Three Fall Hikes near Mt Adams, WA Oct. 6-8, 2021

October 26, 2021 / margaretquilts / 3 Comments

We stayed two nights in Trout Lake, Washington, to be closer to some far flung trailheads in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The distance may not be far, in miles, but the nature of the roads requires slow and patient driving. The trails were beautiful, in their fall colors, despite a a bit of rain and early snow.

Trail location map

Lewis River Falls – October 6th

Knowing it would probably rain, we chose a waterfall hike through the forest. This area is extremely popular in summer. However, on this rainy fall day, we had the trail entirely to ourselves beyond the Lower Falls Overlooks near the campground.

Lower Falls: We looked from above, then from one of the downstream side trails.

Lower Falls from the overlook

Closer view of the holes in the rocky platform

Fallen leaves near the downstream viewpoint

The Lower Falls were mesmerizing:

Lower Lewis River Falls

We walked back upstream along the Lewis River for about three miles, toward the Upper Falls. We passed the Lower Falls again:

Lower Falls with a bit of fall color

We found a beach during a pause in the rain for our lunch break.

Lunch rock

Rock hopper nearby

We continued upstream to the Middle Falls:

Rainy trail – the trees sheltered us much of the time.

Middle Lewis River Falls

The main channel cuts into the rocky bench below the falls.

We passed Copper Creek Falls, a tributary to the Lewis River:

Copper Creek Falls

We paused for a rest at the Upper Falls lower viewpoint:

Upper Lewis River Falls

From here we turned back, retracing our steps through the woods, quite satisfied that we have seen most of the Lewis River Falls.

Sun breaking through on the return hike.

We drove on various Gifford Pinchot National Forest roads to our lodging in Trout Lake. These roads were very slow going, shifting from paved to gravel and extremely potholed!

Killen Creek Meadows, Mt Adams – October 7th

We woke to a glorious blue sky day! The mountain was out, and we looked forward to our hike to Killen Creek Meadows on the northwest flanks of Mt Adams.

Mt Adams from Trout Lake

The Killen Creek Meadows to High Camp trail begins in the forest, then emerges into tiers of meadows. We started at about 4500 feet elevation, ascending to about 6000 feet on the 12,281 foot tall stratovolcano.

Lots of red huckleberry bushes along the trail.

Fresh snow from yesterday’s storm began at about 5200 feet.

In one forest opening we could see Mt Rainier to the north.

The open meadows provide great views of Mt Adams:

We reached the junction of the Pacific Crest Trail and the High Camp trail at lunch time, after hiking 3.5 miles. The snow was getting deeper, so we decided this would be our turnaround point. We did meet one northbound hiker, Tortoise, while we rested there.

Trail junction/lunch stop

High Camp is somewhere up on this ridge

Sparkling snow

We made our way back, admiring the views and the foliage.

Clouds forming in the afternoon

Huckleberries in the snow

Killen Creek Meadows are known for summer wildflowers, and we plan to return for a future summer adventure.

Takhlakh Lake is not far from the Killen Creek Trailhead. We stopped by for the iconic view on our way back to Trout Lake.

Mt Adams from Takhlakh Lake

Glacier close ups

Northern flank

An ice cave?

Adams Glacier

Hummocky topography on the south flank

Bird Mountain Loop, Indian Heaven Wilderness – October 8th

We chose this hike on the northeast side of Indian Heaven Wilderness for our last day. Clouds were coming in, but we had excellent conditions for seeing lots of lovely fall foliage around the meadows and lakes. The trail begins in the forest, and heads up hill to the flanks of Bird Mountain.

Once again, our trail leads through red huckleberry foliage.

From the shoulder of Bird Mountain, we got views of surrounding peaks, near and far.

Mt Adams to the east

Goat Rocks to the northeast

Sawtooth Mtn, with Mt Rainier in the distance

Scree slope beneath Bird Mountain, near our return trail this afternoon.

Continuing south, we would pass near Lemei Rock.

Beautiful foliage, mushrooms, small lakes appeared in the meadows along our trail.

Mountain Ash

Small lake

Mushroom

We stopped by this small unnamed lake to eat lunch and admire the reflections and colors.

We took the side trail to Deep Lake, passing the Cultus Lake outlet on the way.

Cultus Lake from the Deep Lake Trail

Deep Lake

Back on the main trail, we passed Cultus Lake before taking the junction toward the Pacific Crest Trail and Clear Lake.

Cultus Lake

Clear Lake

Back on the Pacific Crest Trail, northbound

One of the scree slopes on the west side of Bird Mountain.

Another unnamed lake by the trail.

We crossed back over the northern shoulder of Bird Mountain, where we could see some views again, before descending through the scree slopes back to the trailhead. Lots of late blooming flowers and seedheads in this area.

