May 2023 – Flowers along sidewalks and trails; knitting and quilting

June 11, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Flowers blooming in the neighborhood:

Pink petals from the cherry trees

Dogwood

Iris and a neighborhood chicken

Cactus

Rhododendron

We planted our garden:

Tomatoes and basil

Zinnias and snapdragons

First local strawberries (Hoods!) from the Farmer’s Market

Hiking during prime wildflower season:

5/2 Camas at Camassia – Camas blooms in rocky meadows. We visited this preserve at the height of bloom!

Rocky meadows of camas flowers

Camas and rosy plectritis

Camas

Buttercup and rosy plectritis

Saxifrage and rosy plectritis

Blooming madrone tree – a first for me!

Pacific trillium

Wake robin trillium

5/3 Full Balsamroot at Memaloose/Tom McCall – Back to the Memaloose Hills for the second time this spring, this time with our daughter, and with the balsam root on Chatfield Hill in full flower mode.

Many more flowers blooming in the lower oak woodlands

Chocolate lilies

Starting up Chatfield Hill in a sea of yellow

Lupine and balsamroot

Balsamroot

Mt Hood and oak tree

Paintbrush

Looking west from the top of Chatfield Hill

Looking east toward Mt Adams

Same view through Emily’s purple sunglasses

After this hike we went to Rowena Crest to see the flowers and views from the lower Tom McCall Point Trail.

Looking back toward Rowena Crest

Balsamroot along the trail to ‘Parsley Alley’

My favorite, fern leaf parsley!

5/9 Bitterroot at Catherine Creek – Bitterroot is one of my all time favorites, and the bloom window is short. We heard they were out at Catherine Creek, so off we went, hiking the loop up the Bitterroot Trail, then back down Rowland Wall.

Bitterroot blooms scattered all over the basalt outcrops; looking east up the Columbia River

Bitterroot

Meadows full of cluster lilies, looking toward Mt Hood

Balsamroot, paintbrush and lupine at the edge of Rowland Wall

Cliff penstemon on Rowland Wall

Cliff penstemon

And of course, oily red leaves of poison oak lurking…

Bitterroot and monkey flowers

Bitterroot looking toward Mosier

Bitterroot!

5/17 White River – no flowers, just snow – This area is usually melted out by May, but not this year. On a hot day we decided to check it out.

Mt Hood from the trail head.

White River and Mt Hood

We were able to walk about a mile up river, until snow conditions became unsafe – deep postholes and tree wells melting out, so we turned around.

Mt Hood

Close up of Illumination Rock, and a potential avalanche bergschrund on the near slope…

Mt Hood summit

5/17 Corydalis along the Old Salmon River – Same hot day, since it was too hot to do anything too strenuous, we decided to walk along the lower stretch of the Old Salmon River trail, which we hadn’t visited before.

Down into the shady, mossy, ferny forest…

We walked along the river for about a mile and a half.

Blooming Corydalis was abundant, in large clumps along the sunnier banks of the river

Scouler’s corydalis

Also, fading trillium and pioneer violets

Hooker’s fairy bells

River running fast and cold from the melting snow

Sandy beach

Sparkly reflections

5/23 Late season flowers at Mosier Plateau – It was too windy farther east, at Rowena Plateau, so we took this shorter hike, which starts in a more protected side canyon before emerging onto a plateau above the Columbia River.

Mosier Creek Falls

Looking down at the top of Mosier Creek Falls, Washington skyline in the distance.

Bachelor buttons turning the grassy slopes purple,

And beautiful California poppies, reminding me of the “golden rolling hills of California’

A few winecup clarkia (pink) along the path

Panorama across the Columbia River to Washington from the plateau, looking directly at the reverse ‘S’ curve of Coyote Wall. Buckwheat is in full bloom; balsam root have faded.

More buckwheat meadows, looking west on our return hike.

Ookow

5/30 Rocky gardens at Hamilton Mountain – Now that the lower elevation flowers are fading, it is time to look higher…

A few honeysuckles in the foreground; view of the top from the power line corridor

Tiger lily in the power line corridor

Rodney Falls and Pool of the Winds

Stonecrop on the lower cliffs

Penstemon and rosy plectritis on the lower cliffs

Mt Hood beyond the desert parsley and death camas on the lower cliffs

Columbian lewisia on the upper rocky switchbacks, with a view to Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River

Panorama from the top, Table Mountain and Mt Adams

Looking across the gorge to Oregon – Mt Hood behind clouds now, beyond the brown fringe of burned forest from the 2017 fire.

Down river, westward view from near the summit

And looking back on the summit from the northern saddle, as we circle round on the 8 mile, 2200 feet loop.

