the way upstream to Doubtful Sound.

Feral rooster

We continued driving south on the Southern Scenic Route, eventually reaching Te Waewae Bay near the mouth of the Waiau River.

Quintessential New Zealand scenery – sheep and mountains,

Te Waewae Bay, muddy from the recent storms.

My Google maps image – showing that I am the closest I have ever been to Antarctica!

We stopped at several beaches and took two longer hill walks while in Southland.

Southland stops

Gemstone Beach

Once on the coast, we stopped first for a walk at Gemstone Beach.

Gemstone Beach

Caves in the sandstone

seaweed

beach rocks

oyster catcher

sandstone erosion

Orepuki

By this time, we were ready for a coffee break at the Orepuki Beach Cafe.

Lovely setting and delicious cakes!

Monkey Island Beach

We took a short walk at another beautiful beach – at low tide one can walk out to the island.

Monkey Island Beach

Monkey Island

Westward view

Long Hilly Walking track

Next we went on a short hike on the Long Hilly Walking Track to Round Hill, through historic gold mining areas of the 1870’s.

Tree fern forest

Tree fuchsias

Historic mining ventures

Riverton

We continued our drive along the southern coast to the town of Riverton,

Riverton, Pourakino River Bridge

Surfer crossing

then to a beach cove along the drive to Howell’s Point for our lunch break.

Cove with picnic bench along Rocks Road

Lunchtime

Exploring the cove…

Muddy water in the bay from the flooding river

After lunch, we stopped to see the view to the south from Howell’s Point:

Bluer water away from the river

Red billed gulls on the beach

Hilltop Lookout

Next, we took another hill walk over the headland – past cows and Balancing Rock.

Balancing Rock

And a cow…

After the hike, we drove back to Te Anau, with our guides keeping touch with the flood status of the roads for tomorrow.

Driving back through Riverton

View of the flooding rivers and the southern alps beyond

Sheep again, and the Tasman Sea

Te Anau Bird Sanctuary

We arrived back in Te Anau with time to visit the Bird Sanctuary. Here was a chance to see some of the endangered birds that are endemic to New Zealand. It was a challenge to get good photos through the chain link fencing.

Entrance to the Birdpark.

First, the parakeet/kakarike:

Next, the parrot/kaka:

We walked past the lake area, and saw some waterfowl…

Paradise shelduck

And last we spent quite a bit of time admiring the flightless Takahe, who were running around free range in their enclosure. There were several adults and a chick. they were very odd and fascinating to watch, and gave us a good final interesting new thing for the day.

Takahe are about the size of a chicken

Takahe chick being fed

Both beaks and feet look formidable!

Takahe

I enjoyed our improvised day in Southland. It was all new landscape to me, and as with everyday day so far, brought me surprising new views and experiences. Tomorrow, we were returning to our originally scheduled tour, and going back to Queenstown to take a hike up a mountain called Ben Lomond.

The only kiwi bird we saw at the bird sanctuary. It is extremely rare to see one anywhere, as they are nocturnal and almost extinct. There are a few refuges one can visit, but we did not seen on our trip.

The rest of October, 2021: knitting, neighborhood, more hikes…

November 3, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

A transitional month – the last of the summer flowers, leaves turning and falling, more rain, an atmospheric river event. We got our Covid booster shots, are poised for reentry, again, again, again, again….

Knitting, etc:

I knitted some little creatures – a gnome, three cats and a witch, and finished a pair of socks. My collection of twelve hats and a cowl are blocked and ready for donation to a local women’s shelter. I sewed potholders and a door light curtain for my daughter.

Witch and Cat (Susan B Anderson)

Mystery gnome Gnorwen (Sarah Schira)

Twelve hats and a cowl for donation

Weaving Socks (verybusymonkey)

New potholders for a gift

Tiny Speckled Window Cat (Sara Elizabeth Kellner) for a gift

Another Tiny Window Cat for me

Around the neighborhood:

Colors of the season:

Sunflowers

Crabapples

Two more hikes, besides our Mt Adams and Eagle Creek adventures:

With more frequent rain in western Oregon, we go east of the mountains, beyond the rain shadow.

