Categories
Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Trip report Willamette Valley

Minto-Brown Island Park 07/11/2026

My brother and his families last full day visiting from Missouri was Saturday, so we wanted a nearby hike for the morning to give us more time to visit later in the day. We turned to nearby Minto-Brown Island Park where a family of otters had recently been seen. We were excited to have our niece join us for the outing.

We began our hike from Parking Lot #1 (closest to the park entrance).
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Map at the parking lot.

We took the paved path from the parking lot across Willamette Slough then turned right along the slough on the Brown Squirrel Loop.
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Willamette Slough

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As we were passing between the slough on our right and a field on our left, we spotted a buck.
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The otters had been seen in the slough, so we detoured to a couple of viewpoints where the slough widened. We failed to spot any otters but did see a number of ducks, birds, and a family of nutria.
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When I first spotted something in the water, I got excited, but I quickly realized it was nutria and not the otters.

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Unfortunately, the nutria are highly invasive, regardless the family was kind of cute.

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The silhouette of a cedar waxwing.

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Swallows

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Great blue heron

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Ducks

We took a paved spur to the right when the trail forked to get a couple more views of the slough.
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This spur spends much of the year submerged.

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I’m not sure when/if this viewpoint is accessible on dry ground.

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More ducks but no otters.

We returned to the main path and turned right when we reached the Osprey Loop and followed this loop to the Willamette River.
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Oregon grape with perennial peavine behind.

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One of many rabbits we would see during our hike.

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Hardhack

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Common madia

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Robin

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The Willamette River

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A heron and ducks on the far side of the river.

We continued along the river and stuck to the paved path when it turned away from the river.
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Shortly after leaving the river we spotted not one but two does.
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The first doe was coming up the trail toward us.

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The second doe was in the brush to the right of the trail.

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The second doe.

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Yarrow and chicory

The path brought us to the Shelter Parking Lot (lot #3) where we left the Osprey Loop in favor of the Blue Heron Loop. We followed the paved path across Oxbow Slough and continued to a split in the trail where the Blue Heron Loop continued on a dirt path to the left.
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Female wood duck and ducklings in Oxbow Slough.

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Coming up on the split in the trail.

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Woodpecker

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Wasp nest

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Oxbow Slough

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Goose and ducks at Oxbow Slough.

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Great blue heron

When the Blue Heron Loop came within sight of the paved Purple Rabbit Loop we cut over to that path and turned left.
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This trail brought us to Homedale Road which it briefly followed before veering away to complete a loop around Oxbow Slough.
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Bindweed

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We were slowed a bit on this stretch by the presence of ripe thimbleberries.

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Old abandoned car along the path.

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Squirrel

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Self-heal

We turned right on the Yellow Duck Loop then took a left on a paved path along the western end of the dog park which brought us to the entrance road where we turned right.
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An upside-down cedar waxwing.

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We followed the entrance road back toward the entrance to cross the road on the Brown Squirrel Loop and returned to our car. This hike was 6.8-miles with minimal elevation gain.
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Despite not seeing the otters we all had a good time. There was plenty of other wildlife to see and some tasty ripe berries to snack on. We were back home before 10am which gave us plenty of time to visit before we had to say goodbye to my brother’s family. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Minto-Brown Island Park

Categories
High Cascades Hiking Mt. Hood Area Oregon Trip report

Ramona Falls – 07/09/2026

It’s been a busy week here. Monday, we took my brother and his family on a hike to Marion Lake (post), Tuesday I drove our son home to Eugene where we stopped at Meadowlark Prairie for a short outing (post). Wednesday, I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor who referred me back to physical therapy, this time for my back, as well as massage therapy to hopefully address the remaining issues I’m having.

While my back and hips are still bothering me, I’m not under any activity restrictions so Thursday I headed back to the trails. My brother and his family had gone down to Northern California for a couple of days to see the redwoods and Heather had to work leaving me on my own. After considering a couple of options I landed on Ramona Falls which Heather had visited back on May 30th. I was also hoping to visit the remains of the Upper Sandy River Guard Station.

I got an extra early start to my day and arrived at the Ramona Falls Trailhead shortly before 6am.
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The trail almost immediately enters the Mt. Hood Wilderness making a very gradual climb along the Sandy River for 1.3-miles before dropping to a crossing of the river.
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The wilderness sign to the right behind the trail sign at the trailhead.