Knitting – I finished two blankets and a pair of socks.

Malabrigo Slip Stitch Blanket – for me, still needs to be blocked, but I won’t need it until next winter

Sliding is Fun – for the Guild Service Project

Striped socks

Quilting and sewing – I finished the back for the Modern Mystery Quilt –

Modern Mystery Quilt 2023, Front

Back – Using stash fabric and scraps from the front …I like to think of it as Mt Hood and the Northern Lights.

And I sewed a little book bag for my one year old great niece –

Meanwhile…Emily walked a labyrinth near the Pacific Ocean…

April 2023

May 24, 2023 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

In April, there were neighborhood walks, wildflower hikes, knitting, and quilting – both before and after our trip to Pennsylvania and Connecticut, described in the previous post.

Neighborhood walks –

Spring blooming trees and flowers…

Crabapple

Cherry

Forget me not

Sidewalk cracks and shadows…

Birthdays…

A friend’s tea party

A stranger’s brass band in the park

Knitting –

I made progress on these two blankets – I keep one downstairs and one upstairs, as they are both getting big!

Slip Stitch Blanket

Sliding is Fun blanket

Quilting –

I finished piecing the top for the Modern Quilt Studio 2023 Mystery Quilt, and started piecing together the scraps plus other fabric from my stash into the backing.

Modern Mystery Quilt 2023 Top

Piecing the back with scraps.

Hiking –

We found lots of wildflowers in April, from the earliest trillium in the forests to the beginnings of spring balsamroot fields in the eastern Columbia River Gorge – all the wildflowers are late this year.

April 3 – Tryon Creek, Portland – A rainy day with intervals of hail. We hiked for a couple of miles, and found the earliest trillium blooming along the Cedar Trail:

Indian plum

Hailstones on the bridge

Salmonberry

Trillium

Moss

Trillium

April 20 – Memaloose Hills and Rowena Plateau, Oregon – Checking the wildflower bloom in the eastern gorge – we saw the beginnings of the balsamroot bloom, and some of the last of the early flowers.

Memaloose Hills:

Lower Trail – buttercups in the oak woodland

Blue eyed Mary

Glacier lilies and buttercups

Pacific waterleaf and buttercups

A few balsamroot blooming on Chatfield Hill

View to Tom McCall Point from the top of Chatfield Hill, with desert parsleys, balsam root and paintbrush

Rowena Crest:

Desert parsley on the plateau

Columbia desert parsley on the cliffs, view toward Lyle Chery Orchard trails

Vultures on the cliff

Vultures

One of the last grass widows of spring…

April 25 – Upper Cape Horn Trail, Washington – We walked over the top of Cape Horn to the Nancy Russell Overlook, and back. Lots of trillium in the forest, and snow on the mountains to the north…

View north across the Columbia River from Pioneer Point

Looking south toward Cape Horn

Silverstar Mountain

Trillium in the forest

April 27 – Crawford Oaks, Columbia Hills, Washington – We hiked the Lower Vista Loop, with friends. Balsamroot beginning to bloom out here at the lower elevations – beautiful!

Horsethief Butte and Mt Hood

Eightmile Creek Falls with balsam root and desert parsley

Fleabane and biscuit root

Balsamroot, Dalles Mountain Ranch

Reflections in the Columbia River

Large head clover

Lupine

Showy phlox

The panoramic view across the Columbia River

March 2023 – Back in PDX

April 23, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We returned to Portland from New Zealand on the 18th of March. Our daffodil and crocus bulbs that had just started to bloom in February were still blooming because Portland was unusually cold while were gone. Spring flowering trees and bulbs continued to emerge, sprinkling the neighborhood with color.

Camellias

Daffodil

Moon, redbud

Crocus

Viburnum

Cherry

Star magnolia

We took one hike, on March 22nd, at one of our favorite winter season hiking trails, Catherine Creek, WA, and it was the same story out there. I had predicted tons of grass widows while we were gone, but instead, the area had been covered in snow again. By late March, the grass widows were re- or just blooming, and other early spring flowers were out – gold stars, Columbia and pungent desert parsleys, and yellow bells…

Gold stars and grass widows

Pungent desert parsley

Columbia desert parsley

Blue jay

Ent

Grass widows and gold stars, Columbia River, and the orchards of Mosier

Catherine Creek Falls

We made a short visit to the Oregon Historical Society on a rainy morning. I focused on some of the textiles on display.