Sawtooth Mountain, from Bird Mountain

Mt Adams

Descending the scree slope – rougher trail in here

Seedheads

The very last lupine of summer.

This was a very successful trip – three new trails for us, and more added to our list for the future. We’d hiked more than 22 miles, and 4000 feet elevation, and fully immersed ourselves in the autumn foliage.

Artist Point trails near Mt Baker, WA, September 12 – 15, 2021

October 21, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

We stayed in a condo near the small town of Glacier, WA and drove to trailheads near Artist Point each day. During previous visits, we had some lovely hikes, but were impeded by snowed-in trails in August of 2010, and rain in October of 2015. We felt lucky to have a good weather window this trip.

Our four hiking trails – the Ptarmigan Ridge and Chain of Lakes Trails share the same trail from Artist Point for the first mile.

September 12 – Bagley Lakes

The cloud level was just above the Bagley Lakes – no mountain views today, and a bit of rain, but not many people either.

Hiking down the glaciated columnar basalts to the lakes

Mountain ash, pearly everlasting, and clouds

Lower Bagley Lake, asters

Bridge across Upper Bagley Lake outlet

First we hiked partway around Upper Bagley Lake:

Small waterfall and late paintbrush along the trail

Huckleberry bushes turning red

Fringed grass of parnassus in abundance!

Upper Bagley Lake shore and meadows. On our previous visit this area was full of snow.

We turned back and walked along the southern shore of Lower Bagley Lake:

Meadows full of fringed grass of parnassus – previously only seen rarely by me!

Bridge over the check dam at the lower end of Lower Bagley Lake.

We returned along the north shore of Lower Bagley Lake,

Columnar basalt waterfall

Cascade between the lakes

Pool above the cascade

Fireweed

then climbed back up the glaciated basalt surface, having completed the 3 mile loop, clouds lifting just a bit.

On our drive down the road, we stopped at the Picture Lakes – no mountain views today, but plenty of colorful wildflowers and foliage in the surrounding meadows.

Picture Lake

I realized the foliage colors are all there in the Hitchhiker Shawl I am knitting.

September 13 – Ptarmigan Ridge

When we arrived at the Artist Point trailhead, Mt Baker was out, though hiding a bit behind fast-moving clouds.

Mt Baker from Artist Point

We started along the first mile of trail that is carved into a high cirque, toward the saddle where the Ptarmigan Ridge trail begins.

Trail along the cirque

Saddle, Mt Baker beyond the clouds.

From the saddle, we dropped down into another cirque, then back up to Ptarmigan Ridge, heading toward Coleman Pinnacle.

Hiking up the next cirque to the ridge.

Ptarmigan Ridge

Rock hopping bird

View along the Ptarmigan Ridge trail

Closer view of our next saddle

Once over that saddle, we hiked toward Coleman Pinnacle.

Coleman Pinnacle

Glacial striations

Hiking up the barren, glaciated surface.

We were high enough to look down on Goat Lake,

Goat Lake

but the mountain remained elusive. One shoulder peeked out, giving us our best view for the day.

Looking for the mountain

Mt Baker’s shoulder

Glacier close ups

Meanwhile, I was also admiring the foliage colors, and the sea of lily seed heads. This must have been an amazing wildflower meadow a few weeks ago.

Lily and pasque flower

Lily and huckleberry

The clouds became thicker, so we decided to turn back, after 4.5 miles.

Another look at Goat Lake.

Goat Lake, a few people for scale.

The clouds parted for a minute, giving us a glimpse of this outlet valley below.

One last look back at Mt Baker before we turned the corner at the high saddle.

Returning along Ptarmigan Ridge…

Partridge foot, Happy Bunny Butte

Trail across the western cirque toward the saddle at Table Mountain

Back along the eastern cirque, Mt Shuksan still under clouds

Marmot crossing

Almost back to the trailhead, Mt Shuksan beginning to peek out.

We hiked 9 miles, 1500 feet for the day. We had packed food in our car, just in case the sunset looked promising – one never knows in the mountains.

September 13 – Artist’s Point Sunset / Huntoon Point

We rested for a while in the trailhead area, and were rewarded with more cloud clearing, and some beautiful sunset views. We walked along the Huntoon Point Trail for about a mile, watching the sky, the glaciers, the reflections in the several ponds and tarns along the way. A lovely evening.

Mt Shuksan:

The peak

Glaciers

Tarn and trail between Huntoon Point and Mt Shuksan

More stunning reflections

Last look.

Mt Baker:

Mt Baker; Coleman Pinnacle, which we walked around earlier today, in the foreground.