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White spiraea

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A faded wilderness map stands near a junction where the Sandy River Trail joins from left.

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Fireweed

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Beardtongue

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Pearly everlasting and penstemon

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Mt. Hood from the trail just before dropping down to the river for the crossing.

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Monkeyflower

It had been almost thirteen years since I’d been on this trail, having last visited when we hiked up Yocum Ridge (post). That was the year before a hiker was tragically swept away attempting to cross the seasonal bridge the Forest Service used to install for the Sandy River Crossing following a sudden storm. That was the last time a seasonal bridge would be installed. The crossing now changes from year to year depending on where the best option can be found. This year the crossing consisted of three logs, two small logs tied together and a larger log sitting around waist high to hold onto.
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Easy peasy crossing this year.

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On the other side of the river I spotted a raspberry bush with a single ripe berry and more to come.

I continued another third of a mile to a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail.
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Last Chance Mountain

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The PCT to the left (northbound) and to the right (southbound). Ramona Falls can be reached in either direction on a loop, but I prefer clockwise so I stayed left.

After half a mile I left the PCT at another junction by turning right on the Ramona Falls Trail.
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Next was a 1.8-mile stretch on the Ramona Falls trail to a junction with the Timberline Trail near Ramona Falls.
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Salal

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Twinflower

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Most of the rhododendron blossoms were done but there were a few remaining in the cool forest here.

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The Timberline Trail junction and the first glimpse of Ramona Falls.

I had passed a couple of tents a little before reaching the junction but I was the only one at the waterfall at 7:23am. I took a short break and had a snack before continuing on my hike.
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The view from my break spot.

After my snack I continued on the Timberline Trail toward the PCT.
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Looking back at the falls.

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Squirrel

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I had dropped the location of the Upper Sandy Guard Station, which sits on a bench below the Timberline Trail and above the PCT, on my map. As I neared the pin I began looking for a faint trail to the left. My first attempt was too early and the short path led to a secluded camp site but my second attempt led me to a rough trail the led down to the crumbling guard station.
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The remains of the guard station.

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The Sandy River Canyon.

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For the fascinating history of the station please read this post by WyEast Blog.

From the guard station I followed a steep path downhill past another pair of tents to the Pacific Crest Trail (also the Timberline Trail here). To get back to the trailhead I needed to turn right and head northbound however I was in an exploring mood and had not ever been to the Sandy River Crossing which was only 0.3-miles away, so I turned left.
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Red elderberry

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Paintbrush

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The Sandy River crossing. The river is pretty braided here and crossing wouldn’t have been too difficult, but it would have required fording at least one of the braids and I didn’t have my water shoes with me and didn’t want wet shoes so exploring further up the trail toward Paradise Park (post) was not an option.

Instead I decided to head upstream along the river and see what the area between Yocum Ridge and Slide Mountain was like.
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No official trails head up the canyon but there were some footprints and several camp sites closer to the crossing.

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This area was also popular with pikas. Several seemed to be having a conversation in “meeps” about my presence. It took a while but I finally spotted one of them.
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I rambled a little of half a mile beyond the crossing before deciding that I’d had enough scrambling over rocks and turned around.
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Buckwheat

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The view from my turnaround spot. Not only was it rocky but it was getting increasingly brushy.

With no actual trails my route back was quite a bit different in spots, and I spotted some flowers I’d missed on my first pass.
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Starting back.

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Beardtongue

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Paintbrush

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Buckwheat patch.

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Monkeyflower and algea

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Golden-mantled ground squirrel

As I neared the Timberline Trail/PCT crossing I spotted pink flagging on the far side that marked the continuation of the trail.
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California tortoiseshell

I found a spot where I could cross the first braided channel of the river but from the little island I was on I couldn’t see a way to cross the next one without getting wet.
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I returned to the riverbank and picked up the trail then headed back.
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Sugar sticks

The PCT/Timberline Trail climbed to a junction on a ridge where the Timberline Trail split off to the right toward Ramona Falls and the PCT went left. I went left and descended to the junction with the Ramona Falls Trail and then left the PCT to return to the trailhead.
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Woodpecker

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Back at the crossing.

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Last look at Mt. Hood with the Sun kind of in the way.

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Back at the trailhead.