Knitting: I made just a little progress on a sock while traveling, but then immediately cast on a toddler sweater for the knitting Guild service project when we returned. This is my first ever knit raglan sweater. I used the same Caron Cotton Cake yarn I am using for the Sliding is Fun Blanket, also for the Guild challenge. The blanket will take much longer, and I realized I had way too much yarn, so repurposed some of it into this little sweater.

Flax (Tin Can Knits) toddler sweater

Quilting: I attended an online ColorMixer quilt seminar on the Creative Spark platform this week, and got lots of ideas for future quilts. Next month, I plan to sew the blocks together for my Modern Mystery Quilt that I had made before our New Zealand trip.

Poetic ode to sunlight from a neighborhood Poetry Post:

Early February 2023, hiking, quilting, knitting…

March 5, 2023February 19, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

This post updates my activities for the first part of February…

Knitting: I’ve made progress on two blankets – one for me, and one for the Puddletown Knitters Guild Service Project:

Malabrigo Slip Stitch Blanket

Sliding Is Fun Blanket

I had planned to crochet the guild blanket, and tried my hand at a sample, but I’m not quite ready to commit to such a big crochet project yet. Maybe the next one.

Practice crochet swatch

Quilting: I’ve worked through all the clues on the Modern Mystery Quilt, and pieced the blocks. We were asked not to share the finished look until March 3rd.

Modern Mystery Quilt 2023 tentative layout…

In bloom: Our first crocus emerged from the mostly dormant garden beds on February 9th. Just about the same time as the first grass widows were blooming in the eastern Gorge.

Our first crocus

Hiking: Both hikes were in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, Washington:

Eagles again! Bitterroot-Rowland Trail at Catherine Creek, WA – February 8th:

Lots of water here today – in vernal pools, and oozing out of the grassy slopes. No actual flowers, but plenty of emerging foliage – just waiting for a bit more warmth and sun.

Catherine Creek/Sunflower Hill

Fairy pools

Up the Bitterroot Trail,

The Arch

Mt Hood with fresh snow

Mt Hood close up

Meanwhile, as I was admiring these plants at the edge of Rowland Wall, a juvenile eagle swooped by at eye level.

View west from Rowland Wall

Bald eagle…

circling back,

and around again.

Then the entire eagle family circled its way up Rowland Wall, juveniles and mature adults – perhaps the same flock we saw a couple of weeks ago over Lyle.

Adult bald eagle

The whole family is here.

We continued down the wall, and back to the trailhead, imagining the flowers that will be blooming soon.

Looking back up Rowland Wall.

Another vernal pool. The frogs were really loud, but became instantly silent as we approached.

Crawford Oaks-Vista Trail, Columbia Hills, WA – February 14th

A cold, slightly windy day – fresh snow on the Cascade Peaks. We walked the five mile lower loop and were rewarded with seeing the first grass widows – next week there will be a purple bloom here.

View west from near the trailhead – Mt Hood and Horsethief Butte

Mt Hood

Eightmile Creek Falls was fairly full…

Eightmile Creek Falls

Rainbow and plunge pool

The view from the waterfall to the east across the Columbia River:

We continued up the road, across the creek, then south on the Vista Loop, to our usual stop near the power pylons, where we often see the first flowers blooming, and the first grass widows were just beginning to open in the cold breeze…

grass widow

A few purple buds opening in the grassy slopes

We continued around the loop, to the high point, then back around to the view of Dalles Mountain Ranch. A good walk on a brisk day.

West from the high point

East from the high point

Dalles Mountain Ranch

There will be more hikes in February – in the next post.

Hiking, January 2023

February 7, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

January 3rd – Eagle watch near Lyle, WA; Catherine Creek Arch Loop

We drove through the snow-frosted Columbia River Gorge, with a stop at Cascade Locks.

View down river from The Bridge of the Gods.

At the Balfour-Klickitat Natural Area near Lyle, WA, we spotted just a few bald eagles where we sometimes have seen many in early January.

One adult and two juvenile bald eagles

Bald eagle

We followed with a hike around the nearby Catherine Creek Arch, foliage mostly dormant.

View south toward Mosier, OR

Catherine Creek Arch

Eastward, up the Columbia River

January 17 – More eagles; Lyle Cherry Orchard, WA

After two weeks of inclement, unhikeable (for me) weather, we returned to the eastern Gorge. We began with another attempt to see the eagles at the Balfour-Klickitat Natural Area near Lyle. This time, we saw only one bald eagle near the lagoon, and also a great blue heron.

Lagoon near the Klickitat River; bald eagle and heron circled in blue

Bald eagle and heron again

Bald eagle

Great blue heron

Also seen near the mouth of this lagoon and the Klickitat River:

Salmon swimming in from the Klickitat River

Ducks and geese in the Klickitat River

From the southern bluff, we could see that most of the eagles were down on the delta/sand bar where the Klickitat River meets the Columbia River. I took a few fuzzy zoom photos – we counted about a dozen eagles fishing down there.

