We had five outdoor adventures in August.

August 1 – Bird Creek Meadows, Mount Adams, WA

The hiking trails in the Yakama Nation Track D were opened earlier this year, in good time to see the lush wildflower meadows the area is famous for. We repeated the loop we hiked in September last year, this time seeing the full midsummer display.

We began again at Bird Lake:

We started uphill through the burn zone toward Bluff Lake, lush flowers along the trail:

We continued upward toward the Trail of Flowers, passing Staircase Falls on the way.

We continued upward, along trails through dryer slopes, also lined with flowers, to the Mt Hood viewpoint.

Continuing upward, through more wildflower meadows, to the Hellroaring Viewpoint…

We returned down, then west along the Round the Mountain Trail, then down to Crooked Creek Falls, through wildflower meadows all the way…

We completed the 6 mile/1000 foot loop, hiking back down through the burn zone, and back to Bird Lake.

These meadows were beautiful in their fall colors last year, but I am glad I got to see them in full summer wildflower bloom again!

August 8 – Vista Ridge, Mt Hood, OR

Another trip up to Wy’east Basin from the Vista Ridge Trailhead, one of my favorite hikes on Mt Hood.

At about 5600 feet, we came across patches of avalanche lilies and beargrass, and the beginning of the alpine flowers. 

More alpine flowers:

We reached the Timberline Trail, then continued a little further uphill into Wy’east Basin, admiring the flowers.

Eventually we returned down Vista Ridge. The fireweed was just beginning to bloom, and we noticed lots of new fir trees in the burn zone.

And of course I greeted my favorite haunted trees!

August 16-18 – Beach Walks, Cannon Beach, OR

A HOT week in town! On fairly short notice, we were able to book a room for two nights in the Tolvana area of Cannon Beach. The room was expensive, even though the view was to the backside of Mo’s Restaurant. However, it was within a short walk or drive to some of our favorite beaches. Our timing for low tide wasn’t great – around sunrise and sunset, but we made the most of our three days on the coast.

Our first afternoon, sunny and beautiful, we walked south from Tolvana Beach:

After dinner, we walked north to Haystack Rock as the tide ebbed.

We saw more pelicans and a lovely sunset:

The next day, during high tide, we hiked at Oswald West State Park, out to Cape Falcon…

Looking down to surfers at Short Sand Beach on the return hike…

Then we drove south to the Neahkahnie Lookout above Manzanita, and as always, paused to say, “Thank You!”  to Oswald West, for preserving access to our beaches!

Then we took the short walk to Devil’s Cauldron Overlook, and looked back north to Cape Falcon.

After a second pizza dinner, we took a long evening walk to the south toward Silver Point.

The next morning, after packing up, we visited another favorite beach, Hug Point, even though the tide was coming in.

We turned and walked south toward Arch Cape, along the lovely wide beaches where we spent many family holidays.

Before driving inland, we stopped for a picnic lunch at Ecola Point, and for a last look at the beaches we had visited. We had walked almost 20 miles on the beaches and headlands within this view, and enjoyed our time on the edge of the continent.

August 22 – Wildwood Trail, Portland, OR

On a hot day we hiked a three mile loop on the Wildwood Trail in Hoyt Arboretum. 

August 31 – Coyote Wall, WA/Multnomah Falls, OR, in the rain

Our son visited from Philadelphia, and brought a friend. She had never been here before, and as luck would have it, her week coincided with a spell of old school Portland summer – lots of overcast and/or drizzly days, which seem to be more of an anomaly in recent years. She didn’t even see Mt Hood until the day she flew home. We drove to the eastern Columbia River Gorge to look for sun, and took a slightly rainy hike at Coyote Wall.

We made the mandatory stop at Multnomah Falls on the way home; still a bit rainy, but also, relatively uncrowded as a result.