September 14 – Chain of Lakes

The mountains were out at the trailhead under a higher cloud cover, rain pending…

Mt Baker

Mt Shuksan

Cascades to the north

Knowing it might rain by afternoon, we started out on the Chain of Lakes Trail…

Cirque trail

Today we can see the Cascade peaks to the south, and Baker Lake below,

and the glaciers on Mt Baker

Crossing the stone ledges in the cirque

Fireweed and Mt Baker, and our trail junction in the saddle.

From the saddle, we had a better view than yesterday of the Ptarmigan Ridge trail.

Ptarmigan Ridge trail

Today we are going north, down the scree slope below Table Mountain, into the Chain of Lakes basin.

We passed by four lakes in the basin…

Mazama Lake

Stream between Mazama and Iceberg Lakes

Iceberg Lake

Hayes Lake

We followed the side trail around Hayes Lake, toward Arbuthnot Lake, and found shelter under a few trees to eat lunch just as the rain began.

Hayes Lake and Table Mountain

Lunch spot view of Hayes and Arbuthnot Lakes

Closer view of Arbuthnot Lake

The rain was beginning in earnest, so we turned around to retrace our steps, walking quickly as conditions got worse.

Mushroom forest

Outlet stream

By the time we were hiking back up the scree slope, I was getting pretty tired, after three days of hiking. I paused, and heard a whistle, and saw a marmot down on the rocks below the trail.

Marmot giving me the side eye as they enjoy their shower.

We still had more than a mile to go in the pouring rain, no more photos today. But we were very happy with our three days of hiking, and seeing the mountains, and came up with a new list of trails to return to, not just here, but along other trailheads in the North Cascades.

September 15 – Billy Frank-Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge

Halfway through our six hour drive home to Portland we took our lunch break at this wildlife refuge at the southern end of the Puget Sound. We walked about two miles, to the beginning of the boardwalk that extends for another mile out into the Puget Sound.

The trail begins near a bog where we spotted a great blue heron.

We continued on wooden boardwalks through the woods,

with views to grassy lowlands.

Some other hikers pointed out the tiny frogs on the marsh grasses.

and I spotted a hummingbird.

After passing the barn,

we emerged to wide open views of the southern Puget Sound,

and spotted another heron.

We walked to the very beginning of the mile long boardwalk out over the water,

but decided to turn around for the day,

saving our visit to the farthest viewing platform for another day.

We will return!

Thus ended another adventure, leaving me with tired legs, and a new list of places to hike next time.

More hiking in August, 2021: a witch’s castle, an artesian spring, and waterfalls

September 6, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

In addition to our walk at Nehalem Bay earlier in the month, we hiked three other days in August before going on our trip to the Olympic Mountains at the end of the month.

8-17-2021 – Wildwood Trail/Witches Castle

We added another 2 miles to our section hike of the Wildwood Trail.

A five mile loop – Wildwood Trail to Birch Trail to Holman Lane

The forest was dry and dusty today

Balch Creek

This segment of the Wildwood Trail passes by the “Witches Castle”, formerly a visitor center, now a destination for various graffiti artists and partiers, and a colorful landmark in the green forest.

Meanwhile, in the forest, harbingers of fall in the maple trees….

We only have 5 miles remaining in our pandemic thru hike.

8-22-2021 – Dry Creek Falls

We returned to this short hike in the gorge with our visiting daughter. And I noted that, while we were not in Iceland, we were looking at a waterfall and columnar basalts…

Dry Creek

Dry Creek Falls

Columnar basalts

Columnar basalts, vine maples and cedar branches

Bridge on the PCT over Dry Creek

There were a few colorful flowers and berries along the trail…

Fireweed

Penstemon

Solomon seal

And the evil poison oak, showing its fall colors

A ghost tree along the path.

8 26-2021 Little Zigzag Falls and Little Crater Lake, Mt Hood

We planned to hike up high on Mt Hood today, but the cloud cover directed us otherwise.

Little Zigzag Falls – We’ve never stopped here before because the hike is so short – less than a mile round trip. This trail through beautiful green forest along a mountain stream will be a good one to keep in mind for visitors on the grand round-the-mountain tour.

Remnants of the old Mt Hood Highway near the trailhead

The trail follows along the edge of Little Zigzag Creek

Little Zigzag Falls

Rock-hugging tree at the top of the falls

View upstream from the top of the falls

Another view of Little Zigzag Falls

Exposed tree roots near the falls

Little Crater Lake – This lake, south of Mt Hood, has long been on my ‘to visit’ list.

The lake is an easy walk from the trail head.

Little Crater Lake

The true blue color…

The lake is not actually a crater – it was formed by an artesian spring.

The blue clarity of the water is mesmerizing. I love the reflections. My little camera has a hard time catching the actually vibrancy of the turquoise blue, but none of the brighter blues here are exaggerated.

We continued to a section of the Pacific Crest Trail that follows the northern arm of Timothy Lake, where we found more lovely views and foliage.