Bald eagles on the Klickitat River sand bar

Lyle Cherry Orchard Town Loop: Then we drove through Lyle and the railroad tunnels to the trailhead for Lyle Cherry Orchard. We climbed up the first tier, admiring the reflections in the river.

Eastward view from the Convict Road

As we hiked westward on the town loop, we spotted our eagles circling overhead – it was quite thrilling to watch them for a while as they made their way up the Klickitat River Canyon.

Bald eagles circling above Lyle, WA

We also got a glimpse of Mt Adams from the trail:

Mt Adams

And another look at the town of Lyle as we finished our loop. No eagles on the river bar, but one overhead.

January 26 – Tracy Hill, WA

Another gloomy day in Portland. Cold and dry in the Eastern Gorge. We started at Catherine Creek Trailhead, and opted for the eastern loop to the top of Tracy Hill.

Looking up the slope near the trailhead. Bitterroot and grass widow foliage emerging in the foreground.

Vernal pools along the way.

We stopped for lunch with a view up Major Creek.

Continuing upward after lunch, I noticed a ghost tree with an awestruck look on their face:

A face in the trees…

Ghost tree with an amazing view:

The view is of Mt Hood from this point on the trail.

Continuing on to the top of the hill:

To the top of Tracy Hill

A makeshift bench for a short rest

Just beyond the top, a peek at Mt Adams through the bare trees

And another view of Mt Hood on the return hike.

Underexposed, but I can see the glaciers shining in the low winter light on the slopes of Mt Hood.

January 31 – Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge, WA

Our last hike of the month was another visit to Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge in Washington. There was more water in the reconstructed lakes than during our most recent visit in December, and we saw a variety of wildlife.

Tree reflections in the slightly frozen lake, as seen in from the dike.

Geese gathered near the lakeshore.

Deer near the long bridge

Water under the bridge this visit, swan (and Mt Hood) in the distance.

Tundra swan

Two bald eagles out in the lake.

A great blue heron on our path on the return hike.

Great blue heron on the trail

And I zoomed in to this view of Mt Hood from the dike on our return.

Notice Vista House in the right foreground.

November 2022 hiking, and a visit to the Maryhill Museum of Art

January 9, 2023 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We went on three familiar hikes, and to the Maryhill Museum of Art.

11/3 Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge, WA

This used to be our reliable close-in flat walk, for partly rainy days, where we could go to see upside down trees reflected in the lake, and often, many waterfowl. For the past couple of years, the site has undergone major reconstruction. The berm that separates these lowlands from flooding by the Columbia River has been breached in order to reconnect salmon to the Gibson Creek drainage. On our first visit back on the rerouted trails we saw a few birds and drained lakes. I will be interested to walk the rest of the trails when the project is complete.

Looking across the new Steigerwald Lake to the east.

Egret and heron

The bridge that used to have a lake under it.

Killdeer

Crossing the bridge

Trail now closed

Art trail – should be open next spring

View across the Columbia River from the berm

Geese

11/10 Angel’s Rest, OR

We save this popular close-in trail for midweek hikes. The trail zigs and zags up, through the forest, then the cliffs, to stunning panoramic views up and down the gorge, and across to the snowy Washington peaks (4.5 miles, 1500 feet).

Angel’s Rest

View to the west from the upper cliffs

Looking north across the Columbia River

Closer view of Silver Star Mountain

View to the east, northern shoreline highlighted by sunbeams

Blue jay lunch companion

Colorful twice-burned forest in the foreground.

11/14 The Labyrinth, WA

Our reliable eastern gorge hike, especially on windier days when the basalt columns give some protection. I love to visit all my favorite trees along the trail, and check the water levels in Hidden Creek (4 miles, 800′).

Approach trail – Old Hwy 8

Looking south across the Columbia River

Pools in Hidden Creek

Hidden Creek

Dry grass

Basalt cliffs

Up the labyrinth

More basalt cliffs

Favorite oak grove

Lunch view to the east

Farther up, the cliff-edge oak tree

Poderosa at the upper viewpoint

And down, past the haunted tree

Driving home toward rainy Portland through sunbeams

11/8 Maryhill Museum of Art, WA

I was still nursing a knee injury, so instead of hiking, we drove east of our usual winter hiking ground and visited the Maryhill Museum of Art. It is perched on a cliff edge on the northern side of the Columbia River Gorge, in a mansion built by Sam Hill. He was the remarkable American businessman who built railroads and roads, including some of the first roads through the Columbia River Gorge. He travelled through Europe in the early 20th century, and made many artist friends who convinced him to turn his mansion into a museum. The building was started in 1914, but not opened until 1940. It contains an eclectic selection of art, some donated by Sam Hill’s friends, some acquired later. So out in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the Columbia River Gorge, is a museum with galleries of Rodin sculptures, gilt furniture that once belonged to the Queen of Romania, historical exhibits about Sam Hill and friends, and a large and well curated display of Native American art and artifacts. And hundreds of chess sets from all over the world. It is a beautiful collection.