10/21/2021 Tom McCall Point, Oregon: Orange oak trees, views of Mt Adams and Mt Hood, and a surprise viewing of a buck near the top of the mountain.

Tom McCall Point

Parsley Alley

Oak leaves

Oak tree

Memaloose Hills

Mt Adams, Washington slopes

Mt Adams

Mt Hood

Buck

Dried balsam root and puffy clouds

Summit view

10/27/2021 The Labyrinth, Washington: A saunter with our son through some of my favorite basalt piles and oak groves on an overcast day with sun breaks.

Oak grove

Orchards of Mosier

Friendly tree

Columbia River Gorge

New Zealand Albatross update: The chick Tiaki that I watched in the webcam from the time it was laid as an egg last fall, to its fledging in September 2021, has flown across the South Pacific Ocean to the coast of South America.

Screenshot from the NZ/DOC tracking page.

And some inspiration for staying positive…

Internet meme – author unknown.

Our first return to Eagle Creek since the fire of 2017

November 1, 2021November 1, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

October 12, 2021 Eagle Creek Trail to Twister Falls

We had been planning to hike all the way to Tunnel and Twister Falls in the autumn of 2017, after the summer crowds cleared out. Alas, the Eagle Creek Fire started on Labor Day weekend that year, scorching 48000 acres of the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side of the river. After years of trail maintenance, the Eagle Creek Trail has reopened intermittently this year, occasionally reclosed by landslides. I was wary of hiking this trail, and many of the reopened Gorge trails, for just this reason. Burned trees will fall. Burned, denuded slopes, will slide. And yet… we have been waiting to hike this trail for years.

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Map showing extent of 2017 Eagle Creek Fire. Our trail up Eagle Creek to Twister Falls shown in blue.

The trail extends for 13 miles up Eagle Creek, from the Columbia River, to its outlet on Wahtum Lake (elev. 3700′). We have hiked above this trail, from Wahtum Lake to Chinidere Mountain, many times. And we have hiked the lower trail, past various of the waterfalls, many times before the fire, but never all the way to Twister Falls, which is 6.5 miles from the trailhead.

A notable feature of this trail is that several sections are carved out of the vertical basalt rock walls that line Eagle Creek. Trail ledges were blasted out of the cliffs in the early 1900’s, around the time the old Columbia River Highway was built. People with fear of heights do not like this trail.

We chose a clear fall day, no recent rain, and not windy. Onward!

The trail begins near the banks of Eagle Creek, but mostly stays well above the creek on the east bank.

Trailhead

Eagle Creek trail along the cliffs

The trail passes by several waterfalls – we were not stopping much – keeping our end goal in mind.

Punchbowl Falls

Almost to High Bridge

Loo Wit Falls, near High Bridge

High Bridge, 3.3 miles

Looking down from High Bridge

After crossing High Bridge, the trail is on the west side of Eagle Creek.

New undergrowth in the burned forest beyond High Bridge

Skoonichuck Falls – the farthest we had been on previous hikes.

4.5 Mile Bridge – crossing back to the east side.

Fungi

“Potholes” section

Grand Union Falls

After 6 miles, we reached the first view of Tunnel Falls:

Tunnel Falls, East Fork of Eagle Creek, 175 feet.

Approaching the tunnel

View across to the cliffs and ledge trail on the other side

Into the tunnel

Looking up at the lip from the other side

Fern-lined trail ahead

My husband took this photo of me after I walked through the tunnel.

We continued around the corner, and upstream another quarter mile to Twister Falls:

Twister Falls, West Fork of Eagle Creek, 148 feet.

We couldn’t really get a good look at the full drop of this waterfall from the cliffside trail.

Eagle Creek, just above Twister Falls.