PCT to Timothy Lake

Northern arm of Timothy Lake

More reflections…

We passed by Little Crater Lake again on our return hike – once again admiring the deep blue and the reflections.

Little Crater Lake again

Siltstone stratigraphy

Reflections and abstractions

I plan to return next spring when the wildflowers are blooming!

Six Hikes in June, 2021

July 11, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We had six hiking days in June, all repeat hikes, so I am showing just a few highlight photos, and linking past posts for trail details.

June 3 – Hamilton Mountain, WA, hike – I love this hike, however challenging (8 miles, 2200 feet), and always feel accomplished to have made the trek again, especially when I get to see the lovely Lewisia flowers on the upper switchbacks.

Trailhead

Waterfall area

Little Hamilton Mtn death camus meadows, Mt Hood

Bonneville Dam from Little Hamilton Mtn

Table Mtn and Mt Adams from the summit

Clarkia

Lewisia

Looking back at the summit from the saddle/plateau

Respite in Hamilton Creek

Where we have been…

2. June 10 – Grassy Knoll, WA, hike – Another well loved hike. A bit rainy today, and on the early side for flowers blooming, but so green and lush along the trail!

Beargrass in the forest

Cliff penstemon; Mt Adams behind the clouds today.

Onion and phlox on the mossy rocks

View to the summit

Switchback up the meadows

View from the summit

East to Indian Heaven

Paintbrush and lupine

Back to the trailhead, lower meadows in bloom

3. June 17 – Saddle Mountain, OR, hike – We were here last month before the full bloom of the upper meadows, so hiked again on our way to an overnight at the Oregon Coast.

Saddle and summit

monkey flowers, nodding onions

irises

lewisia, saxifrage

checkermallow, chickweed

fleabane

prairie smoke

blue-eyed grass

cutleaf anemone

Pacific Ocean from the summit

Washington peaks from the summit

4. June 18 – Oregon north coast beaches – We stayed overnight in the Tolvana area of Cannon Beach, with a lovely view of Haystack Rock beyond the parking lots.

The next day we walked from Arcadia Beach and around Hug Point at low tide, to Big Barnacle Rock. We visited all our favorite landmarks from 30 years of visiting this stretch of beach nearly every summer, often staying for a week when our kids were young. So beautiful!

The sphinx of Arcadia Beach guards the northern beaches,

but we are heading south, along these open sands as the tide recedes.

We saw some birds and tide pool creatures:

sea anemone

Caspian terns – we’ve never seen these before.

Caspian terns

A pod of pelicans flying north along the wave crests

Pelicans

Next we crossed over the old road carved out of Hug Point, passable at low tide.

Hug Point

South view from the Hug Point road

The Waterfall

The Cave

Big Barnacle Rock and Castle Rock from The Cave

Looking south toward Arch Cape from Big Barnacle Rock – our turnaround point.

North view, crossing back over Hug Point.

Walking into the wind, sand rivers pelting our legs.

5. June 22 – Three Corner Rock – Another repeat hike. We were the only ones on the trail today. It was just shady enough in the forest to be comfortable.

Our big surprise was the profuse bear grass bloom in the upper meadows below the rock. And almost no wind.

Three Corner Rock

Views from near the summit (we didn’t scramble to the upper platform):

Looking south – Mt Hood and the cell tower, and so much bear grass!

St Helens, Rainier, Goat Rocks and Adams

Mt Adams

Mt St Helens

And a few more flowery views before heading down:

6. June 30 – Thomas Lake to Rock Lake Mosquito chase – Indian Heaven Wilderness, WA – Why we thought we could out-smart the famous mosquitos of summer in Indian Heaven I do not know, except sometimes you have to find out for your self. Which we did.

There was plenty of water (mosquito breeding grounds) in Indian Heaven.

Thomas Lake

Dee Lake

Shooting stars, Heather Lake

Vernal Lake in one of the meadows.

The highest trail section had snow patches, with marsh marigolds and avalanche lilies blooming nearby.

avalanche lilies

marsh marigolds

snow

We made it to Rock Lakes, and sat long enough to devour our lunch as quickly as possible, while the mosquitos devoured us through our DEET sprayed clothing.

Rock Lake – no rock bridge today.

heather

huckleberries

We had reached our tolerance point, so rushed back down the trail, stopping just long enough to notice Mt St Helens through the trees.

We learned our lesson! There is not enough DEET in the world to make this a comfortable time in Indian Heaven. We will return in late summer or fall when the mosquitos are gone.

May 2021, part 3: Hiking

June 10, 2021June 10, 2021 / margaretquilts / 1 Comment

Three significant hikes:

May 5 – Weldon Wagon Road, WA

We returned to this favorite trail while the balsamroot were fresh, and the later season flowers were just beginning to bloom.

