March 2021, so far….

March 25, 2021 / margaretquilts / 2 Comments

We are sliding into spring around here. Flowers are blooming, with a few warm days between the rainy stretches. We were vaccinated at just about the one year anniversary of the pandemic, and I am grateful! I feel the hope of spring, yet I know we still have so far to go until everyone can say that. And then my daughter reminds me of our privilege in the world. I know. I can only live where I am, but I do know.

Knitting, reading, hiking, on we go, fuzzy days mushing into each other. Planning the weekly grocery list. Creating with my hands, my brain, I take notes. I try to find the distinguishing features of each day, and celebrate the positivity and the beauty. That is most of what I do, and will do, and am lucky to do. So….

Hiking

1) We snowshoed up White River on Mt Hood on March 2nd – clouds swathing the peak much of the day, but in a most artistic way.

Mt Hood in clouds, near the Sno-Park.

Lunch view, near the Timberline Trail crossing.

The snow on nearby Boy Scout Ridge looked unstable, so we kept our distance!

Return trip…

Last views – we can almost see the entire peak.

2) On March 11th we hiked Tom McCall Point and around Rowena Crest, east of Hood River in Oregon, to see the fields of grass widows.

Thousands of grass widows on the plateau below Tom McCall Point.

Grass widows

More grass widows…

Columbia River reflecting the Cherry Orchard cliffs in Washington.

Parsley alley

Mt Adams and Rowena Plateau, from near the top of Tom McCall Point.

Tiny flowers of spring whitlow grass.

Then we walked around Rowena Crest, closer to the river:

East view from Rowena Crest cliffs – kettle lakes in the foreground.

Westerly view.

One of the lakes on Rowena Crest.

Abstractions in the lake reflections…

And more grass widows!

3) The next week, on March 16th, we went out across the river to Lyle Cherry Orchard again. No squalls this time – a perfect hiking day, and the first of the bright yellow balsam root blooms were opening as we hiked.

Hiking up above the Convict Road.

Columbia Desert Parsley in full bloom.

Balsam root opening on the upper slopes.

Lots of flowers showing for the first time this spring:

shooting stars

balsam root

death camas

ballhead waterleaf

popcorn flower

fiddle neck

blue-eyed Mary

gold bells and buttercups

Stunning views from the cherry orchard:

Eastward, one of the remaining cherry trees.

Westward, balsamroot

4) We also walked a fast loop through Tryon Creek Park, on March 17th, where the very first of the trillium were opening, a little later than last year.

Tryon Creek

First trillium of spring

Around Portland

My neighborhood is also blooming.

cherry trees

star magnolia

The mountain is out, from the Markham Bridge.

goodbye to the Subaru

“Emily’s house”

windows

hyacinth

dove

windflowers

star magnolia

Knitting

I finished knitting a pair of socks for me and another hat and a cowl for the guild charity project, and cast on new socks and a cardigan.

New yarn, Rose City Virtual Yarn Crawl!

Marled Alaska Cowl

Bankhead hat

New socks for me

Patons Kroy socks

Em Dash cardigan

And…

I hold the more difficult challenges to the outside world in my heart. This week it is yet another uniquely American gun violence episode in Georgia, another hate crime, anti-woman, anti-Asian. I know in my heart it is all true, and part of the work we all have to do – bring out all the biases into the light of day and see how they harm so many. I am listening and learning more each day, and it all rings true, and saddens me. I pledge to myself to be as much of an ally as I can recognize. Listen and learn. Validate. Search for the commonalities and not the otherness. From my place on the privilege spectrum. That is most of what I do, and will do, and am lucky to do. And before I can publish this – yet another mass shooting at a grocery store in Colorado.

As a youngster with all the idealism of youth, I envisioned a giant magnet circling the world sucking away all the implements of violence, all the guns and weapons of war. On days like today with a heavy heart and a less idealistic world view, still I sigh and wish it could be true.

An image from Instagram.