We found a quiet place beside the creek to rest and eat lunch before heading back down the trail.

Top of Twister Falls

Back through the tunnel,

and out the other side.

My turn…

Hiking back through the “Potholes”, where the trail surface is a parquet of columnar basalt:

Potholes

Columnar basalts

We continued hiking downstream:

Vine maple turning orange in the burned forest

Big leaf maple turning yellow

We hadn’t noticed Wy’East Falls in a side canyon on the hike up.

Basalt cliffs on the east

4.5 mile bridge again.

There were many areas of obvious trail repair in the burned forest.

Scree slopes, burned and fallen trees

High Bridge again…

We successfully completed this hike – 13 miles, 1600 feet for the day. I was glad to have seen Tunnel and Twister Falls, but I also felt a bit of vertigo on that section of the trail, and thought that maybe I won’t need to repeat this hike. The week after our hike, the trail was closed again briefly after an atmospheric river event caused more trail damage (quickly repaired by the valiant trail-keeping organizations in the area). It is a special place, and I am glad to have finally been able to see it.

Last look at Punchbowl Falls.

Artist Point trails near Mt Baker, WA, September 12 – 15, 2021

October 21, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

We stayed in a condo near the small town of Glacier, WA and drove to trailheads near Artist Point each day. During previous visits, we had some lovely hikes, but were impeded by snowed-in trails in August of 2010, and rain in October of 2015. We felt lucky to have a good weather window this trip.

Our four hiking trails – the Ptarmigan Ridge and Chain of Lakes Trails share the same trail from Artist Point for the first mile.

September 12 – Bagley Lakes

The cloud level was just above the Bagley Lakes – no mountain views today, and a bit of rain, but not many people either.

Hiking down the glaciated columnar basalts to the lakes

Mountain ash, pearly everlasting, and clouds

Lower Bagley Lake, asters

Bridge across Upper Bagley Lake outlet

First we hiked partway around Upper Bagley Lake:

Small waterfall and late paintbrush along the trail

Huckleberry bushes turning red

Fringed grass of parnassus in abundance!

Upper Bagley Lake shore and meadows. On our previous visit this area was full of snow.

We turned back and walked along the southern shore of Lower Bagley Lake:

Meadows full of fringed grass of parnassus – previously only seen rarely by me!

Bridge over the check dam at the lower end of Lower Bagley Lake.

We returned along the north shore of Lower Bagley Lake,

Columnar basalt waterfall

Cascade between the lakes

Pool above the cascade

Fireweed

then climbed back up the glaciated basalt surface, having completed the 3 mile loop, clouds lifting just a bit.

On our drive down the road, we stopped at the Picture Lakes – no mountain views today, but plenty of colorful wildflowers and foliage in the surrounding meadows.

Picture Lake

I realized the foliage colors are all there in the Hitchhiker Shawl I am knitting.

September 13 – Ptarmigan Ridge

When we arrived at the Artist Point trailhead, Mt Baker was out, though hiding a bit behind fast-moving clouds.

Mt Baker from Artist Point

We started along the first mile of trail that is carved into a high cirque, toward the saddle where the Ptarmigan Ridge trail begins.

Trail along the cirque

Saddle, Mt Baker beyond the clouds.

From the saddle, we dropped down into another cirque, then back up to Ptarmigan Ridge, heading toward Coleman Pinnacle.

Hiking up the next cirque to the ridge.

Ptarmigan Ridge

Rock hopping bird

View along the Ptarmigan Ridge trail

Closer view of our next saddle

Once over that saddle, we hiked toward Coleman Pinnacle.

Coleman Pinnacle

Glacial striations

Hiking up the barren, glaciated surface.

We were high enough to look down on Goat Lake,

Goat Lake

but the mountain remained elusive. One shoulder peeked out, giving us our best view for the day.

Looking for the mountain

Mt Baker’s shoulder

Glacier close ups

Meanwhile, I was also admiring the foliage colors, and the sea of lily seed heads. This must have been an amazing wildflower meadow a few weeks ago.

