Southwest hiking trip, April, 2022: Part 2 – Escalante, Utah

May 28, 2022June 16, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

April 23, To Escalante, Utah

Escalante is about 5 hours drive east of Las Vegas, so we spent most of a day driving there, but it is a beautiful drive!

I thought this was a lake, in the desert along Highway 15 east of Las Vegas, but it is actually a large array of solar panels.

Snow capped Pine Valley Mountains on view as we cross into Utah.

We stopped for a lunch break with a family member who lives near St George, Utah.

View from the garden.

After lunch, we continued on to Cedar City to buy groceries for the next few days. Then we took the scenic route, Hwys 14 to 89 to 12, over mountains, and onto the Colorado Plateau, where the ‘lower’ elevations are above 5000 feet.

We passed the turnoff to Zion Canyon, not on our agenda this trip.

Over snowy mountains on Hwy 14,

Back down to the Sevier River, along Hwy 89.

Hoodoos of the Claron Formation along the road near Bryce Canyon.

Everyone loves a rock tunnel!

Beyond Bryce, Powell Point of the famous Grand Staircase Pink Cliffs began to dominate our view.

Powell Point

We stopped at the overlook on Highway 12 to admire Powell Point from another angle.

View of Powell Point from the Hwy 12 Overlook.

Hwy 12 Overlook sign

Our stratigraphic column for the week.

We arrived in Escalante around dinner time.

Escalante hotel room view – very different from Las Vegas!

Location map for our hikes and landmarks for the next few days.

April 24 – Toward Boulder and the Burr Trail

We began the day by driving east on Hwy 12 into this remarkable landscape:

Lower Calf Creek Falls – We hiked six miles round trip along Calf Creek, mostly between steep red sandstone walls of Navajo Sandstone.

The trail begins near the campground, and stays close to the river most of the way.

Red sandstone walls loom above,

On both sides of the river.

Photogenic scenery in every direction.

Beaver dams in the river.

The paper trail guide pointed out pictographs across the canyon,

identified as Fremont-style rock art,

painted with red pigment.

A rock arch across the creek, where the canyon walls narrow.

At river level, the vegetation forms a tunnel,

and then the waterfall appears through the trees.

Lower Calf Creek Falls, 126 feet

Upper lip

Lower drop

This was a great lunch stop! We admired the falls for a while.

Tripod nation

Upper lip again

After lunch, we returned down the sandy trail.

Desert varnish on sandstone

Spotted towhee

Navajo Sandstone

We continued driving east on Hwy 12, toward Boulder. We stopped at the pullout that is just above Calf Creek Falls, to see the view across the canyon.

Looking west

Our trail down in the canyon

Blue arrow points to the narrow part of the canyon, and approximate position of Lower Calf Creek Falls.

Long Canyon Slot – We continued east on Hwy 12, to the small town of Boulder, then turned onto Burr Trail Road for eleven miles, to the Long Canyon slot canyon. Once again, the road cut through amazing scenery. These white sandstone hills just outside Boulder remind me of Checkerboard Mesa, near Zion Canyon.

Navajo Sandstone

By the time we reached Long Canyon, we had driven lower into the stratigraphy to the older Wingate Formation, also a massive red sandstone layer. The slot canyon here is less than a quarter mile long and easily accessible.

Wingate Formation

The slot

Slot entrance

Looking up at the sky between the walls

The end of the canyon

Much narrower above.

Head of the Rocks Viewpoint

On our drive back to Escalante, we stopped at the Head of the Rocks Viewpoint, with all the world displayed around us.

Head of the Rocks viewpoint

Panorama

Farther east

Close up of slick rock Navajo Sandstone surface

Navajo Mountain in the far distance

April 25 – Hole in the Rock Road

Zebra Slot Canyon – We drove down Hole in the Rock Road, south of Escalante, to the trailhead to Zebra Slot. This was another six mile round trip hike, first across open desert, then into canyons cut into Navajo Sandstone. For most of the hike we were admiring wall after wall of cross bedded sandstone.