And a volcano is erupting in Iceland!

Hiking in February 2021

March 1, 2021 / margaretquilts / 2 Comments

Despite the mid-month ice storm, we managed three hikes in February – all in the eastern Columbia River Gorge of Washington.

Lyle Cherry Orchard / Lower Catherine Creek – Feb. 2nd

We were hoping for good weather east of the mountains, but were foiled by a squall.

Starting up the Lyle Cherry Orchard trail, we could see nothing but blue sky from the Convict Road…

But there are clouds over the Columbia River to the east,

and west.

We saw our first Columbia Desert Parsley of the season,

and scattered grass widows.

As we continued up the tiers of basalt,

we noticed more ominous clouds to the west.

We continued up,

to about this point, when we encountered wind and driving rain on the unsheltered slope

We sheltered briefly under one of the oak trees, then headed down.

By the time we reached the car, the skies were blue again, so we decided to stop at Catherine Creek before going home.

We walked the Lower Loop, with views of the waterfall,

and of our Ponderosa guide tree, up on the slopes above the Labyrinth.

We saw a few early wildflowers, and finished just in time for another squall to blow through.

Blue jay

Bitterroot foliage

Rain in a vernal pool.

We saw rainbows in our rear view mirror as we drove back to rainy Portland.

Coyote Wall – Labyrinth Loop – Feb. 9th

We started cold and overcast, but hiked into a bluer, warmer day.

Looking up at the wall from the trailhead – we would soon be looking down from there….

View to the east from the lower slopes.

Ice on the trail.

First yellow parsley of the season,

and first prairie stars, with salt and pepper.

A bald eagle below us, watching the river.

Continuing up the Little Moab trail to the edge of the cliff…

Heralded by this raven the whole way.

Looking down at the trailhead,

and up the edge of Coyote Wall toward our lunch stop.

Trail continuing up the slope…

to the rocky edge where we took our lunch break.

The clouds began to part after lunch.

We headed east toward the Labyrinth across the upper slopes,

into a bluer sky.

Icicles in the upper Hidden Creek crossing.

Eastward view from our Ponderosa guide tree viewpoint on the Upper Labyrinth Trail.

Continuing down, we could see Mt Hood on the skyline peeking out from the clouds.

Through my favorite oak grove,

Past the columnar basalt buttes,

Following the waterfalls of Hidden Creek down the Labyrinth,

beneath the blue sky.

These falls were nearly dry in November,

now the pool is overflowing.

Goodbye to the ghost tree.

And back to the trailhead beneath the wall. A successful day!

Dalles Mountain Ranch – Vista Loop – Feb. 24

After two weeks of snow and ice storms, we were finally able to find a blue sky day at Columbia Hills State Park, an hour and a half east of Portland. A beautiful day, edged by snow on the skyline. Take a peek here if you want to see this trail in full spring bloom!

View south and west from Dalles Mountain Ranch trailhead – Mt Hood in Oregon, far across the Columbia River. We are heading downhill toward the river.

Looking back to the ranch as we hike down Eight Mile Creek.

Creek crossing.

Our lunch stop along the Missoula Floods scoured lower bench. Mt Hood, Columbia River, The Dalles and Horsethief Butte. Lots of purple grass widows in the foreground.

Eastward lower viewpoint.

Salt and pepper, grass widows.

Yellow bells

Gold stars

Another desert parsley

Looking back up to the ranch on the return hike.

One tree to rule them all.

Begin anew! January 2021

January 23, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

January 20, 2021 – So far 2021 has not brought much change to our daily life, but the relief of having a new president casts a hopeful light on our future! We celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary this month, with homemade Indian food and leftover Christmas chocolate. We continue in pandemic lockdown mode, staying home unless doing essential shopping, going on neighborhood walks, or weekly out of neighborhood hikes. Vaccines are seeping into the community, mostly to health care professionals and long term care facilities. My husband has temporarily unretired and will be helping with vaccinations. Thus he was able to celebrate inauguration day doubly, as he got his first dose today.