Ramona Falls was as beautiful as I’d remembered and getting to see the old guard station was neat. Doing the hike on a weekday morning provided a lot of solitude. I only passed 13 people on the trails and ten of those were from the crossing to the trailhead. I’d seen about the same number of people at the various camp sites that were occupied. The hike itself came to 9.5-miles with approximately 1400′ of elevation gain.
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This was the longest hike I’d done since my January 31st 14.8-mile hike along the Lower Deschutes River (post). I’m a little tight/sore as I write this trip report, but the hike itself felt really good. Hopefully this next round of therapy will help get me the rest of the way back. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Ramona Falls

Categories
Eugene Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Meadowlark Prairie – 07/07/2026

Our son Dominique had stayed with over the July 4th weekend and joined us on a hike to Marion Lake with my brother and his family from Missouri (post). He had to head back to Eugene the next day and Heather had to work so I drove him home. Before dropping him off though we stopped at Meadowlark Prairie Overlook for a short outing at the West Eugene Wetlands.
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The Paved Fern Ridge Bike Path leads north from the overlook before turning east at Royal Avenue. The path extends about 7-miles to W 15th Avenue, but for this outing we turned back at a bridge after approximately 1.5-miles.
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We spotted a very pretty lazuli bunting shortly after setting off, but my pictures were all of the grass in the foreground with a blue blob behind.

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Bench near the Royal Avenue intersection. I was familiar with Royal Avenue having parked at its western end on our first visit to the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area (post).

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Common madia

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Amazon Creek.

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Madrone

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All of the waterfowl were quite a way out on the creek. There is a swallow, pie-billed grebe and I think a couple of mallards with ducklings.

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I noticed a powerline corridor in the distance (right side of the hill) and recognized it as the one that Heather and I had hiked under earlier this year on the Wild Iris Ridge Trail (post).

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Red-winged blackbirds

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The Fern Ridge Path forks right here following the pointer for “Downtown”.

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The path continuing beyond the bridge where we turned around.

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A pair of swallows photobombed the bottom of this photo.

As we headed back we could see some of the Coast Range under blue sky in the distance.
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More ducks and ducklings

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Great blue heron

This was a nice easy leg stretcher and a good introduction to the area. I had seen it on maps before and had added it to our to-do list and this short outing helped convince me the area was worthy of a longer visit. Either a winter or spring outing would provide better birding so that will be the timeframe we target for the longer hike. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Meadowlark Prairie

Categories
High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Marion Lake – 07/06/2026

My brother and his family came for a weeklong visit on the 4th of July from Missouri. When we first talked about the visit Jason mentioned they were hoping to join us on a hike so I’d asked what their ideal hike would entail. The answer was something in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, preferably involving a lake and a waterfall with a length of 5 to 6 miles. I immediately thought of Marion Lake, a hike that includes two lakes, a pair of waterfalls, and views of both Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Jefferson. As an extra bonus our son Dominique would also be joining us.

We had done this hike back in 2014 (post) and returned in 2016 for a much longer loop to the Eight Lakes Basin deeper in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderenss (post). Those visits were prior to the implementation of the Central Cascade Wilderness permit system. Permits are now required from June 15th to October 15th. Overnight permits are required to stay anywhere in the Mt. Jefferson. Three Sisters, and Mt. Washington Wilderness areas while day use permits are currently required at 19 of the 79 trailheads accessing these wilderness areas including the Marion Lake Trailhead. Day use permits are released in two rounds. About 40% of the day use permits for a specific date are released at 7am ten days before that day with the reminder made available two days before the date. I was ready at our computer at 7am on 6/26 and secured the six $1 permits we’d need for our families.

They were good sports and were willing to be on the road at 6am to allow us to be at the trailhead around 7:30am and take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures.
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We followed the trail gradually uphill for approximately three quarters of mile to the boundary of the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness.
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Prince’s pine

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Twinflower

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Most of the rhododendron were done blooming but a few blossoms remained.

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Anemone

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There were a few ripe huckleberries along this stretch.

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Washington lily

Our sharp-eyed niece spotted this frog along the trail.
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Wilderness sign near the boundary.

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Sugar sticks, also spotted by Bekkah.

The trail continued its gradual climb which included a couple of switchbacks before arriving at Lake Ann near the 1.6-mile mark.
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One of several small springs along the trail.

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Wintergreen

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Thimbleberry

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The outlet of Lake Ann flows beneath the trail here through the porous lava.