Open desert and cliffs west of Hole in the Rock Road

A desert vetch in bloom

Slumping within the original sand dune layers

Closer view

Microfaulted crossbeds

Harris Wash

Entrance to Zebra Slot

Passage becoming narrower

An open chamber between narrow passages

Stripes of varnish and concretions

Squeezing through – we didn’t make it much farther – we would have had to chimney up the slot – a bit out of our skill set.

Some of the beautiful striping suggesting the Zebra name

Daylight above

Coming out of the slot

On the hike out, we wandered across the beautiful slick rock surfaces.

Devil’s Garden – We continued down Hole in the Rock Road for a few more miles, to the Devil’s Garden – an area of hoodoos eroded from the Entrada Sandstone. We wandered around this area for about an hour enjoying the photo opportunities.

Metate Arch

Metate Arch

Metate Arch

Mano Arch

More hoodoos in the distance

A rock wren?

Eroding sandstone layers

To Tropic – At the end of the day, we drove back west for about an hour, relocating to the town of Tropic, just east of Bryce Canyon, where my husband would be based for his photo class. And we still had a whole day to explore in this area.

View to Powell Point from our cabin in Tropic.

Coda: When I was at Joshua tree in February, I was wondering if I still liked the desert, and this trip to the redrock country has answered that question. This is the desert I like…sandstone slickrock, slot canyons, and cliffs – I realized it was the Colorado Plateau I was seeking. Each day, we noted trails and views we didn’t have time to explore, and made a list for next time…

Southwest hiking trip, April, 2022: Part 1 – Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

May 24, 2022June 7, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

I accompanied my husband for a week of hiking before he attended a long delayed outdoor photography course in southern Utah. We began by flying to Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the friend we planned to visit there had a last minute family emergency. And much as we wanted to see the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show, we were not ready to be with unmasked people indoors for that amount of time. So, we kept to our hotel, and to the great outdoors, of which there is plenty to go around in this part of the world!

April 21 – Flying to Las Vegas

Flying over Mt Jefferson on our way south…

And directly over Red Rock Canyon, with its beautifully displayed Keystone Thrust Fault (gray Paleozoic Limestone lying atop tan and red Mesozoic sandstones), where we would be hiking tomorrow.

We circled the Las Vegas strip before landing.

We could see the strip skyline from our hotel:

By day;

including the marquee for the show we wanted to see;

And by night.

April 22 – Red Rock Canyon

As we drove west toward Red Rock Canyon, we could see a storm coming in…

We began at the Visitor Center, which has excellent outdoor exhibits that explain every category of natural and human history of the area.

Sheepshead Peak and Calico Basin redrocks

Geology exhibit, storm clouds

Desert tortoise

Wildflowers

Then, instead of being allowed to drive the 13 mile one way scenic drive to trailheads and viewpoints, we were asked to leave, as they were evacuating the park. We assumed it was due to flash flood hazard. Fortunately we had noticed nearby Calico Basin Trailhead, which was not closed. We waited in our car as the brief storm passed through, then hiked the Calico Basin and Red Springs trails.

In Calico Basin, it was lovely to walk among the cross bedded sandstones and spring flowers, to a small canyon. I heard, for the first time in many years, the descending scale of the Canyon Wren song, though I never did see the bird.

Trailhead

Sheepshead Peak again, beyond Calico Basin

Paper daisy? Lots of new to me wildflowers on this trip.

Hedgehog cactus

Crossbedded sandstone

Canyon at the end of the trail

White crowned sparrow?

As we walked the boardwalk around Red Springs, we saw more birds, flowers, and interesting rocks, all the while being serenaded by violin music from an ongoing wedding.

Red Springs

California Quail

Petroglyphs, orange globe mallow, white evening primrose

View back to Las Vegas from the ridge above Red Springs

View back into Calico Basin

We decided to check the park entrance again, and it had just reopened, so we drove the Scenic Loop, stopping for views at the High Point Overlook:

Toward the southeast, Calico Basin

Sheepshead Peak, Paleozoic limestone to the northeast

More Paleozoic limestone to the north

Northwestern slopes of Red Rock Canyon

Western slopes

Then we drove into the Willow Springs area, and took two short walks into the rocky landscape.