Hiking: We have been on three hiking adventures so far. The first, on January 7th, was our annual trek to see the bald eagle nesting area along the Klickitat River near Lyle, Washington. We saw at least thirty birds, many of them juveniles that still have brown plumage.

Bald eagles flying across the Balfour-Klickitat pond.

One eagle stayed perched in a tree nearby.

Closer view.

Many more eagles in the trees across the pond.

Zooming in, even more eagles can be seen disguised in the foliage.

Another dozen eagles were out on the sand bar where the Klickitat River flows into the Columbia River.

Two adults, one juvenile bald eagle on the sand bar.

Osage oranges along the trail here.

They are a curious fruit.

We walked a couple of miles along the Klickitat River trail.

Downy woodpeckers were in the bushes nearby.

This is a converted rail trail with a nice even tread.

We turned around at the Fisher Hill Trestle.

View down the Klickitat River from the trestle.

A side stream cascading into the Klickitat River.

On our return walk we saw a congregation of a couple of dozen eagles circling overhead.

On January 14th, we walked around Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in Southeast Portland. The blue sky was reflected beautifully in the water, and we saw cormorants, herons, and a barred owl near the trailhead.

Blue sky.

Reflections in the marsh.

Winter foliage.

Muraled Mausoleum across the marsh.

Oaks Park on winter/Covid hiatus.

Cormorants and herons, Downtown Portland.

Cormorants.

Barred owl.

Back out at Catherine Creek, near Lyle, Washington, on January 19th, we found the first grass widow of spring, then hiked a long loop up Atwood Road, across the top of Sunflower Hill, then down the Desert Parsley Trail back to Rowland Wall, thus completing some of the gaps in our map there. It was a beautiful day – chilly, but conducive to hiking up hill at a steady pace to see the eastern gorge spread below magnificently.

First grass widow of spring!

Catherine Creek waterfall set in the winter landscape.

Mt Hood to the west.

The arch from Atwood Road.

An old stove near Atwood Road.

Lunch view from the top of Sunflower Hill.

Oak tree, Mt Hood, noonday sun.

Looking up at our guide Ponderosa from The Desert Parsley Trail.

Knitting: So far this year I have finished knitting a sweater and a gnome, I’ve started a blanket and a new pair of socks:

Farallon Cardigan

Here We Gnome Again

Habitation Throw, using my “advent” yarns exchanged with my knitting group

Artists Garden Socks

Quilting: I finished my Plaid Rectangles Charm Quilt, a companion piece to my Plaid Applecore Charm quilt.

Plaid Rectangles Charm Quilt

Companion quilts.

A New Day! After a long, satisfying hike yesterday, I got up way too early (for me) to watch the inauguration celebration. I felt some trepidation, due to the recent insurrection. I am very relieved to report that all proceeded beautifully. The participants were diverse, eloquent, hopeful, forward looking! I cried as I witnessed the swearing in of our first female vice president! The singing, the president’s speech, and the prayers were relevant, meaningful, beautifully delivered. I adored the young poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, and the firefighter who signed as well as spoke the Pledge of Allegiance. The outgoing vice president was gracious in the transition. The colorful wool coats of the ladies brightened a blue sky day, when the Capitol, unfortunately, had to be surrounded by military lockdown, as the previous occupant never really conceded to his violent, deluded followers. I am disappointed that my daughter, sitting in her apartment about a mile away from the proceedings, could not witness the day. She assured me they remained safely within, while the din of helicopters continued above. Perhaps, going forward, the domestic terrorists will withdraw and think about the bill of goods they were sold, the lies told, the violence fomented by a greedy, disappointed narcissist who was only ever out for personal profit and aggrandizement, with no concern for the common good, no interest in public service. Good riddance! Meanwhile, executive orders and initiatives are already putting to right some of the damage, and asserting to the world that we want to participate in finding solutions for global problems.