Lily and pasque flower

Lily and huckleberry

The clouds became thicker, so we decided to turn back, after 4.5 miles.

Another look at Goat Lake.

Goat Lake, a few people for scale.

The clouds parted for a minute, giving us a glimpse of this outlet valley below.

One last look back at Mt Baker before we turned the corner at the high saddle.

Returning along Ptarmigan Ridge…

Partridge foot, Happy Bunny Butte

Trail across the western cirque toward the saddle at Table Mountain

Back along the eastern cirque, Mt Shuksan still under clouds

Marmot crossing

Almost back to the trailhead, Mt Shuksan beginning to peek out.

We hiked 9 miles, 1500 feet for the day. We had packed food in our car, just in case the sunset looked promising – one never knows in the mountains.

September 13 – Artist’s Point Sunset / Huntoon Point

We rested for a while in the trailhead area, and were rewarded with more cloud clearing, and some beautiful sunset views. We walked along the Huntoon Point Trail for about a mile, watching the sky, the glaciers, the reflections in the several ponds and tarns along the way. A lovely evening.

Mt Shuksan:

The peak

Glaciers

Tarn and trail between Huntoon Point and Mt Shuksan

More stunning reflections

Last look.

Mt Baker:

Mt Baker; Coleman Pinnacle, which we walked around earlier today, in the foreground.

September 14 – Chain of Lakes

The mountains were out at the trailhead under a higher cloud cover, rain pending…

Mt Baker

Mt Shuksan

Cascades to the north

Knowing it might rain by afternoon, we started out on the Chain of Lakes Trail…

Cirque trail

Today we can see the Cascade peaks to the south, and Baker Lake below,

and the glaciers on Mt Baker

Crossing the stone ledges in the cirque

Fireweed and Mt Baker, and our trail junction in the saddle.

From the saddle, we had a better view than yesterday of the Ptarmigan Ridge trail.

Ptarmigan Ridge trail

Today we are going north, down the scree slope below Table Mountain, into the Chain of Lakes basin.

We passed by four lakes in the basin…

Mazama Lake

Stream between Mazama and Iceberg Lakes

Iceberg Lake

Hayes Lake

We followed the side trail around Hayes Lake, toward Arbuthnot Lake, and found shelter under a few trees to eat lunch just as the rain began.

Hayes Lake and Table Mountain

Lunch spot view of Hayes and Arbuthnot Lakes

Closer view of Arbuthnot Lake

The rain was beginning in earnest, so we turned around to retrace our steps, walking quickly as conditions got worse.

Mushroom forest

Outlet stream

By the time we were hiking back up the scree slope, I was getting pretty tired, after three days of hiking. I paused, and heard a whistle, and saw a marmot down on the rocks below the trail.

Marmot giving me the side eye as they enjoy their shower.

We still had more than a mile to go in the pouring rain, no more photos today. But we were very happy with our three days of hiking, and seeing the mountains, and came up with a new list of trails to return to, not just here, but along other trailheads in the North Cascades.

September 15 – Billy Frank-Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

Halfway through our six hour drive home to Portland we took our lunch break at this wildlife refuge at the southern end of the Puget Sound. We walked about two miles, to the beginning of the boardwalk that extends for another mile out into the Puget Sound.

The trail begins near a bog where we spotted a great blue heron.

We continued on wooden boardwalks through the woods,

with views to grassy lowlands.

Some other hikers pointed out the tiny frogs on the marsh grasses.

and I spotted a hummingbird.

After passing the barn,

we emerged to wide open views of the southern Puget Sound,

and spotted another heron.

We walked to the very beginning of the mile long boardwalk out over the water,

but decided to turn around for the day,

saving our visit to the farthest viewing platform for another day.

We will return!

Thus ended another adventure, leaving me with tired legs, and a new list of places to hike next time.