First, the Petrogyph Trail:

Trailhead

We spotted a pale pink penstemon in the wash.

Signage at the Petroglyph Wall

Pictographs

Petroglyphs

Next, we walked a labyrinthian maze to Lost Creek:

Trailhead

Around the tree, up the stairs,

Under the overhanging rock,

To a trickling waterfall at the end of the trail.

Finally, we stopped at Red Rock Wash Overlook for a last view of the area.

Late afternoon light over Sheepshead Peak and Calico Basin.

We enjoyed our day in this beautiful landscape; and were next looking forward to a few days of hiking in southern Utah.

Last words from the Visitor Center.

April 2022

May 3, 2022September 11, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We returned from our east coast trip early in the month, happy to see our bulbs and crabapple tree in full bloom.

Checker lilies

Tulips

Crabapple

On April 11th we had an unusual late season snowstorm covering all the blossoms. It melted within a day, and though hail, wind and rain hit sporadically that week, we were also treated to several rainbows.

Snow on the crabapple blossoms

and tulips

Hail and crabapple blossoms

Sunny deluge

Rainbow

We hiked the Lyle Cherry Orchard West Loop on April 6th, – our second time on this new trail. Today we saw the early spring flowers, the always spectacular views, and a lot less wind compared to our hike here last December!

Eastern gorge, red poison oak beginning to leaf out.

Death camas in abundance throughout the lower plateau.

Death camus

Mt Adams from the upper trail

Pink filaree carpeting the upper oak groves

shooting stars

glacier lilies

fiddleneck

View to the western gorge and early balsam root blooms.

Balsamroot

On April 15th, we took a quick loop through Tryon Creek on our annual spring hike to see the trillium and skunk cabbage….

trillium

skunk cabbage

salmonberry

Big leaf maple, Tryon Creek

April 21st to 27th we travelled to the southwest, Nevada and Utah, the subject of my next post.

On return to Portland, the neon green of our city glowed from the airplane window. I was pleased to see the dogwoods and azaleas in the neighborhood in full bloom.

Tulips

My knitting this month:

April Gnome – Gno Fun Like Gnome Fun (Sarah Schira) – made for an east coast friend.

Backcountry hat – Guild service project

Morning Dew hat – Guild service project

Mercury Sox

New yarn from Local Yarn Shop Day

And…I celebrate the approval of our new Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson…though her presence will probably not be enough to thwart the regressive decisions looming….

The wisdom of Ruth Bader Ginsberg

DC-MD-PA-CT-DC, March 25-April 3, 2022

April 21, 2022October 24, 2023 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

We visited family and friends who live 3000 miles away, most of them not seen since 2019. We flew to National Airport, in Washington, DC, and stayed near our daughter for the first weekend. Then we drove north, and visited folks in Baltimore, rural Pennsylvania, and near New Haven, CT. We returned to DC for the second weekend, before flying home.

I have not spent very much time in the eastern US, so every time I visit I am wide eyed and curious, taking in all the scenery, buildings, and landscapes that are so different from the west. The 300 mile drive from DC to Connecticut is along a low relief coastal plain, gently sloping toward the sea, incised by rivers, and fringed with the bare branches of deciduous trees this time of year. The prominent vertical elements are city skylines. When a highway overpass allowed an elevated view, I could see how vulnerable the coastal plain is to hurricanes – there is so little relief (compared to the west coast) to alter trajectories! That is my old geocuriosity showing up here, and my first time actually driving this route and seeing it with my own eyes…

Friday, March 25 – We left our Washington Cascade peaks behind, flew over the central plains, and arrived with a long distance view of the National Mall. We took the Metro into town and met our daughter at a Peruvian-Sushi-fusion restaurant, followed by gelato, before finding our way to our AirB&B near Columbia Heights.

Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier

Iowa

DC Metro area

National Airport from the Metro

Dinner

Saturday morning we visited a local Farmers Market, ate amazing felafels, then took the Metro to the National Mall. This was the second weekend of the cherry blossom festival, and the trees were in bloom. After a quick look at the very crowded Tidal Basin, we decided to walk east up the Mall.

Farmers Market

Cherry blossoms

Looking across the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial

Walking past the Washington Monument

A brief stop in the Smithsonian Castle

Kite flyers out on the Mall on this windy day.

Zoom in on the Capitol

We visited the National Gallery of Art.

Azaleas in the Foyer

Knitters!

Western landscape

Sunday, we visited an Art Fair at the Kennedy Center REACH – again so cold and windy we were glad to eat lunch in the sheltered cafe nearby that looks toward the Kennedy Center out of one set of windows, and toward Roosevelt Island on the Potomac on the other side. Then we said goodby to our daughter for the week and drove north to Baltimore to see cousins there.

Kennedy Center

A new Kennedy statue near the REACH complex

President Kennedy

Nordic Swan sculpture near the Art Fair; the swan is made of more than 300 upcycled plastic buckets.

Monday afternoon we headed north again, this time to rural Pennsylvania, just north of Wilmington, Delaware. We had snow squall warnings on our phone just as we arrived at our destination. This cold spell was not in the weather predictions when we packed for our trip! Our cousins in PA have a lovely old home with an amazing kitchen, and we spent lots of time there, with a sight seeing break to see an old oak tree and a walk in a nature preserve.

Good news about boosters, bad news about the weather.

Pennsylvania house

Ancient oak tree

Nearby landscape view

A chilly walk at the Laurels Preserve:

Wednesday – On to Connecticut – about a 3.5 hour drive. We visited the New Jersey Palisades just west of the George Washington Bridge. My husband was interested in seeing them, as he had recently been reading about their role in some of the American Revolution battles. I wanted to see the rocks – diabase sills that originated near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as the North American Continent was slipping away from Europe much longer ago – 200 million years. We both got our wish, and this was a perfect place to eat our lunch as we looked south at the skyline of New York City.

George Washington Bridge from the Ross Dock Picnic area, New Jersey

The Palisades

Looking up the Hudson River

New York skyline

Over the bridge…

We had lots of lovely family time in Connecticut, catching up with family and meeting some new members. On Thursday we walked up East Rock with some of my husband’s childhood friends, followed by lunch in New Haven.

East Rock Park

View to New Haven and Long Island Sound

Dog of Connecticut

Friday was the 300 mile drive all the way back to DC, a long stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike, previously only known by me in the Paul Simon song: “We all come to look for America!”… passing the most industrial of views, and also wetlands and natural areas when crossing rivers. It was very efficient for us – we managed to avoid heavy traffic until we arrived in DC at dinnertime.

Back over the George Washington Bridge,

through New Jersey,

Over the Delaware River,

Into the Fort McHenry Tunnel to Baltimore,

Back to Columbia Heights, in DC.

Saturday, we visited the Farmers Market again for more of those delicious felafels, then took a bus to the Mall for a private tour of the Federal Reserve building. We were thoroughly screened by security, then our family member escorted us through the newly refurbished building. We looked at some of the artwork on the walls, took a peek into “the room where it happens”, then admired views from a cubicle window and from the upper balcony and outdoor dining area.

Newly refurbished Federal Reserve Building

Older building across the street is undergoing renovations

Conference room

Cubicle view, Lincoln Memorial in the distance

Wall art (unattributed):

Views from the balcony:

Southwestern view over the Mall

Jefferson Memorial

Southeastern view to the Capitol

Next, we visited the nearby Art Museum of the Americas.

Walking down Virginia Avenue

Art Museum of the Americas

The main exhibit was ‘Mapping The Layers’ by Julio Valdez.