Open slopes of balsamroot along the upper trail.

Mt Hood view from the open trail.

Late season flowers:

manroot tendrils

ookow, fringe pod, balsamroot

blue gilia, taper tip onion

clarkia; taper tip onion

white western groundsel, lupine

Old plow at the turnaround.

Second growth firs viewed through oak trees.

May 11 – Saddle Mountain, OR

Another favorite trail – this time we were early for the full bloom, and saw fawn lilies in the upper saddle.

The alder trees in the lower forest had not leafed out yet. We made our way up to the prominent knob, admiring lots of early flowers in the alternating woods and open slopes.

Alder trees

The knob, and first view to the ocean.

Some of the early flowers:

Chocolate lilies covered these steep slopes.

Sitka valerian

Meadow rue

Trillium

Lilies along the first summit before the saddle:

Glacier lilies

Pink fawn lilies

View to the saddle and summit.

Prairie fire in the upper meadows.

Lewisia foliage – too early for flowers.

View of three Cascade peaks from the summit.

May 28 – Ridge Trail, Forest Park, Portland

This was our first time hiking the Ridge Trail in Forest Park.

This trail has an excellent view of the iconic 1930’s St Johns Bridge, over the Willamette River.

The trail ascends 1000 feet from the start near the St Johns Bridge in North Portland, to the intersection with Firelane 7. We continued the loop on Firelane 7, the Wildwood Trail, and Leif Erickson Drive, before returning on the lower Ridge Trail for a total distance of 4.25 miles. Most of the time we were in the forest.

Through the woods…

Vine maples

Mushroom

Late trillium

We stopped to admire the bridge again on our return trip – sky a little bluer than when we began.

My next and last May 2021 post will be about our wonderful first post-Covid-vaccination trip to visit our daughter, in Washington DC.

The month of May, 2021, part 1

June 4, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Life is opening up again. We and most people we know are fully vaccinated, and thus we are beginning to live life out in the world again. In May I went to two museums; rode with non-“pod” members in the same car; dined at the homes of others, both inside and outside; shopped in a store for clothing; got my haircut in my stylist’s salon instead of on her back patio; and best of all, flew across country in an airplane to Washington DC, where I got to spend a few days with my daughter, and see her and other family members that I had not seen in 18 months. It has taken a bit of time to get reaccustomed to worldly life, in a cautious, Covid-safe manner. Yet I haven’t felt anxious about it – just taking the steps that seem safe at the time, and trusting all the good news about how great the vaccines are, THANK YOU, SCIENTISTS! But it means I have neglected the blog – too busy living life. So this is catch up time. This post will be about local activities, there will be other posts about hiking, crafting, and our DC trip. Onward!

Local Adventures:

May 3: South Waterfront Park – We took a walk along the river trail after I went to a health care appointment nearby. The former industrial area is slowly turning into a live-work-healthcare complex. The greenbelt along the river is being added to our urban trail system – though it is surrounded by construction in progress.

Tram tower; clouds reflected in the OHSU buildings.

We encountered a dead end at the south side of the trail.

We walked north, and looked at Portland from a new perspective.

Down the ramp to views along the Willamette River and under the Ross Island Bridge.

Tilikum Crossing Bridge beyond the Ross Island Bridge

The historic Queen Anne Poulson House at the end of the bridge.

It’s getting a new roof.

Up river view – Ross Island.

An art installation called ‘Cradle’ honors the indigenous people and natural world.

Cedar trees, oyster shells, cement, rebar.

Walking back upriver, we tried all the chairs in the greenbelt park.

The cement loungers were the most comfortable.

More flowers and reflections on this sunny/cloudy day. The residents of these apartments and condos have a lovely outdoor space. Someday I hope the path will connect farther north and south along the river.

May 7: Canemah Bluff Nature Park – This park is on a bluff above the Willamette River in Oregon City. I had heard that it is a great location to see native camas flowers in bloom, so we stopped by for a short walk when we were visiting Bosky Dell Native Plant nursery. We did see the last of the camas blooms.

From the bluff there are views downriver, toward Willamette Falls,

and upriver, across to West Linn.

Camas blooming on the rocky outcrops.

Camas, rosy plectritis and the nefarious poison oak!

May 9: Mother’s Day at home – My two sons joined us for an outdoor meal – our last “Covid” style meal before son #2 had completed his full two week vaccination window. My daughter joined us in spirit by having a decadent eclair delivered as I was speaking to her! It was delicious, shared four ways!