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The trail passing along Lake Ann.

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Lake Ann

After a short break at Lake Ann where we spotted a common merganser on the water and debated whether or not the brown hump on the far side of the lake was a grazing deer or something else (it was something else) we continued on. Just two tenths of a mile later we arrived at a junction where the trail split.
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The Marion Lake Trail went left while the Marion Lake Outlet Trail was to the right. We forked right onto the Outlet Trail and in another tenth of a mile came to the unsigned trail to Marion Falls on our right.
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We turned right onto this rougher path which crossed over a small ridge then descended to the top of Marion Falls.
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This trail had a number of downed trees that required stepping over.

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Gnome-plant

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Above Marion Falls.

While there was some blowdown over the trail to the top of the falls it isn’t a particularly difficult 0.2-miles. The trail steepens significantly however if you wish to reach the bottom of the waterfall.
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The trail disappearing as it drops steeply down the hillside.

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Marion Falls

At the bottom of Marion Falls you are also near the top of Gatch Falls. (Some say it is actually just the lower tier of Marion Falls.)
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Bachelor Mountain (post) from the top of Gatch Falls.

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Monkeyflower

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Looking back up the trail from below.

To get a view of Gatch Falls requires an even rougher and steeper descent.
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Marion Creek continues tumbling downhill to Gooch Falls (post) a little over two miles downstream.

After admiring the waterfalls, we climbed back up to the top of Marion Falls and took a well-earned snack break before returning to the Marion Lake Outlet Trail.
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We followed the trail another half mile around rocky hillsides where my brother’s family spotted a pika as it darted over the rocks and paused briefly before disappearing.
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There is plenty of pika habitat such as this in the area.

After the half mile we found ourselves at a junction with the Blue Lake Trail.
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At the junction we faced a choice, in order to keep the hike at 6-miles we would have needed to turn left here and hike 0.7-miles along Marion Lake to the Marion Lake Trail and turn left again for 0.4-miles to the junction with the Marion Lake Outlet Trail near Lake Ann. If, however, we wanted to get a view of the wilderness’ namesake, Mt. Jefferson, a detour or two would be needed. By turning right on the Blue Lake Trail for a quarter mile across a talus slope, the top of Mt. Jefferson would be visible across the lake which is what we did.
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Better views can be had by going a little further, but because trees line the trail beyond it requires descending steeply to the lake shore which was a little more effort than we had in us today.
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After getting a look at Mt. Jefferson we recrossed Marion Creek and hiked along the forested lake shore to the next detour at the day use peninsula.
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The only beargrass that had any blossoms left on it.

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Three Fingered Jack

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Marion Peak is the forested peak to the left and Marion Mountain (post) is the rounded hump just left of center.

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We detoured out the peninsula and took a break on some bedrock smoothed by ice age glaciers with a view of the top of Mt. Jefferson.
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I continued steeply down the end of the peninsula to get another view of Three Fingered Jack before joining the rest of the group on the rocks.
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California tortoiseshell

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Creamy stonecrop and beardtongue

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Paintbrush

After a nice break we returned to the main trail and continued on to the junction with the Marion Lake Trail.
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Vine maple and thimbleberry along the trail.

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Signpost at the junction.

We turned left and started the 2.2-mile return to the trailhead.
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Lake Ann in the afternoon.

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Heading out of the wilderness.

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Pearly everlasting at the trailhead.

My GPS registered 6.6-miles for this hike. Total elevation gain for the hike was approximately 975′. My trip to the end of the peninsula added a little over a tenth of a mile.
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Everyone survived the hike and more importantly seemed to enjoy it. It was a lot of fun spending the day with family and enjoying God’s creation. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Marion Lake

Categories
Hiking Trip report Old Cascades Oregon Mollala

Table Rock – 07/04/2026

Since 2012 it has been a 4th of July tradition to take a hike in the morning. This year we chose to revisit the Table Rock Wilderness. We’d visited this wilderness three times before including our 4th of July hike in 2015 (post).

Our plan for this outing was an out-and-back visit to the summit of Table Rock starting from the Table Rock Trailhead. We set off shortly after 6:30am on the closed roadbed that leads to the old trailhead and the Table Rock Trail.
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It’s 1.4-miles between the current and former trailheads with a short detour into the forest at the 0.4-mile mark to avoid a large slide that took out the roadbed.
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Oregon sunshine and paintbrush

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Monkeyflower

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The top of several strawberries gave the impression that they were ripe, but the bottom halves were still white. I looked for a suggestion box so I could request someone rotate the berries occasionally to ensure they ripen evenly, however no such box existed.

