We hiked again where we have hiked before, through the lush wildflower meadows on the southern slopes of Mt Adams, on the Yakama Nation Tract D. We started at Bird Lake, and went counterclockwise uphill to the Hell Roaring Viewpoint of Mt Adams, then down along the Round the Mountain Trail and back to the lake (~5.5 miles, 1000 feet). We saw wildflowers, waterfalls, and some views through the burned forest, on a day when we only had fleeting glimpses of the mountain itself. The wildflower meadows were ‘beyond category’ today, and I took a lot of pictures!
Lower trail, from Bird Lake to Bluff Lake:
Bird Lake. Mountain not out, but pretty reflections in the lake.Partridgefoot and lupine on the lower trail.Asters under the burned trees.A frog in one of the stream crossings.Monkeyflower, lupine, lovageFireweed and false hellebore.Heather and magenta paintbrush.Bluff Lake
Next, continuing uphill to the Round the Mountain Trail:
BuckwheatMagenta paintbrush, lovage and lupineSpireaMossy waterfallUp the cliffs, with mariposa liliesMore meadowsBrilliant bouquets all along the trail…Staircase Falls, just below the Round the Mountain Trail.
And continuing above the Round the Mountain Trail, on the Trail of Flowers, we finally had a glimpse of Mt Adams from under the clouds.
Mt Adams, with cloud cover.Closer viewBracted lousewort, with more magenta paintbrush and lupineA watchful treePhloxA brief view of the summit of Mt Adams.Orange paintbrush, yellow ‘daisies’ of some sort, and white sitka valerian.And another view of Mt Adams as we hiked up to the next rock ledge.
The ledge along the upper Trail of Flowers Loop provides a view to the landscape to the south.
Looking south toward Oregon – blue arrow pointing to the smoke plume from the Burdoin Fire.Closer view of the Burdoin Fire smoke plume.And a wider view across the southern flanks of Mt Adams, and its ghostly forest, burned several times in the past twenty years.
We continued upward through more meadows to the Hellroaring Viewpoint…
Mt Adams on view from the upward trailSandwort and mariposa liliesHellroaring Viewpoint – top of the mountain back under the clouds.Mazama Glacier Hellroaring Falls
We retraced the trail back to the Trail of Flowers, then down to the Round the Mountain Trail, and continued westward through numerous meadows divided by small creeks that are all branches of Bird Creek.
Every kind of flower in these meadowsEasy walking,Another brief glimpse of Mt AdamsAnd more meadowsAll the flowers!A pondAnd more meadows! Next we crossed a slight rise, and then descended to our start point, by going down the Crooked Creek drainage…More meadows on the downward trail…This slope along Crooked Creek was so colorful!More color!Approaching Crooked Creek FallsCrooked Creek Falls
The slopes below Crooked Creek Falls are heavily burned, but the creeks are still colorful with flowers…
Monkey flower, lupine, Sitka valerian, paintbrush
And back to Bird Lake…
Back to Bird Lake, partial view of Mt Adams this afternoon.Meanwhile, dark clouds formed a backdrop for these glowing ghost treesAnd a last view of Mt Adams from the gravel road down.
It was a “wildflower bathing” day on the slopes of Mount Adams!
Margaret Quilts 