Paintings by Julio Valdez

Painting by Julio Valdez

Beautiful tile work in the Interior Courtyard of the building:

Tilework and a sculpture outside the building:

Some views from the bus on our way back to Columbia Heights:

Sunday we helped with house and bicycle repairs before flying home. On our way to the airport we had time to take a short walk on Roosevelt Island in the Potomac, say Hi! to Teddy, and see a few spring flowers, before our flight.

View from the bridge

Theodore Roosevelt Memorial

Into the woods

Spring flowers

Back over the bridge, looking toward VA.

I had a great view of the Pentagon before flying up through the clouds and toward the setting sun.

Pentagon

It felt very satisfying to reconnect with so many important people in our lives, hopefully, a harbinger of cautious return to the ‘new normal’.

March, 2022

April 10, 2022September 13, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

March was cold, rainy, windy, with a few sun breaks and early flowers:

camellias

hyacinths

cherries

plums

star magnolias

bare branches

We went on three repeat hikes:

Memaloose Hills – March 3rd:

Cold and windy at the Memaloose Overlook

Looking to the westward cliffs…

Zooming in on the blue heron rookery.

Chatfield Hill – mostly still dormant,

with a few yellow bells.

We tried a (new to us) side loop up the lower hill on the return hike.

White River with micro spikes – March 11th:

Clouds wafted across Mt Hood throughout the hike.

Our usual lunch spot – snow level is low!

Return hike – lenticular clouds forming…

The Labyrinth – March 16th:

Plenty of water in the Old Hwy. 8 waterfall; Mt Hood on the far horizon.

Slightly frozen grass widows.

Labyrinth waterfall

Yellow bells and buttercups

My favorite oak grove

Our guide Ponderosa

View from the guide tree

Early yellow parsley

The haunted tree

Knitting and sewing:

Quilt for my new niece, born at the end of the month.

‘Brave Enough’ Hitchhiker – yarn by Knitted Wit, pattern by Martina Behm

Gnome Pun Intended, pattern by Sara Schira, Year of Gnomes, scrap yarn.

Ripples Make Waves hat for the Guild Service Project; pattern by Casapinka; Knit Picks Hawthorne yarn.

I started a new pair of socks for travel knitting.

At the end of the month we flew to the east coast to visit family – that will be my next post.

NZ2020: Day 16, Aoraki/Mt Cook to Christchurch

March 19, 2022September 22, 2024 / margaretquilts / 2 Comments

February 9, 2020

After the beautiful views of the mountains the previous night, we awoke to even clearer skies and a view of Aoraki/Mt Cook from our Chalet window.

Aoraki/Mt Cook from our room

Wider view from the Chalet balcony

We visited the the museum, which had informative displays of Maori culture:

natural history:

Geology of Aoraki Mt Cook

Some of the rocks

A rock from the top of the mountain

and art related to the mountains:

paintings

windows

After one last look at these beautiful mountains we began the drive back to Christchurch.

Last look at Mt Sefton and Aoraki/Mt Cook from the parking area.

Our route to Christchurch.

Clear view back up Hooker Valley

Photo stop: The Southern Alps rose clear and shining in the cloudless sky above the stunning aqua blue waters of Lake Pukaki.

Lake Pukaki, Southern Alps

Zoom in on Aoraki

I continued to watch the mountains out the bus window:

Southern Alps still in view

View across Lake Tekapo, with the white peak of Aoraki still visible above the mountains on the left.

Golden grasslands and lower mountains as we continued eastward.

After lunch in Geraldine, we continued east, sharing last stories with our guide, as he gave us tips about some locations we might visit during our next two weeks.

Vintage car in Geraldine

Crossing the wide braid plain of the Rakaia River as we approached Christchurch

Once in Christchurch, we rented a car, checked into our motel, found a laundromat and grocery store, and were ready to continue our adventures. Tomorrow we would explore nearby Akaroa Harbour.