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The detour around the slide.

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Prince’s pine

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Wintergreen

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Back on the roadbed.

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Foam flower

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Youth-on-age

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Paintbrush

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Twin flower

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Table Rock from the roadbed.

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Silverleaf phacelia, daisies, and penstemon

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Yarrow

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Self-heal

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The old trailhead and the start of the Table Rock Trail.

We turned onto the trail and began the 2.4-mile climb to the summit of Table Rock.
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Queen’s cup

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Little prince’s pine

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This downed tree required a steep detour around the root ball.

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Rhododendron

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Bunchberry

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Wallflower

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Beargrass

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Table Rock through the trees.

Near the mile mark the trail begins a rocky traverse below the basalt cliffs of Table Rock.
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Table Rock

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Washington lily

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Catchfly

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Lupine

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Paintbrush

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Columbine

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Bleeding heart

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We took a break before crossing the rocks hoping to spot one of the pikas that were occasionally “meeping” around us. We heard several but saw none which seems to be how it goes for us at this location.

After failing to spot a pika we traversed below the columnar basalt of Table Rock where the trail was a little overgrown.
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Beardtongue along the trail.

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Carolina bugbane

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Oregon sunshine

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Penstemon along the trail.

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Goatsbeard below Table Rock.

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Heading back into the forest.

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Rhododendron lining the trail.

The trail arrives at a junction in a saddle 1.9-miles from the roadbed.
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From this junction we turned left and made the half mile climb to the summit of Table Rock gaining a little over 300′ of elevation.
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Beargrass along the trail.

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Wild rose

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First view of Mt. Jefferson from a little below the summit.

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Mt. Jefferson

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We could also see several other Cascades including Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters.

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Three Fingered Jack

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Heading up to the summit along Table Rock’s plateau.

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Sub-alpine mariposa lily

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Checkerspot butterfly

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There were a few clouds, but from the summit we could also see Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams in Washington to the left of Mt. Hood.

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It was a little hard to pick out but we finally spotted the top of Mt. Rainier as well.

After a nice rest at the summit, we headed back down.
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Bastard toadflax

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Pussytoes

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Lousewort

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Rockfinn

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Phlox

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Sugar stick

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Orange agoseris and paintbrush.

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Larkspur

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Western featherbells

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Bluebells

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Once again, several pikas were heard but none were seen.

I detoured on a spur trail up a rock outcrop on the way down and got a nice view of both Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood.
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Mt. Hood

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Mt. Hood

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Mt. Jefferson

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Table Rock from the top of the outcrop.

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The route on the outcrop.

After checking out the view I returned to the trail and eventually caught back up with Heather.
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Coralroot

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Back on the old roadbed.

We were kept company by butterflies and birds on the hike back to the trailhead along the roadbed.
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Chestnut backed chickadee

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Back at the trailhead.

This hike was 7.7-miles (my detour added a tenth) with approximately 1580′ of elevation gain.
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We had a good time on this hike. There were a lot of flowers and some nice views. What there wasn’t was a lot of people. We only saw six other hikers all day which provided some nice solitude. We headed home to await the arrival of my brother and his family who were arriving later in the afternoon from Missouri. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Table Rock

Categories
Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Forest Park via Springville Rd. – 06/28/2026

A much-needed damp weather system arrived just in time for the weekend which had us looking for a good overcast day hike. We landed on a visit to Portland’s Forest Park. We had visited the 5,200 acre park five previous times (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024).

Over those five visits we had hiked 46.4 of the more than 80-miles of trails, fire lanes and roads within the park, but our tracks weren’t all connected. Our 2018 and 2024 hikes both began at the Germantown Road Trailhead and the routes shared 0.6 miles of trail. Our 2020 and 2022 routes began at different trailheads but shared a 0.6-mile stretch of the 30.2-mile Wildwood National Recreation Trail. That left our 2019 Maple Trail hike on an island. Today’s planned hike would connect that track to the 2018 track while also including over 6.5-miles of trails we’d yet to hike.

I’d mapped out the route starting from the Springville Road Trailhead.
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We were the second car in the lot upon our arrival just before 6am.