Driving east out of the rain, through the Columbia River Gorge along WA 14

We accidentally parked near the service entrance, so walked to the museum from the western side.

Throne chairs, inspired by those donated to the museum by the Queen of Romania, with excellent views.

View west, to the vineyards and Columbia River

We walked around to the eastern entrance plaza.

Main entrance

Yarn-bombing installation

Dedication by the Queen of Romania

One of the historical exhibits was about pioneering modern dancer Loie Fuller, who encouraged Sam Hill to dedicate his house to art.

There is an entire gallery dedicated to the works of Auguste Rodin, the French sculptor, including a fascinating exhibit with miniatures showing each step in the process of Lost Wax Bronze Casting. We had just seen one of Rodin’s more famous pieces, the Burghers of Calais, in the Washington DC Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, and here was a whole roomful of bronze statues, and plaster casts, working models, sketches and completed pieces.

Rodin gallery

Plaster model of The Thinker

More Rodin artwork

Another Gallery, Theater de la Mode, displays miniature mannequin collections from Paris fashion houses.

Native American Art and artifacts are on display in several galleries:

Modern jewelry

Displayed in a glass walled gallery with extensive views.

Modern paintings in another gallery,

these change seasonally.

And extensive displays of beading, basketry, stone, leather, weaving, pottery and other antiquities, organized by regions of the west. This exhibit is scheduled to be overhauled during the winter closure. (The museum is closed from midNovember to midMarch).

The last gallery we visited was the hall of chess sets – over 400, from all over the world, carved or sculpted from many different media, a dazzling display.

A life size cutout of Sam Hill stands overlooking this gallery.

As we exited the museum, we walked again along the outdoor plaza, admiring the views and outdoor art installations.

Looking down on the outdoor plaza

Aptly named “Roll and Play”, by Alisa Looney, 2007

Eastward view

View to the south, with three birds

Three birds

Walking into the wind back to our car. “Brushing” by Mike Sur, 2009.

I can’t believe I had never been here before, but I hope to return next year when they host their annual plain air exhibit.

October 2022 – Hiking

November 30, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Three mostly repeat hikes in October: Vista Ridge on Mt Hood, Indian Heaven Wilderness in Washington, and Oaks Bottom in Portland.

10/3 – Vista Ridge, Mt Hood

This is one of my favorite hikes on Mt Hood – especially during wildflower season. Today we enjoyed the fall colors in the burn zone – bright red huckleberries, white pearly everlasting, pink fireweed; and greeted a few of my haunted tree friends.

Huckleberries, pearly everlasting, and Mt Hood

Fireweed

We stopped in Wy’East basin (5800 feet) for lunch, then hiked a little higher, toward Barrett Spur.

Wy’East Basin above the Timberline Trail

Huckleberry foliage and faded wild flowers

Toward Barrett Spur and Mt Hood

North view, toward Mt Adams and Mt Rainier, behind the haze

We returned back down the Vista Ridge Trail, about 6.5 miles, 1500 feet for the day.

Pasque flowers

Huckleberry foliage

I stopped to look more closely at the fireweed – the four-petal flowers produce curly and fuzzy seedheads. On closer look, I noticed the seed casing split into four strands that curled away as the fuzzy seedheads emerged. I am not a botanist but found this fascinating.

Very few fireweed flowers still on view.

This four-part split seed caught my eye as I walked by. That is when I noticed this pattern on all the plants, though most were more fuzzy or curly, and less noticeable.

Fuzzier seeds, ready to fly.

We took a moment to look out east from Vista Ridge, toward The Pinnacle and Mt Hood, and the remains of the Dollar Lake Fire of 2011.

Farewell for the year to the haunted trees, by now knee deep in snow….

10/11 – Thomas Lake to Rock Lake to the Old Cascade Crest Trail, Indian Heaven Wilderness

A beautiful fall day. We found the huckleberry foliage still changing – some bright red, some still green, in the faded summer meadows, and no mosquitos!

Thomas Lake – Rock Lakes – Old Cascade Crest Trail Loop. About 7 miles, 800 feet.