Meanwhile, notifications on my cell phone pull me back into news of the day…

Joshua Tree National Park, February 7 to 11, 2022

March 9, 2022January 15, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We flew in an airplane
with a lot of other people,
with masks on, 
south to Palm Springs, 
looking out and down the whole way…

From Palm Springs, we drove west,
tracing the San Andreas Fault,
then north through the Morongo Valley, 
then east to Twenty Nine Palms.

We hiked in Joshua Tree National Park, 
where Cretaceous monzogranite has intruded into Precambrian Gneiss. 
Movement along the plate boundary (San  Andreas Fault System) that defines this topography has shattered the rocks with orthogonal cracks. 
The granite has been rounded and transformed into great piles of boulders by the elements. 
We walked dry canyon mazes while anthropomorphic faces in the rocks watched us. 
Joshua trees posed on the skyline, 
witnesses to the dry open skies, 
and the battering winds, 
of the high Mojave desert.

Joshua Tree National Park – showing some of the trails and viewpoints.

2/7 – Hidden Valley Loop

An excellent introduction to the plants and rocks.

2/8 – Panorama Loop, Black Rock Canyon

6.7 miles and 1150 feet, a lovely loop through the Precambrian gneiss at the west end of the park.

2/9 – Several short hikes and viewpoints

Keys View:

Looking across the the San Andreas Fault and Coachella Valley, toward snow-covered Mt San Jacinto and Mt San Gorgonio.

Looking farther southeast, to the Salton Sea.

Coachella Valley highlights. It was too windy to stay long at the viewpoint, so instead of hiking here, we visited several other viewpoints and short trails in the park.

Cap Rock:

Oyster Bar:

Hall of Horrors Trail:

Skull Rock Trail:

Cholla and Ocotillo on Pinto Basin Road:

We drove to the lower desert to see my old friends from the Sonoran Desert…

Cholla, Coxcomb Mountains in the distance

Bladderpod – the only wildflower we saw blooming

Split Rock Trail:

Sunset views:

2/10 – Willow Hole Trail and The Oasis of Mara

A seven mile round trip hike to Willow Hole in the Wonderland of Rocks…

Oasis of Mara Visitor Center, Twenty Nine Palms

As travelers from the gray wet skies of the north, 
we offered up all of our surface moisture to the desert  air.
It felt good, but also exhausting.

After four days we were desiccated, 
wind blown, tired from hiking, 
filled by immersion in scenery that continues beyond us in scope and time. 
We returned home to the Pacific Northwest, much refreshed.

Note - This is my first post using the "new" block editor - I'm still deciding if I like it.

February 2022

March 2, 2022November 17, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

I knitted a few things this month…

Goose Hollow Shawl, Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery KAL

Four hats for the guild service project

A flotilla of gnomes, sent to Washington DC, with survival provisions.

I started a baby quilt…

The front yard bulbs are blooming despite a late hard freeze.

We went on three local hikes to familiar areas, in addition to one big adventure to Palm Spring National Park in southern California (separate post)….

Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland, Oregon, February 3

An easy 3 mile loop with lots of wildlife sightings.

Wildlife mural on the mausoleum

Blue heron mural

The lake, downtown Portland in the distance

Otter

Cormorant

Otter

Mallards

Coyote Wall, Washington, February 18th

5 mile loop, with friends, on a sunny day with only a light breeze.

Coyote Wall

Lunch view to Mt Hood

Lunch view to the eastern gorge

The early flowers:

yellow parsley

grass widows

gold stars

salt and pepper

Columbia Desert Parsley

spring whitlow grass

Catherine Creek, Washington, February 25

A week later, a cold snap had frozen most of the grass widows at nearby Catherine Creek. We walked a few miles, exploring some side trails we hadn’t tried before.

Fields of grass widows – some shriveled in the cold. Hoping many of these will bloom when it warms up!

A new to us side trail brought us to these rock formations.

The arch

The road

Dozens of robins bobbed and hopped in the surrounding meadows and bushes.

robin

Western bluebird

We visited our favorite fairy ponds, which were frozen,

And found a few blooming grass widows nearby.

grass widows

bitterroot foliage

Snow dusted eastern view

Meanwhile…The days have been galloping by. I have created a few things to justify the time, of which there is never enough. Elsewhere in the world all is upheaval, war and death. A power grab, unexplainable access to power; the code of civility is a construct…if we don’t all buy in then it cannot exist.