The hike started at a gate on Springville Road/Firelane 7 just past an outhouse.
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When Springville Road split from Firelane 7 we stayed right on the fire lane.
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Approximately 0.3-miles from the trailhead we turned right off of Firelane 7 onto the Trillium Trail.
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We passed the Hardesty Trail on our left.

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Signs at the junction with the Trillium Trail.

We followed the Trillium Trail downhill 0.2-miles to the Wildwood Trail where we turned right.
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Tiger lilies

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Selfheal

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The Wildwood Trail at the junction.

We stayed on the Wildwood Trail for 2.6 fairly level miles to a junction with Saltzman Road.
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Thimbleberry, we found a few ripe ones to taste test.

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Red huckleberries

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Yarrow and selfheal

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Creeping buttercup

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Coastal hedgenettle

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As always, the junctions were well signed with large maps at several of them.

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Saltzman Road

We turned left onto Saltzman Road and followed it downhill for half a mile to Leif Erickson Drive where we again turned left.
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We stayed on Leif Erickson Drive for 1.8-miles before turning steeply uphill on Firelane 7A.
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Snail

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Columbine

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Mourning dove giving us the “side eye”.

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More tiger lilies.

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Firelane 7A.

After a stiff 0.2-mile climb we turned left back onto the Wildwood Trail.
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A tall aster or fleabane along the firelane.

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The junction with the Wildwood Trail.

We followed the Wildwood Trail half a mile to a junction with Firelane 7.
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Mushrooms

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Both CalTopo and Gaia GPS label this Northwest Oil-Line Road.

We climbed up the firelane for just under a mile to the Hardesty Trail which we had passed earlier.
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Red clover

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Passing the Trillium Trail on the left where we turned off Firelane 7 that morning.

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The Hardesty Trail. We were just a tenth of a mile from the trailhead at this point, but since we hadn’t been on this trail before we turned right.

The Hardesty Trail dropped steeply downhill to the Wildwood Trail.
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The Wildwood Trail below to the left.

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The junction with the Wildwood Trail.

We turned left and hiked another 0.8-miles on the Wildwood Trail to reach a junction with Springville Road.
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Salal

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Blackberries

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Red elderberry

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The junction with Springville Road.

We turned left on Springville Road and followed it uphill 0.4-miles back to Firelane 7A and the Springville Road Trailhead.
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Oregon grape

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Invasive Species kiosk at the Springville Road/Fireland 7 junction.

Today’s hike came in at 8.6-miles with approximately 1100′ of elevation gain.
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It was a great choice for an overcast morning. The early mornings in Forest Park are generally quiet and today was no different. It started getting busier around 10am but with so many miles of trail they never feel crowded.

This now leaves one final gap in our tracks to not only connect our Forest Park hikes but also our visit to Washington Park (post) and Marquam Park (post).
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I have a feeling that as long as my back and leg, which have been feeling quite a bit better, cooperate that gap will be filled before the end of the year. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Forest Park vis Springville Road

Categories
Coastal Range Corvallis Hiking Oregon Trip report

Mary’s Peak – 06/21/2026

Following our hikes at Coffin & Bachelor Mountain we both wound up sick with a nasty head cold. Heather’s lasted almost two weeks and was almost feeling back to normal on the Sunday of Juneteenth weekend. I was fortunate to not get hit as severely and was starting to feel quite a bit better on Juneteenth. After resting for one more day I had planned to head to Mary’s Peak on Saturday the 20th however my left hip had other ideas. When I woke up it was hurting pretty bad so instead of hiking in the morning before heading to my cousin’s daughter’s graduation party, I spent the morning trying to loosen things up. By the time we left the party that afternoon it was back to feeling normal, so I decided to give it another try Sunday morning. Things were still okay in the morning, so the hike was on.

Heather decided that she wasn’t quite feeling well enough for a strenuous hike so headed out solo to the East Ridge Trail on Mary’s Peak starting from the Connor’s Camp Trailhead.
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I had left my route open not knowing how my hip, or any of the other back and lower body issues I’ve been in physical therapy for, would react to hiking. My plan was to take the East Ridge Trail up to the Summit Loop Trail to visit the summit of the highest peak in the Coast Range. My route back was open with a couple of possible loop combinations or simply heading straight back down the East Ridge Trail.
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Faded trail maps at the information board at Connor’s Camp.