Beautiful reflections in Heather Lake.

We continued past the first lakes on the trail, up hill, to the viewpoint of Mt St Helens,

and a glimpse of Mt Rainier.

Rock Lakes lunch stop

After lunch, we continued east beyond Rock Lakes, toward East Crater, to the junction with the Old Cascade Crest Trail. We had followed it north before, today we were trying the south trail.

There are many small lakes along this route.

The trail eventually crosses a large meadow, with a view of Gifford Peak beyond.

Looking back north toward East Crater, shortly before this trail intersects the Blue Lake Trail.

A shrinking lake near the trail junction.

At the trail junction, we headed north again to complete the loop. The Old Cascade Crest Trail is still used, and easy to walk, though it does not show up on recent trail maps.

Another peek at Mt St Helens beyond Eunice Lake on our return hike.

10/17 – Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland

The standard 3 mile loop around the Wildlife Refuge, partly on the bike path, partly on dirt trails around the wetlands.

Wetlands and mausoleum mural from the bike path

Cooper’s hawk

Wood ducks

Oaks Amusement Park across the wetlands

Reflections

Hint of fall…

Later in the month we went to Washington, DC, where there were some long city/mall/museum walks, and to Shenandoah National Park, VA, where there were three other hikes, described in the next post.

September 2022 Hiking….

November 16, 2022 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

I went on three hikes in September, in Portland, Mt Adams and Indian Heaven.

9/14 – Macleay Park to Pittock Mansion: Finishing the Wildwood Trail, Portland, OR

During the early pandemic in the spring of 2020, travel was restricted. Many parks and trails were closed. We tried long neighborhood walks, but concrete is hard on the feet! I missed the dirt trails and nature. When local trails reopened, we turned to the Wildwood Trail in nearby Forest Park to keep our hiking habit going. We had hiked parts of Forest Park over the years, but usually prefer further destinations with views, waterfalls or mountain tops. The Forest Park trails are fine for nearby forest hikes, but are often crowded with trail runners and neighborhood hikers, and there aren’t many views. Nevertheless, we set a goal to try to hike the full 30 mile length of the Wildwood Trail in sections – especially after the realization set in that the pandemic restrictions were going to last longer than we first imagined. As of this month, there was one section left (not counting the section between miles 14 and 15 that is closed for repair). Early September had been too hot and/or smoky in our usual destinations to hike much, but after a day of rain we found time to hike this last section.

Upper Macleay Park Trailhead

Pittock Mansion

The views were limited on this overcast day, but the seasonal flowerbeds provided some bright colors.

Views to downtown Portland from Pittock mansion

Seasonal flower beds

We returned to our starting place, then added to our mileage by hiking a few of the trails on the nearby Audubon reserve – again a bit nondescript on this between seasons day – too late for summer flowers, too early for fall colors. Our total for the day was about 4 miles, and 700 feet.

Trail map for the Bird Sanctuary

Muddy trails

Douglas Fir deck

9/20 – Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, WA

This area has been mostly closed since the 2015 Cougar Creek Fire. The Yakama people have opened the hiking trails for the month of September the last two years, and we finally made it out there this year. Our pre-fire hikes in the area were during peak wildflower season in a place where the bloom is as fine as any in the Cascades. We saw the beginnings of fall color on our hike today, while appreciating the repairs that have been made to the fire damaged trails. It was beautiful!

Our GPS track – 7 miles, 1350 feet

Bird Lake Trailhead, Mt Adams

Up toward Bluff Lake through the 2015 burn zone.

Green undergrowth

View to Mt Hood through the haze.

Bluff Lake, Mt Adams through the trees on the left.

Huckleberry foliage

Staircase Falls

Mt Adams

Hellebore, huckleberry

We reached the Hellroaring Viewpoint, then continued upward on the Climber Trail for a short way:

Hellroaring Viewpoint

Hellroaring Falls

Mt Adams Glaciers

Glacier View

Moraine and ridge toward the Climbers’ trail

Higher meadows

View east – Little Mt Adams and Heart Lake

Our turnaround point, looking north…

and looking east.

Our return hike circled through the western meadows, past Crooked Creek Falls, and then down through the burn zone again, to Bird Lake.

Gentian blooming in the huckleberry patches

Late season meadows

Crooked Creek Falls

Back down into the burn zone

Crooked Creek

Back to Bird Lake

Lookback photos from 2013 compared to 2022, looking south from the below Hellroaring Viewpoint –

August 2013

September 2022

And one of the wildflower meadows of summer 2013:

Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, August 2013

9/27 – Indian Heaven Wilderness – Cultus Campground to Wapiki Lake Overlook

GPS track – about 8 miles, 1700 feet.