NZ2020: Day 15, Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park

February 5, 2022November 16, 2024 / margaretquilts / 3 Comments

February 8, 2020

After the beautiful evening views at Lake Ohau, clouds were hiding Aoraki/Mt Cook this morning. The wind was up, and Lake Ohau was a steel gray. We drove back around Ben Ohau and its landslip-streaked mountain face. Slight rain was in the forecast, but we pressed on to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.

Lake Ohau in the morning

Our driving route to Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park

The road follows the shores of Lake Pukaki, up the Hooker Valley toward Aoraki/Mt Cook. We will hike the Sealy Tarns/ Mueller Hut Track, and stay the night at the Mt Cook Chalets.

A rainbow in Hooker Valley, as we approach Aoraki/Mt Cook Village

Trail map showing our location in orange.

Sealy Tarns Track / Mueller Hut Route

This trail is famous for having about 2000 stair steps up to the tarns. It is one of the hardest I have done, but somehow I keep my legs going up. I count steps in sets, counting up to one fewer number each time (20-19-18-17…), with planned breathing/rest stops between sets. There should be 210 steps per set, 10 sets in all…some of the steps are almost ladders. There are clouds blocking some of our views and spitting rain; cold wind, then warming sun.

Trail stairs

Looking down at the Kea Point Lookout on Lake Mueller (circled in blue). Beyond Lake Mueller is a huge moraine, then Hooker Lake.

Kea Point Lookout on Lake Mueller.

Looking toward the camp on Mt Sefton, circled in orange.

Zooming in on a tent at the foot of the glacier on Mt Sefton.

Looking back down Hooker Valley to where we started the hike.

When we arrive at the tarns, I feel surprisingly strong. We eat lunch at the picnic tables, take some pictures of glaciers, then decide to go higher.

Sealy Tarns

Glacier on Mt Sefton

crevasses

wildfire dust?

rockfall

The Mueller Route, going up beyond the tarns.

Above the tarns the track is rougher, a bit cliffy. I miss the stair steps here! We continue up the rocky, “choose your own adventure”, anastomosing trails, until I decide I can go up no more. We take in the view, eat a snack, then go down.

From our high point we had a good view of Hooker Lake, the terminus of Hooker Glacier, and Aoraki/Mt Cook, still in the clouds.

Closer look at Hooker Lake, and the Hooker Valley Trail

Ice bergs in Hooker Lake.

Looking south down the Hooker valley from our high point.

We saw a few flowers and some interesting flora along the trail.

Mountain daisies

We returned back down the 2000 murderous steps, knees and legs a little wobbly. On the way down, we stopped often to admire the views of the glaciers, lakes, moraines, and the unveiling summit plateau of Aoraki/Mt Cook.

Down the steps…

Another view of the terminus of Hooker Glacier

Close up of Hooker Glacier

The peak of Aoraki/Mt Cook, coming out of the clouds!

Closer views…

The curved southern edge

Northern slopes

So beautiful!

Aoraki/Mt Cook, completely unveiled by the time we reached the bottom of the trail!

and Mt Sefton, too!

We make our way back to the bus, and check into our room at the Mt Cook Chalets, having hiked about 6.5 miles and 2800 feet. But we are not done with the mountain yet! After dinner in the cafe, we relax in the lounge, where we can see the triple triangle face of Aoraki/Mt Cook glowing bright white, then pink with alpenglow, in the pinky blue cloud streaked sky. Phenomenal!

Lounge with a view…

Mt Sefton, Aoraki/Mt Cook

Aoraki/Mt Cook

Tomorrow we are going back to Christchurch – our last guided tour day. The next two weeks in New Zealand will be on our own – with many more adventures that I am excited to be reliving with these blog posts!