Eclaire from St Honore Bakery

May 13: Portland Art Museum – Friends had reserved tickets to the ‘newly reopened with limited entry’ Portland Art Museum. When their son couldn’t join them, we eagerly accepted a last minute invitation to see the new Ansel Adams Photography Exhibit. I have seen many Ansel Adams exhibits over the years. His name is almost synonymous with Yosemite National Park. As a child, my family camped in Yosemite every year, in the high alpine Tuolumne Meadows area. We hiked, fished and photographed the park. It is part of the lifeblood of my family. My father pursued photography with great passion, and followed Ansel Adams’ work. My husband and I used Ansel Adams Yosemite note cards as invitations to our very small home wedding in January of 1985, and spent our honeymoon at Yosemite Lodge. We purchased a print of an Ansel Adams Cathedral Lakes image with wedding gift money from my mother. I haven’t been back to Yosemite since 2006, but there is nothing like an Ansel Adams exhibit to fill me with that Yosemite feeling. How wonderful to walk among the large, beautiful images of his work, transported out of pandemic claustrophobia. Of course there were images of other places, and images by other artists, as part of the exhibit. This was one of those times when I marvel at the beauty and creativity of the human spirit.

Exhibit entrance

Lightening/shadow projected on the wall.

Sand dunes in the stair well.

May 30: Eugene, Oregon – Only two hours away, yet I had not seen my brother and his family since before the pandemic. We drove down, just for the day, had a lovely lunch in their garden, and took a walk through Hendricks Park, at the tail end of rhododendron season.

Sandy’s buddha

Astrantia

Primroses and rhodies

Stone wall

Of course we talked about old times, and my brother showed me our father’s slide rule, and some of his old campaign buttons.

May was a good month. Of course I know that not everyone is fortunate to be vaccinated yet. The pandemic and many other problems still/will always plague the world. We help where we can, but try to live as fully as possible, because that may not always be possible. The next post will include crafting in May 2021.

Late April 2021

May 8, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Continuing my neighborhood walks: After the cherry blossoms, the pink snow,

We go from pink trees

to pink sidewalks in a week’s time.

And find them all through the neighborhood.

Dogwood trees and other flowers bloom,

Dogwood

rhododendron

fothergilla

lewisia

Interestingly cracked concrete catches my eye…

We went on two more hikes with amazing wildflowers:

Tom McCall Trail, OR, April 23

When we hiked here on March 11th, the slopes were covered with purple grass widows. Today, the balsamroot is the star!

Starting up the trail with friends.

Lower cliffs, balsamroot and lupine in full bloom!

Eastward view.

Every blade abloom under the oak trees.

Open slopes of balsamroot and Mt Adams.

Continuing up.

Paintbrush in bloom on the upper slopes.

Views from the top:

West to Mt Hood.

North to Mt Adams.

Northeast, to the Cherry Orchard.

More views on the hike down:

Rowena Plateau.

Paintbrush! and the Memaloose Hills, with their yellow backs.

Parsley Alley….

And a few more flowers, for the day.

Chocolate lily and some of that sneaky poison oak creeping in.

Oaks toothwort

Miner’s lettuce

Waterleaf

Orobanche

Baby stars

Bitterroot Trail, Catherine Creek, WA April 26

Aptly lived up to its name – the earlier blooming flowers have faded, but the bitterroot is just getting started today!

We began near the fairy ponds – now filled with camas lilies; the adjacent rock outcrops hosting glorious bitterroot flowers.

Lewisia rediviva

Sprinkled across the basalt; bicolored cluster lilies speckle the meadow beyond.

We wind our way up the slope:

Eastward.

Camas lilies and shooting stars.

Death camas and purple camas lilies

Turn left at the balsamroot, while admiring the windswept views east,

and west…

We drop down the Rowland Wall trail,

One of the largest clusters of bitterroot buds I have seen…

buckwheat

A giant clump of cliff penstomen surprised us!

More bitterroot scattered across the rocky surface along our return trail.

This is their time to rise up!

Meanwhile…

We finally had a chance to see the heritage American Chestnut Tree in the Sellwood neighborhood. It dwarves the house, and there is an enormous stump of another chestnut tree behind it.

Rare American Chestnut, Sellwood, Oregon

Leaves just budding out.

Knitting

I finished a Scrappy Marl Hat for the guild project,

started another hat, and restarted my bamboo cardigan.

Quilting

I’m making progress on the baby quilt.

Repotted plant report from Washington DC:

Commentary on the verdict, and the path forward:

Eastern Gorge Trip, April 2021

May 1, 2021May 19, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

We spent a few days hiking east of the Cascade crest and the rain. We stayed in a small hotel in the small town of Moro, and explored two Oregon State Parks for the first time, then visited the Columbia Hills in Washington on our way home.

Driving south of the Columbia River to White River Falls State Park – low hills and agricultural buildings our new scenery.