Hiking in November, 2020

December 27, 2020 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

A gathering of late reports….

Monday, November 2nd, The Labyrinth

My favorite, often visited, eastern Gorge trail on a windless day with beautiful low autumn light. (Hike #69 for 2020, 4.4 miles, 1000 feet)

Trailhead, Rowland Lake, perfectly calm and reflective. Our destination is the tall Ponderosa Pine, left of center.

The Old Hwy 8 waterfall is completely dry.

Mt Hood on view to the west across the Columbia River.

The labyrinth waterfall is almost dry…

A few drips in the mossy wall,

and some still pools below in the streambed.

We wind around columnar basalts surrounded by golden grass,

Through the oak grove.

Mt Hood still on view in the glare, as the sun moves west

We pass a favorite trailside oak tree,

Almost to our destination Ponderosa…

The eastern Gorge beyond

Rowland Wall and the Catherine Creek area slopes.

Zoom in on Lyle and Memaloose Island

Tom McCall Point and the orchards of Mosier on the descent.

The haunted oak tree bids us farewell.

Monday November 9th, Dry Creek Falls

We spotted the winter swans in Mirror Lake at the base of Crown Point as we made our way through The Gorge to Cascade Locks.

Dry Creek Falls, which we have hiked many times, is one of the closest waterfall hikes, most of the trails still being closed since the 2017 fire. Today we walked through falling Big Leaf Maple leaves lighting up the partially burned forest. (Hike #70, 4.9 miles, 1050 feet)

Bridge over Dry Creek on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Dry Creek Falls

Monday, November 16th, Finley Wildlife Refuge

Our first visit to this refuge, on a day when the Willamette Valley to the south was the only partly dry place within a two hour drive from home. Recovered farm land is a winter sanctuary for migratory birds. (Hike #71, 2.5 miles, 150 feet)

Our first stop, the Prairie Overlook:

Miles of Willamette Valley grasslands.

From there, we walked the Homer Campbell Boardwalk through a wetter terrain.

Canadian Geese near the trailhead

The boardwalk…

Marshy forests

A bird blind at the end of the winter trail.

Back through the mossy and lichen covered trees.

Another hiker told us we would see swans in the McFadden Marsh, so we headed there for our lunch stop.

Swans, geese and other water fowl.

The weather had cleared a bit, so we hiked the Woodpecker Loop trail to stretch our legs a bit more.

Along the Woodpecker Loop trail.

High point – a shelter, and view of some of the high Cascade Mountain peaks to the east.

As we began our drive home, we found the best view of the Cascades was from a road pullout above some of the historic farm buildings.

Mt Jefferson

North, Middle and South Sisters.

We enjoyed our day at Finley Wildlife Refuge – anything to get out of the house for a few hours and walk in nature. I would like to visit in other seasons, but we usually have destinations closer to home…

Eleven Lakes and a bear in Indian Heaven Wilderness, and more pandemic knitting

September 4, 2020 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

We took two hikes in Indian Heaven Wilderness, a beautiful patch of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest between Mt Adams and Mt St Helens in southern Washington. A few small volcanic peaks rise above the rolling forested landscape that is also spotted with dozens of lakes, and covered with ripe huckleberry bushes in August.

August 20, 2020 – Indian Racetrack Lake and Red Mountain

Trailhead into the forest

Racetrack Lake – the only lake on this hike

Looking Across Racetrack Meadow to Red Mountain

View of Mt Adams on the way up to Red Mountain

Closer view of Mt Adams,

And closer.

Nearing the top of Red Mountain

Views from the top:

Mt Hood beyond Red Mountain Lookout

We climbed up to the viewing platform on the lookout.

Some other hikers pointed out a bear cub down on the other side of the mountain, eating huckleberries.

Looking back east at Mt Adams – clouds now covering the top

Mt St Helens to the north

And starting down again, we can see our trail dropping into the woods, and beyond we see the spine of Indian Heaven Wilderness: Berry Mountain, Gifford Peak, burned East Crater, and Lemei Rock.