We had also hiked this trail before. Again, we caught the beginnings of the fall colors in the higher elevations, and in the more open meadows and huckleberry fields.

Trailhead

Panorama looking north from the shoulder of Bird Mountain

Sawtooth Mountain and Mt Rainier

Mt Adams

We passed Cultus Lake on our way to the Wapiki Lake overlook:

Cultus lake

Lemei Rock

Huckleberry foliage

A very few late huckleberries

Wapiki Lake Overlook

Mt Adams

Wapiki Lake

On our return hike, the smoke had blown in from a nearby fire, obscuring the mountain views we had enjoyed earlier…..

Toward Sawtooth and Mt Rainier

Toward Mt Adams

We were too early for full fall color. We passed this same pond near Cultus Lake last year, in early October, after there had been rain. I remember spending a lot of time here marveling at the colors. This year, late September, only a little color and no pond yet.

Pond near Cultus Lake, October 8, 2021

Same pond area, September 27, 2022

It is lovely to see these places in different seasons!

I am catching up on blog posts – on to October…

Four views of Wy’east, August, 2022

September 7, 2022December 15, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Our four August hikes all had views to Mt Hood and to some of the other Cascade volcanoes.

from Lookout Mountain

Mts Hood and Jefferson from Three Corner Rock, WA

from Elk Meadows

from the East Eliot Moraine near Cooper Spur Shelter

Location Map

August 4 – Lookout Mountain

We took this short hike with our daughter on a hot day. There were late season wildflowers, views from Mt Rainier to the Three Sisters, and a head on view of the east side of Mt Hood.

High Prairie Trailhead

Paintbrush, Sitka valerian, and asters in the meadows

Mt Hood from the trail pinnacle. Elk Meadows are on the other side of the ridge in the middle distance.

Mt Jefferson and the Sisters to the south

Scarlet gillia, Oregon sunshine, buckwheat and penstemon on the upper slopes

August 16 – Three Corner Rock, WA

Another hot day with a slow pace. Again we could see three Cascade volcanoes to the north, and Mts Hood and Jefferson to the south beyond the telecommunication towers. Most of the way we were on the Pacific Crest Trail. We were passed by about twenty north bound hikers on their first Washington trail section.

Approaching Three Corner Rock

View south to Mts Hood and Jefferson

View north to Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier and Mt Adams

August 22 – Cloud Cap to the Timberline Trail High Point

A favorite walk, up the glacier moraine, toward the Eliot Glacier, then along the edge of the sky to the High Point on the Timberline Trail. Every year I that am lucky enough to hike here I take the same pictures, but they are always meaningful to me!

Mt Hood comes into view after a short, steep hike up to the crest of the East Eliot Moraine.

Mt Hood, Eliot Glacier

Washington Cascade Peaks to the north – St Helens, Rainier and Adams.

This year I noticed a humongous boulder perched on the edge of the moraine…

We continued up the moraine, taking in the Eliot Glacier views before turning south toward the Cooper Spur Shelter.

Foot of the Eliot Glacier in the valley

Foot of the mountain glacier

crevasses

a waterfall

more crevasses

Peak up close

From the Shelter we walked south on the Timberline Trail, up to the high point at about 7400 feet.

Cooper Spur Shelter

Not much snow left on the trail

Looking up about 4000 feet to the top of the mountain

Penstemon

Ground squirrel

View south from our rest stop on the ridge near the trail high point. The Timberline Trail goes down toward Gnarl Ridge. Mt Jefferson and the Three Sisters are on the horizon.

While looking back up at Mt Hood from the high point I could hear water flowing out from the snow banks.

Melting snow on this hot day.

We made our way back along the edge of the sky…

We continued down the Timberline Trail below the shelter instead of going up to the moraine.

Long slope between the peak and Cooper Spur Shelter.

Our down trail goes below the shelter,

toward the Cloud Cap campground.

Near Tilly Jane Creek, I looked up at the East Eliot Moraine and saw the precarious boulder I had noticed on the way up.

Precarious boulder perched on the edge of the East Eliot Moraine

Will it still be here next year?

Late season gentian and monkey flowers in Tilly Jane Creek

August 30 – Elk Meadows

Our first time to this location in a while. Most of the meadows were beyond bloom, except for late season gentians, fireweed, and goldenrod.

Clark Creek, with a beautiful bridge.

Newton Creek is more difficult to cross.

This log was fairly easy to cross, but more difficult if one has fear of heights or balance problems. One of the reasons we haven’t been here for a while.