What happened in September 2021…

October 7, 2021October 6, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Home and garden:

Last of the tomatoes

gladiolas

sumac

chamomile

Farmer’s Market bounty

Knitting:

I finished more hats for the Women’s Shelter donation, made progress on socks and a shawl, both excellent travel knitting, and began knitting the fall Mystery Gnome. And I received a late but welcome crocheted bag as a birthday gift from my sister.

Crocheted bag from my sister.

Donation hat

Weaving Socks, pattern by Very Busy Monkey; Knit Picks Stroll yarn.

Hitchhiker Shawl, pattern by Martina Behm, yarn by Knitted Wit

Mystery Gnome 7, pattern by Imagined Landscapes, yarn is Noro Silk Garden sock.

Hiking:

We spent a lot of time on hiking trails! In addition to two out of town trips to the Olympic Peninsula and Mt Baker, and a day hike at Cloud Cap on Mt Hood, all described in separate posts, we went on six other adventures:

September 9, East Crater Trail, Indian Heaven, Washington. Return to Junction Lake.

Into the woods

East Crater

Junction Lake

Mountain ash

Huckleberry

Mt St Helens from the PCT Southbound

Birds in a water hole in a mostly dry creek

September 17, Portland Arboretum. Early fall color on a beautiful day.

Aralia

Sumac

Hop hornbeam

Douglas fir with sap

September 24, Kiwa Trail, Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, Washington. Looking for Sandhill Cranes while we can still hike the trail before it is closed for the winter nesting season.

Nightshade berries near the creek

Woodland

Grassland with teasel

These are the sandhill cranes we are looking for!

Resident nesting pair with colt

September 26 – Saltzman Road in Forest Park, Portland. Our first time on this particular trail through the park, we walked 6 miles while catching up with friends.

Saltzman Road, Forest Park

September 28, Crawford Oaks, Washington. A return to an oft hiked trail, we escaped the rain in Portland and saw only 4 other hikers the entire day.

Columbia Hills from The Dalles Bridge

Geologic context

Eight Miles Falls

Pear tree

Our usual lunch spot

Clouds and wind

Eastward

Tufts

The “one tree”

Dried balsamroot, Dalles Mountain Ranch

Some foliage for the day:

pear

poison oak

oak

grasses

September 30, Coyote Wall, Washington. Another often hiked trail, again with friends. A beautiful day up there!

Puffy clouds and rocks

Coyote Wall

Mt Hood in the clouds

Return hike

Other news:

Tiaki, the Albatross chick I have been watching in New Zealand via webcam, has fledged!

The blue line is a tracker on Tiaki, the red line is one of her parents.

A family member acquired a new-to-him car.

I attended an in-person book group meeting, where we watched the moon rise over the Willamette River from Sauvie Island.

Cloud Cap, Mt Hood, September 23, 2021

October 5, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

To the High Point on the Timberline Trail… September 23, 2021

After the long drive up the rutted road to the Cloud Cap campground (elev 5850′), on the east side of Mt Hood, we begin by hiking up the steep sandy side of the South Eliot Glacier lateral moraine.

Reaching the crest of the South Eliot Moraine

From here we see all the volcanoes to the north,

Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Mt Adams

but it is the head-on face of the Eliot Glacier that draws us upward over the rock studded surface of the moraine, continuously up toward the mountain, like a scene out of Close Encounters, we move forward.

We are passed by a few hikers headed for the high point on Cooper Spur, near Tie-In Rock, but we take the turn off to the hut.

Cloud Cap Shelter

Before we leave the moraine, I give the Eliot Glacier a few minutes to pose for close ups.

We reached the Cloud Cap Shelter at lunch time.

“Not very crowded up here today”, said my hiking partner.

We choose to walk south on the Timberline Trail, around the mountain. We play dot to dot with the rock cairns as we walk the gray trail, winding sinuously upward across the wrinkled shoulders of the mountain, contouring around the canyons.