Some details along the trail:

ripe huckleberries

aster

pyrola

red knotweed

Lily pads and grass, Racetrack Lake

Falls Creek

Hike #57, 6.8 miles, 1500 feet

August 28, 2020 – Thomas Lake trailhead to Junction Lake

The other ten lakes were seen on this hike.

Once again we enter the forested wilderness…

Thomas Lake

Heather Lake

Dee Lake

Eunice Lake

Nuha Lake

Rock Lakes

Unnamed lake beyond Rock Lakes

View of burnt East Crater from the Old Cascade Crest trail segment

A glimpse of Mt St Helens as we cross the shoulder of East Crater

Unnamed lake near the trail junction

Junction Lake, our turnaround point

Some details along the trail:

Reflections in the lakes…

Huckleberry bushes turning red

Mountain ash berries

Hellebore

Most likely the last beargrass bloom of summer

And another view of Mt St Helens above Eunice Lake on the descent.

Hike #58, 6.8 miles, 630 feet.

Meanwhile, we are floating along through more days of pandemia – some days we see no one at all, only virtual connections to the outside world. Our neighbors leave us tomatoes. We leave them apples and plums and wave across the rose bushes. Downtown is still burning up with civil unrest while I go on placidly through the days of late summer, of pandemia, of this administration… I virtually hold my breath, knock on wood, pray, cast spells, wish for a begin to a return to ‘normalcy’; hope for a late summer without a local fire season, hope for a scientifically tested efficacious vaccine, and hope for a fair election that will allow us to emerge from impending climate change, covid and facism. And I knit…

Knitting –

I cast on a hat and some socks…

Rafa by Joji Locatelli, Malabrigo Arroyo, Blue green

Sock, Berroco Sox yarn

Neighborhood sights:

fern shadows

Poetry Post

yard sign

neighborly tomatoes

And nationally…

My daughter attended the 57th March on Washington,

The march

Lincoln Memorial

The Mall

-and this artwork crossed my social media feed:

I am still struggling a bit with the new WordPress format….

First Columbia River Gorge hike in a while, another hike on the Wildwood Trail, some knitting, and neighborhood views

June 12, 2020 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

June 2, 2020 – Phlox Point, Beacon Rock State Park, WA

A quiet Tuesday. We met only a few other hikers on trails that are mostly wide equestrian trails until they switchback up Hardy Ridge. Lower slopes are shady forest, with shady forest blooms. We passed a few sunny open areas before reaching the rocky ridge crest with the wide angle view of the Columbia River Gorge that we have been missing these last few months of pandemic-closed trails. A mile north along the ridge are the rocky ledges of Phlox Point. I was very tired by the return, but happy to be able to hike here again. Hike #44, 8.5 miles, 2200 feet.

The wide angle view – Mt Adams, Table Mountain, Columbia River Gorge, Bonneville Dam, Hamilton Mountain, Mt Hood.

Hardy Ridge Crest intersection

Lunch view of a raven and Mt Hood.

Heading north along the ridge to Phlox Point.

Phlox, paintbrush, and parsley on the way up Phlox Point.

Hamilton Mountain, Mt Hood

Mt Adams

Northern Phlox Point ridges and view.

Some of the wildflowers:

phlox

beargrass

penstemon, paintbrush, Oregon sunshine

Cascade mountain ash

mariposa lily

serviceberry

anemones

columbine

nodding onion

June 10, Wildwood Trail again…

Today we hiked from the Springville/Trillium Trailhead on the Wildwood Trail, east to the detour at the Cleator Trail, and then back. We will have to skip the next mile of Wildwood Trail that is closed for repair. We have now completed approximately half of the 30 mile trail on our five pandemic Wildwood hikes. – Hike #45, 7.6 miles, 615 feet.

On the Wildwood Trail…

Salmon berries getting ripe…

A bridge

Green!

Knitting

Mitts and a new sock:

Neighborhood

Another tethered horse.