April 13th, White River Falls State Park, Oregon

We admired the White River Falls from the overlook, then walked downstream to see the lower tiers of the falls. We were about 2 miles upstream from the confluence with the Deschutes River, and about 50 miles from the source, the White River Glacier on Mt Hood, near a favorite winter snowshoe location. Here, the White River tumbles over cliffs, past the ruins of a hydropower plant that was abandoned in 1963, when a giant dam on the nearby Columbia River was built.

White River Falls

Abandoned power plant.

This is a beautiful falls, though the surrounds are a bit of a wasteland – cement and disconnected pipes, wire grids, a broken building with roof gaps, graffiti, tumble weeds and leaves blown in, plants growing out of the cracks, moss in the crevices.

Bright yellow balsamroot and parsley were blooming around the canyon, and gold fiddle neck striped the edges of the rocky path.

Balsamroot, parsley

fiddleneck

Down by the river we had a bit of a wind shelter. Quiet today, but in summer people come to swim. We walked a ways down stream to see the third tier of the falls, the smoothed rocky shelves with potholes, now exposed, and smooth, sandy banks.

Sandy beach above the lower falls.

Lower falls; upper falls visible to the upper right.

Downstream along the White River.

We walked back up to the rim, past the ruins of the powerhouse and almost post-apocalyptic scenery.

Return hike.

More of the ruins of the old power plant.

From White River Falls, we drove east across the Deschutes River on our way to Moro, along a long, smoothly curved road on the Warm Springs Reservation. Balsamrooot blooms were sprinkled on cliffs above the canyon.

We passed sagebrush uplands and cultivated green fields, a 360 degree horizon punctuated by white windmills gleaming in the afternoon light.

Many white wind turbines on the horizon.

April 14th, Cottonwood Canyon State Park, Oregon

We drove across the uplands between the John Day and Deschutes Rivers on a beautiful clear blue morning. Mt Hood, Mt Adams and Mt Rainier were on the horizon, and more windmills.

Mt Hood

Mt Adams and Mt Rainier

Mt Adams, windmills

Mt Rainier and the Goat Rocks, windmills

The Lost Coral Trail in Cottonwood Canyon State Park is 9.6 miles out and back. The trail follows an old road along the John Day River, sometimes beneath river-cut cliffs, sometimes across the point bars, as the wide blue river sweeps down stream.

Trailhead

Under the cliffs

Balsamroot above

Bicolored cluster lilies

Desert parsley and lichen

Balsamroot and parsley

milk vetch

Cottonwood Canyon campground across the river.

Continuing along the river, the slopes were speckled with wildflowers; willows on the bars and a few trees were beginning to leaf out.

Flowering alluvial fan across the river.

Cliffs and reflections, serviceberry in bloom.

Sagebrush

A welcome bench for rest and contemplation.

Lovely desert colors in the rocks, river, plantlife.

At our turnaround point, we found a phlox-covered slope and beautiful views of the river. We saw three equestrians – our only other people on the trail today.

Three equestrians in our downstream lunch view

Upstream lunch view.

phlox

We retraced our steps upstream after lunch, admiring the views along the river in the changing light.

Walking upstream.

Many colors along the river.

Grassy tufts in the river.

Larkspur

Back under the cliffs near the trailhead.

Parsley

I don’t know if I still love the desert as much as I used to. The rocky, prickly, isolation of it has caught up with my age. Dust and wind, and there must be snakes around somewhere …I just don’t know…

April 15th, Dalles Mountain Ranch, Columbia Hills State Park, WA

We drove back across the windmilled uplands, in view of the three mountains on the skyline, all the while watching the painted slopes of the cliffs and hills on the north side of the Columbia River. Distinct patches of yellow, white, and purple across the green and brown indicate the slopes are blooming with the wildflowers that we are going to see.

Looking at the Columbia Hills in Washington from Oregon.

We hiked the Ranch Loop clockwise from the Dalles Mountain Ranch Trailhead – we have been here before, most recently in February, when only the early flowers were on view. Today there were so many flowers out – gold balsamroot, purple lupine, pale pink phlox, and always the yellow parsley and pink filagree creating a pastel underglaze on almost every slope.

Mt Hood and ranch buildings from near the trailhead.

The “one tree”, still no leaves, with a flowery background

Balsamroot all the way down to the Columbia River.

Lower east-most view.

Lupine and western view from the high point on the lower trail.

Large head clover

Fleabane

Lunch view – in February this area was covered in purple grass widows.

Back up Eight Mile Creek to the ranch.

We finally spotted the old car that is so often photographed among the flowers at the ranch.

We enjoyed this hiking trip, a chance to get out of town and enjoy the spring flowers at a couple of new locations.

Blooms of early April 2021

April 24, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

The crabapple tree in our front yard finally bloomed during the second week of April. This tree was in full bloom the day we moved into our house in mid March almost 30 years ago.