I hadn’t started from this trailhead since 2014 (post) but the forest was as pretty as I had remembered.
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Columbine and iris

Rattan's beardtongue (Penstemon rattanii)
Rattan’s beardtongue (Penstemon rattanii)

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Pink pyrola

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Little prince’s pine

Just over a mile from the trailhead, near a bench, the trail arrives at a junction with the Tie Trail.
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At the junction the East Ridge Trail made a switchback and began a fairly steep 1.2-mile climb to the Summit Loop Trail.
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The number of wildflowers that I was seeing in the forest increased as I climbed.
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Vanilla leaf

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Fringecup

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Anemones

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Small-flowered alumroot

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Lupine

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Chickweed

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Inside-out flower

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Arrowleaf groundsel starting to bloom with thimbleberry and columbine blossoms lining the trail.

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Monkeyflower

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A layer of clouds was covering the valley below.

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Trail sign at the junction with the Summit Loop Trail.

In another tenth of a mile I came to a new unsigned junction. A steep trail switchbacked up to the right that hadn’t been there on our previous visits. This is a 2025 reroute created by the Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO) to move a portion of the trail out of sensitive habitat.
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This is a photo from later in the morning as I came down to the junction on the new section.

I opted to stay left on the more gradual portion of the loop and soon left the trees.
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Queen’s cup

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Chipmunk

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The trail climbed through the meadow to Mary’s Peak Road.
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Penstemon along the trail.

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The summit of Mary’s Peak ahead.

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Mary’s Peak Road

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Beargrass

I turned left onto the road and followed it up and around to the summit in 0.4-miles. While the flowers were past peak there were still a few left and for the first time, I could see the Cascade Mountains. On previous visits clouds had always been in the way.
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Paintbrush

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One of two grouse that were on the road.

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Penstemon and chickweed

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Mt. Jefferson to the left of the dead tree and the Three Sisters to the right.

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The Three Sisters

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Towers on the summit.

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Oregon sunshine and bluehead gilia

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Paintbrush, Oregon sunshine and bluehead gilia

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Catchfly

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Cascade desert parsley

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Wallflower

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Blue head gilia

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Olympic onions

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The Mary’s Peak West Ridge

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The last of the larkspur.

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What was left of the phlox.

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At the summit.

I took a short break at the summit to take in the views and then took a clear trail downhill to the NE.
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Mt. Hood in the distance to the NE.

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Tiger lily

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Looking back up at the summit.

The trail veered to the NW toward the west ridge of Mary’s Peak before turning east and leaving the meadows.
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Shortly after entering the forest I forked left at junction on the Meadows Edge Trail (trail 1325). While on the summit I had decided to do this 1.6-mile loop before heading back.
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The Summit Loop Trail I’d come down to the left and the Meadows Edge Trail to the right.

Fifty yards later I stayed left again to hike the loop clockwise. The loop stays primarily in the forest with a couple of forays along the edge of meadows. The forest along this trail might be my favorite in the area.
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Map at the start of the loop.

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Queen’s cup

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The summit towers from the loop.

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Moth

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Bleeding heart

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Footbridge over Parker Creek.

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Avens, foam flower, and youth-on-age.

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Columbine

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Junction with a spur to Mary’s Peak Campground.

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An almost ripe salmonberry.

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False starry solomon’s seal and a violet.

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Beargrass

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Nearing the end of the loop.

After completing the loop I turned left and headed back to the Summit Loop then completed that loop.
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Mary’s Peak Road on the other side of the trees.

I hiked a short distance down Mary’s Peak Road to check out the beargrass display then walked back and turned uphill (left) on a clear trail that headed NE.
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Looking back down at Mary’s Peak Road.

This is the section of the Summit Loop that was realigned by TKO in 2025. The trail leads to some barriers at the top of the hill where the reroute begins.
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Butterfly

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Mt. Hood in the distance above the clouds.

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The Three Sisters

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The old alignment went directly over the hill and down to the day use parking area.

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The new alignment.

The new section of trail entered the forest on the NE side of the hill and steeply descended via switchback to the junction at the start/end of the Summit Loop (pictured above).
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Looking down the switchbacks.

I turned left and hiked downhill to the next junction where I decided to take the longer route back to the trailhead by taking the North Ridge Trail to the Tie Trail and follow that back to the East Ridge Trail.
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I headed left here.