Interesting concrete

Low light

A colorful garden

A Black Lives Matter march appeared in our neighborhood. We were able to catch the tail end and join for a short distance, masked and separated, of course.

Two hikes as our trails reopen…

May 31, 2020May 31, 2020 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Boundary Trail, Mt St Helens, Washington –

May 27, 2020 – Trails and parks in Oregon and Washington are slowly reopening for careful, “social distance” hiking. We chose a sunny Wednesday to hike at Mt St Helens. The road to the Visitor Center is still closed, so we began our hike on the Hummocks Trail, and continued on to the Boundary Trail. (Hike #42, 8 miles, 1625 feet)

Red marks our route.

The trail crosses through the hummocks, which are debris avalanche and landslide deposits from the violent May 18, 1980 eruption. Though once a barren moonscape, the hummocks are now lush and green, covered with plants and shady alder groves, and surrounded by ponds and wetlands.

Alder groves and ponds near the trailhead.

The trail comes out into open landscape at the junction with the Boundary Trail, then heads off into lowlands along the Toutle River, before climbing steeply up the flanks of Johnston Ridge. From here on we almost always had a full on view of the mountain.

Boundary Trail Junction

Zooming in…

Crossing the Toutle River lowlands.

Heading up, Indian paintbrush and Mt St Helens.

Once high enough, we can see north to the west end of Coldwater Lake, and back to the ponds in the hummocks, our starting point.

Closer view of Coldwater Lake.

Lovely view from our lunch stop.

Red current in bloom as we continue eastward.

We reached our farthest view point, not quite to the Loowit Turnout on the road.

Coldwater Peak

Mt Adams and a glimpse of Spirit Lake

Mt St Helens

I felt a bit out of shape on this hike, so we only went as far as a viewpoint where Mt Adams comes into view, before we reached the Loowit Viewpoint. It was fairly hot, and once out of the hummock zone, there is no shade. What is amazing is how much shade there is in the hummocks area, because everything in sight has regrown since the eruption 40 years ago.

A last look back at the mountain on our return hike:

40 year old stumps, with younger trees in the foreground.

Sheep sorrel, Toutle River

Wildflowers are beginning to bloom – in a couple of weeks it will be very colorful here.

paintbrush

penstemon

lupine

woodland strawberry

miniature lupine

little leaf miner’s lettuce

We stopped at the Castle Lake Viewpoint on our drive home for a last look today, with plans to return in the not too distant future.

Castle Lake Viewpoint

Wildwood Trail Hike 4

Friday, May 29, 2020 – In continuation of a pandemic goal to hike all of the 30 mile Wildwood Trail in Forest Park, we walked another section, from Springville Road to the Wildwood Trail, to the Trillium Trail and back to our trailhead on Fire Road 7. This section of the Wildwood Trail is cut into the sides of steep forested slopes. It was dry and warm today, but well shaded. We saw a few flowers, a few birds, a lot of trail runners, and a few hiking groups. Most of the hikers pulled masks up when passing. Trail runners mostly did not. We did our best to give them a wide space. We all need the fresh air! (Hike #43, 5.2 miles, 460 feet)

Trailhead

Springville Road

The first wild roses I have seen this year.

Fern shadows

Ferns

Our return trail is all uphill!

Knitting

I am getting ready to start new projects, so I have been hand winding yarn, knitting a gauge swatch, and spending lots of time searching the glorious Ravelry pattern library, which in my opinion is the very best place in all of the internet. I also cast on a gift knit – fingerless mitts.

A note on the times we are living in – I support the Black Lives Matter protests going on this weekend. It may be a long time before the “all are created equal” spirit of our nation is realized, but I try to live my life in support of it. On a more positive note, I was happy to see the successful SpaceX launch this weekend, furthering work my father participated in as rocket scientist.