Timberline Trail, heading south

A solitary raven cry, some humming bees, wild flowers faded to golden seed heads, a few green leaves survive, on the wind blasted slopes paved with rocks and stones – a desert pavement of sorts, peppered with large angular boulders that could only be from above;

Gravity prevails whether we acknowledge the science or not.

A few fresh snow patches cling to sheltered slopes, left by storms last week that have given all the high peaks fresh white crowns.

An older, dusty snow field, is preserved in the most sheltered north sloping hollow.

We reach the High Point of the Timberline Trail (7350′), then the ridge crest to the left where we rest, and enjoy a 360° view.

Mt Hood from near the high point of the Timberline Trail

Closer view of Tie-In Rock on Cooper Spur

Cascade peaks to the south above Gnarl Ridge:

Mt Jefferson, the Three Sisters and Broken Top

Of the Washington peaks to the north, only Mount Adams visible from here.

Mt Adams

On the return hike on this trail carved out of the edge of the sky, more ravens fly above, sweeping in choreographed pairs, swirling in groups above our narrow ridge and over toward Tie-In Rock, stalling and falling and circling around each other; then surprisingly, as I round a bend on the trail, I see them clustered on the snowfield.

They seem to be sipping from the surface, finding water in this sere late summer landscape where all the rivulets are dry.

A completely fresh air, clear sky, beautiful day up here, no smoke today, as close to the sky as I will get this year I think.

Cloud Cap shelter, and Washington peaks, on the return hike

One other creature living up here

And the mountain ash glowed red in the afternoon light.

Olympic Peninsula, WA, late summer, 2021

September 25, 2021November 18, 2024 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Aug 29 to Sept 3, 2021 – We scheduled a trip to the Olympic Mountains after our Iceland plans were cancelled due to increased spread of the Delta variant of Covid 19. We have been to the Olympics a few times, and have wanted to go back and explore more in the Hurricane Hill/Deer Park area where there are higher altitude hiking trails, the only ones that can be accessed without overnight backpacking. The weather was perfect, but a different sort of human pathology foiled our plans. The night we arrived in Port Angeles, the Olympic National Park website posted a closure alert due to police action. The closure continued for the three days we were in the area, so each day we found alternative hikes.

Driving north on 101 toward the Olympic Mountains – great weather ahead!

Port Angeles

Our hotel on the hill right above the center of town had an expansive view across the harbor, all the way to Victoria and the San Juan Islands. Port Angeles is home to the ferry to Victoria, BC. On previous visits, long lineups of vehicles filled the ferry loading zone at the dock, while people waiting to cross filled the town with activity. The ferry has been closed due to Covid since March of 2020. The town felt eerily quiet as we walked along the waterfront, admiring the beautiful setting and the shipping activity in the harbor.

View across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Mt Baker poking above the marine layer

Another view of Mt Baker beyond the ship

Hotel balcony view across Port Angeles Harbor to Vancouver Island

Stairs down to town

Evening lights

Sol Duc Falls

Monday, August 30th – A short trail leads to a beautiful triple falls.

Sol Duc Falls

We explored the river above the waterfall.

American dipper on the rocks.

Calmer water

We continued farther up the Sol Duc Trail to extend our hike.

Shelter near Sol Duc Falls

Trail beyond the waterfall…

Corydalis

The blue bead berries of the Queen’s cup or bead lily

Vanilla leaf

Ediz Hook

In the afternoon, we drove out onto Ediz Hook, the long jetty that shelters Port Angeles Harbor from the Salish Sea. There are beaches on both north and south sides of the jetty, and a Coast Guard Station at its far end.

Looking north toward Canada…

and westward from the north shore of the jetty.

A seal in the Salish Sea

We walked along the south shore of the jetty, looking back to land:

Southeast to the Coast Guard Station,

South to Port Angeles and the Olympic Mountains,

Southwest to the mountains and harbor industrial buildings.