April 9th

April 11th

April 15th

Other garden blooms:

tulips fully open

phlox

checker lily

And some cupcakes for a friend’s birthday:

Hikes:

April 2nd, Memaloose Hills, OR –

Begin at the Memaloose Overlook…

Today’s star is balsamroot!

Buttercup carpet in the woods.

Balsamroot all the way up Chatfield Hill.

Looking back.

North view from the top – Mt Adams, paintbrush, yellow parsley.

Columbia River, Columbia Desert parsley, balsamroot

Mt Hood to the west.

Willows and bees near the spring on the return hike.

Popcorn flowers on Marsh Hill.

View from Marsh Hill back to the Memaloose Hills.

More wildflowers:

Blue eyed Mary and slender phlox

Glacier lilies and buttercups

Larkspur and balsamroot

Shooting stars.

April 8, Coyote Wall, WA – Our first hike with friends in more than a year! We are all fully vaccinated!

Starting up The Old Ranch Road.

Service berry in bloom on the Little Moab Cliffs.

The edge of the Coyote Wall, yellow parsley.

And balsamroot, eastward view.

Southward view.

And we are going higher!

Upper cliff edge view.

A nice meadow near Atwood Road, as we loop eastward before hiking down.

A day when every blade of grass seems to have a bloom!

So many flowers!

Desert parsley along Old Hwy 14 cliff, return hike.

And more flowers:

Parsley and cluster lilies

Tomcat clover

Pucoon

Great hounds tongue

Wooly vetch

Knitting

Some progress on two projects:

I finished the yoke on this bamboo cardigan, and it is way too big, despite careful swatching, so this one is in time out for a while.

A mystery project for a gift…

Quilting

I am starting a baby quilt for a new family member!

The rest of March, 2021

April 7, 2021 / margaretquilts / Leave a comment

Tulips and cherry blossoms, three more hikes, a new knit along, a careful cross country trip, and our neighborhood loses our star author, as we continue into our second year of pandemia.

The neighborhood in bloom –

anemones

tulips

forsythia

garden wall on Klickitat St.

cherry trees

Catherine Creek East

March 26th – A beautiful day – we roamed on the eastward loop to see the latest of early spring flowers sprinkled on the grassy slopes.

White death camas and saxifrage all the way up…

Yellow agerosis and yellow bells

The first of the purple camas,

the last of the grass widows.

Monkey flowers, rosy plectritis and orobanche

Shooting stars and saxifrage

Larkspur, and purple Columbia desert parsley

Yellow parsley and Mt Hood!

Meadow lark

Fairy ponds

Wildwood Trail, milepost ~ 10 to 14

March 29th – A slightly rainy day, trilliums lining the trail on our loop. I have now completed about 20 miles of the 30 mile trail during the pandemic.

Wildwood trail on a damp day.

Trillium blooming all along the trail.

Trillium

Violets

Salmonberry

Coltsfoot

Return along Leif Erikson Drive

Sky breaking out!

Cooper Mountain

March 30th – We took a quick loop around this mountain on the edge of suburbia, being reclaimed/preserved so that all doesn’t become concrete, while our son was at an appointment nearby. A few early spring flowers on view.

Iris

Indian plum

Oregon grape

Looking down the slope from the trailhead.

Knitting

I finished another hat, and continue to knit on the socks and cardigan.

Plaid hat – a test knit for a friend.

Sock and cardigan, in process.

Son’s trip to DC:

Travel is fraught in these Covid times, yet we needed to transfer one of our cars to our daughter on the east coast. Our temporarily unemployed son volunteered, so in the midst of the pandemic, he bubbled himself across country. With all appropriate masking and testing, he delivered the car. Then he flew back, and after more bubbling and testing, successfully completed his adventure Covid free.

Postcards from the road

Cherry blossoms on the National Mall

More cherry blossoms, tidal basin.

Beverly Cleary

We live in Ramona’s neighborhood, the same neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, where the acclaimed children’s author went to school and roamed Grant Park and Klickitat Street. Beverly Cleary died last week, a few weeks short of her 105th birthday. Though she spent most of her adult life in California, our neighborhood honors her legacy. Libraries and schools bear her name. We have a walking tour of the neighborhood to see her world. I remember getting my middle school aged son to read the books to his three year old sister while I was making dinner, and he never objected – he looked forward to it. “Is it time to read to Emily yet?” I especially enjoyed her two memoirs, recognizing many of the scenes from her childhood as replayed in her novels. I heard her say in an interview that she identified most with Ellen Tebbits. She got to live a good long life, and in our neighborhood we have her “ordinary” fictional children cast in bronze in the sculpture garden in the park, which doubles as a splash pad in the summer. Last week there were flowers in the sculpture garden in tribute to her memory.

Ramona the Pest

Henry Huggins

Ribsy