Forest Park again…

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

May 15, 2020 – Wildwood Trail: Newberry Road/BPA Road Loop

We returned to the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park on the west side of Portland for another pandemic hike. It had been raining off and on all week, and the forest was a little drippy. Clouds blocked the view of mountains we saw from the BPA Road last week, but there were lots of new wildflowers this week. (Hike #40, 6.5 miles, 1250 feet)

Newberry Road trailhead

Fern-lined trail

Forest

Powerline cut – no mountains this week.

Inside out flower

anemones

cedar and fir

fungus

honeysuckle

rosy plectritis and blue-eyed Mary

dew

lupine, rosy plectritis, and salad

native iris

In other good news, nearby forests and state parks are gradually reopening, so we will soon have a wider geography available.

Knitting

A finish! Patons Kroy Celestial Purple traveling socks.

Neighborhood walks-

nasturtium

dogwood

Porch parade

Porch pig

Tethered horse

More words of encouragement!

Addendum – Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, May 5, 2020

When Washington State reopened some public lands, we went to the driving loop at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. The wintering birds – swans, geese, and sandhill cranes – had flown on. Today we saw turtles, redwing blackbirds, egrets and herons. This was our first foray out of our neighborhood in two months, and it was great just to see some wide open spaces from the safe space of our car!

Egret in the distance.

Turtles

Red wing blackbirds in the meadows.

Hamilton Mountain, WA, and first knit socks of 2020

January 16, 2020January 9, 2020 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

January 3, 2020 – Our first hike of the New Year was to Hamilton Mountain in Beacon Rock State Park on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. We’ve been many times, usually to see the cliffs become hanging gardens in the spring. Today we had perfect winter hiking conditions – not too cold, a bit muddy, full waterfalls, clear views from the top.

The first summit of Hamilton Mountain, as seen from the power line cut on the lower trail.

Approaching the upper cliffs, eastern gorge beyond.

Bonneville Dam, with Mt Hood appearing to the south.

First view from the summit- Mt Adams glowing in winter white beyond Table Mountain.

Wide view from the summit.

Mt Hood to the south, in low winter light.

After lunch at the summit we continued the trail to the northern saddle/plateau –

A last look back at Mt Hood.

Western gorge, filling with mist and a painterly sky.

Columbian lewisia foliage in the saddle.

Crossing over a very full Rodney Falls on the return hike.

Hike #1 for 2020, 8.2 miles, 2250 feet.

Knitting

First knit finish in 2020 – traveling socks that I started last May.

Up the Labyrinth and down Coyote Wall in fog and sun

December 24, 2019 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

12/13/2019 Coyote Wall, Washington

Once again we drive through the foggy, rainy Columbia River Gorge to the east side of the Cascade Mountains…

Rainbow over White Salmon, from the Hood River Bridge.

Once again, we walk along Old Highway 8, parallel to the Columbia River…

Look Lake reflections.

Columbia River, Oregon beyond.

Geese on those rocks above the river.

Once again we hike up the winding trails of The Labyrinth, through layers of shifting fog.

Red Oregon grape along the trail.

Labyrinth waterfall

Fog ahead

My favorite oak grove

The sun is trying

Mt Hood’s flattish top peaking in and out at us as we go higher.

Our favorite landmark tree viewpoint – one moment in the fog,

then clear skies for a while.

Once again we hike higher, then across Atwood Road to the sudden cliff edge of Coyote Wall.

Cliffs of Coyote Wall are just beyond the oak tree

Coyote Wall, Look Lake, Columbia River.

Looking north to the upper slopes of Coyote Wall.

Eastern Columbia River Gorge.

Once again we hike down the ankle breaking bike trails, one called the Crybaby trail, while the fog layers shift and disperse.

East view from Old Ranch Road

Looking back up the wall, fog descending again.

Summer parsley.

Looking East toward the Rowena orchards.

Almost back to the Coyote Wall trailhead.

(Hike #57, 7 miles, 1500 feet)

Knitting…

Button bands on the Meris cardigan done; and about two thirds of a Rafa Hat.