Seagull on the north shore

Striped Peak

Tuesday, August 31 – We found an interesting hike at nearby Salt Creek Recreation Area on the Washington Trails Association website. This was a 7 mile hike through beautiful forest and not so beautiful clearcuts, with a visit to a lovely beach cove near the end of the loop.

Trail map

We began in the forest, hiking up almost 1000 feet to the top of Striped Peak.

We passed military bunkers from WW2 along the ridge, similar to bunkers we saw in Cornwall a few years ago.

A trail around the peak leads to views in all directions:

Crescent Beach to the west,

Olympic Mountains to the south,

Vancouver Island to the north,

Port Angeles, and our trail through the clearcuts to the east, taken from a bench near the top of Striped Peak.

As we walked more than a mile through the clearcut, we could look back and see the top of Striped Peak.

Eventually, the trail reentered the green forest, and we made our way back along the coastal cliffs .

A side trail leads down to Eagle’s Cove, with its surreal turquoise waters:

Eagle’s Cove, tide going out

We spotted a heron out in the cove.

Heron and sea gull

We think the heron is standing on a floating log.

Pebbly sand and shells on the beach

Pebble close up…

The hike out of the cove is steep.

Looking down at Eagle’s Cove

Wednesday, September 1 – We drove from Port Angeles to Lake Quinault, with stops along the way.

Bogachiel Rainforest

First stop, a three mile hike at the Bogachiel Rainforest. This is the dry season in the rainforest.

Large tree as bridge.

Plank boardwalks through what I presume can be a much wetter forest floor

Fallen tree to the right of the trail

Ruby Beach

After our rainforest hike, we stopped at Ruby Beach, the first of several beaches that can be visited while driving south along the coast.

Looking down at Ruby Beach from the overlook

Sculpted sea stack near the access trail

We walked north along the shore as the tide receded.

Wave sorted shingle

A flock of birds kept us company…

Walking south again…

Tide pools formed around the sea stacks …

Sea anemones

Sand, cobbles, clam

Back beach lagoon

We also walked a short distance south on Ruby Beach.

Destruction Island, with lighthouse, in the distance

Parting view of Ruby Beach

We stopped briefly at the at Kalaloch Beach 4 overlook.

View from above Kalaloch Beach 4

Cormorants

The sun is shining somewhere on this foggy day.

Roots around a nurse log

Lake Quinault

We stayed two nights at Quinault River Inn, a beautiful property with lovely views of the river and mountains.

View from our porch to the river and mountains

Thursday, September 2 – We explored the network of trails along Lake Quinault and nearby rainforest, then drove the loop road around the lake.

Trail sign

We began by walking east along the lake shore, mesmerized by the reflections in the glassy lake surface.

The spell was broken by a launch crossing the lake, casting wake ripples through the reflections.

We turned back west, passing by the historic Lake Quinault Lodge.

We crossed a bridge near Willaby Falls, then headed uphill to the rainforest trails.

Willaby Falls

I was continuously awed by the size of the trees in the rainforest.

Cedar swamp

Cascade Creek

After finishing our hike, we drove the roads around Lake Quinault, passing waterfalls and a view into the higher mountains.

Merriman Falls

Bunch Falls

Quinault River upstream (east) from the lake

We closed our last day back at the Quinault River Inn, watching reflections in the water as the shadows grew long.

Follow up to the Olympic National Park crime situation: We learned that a man under the influence of methamphetamine had wrought havoc on the area before disappearing into the wilderness with a long gun. Trails and campgrounds in the National Park were evacuated for three days, interrupting many people’s trips. The man was located, and the park reopened, about an hour after we departed. Allegations as of time of writing this, according to a news article in the Sequim Gazette (September 14, 2021): He assaulted his girlfriend, set a 1000 acre fire, cut down a tree to block the road, disabled a park service radio repeater, and tried to shoot down a surveillance drone. After a negotiated surrender, he was placed in custody. He had multiple weapons, ammunition, chain saws, survival gear, a letter announcing a revolution to begin soon, and a quantity of presumed methamphetamine in his possesion. He has many past domestic violence charges.