January 2022 in Portland

February 4, 2022January 25, 2024 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

The first couple of weeks were very cold, followed by many days of rain dripping down the windows, yarn loops sliding by on the needles, and just a few sun breaks. A tsunami from Tonga, the Omicron surge just beginning to decline, a trip to Joshua Tree cancelled…another pandemic month in Portland.

Hikes:

1/9/2022 Wildwood Trail to Pittock Mansion in Portland – A rare sunny day – everyone out on the trails – we continued our section hike of the Wildwood Trail, completing about 3 more miles as we hiked up and back to Pittock Mansion from the arboretum, crossing the new Barbara Walker Bridge for the first time.

Up until last year, hikers had to scurry across the very busy Burnside Street.

Barbara Walker Bridge.

Urban trail graffiti

We reached the 1914 Pittock Mansion, and walked around to the viewing areas…

Pittock Mansion

Views from the property to the Cascade Mountains…

Mt Hood

Portland and Mt Hood

Mt St Helens

Mt Rainier beyond Mt St Helens

Returning back over the Barbara Walker Crossing…

1/12/2022 Eagles and snow near Lyle, WA – Our annual trip to see the eagles at the Balfour/Klickitat Preserve:

Calm Columbia River looking east from the Hood River Bridge.

Snowy ground near Coyote Wall.

We walked to the eagle viewing area near the mouth of the Klickitat River:

Osage oranges along the trail

Frozen lakeshore, eagle flying above the island

Eagle and ducks

Looking up Klickitat Canyon – white eagle heads in the trees.

Bald eagle

Bald eagle

We saw more than twenty today.

Looking south to Tom McCall Point.

Next we walked some of the trails at nearby Catherine Creek.

Snowy slopes at Catherine Creek

Frozen Fairy Ponds

The arch

Mt Hood and the orchards of Mosier

Eastern Gorge

Grass widow foliage, but no blooms.

The waterfall.

1/18/2022 Swans at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, WA – We walked the 2.5 mile Oaks to Wetland Trail.

Swans in the distance, from the railroad bridge

Fungus

Belted kingfisher

Trumpeter swans

Then we drove the auto tour, looking for more swans.

Plenty of tundra and trumpeter swans in the northern lake…

American coot

Northern harrier next to the road.

1/28/2020 Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, OR – Our first visit to this new park south of Forest Grove. We walked almost six miles on the trails, quiet today with a few views of the distant mountains.

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Mt St Helens and Mt Adams

Farmlands and Coast Range to the west

Mt Rainier and Mt St Helens

Neighborhood:

On our first sunny day, I went outside for what seemed like the first time in weeks, to see blue sky and low angle winter shadows:

1/16/2022 – Another sunny day, we met friends and walked a long loop on the hilly streets south of downtown Portland.

Mt Hood from SW Portland

Mt Hood and the Tilikum Bridge over the Willamette River

By the end of the month, viburnum and crocus were beginning to bloom…

Viburnum

First crocus blooms of the year

Hexagonal sidewalk

Knitting:

I did get a lot of knitting done this month, since the outdoors were so inclement. And I am still meeting once or twice weekly with my knitting group over Zoom.

Winding yarn on my new swift.

Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Shawl, in progress

New pile of yarn from the guild to make hats for our service project.

I used online tutorials to learn Tunisian crochet.

I finished a languishing WIP – The Ella Improv Cowl, by Cecelia Campochiaro, using marling and sequence knitting techniques.

A Gnoah gnome, (Imagined Landscapes), sent via Intergalactic Gnome Transport to the burgeoning colony in Washington DC.

Addenda:

The volcano in Tonga!

The snow in DC.

Other adventures – January 10th was the 4th anniversary of my pituitary surgery. With constant vigilance and good doctors, all my hormone levels are now within the normal range. I feel healthy and strong and grateful for early diagnosis and the miracles of modern medical science, especially the monthly injections that keep the acromegaly in check.

On to February – pandemic numbers are going down in our neck of the woods – we may actually travel somewhere – stay tuned.