The seven to nine switchbacks after Newton Creek can be a shady hanging garden. On this hot day, most of the flowers were past bloom, but we did appreciate the shade.

Third switchback viewpoint

Nearby crosshatch tree

Fringed grass of Parnassus and aster

Dried out cow parsley, aster and goldenrod

Lunch view from the first meadow opening – plenty of gentian in the mostly dry meadows.

A scrub jay watched us eat lunch.

After lunch we circled round the perimeter trail, then went to the shelter in the middle of Elk Meadows. We saw plenty of aster seed heads, some arnica in the shady areas,

also fireweed,

and false hellebore.

Wide meadows near the shelter had swaths of goldenrod.

View back to the shelter, and to the burned forest atop Blue Grass Ridge.

Mt Hood close up!

We returned the way we came, back down the switchbacks, over the log bridge, planning to return sometime soon to see fall colors, and maybe to extend our hike up to Gnarl Ridge and the Timberline Trail.

Early June, 2022

June 12, 2022 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

The sun came out for a few days, and the roses finally bloomed, seemingly all at once.

Hiking: We hiked twice on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, where wild flowers are also blooming late this year.

June 1 – Hardy Ridge – We found some of the earliest blooming wildflowers on top of Hardy Ridge (8.2 miles, 2100 feet).

Fading trillium

Oregon anemones

Glacier lilies

Eastward view toward Table Mountain.

Phlox Point, and plenty of black flies photobombing us.

Blue jay near our lunch stop.

Looking south toward Oregon on our return hike. Service berry bushes in bloom.

June 7 – Cape Horn – We started in the middle, at the Strunk Road Trailhead, since the full loop is not open this time of year. We were hoping to see the tall larkspur, which can be profuse along this trial.

Lupine blooming in reclaimed fields along the trail to the Nancy Russell Overlook.

Cow parsley also in full bloom.

Tall ferns unfurling

Tall ferns

And we found the larkspur!

Larkspur blooming all along the trail…

More larkspur…

Also, candy flower and buttercups.

More buttercups.

Maple trees were leafing out.

Avens at the Hwy 14 underpass.

We made our way to the Lower Oak Overlook, where the trail is closed for falcon nesting season. The river viewpoints were very windy, but it was calm and protected in the forest. We retraced our steps, back up the larkspur lined trail, for a 4 mile, 650 foot hike for the day. Lovely!

Knitting – I finished my June gnome for the ‘Year of Gnomes’, and made progress on socks, a hat and a sweater…

June Jester Gnome, Oh, Gnome, You Didn’t pattern by Sarah Schira

Side view, with jingle bells and pockets.

I was inspired by a Cirque du Soleil show from 20 years ago, and some other knitters’ Mardi Gras interpretations of the pattern.

Works in progress.

And spent much time preparing for our overseas adventure to Scotland and Iceland… finally! Postoned and postponed and postponed again. I will report back!

Margaret Quilts

Quilting, Knitting, Hiking

Washington

May 2023 – Flowers along sidewalks and trails; knitting and quilting

Hiking during prime wildflower season:

April 2023

Neighborhood walks –

Knitting –

Quilting –

Hiking –

March 2023 – Back in PDX

Early February 2023, hiking, quilting, knitting…

Eagles again! Bitterroot-Rowland Trail at Catherine Creek, WA – February 8th:

Crawford Oaks-Vista Trail, Columbia Hills, WA – February 14th

Hiking, January 2023

January 3rd – Eagle watch near Lyle, WA; Catherine Creek Arch Loop

January 17 – More eagles; Lyle Cherry Orchard, WA

January 26 – Tracy Hill, WA

January 31 – Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge, WA

November 2022 hiking, and a visit to the Maryhill Museum of Art

11/3 Steigerwald Wildlife Refuge, WA

11/10 Angel’s Rest, OR

11/14 The Labyrinth, WA

11/8 Maryhill Museum of Art, WA

October 2022 – Hiking

10/3 – Vista Ridge, Mt Hood

10/11 – Thomas Lake to Rock Lake to the Old Cascade Crest Trail, Indian Heaven Wilderness

10/17 – Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, Portland

September 2022 Hiking….

9/14 – Macleay Park to Pittock Mansion: Finishing the Wildwood Trail, Portland, OR

9/20 – Bird Creek Meadows, Mt Adams, WA

9/27 – Indian Heaven Wilderness – Cultus Campground to Wapiki Lake Overlook

Four views of Wy’east, August, 2022

August 4 – Lookout Mountain

August 16 – Three Corner Rock, WA

August 22 – Cloud Cap to the Timberline Trail High Point

August 30 – Elk Meadows

Early June, 2022