This crime event did not exactly ruin our trip, as we were able to find other options for hiking and seeing beautiful places, just not the places we had planned to see. We have become accomplished this year at making other plans, and making the best of unforeseen circumstances. We hope to return another year to see the high country.

August 2021 – summer gardens, knitting an albatross, the wing and the wheel….

August 27, 2021September 20, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

August turned out a bit differently than planned, as we had to cancel travel due to the spread of the delta variant of Covid-19. I celebrated another birthday, walked the neighborhood, ate lots of fresh garden tomatoes, knitted, sewed masks, enjoyed my daughter’s visit, and went on a few hikes (next post).

Neighborhood and garden

Summer roses

Echinacea

Shadows

View to downtown from Alameda Ridge from the top of…

the 38th Avenue stairs.

Signs of support in the neighborhood…

Water splashing in the Beverly Cleary sculpture garden.

Harbinger…

Puffy clouds in the evening sky,

Half moon rising,

Alpenglow

Farmer’s market and garden bounty

Birthday cupcakes and books

Knitting and sewing

An Albatross –

I finished knitting an Albatross Chick, pattern by Rachel Borello Carroll. The face and legs are perfect, the body and wings a less accurate reproduction, but I love having the chick on my shelf.

During our travels in New Zealand in February of 2020, we saw albatross chicks in their nests at the Royal Albatross Center in Taiaroa.

Albatross, taken from the bird blind at Pukekura/Taiaroa Head, February, 2020

After we returned home, almost immediately into pandemic lockdown, I discovered the albatross chick Atawhai, who we probably saw on our visit, was live on camera 24/7 on the Albatross Webcam: https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds…

I spent many a moment of zen during this pandemic, watching Atawhai sitting in the beautiful landscape that we visited, the beaches we walked upon beyond. Atawhai fledged in September of 2020.

This year I have been watching the new season of albatross on the webcam. There is a new fluffy chick named Tiaki, who will also fledge soon. She is down to only a few fluffy feathers, and spends lots of time stretching her wings in the wind (wingspan about 3 meters!) One day in the next month, the wind and wings will catch together successfully, and she will fly off for a few years, somehow knowing how to dive into the water to get food, having never touched it before. And new chicks will be hatched in January. The photos here are screenshots from the Webcam.

Other knitting and sewing: I finished two more hats for donation, and made new masks for my daughter.

Not traveling

Our travel destination turned from orange to red the week before departure, so we will not be walking through the Mid Atlantic Ridge, not watching an active volcano in the twilight, not walking along the shores of a glacial lake with floating icebergs, or seeing the birds and marine life of the North Atlantic ocean. We thought we would be too early for northern lights, but I was looking forward to seeing the lopi yarn, the black sand beaches, all the recent volcanic features, and the many waterfalls…. I heard an interesting discussion about the ethics of making the choice to not get vaccinated, and whether people making that choice (excepting those with true medical reasons) should have consequences. I fall squarely on the side of yes they should, and not because my travel plans are delayed. People are dying, people are surviving with long term consequences. Everyone’s life has been interrupted, and will continue to be until herd immunity can be achieved. So yes, I think that those selfishly ignoring the science, unwilling or unable to evaluate all the misinformation out there for what it is (more divisive rhetoric from the right wing patriarchy), should be restricted in their ability to move through public spaces freely, especially when they won’t offer the courtesy of at least wearing a frigging mask! It is a public health emergency!

RIP Nanci Griffith –

We lost one of my favorite singer songwriters this month. I have been listening to her beautiful voice and poetry for more than 40 years, and will continue to listen.

There’s a pale sky in the east, all the stars are in the west
Oh, here’s to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest
The wing and the wheel are gonna carry us along
And we’ll have memories for company, long after the songs are gone.

Nanci Griffith – Wing and the Wheel