This trail led up to the day use area.
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California figwort

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The day use area.

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White crowned sparrow

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Looking back toward the summit.

The North Ridge Trail began at the far end of the parking area.
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I followed this trail downhill for three quarters of a mile to the junction with the Tie Trail.
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Daisies along the trail near the day use area.

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Star flowers

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Bench at the junction.

I turned right onto the Tie Trail and followed it 1.2 fairly level miles to the East Ridge Trail.
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Stripped coralroot

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Pacific coralroot

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Monkeyflower

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Twinflower

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Honeysuckle

I was delayed while I battled my nemesis, the varied thrush, in an attempt to get a picture.
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The Tie Trail was in good shape, just a bit overgrown near the junction with the East Ridge Trail.
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After completing the Tie Trail I followed the East Ridge Trail back downhill to the trailhead.
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Thimbleberry and vetch

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The trailhead through the trees.

Today’s route came in at 8.6-miles with approximately 1750′ of elevation gain.
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This was the longest hike I’d done since my leg/back issues began in February, and it was the best I’d felt after a hike since then as well. I’m still having some issues, but this was encouraging. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mary’s Peak

Categories
Hiking Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Coffin Mountain and Bugaboo Ridge Trail – 06/07/2026

The X-rays on my back came back clear and the new stretches/exercises that PT assigned almost immediately improved my range of motion. Enough so that I felt up to giving another outing a try. We were heading into several days of precipitation, but there was a dry window on June 7th which worked out well for us since we had plans to attend my cousin’s daughter’s senior recital on the 6th.

For the hike Heather had wanted to find some wildflowers, and I was still limited to 6-8 miles, so we decided to give Coffin Mountain and the Bugaboo Ridge Trail a go. We’d last visited this area in 2016 (post) on July 4th.

We started our morning from the Coffin Mountain Trailhead.
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We weren’t sure how many flowers would be blooming given we were visiting almost a full month earlier than on our previous visit, but the timing for the flowers is off this year due to the mild winter and dry spring. We were a little early, but there were still quite a few flowers blooming along the lower portion of the trail.
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Beargrass at the trailhead.

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Sticky currant

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Yellowleaf iris

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Paintbrush

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A yellow paintbrush

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Starry false Solomon’s seal

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The morning clouds were giving way to some blue sky.

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Wildflowers along the ridge.

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Phlox

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Onion and larkspur

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Lupine and a little snow from the night before.

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Oregon sunshine, larkspur, and tiny white flowers might be slender phlox.

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Sub-alpine mariposa lily

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Arrowleaf buckwheat

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Bindweed

We knew that there had been a possibility of snow overnight, but we hadn’t expected any of it to stick but as we climbed, we began seeing more and more of the white stuff.
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Trillium fading out.

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Bluebells

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False sunflowers

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Penstemon

The large meadow below the summit of Coffin Mountain was covered with a thin layer of fresh snow.
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Beargrass

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Columbine

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Snow covered lupine

The trail traverses uphill through the meadow toward the Coffin Mountain Lookout.
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First view of the lookout.

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Bleeding heart

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The radio towers on the southern end of Coffin Mountain.

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The lookout is staffed in the summer, but it was still empty today.

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The helipad on Coffin Mountain.

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The lookout tower and to the right the radio towers at the other end of the mountain.

Heather had detoured to the southern end, so when I arrived at the lookout she was arriving at the radio towers.
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I pulled my Z Seat out and sat down on the helipad and had a snack while I waited for her to make her way over.
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The view north which includes Mt. Hood when the clouds aren’t in the way.

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Detroit Lake to the NW.

Heather joined me and we stayed a little longer enjoying the snowy summit before heading back down. It was just before 8:30am when we began our descent and much of the snow had already melted.
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Junco and bleeding heart

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The meadow was rapidly melting out.

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Bastard toadflax

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Paintbrush

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Violet

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Silverleaf phacelia

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Yarrow

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Cinquefoil, sandwort, and penstemon

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Ragwort

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Oregon sunshine and paintbrush

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Larkspur

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Violet

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The trailhead signboard in view.

Roundtrip this hike comes in just under 3-miles, but with over 1000′ of elevation gain. The snow was a fun surprise and while we were a bit early to see the wildflowers at their peak, we were not disappointed. It did appear that this was not going be a huge beargrass year though. Every few years the big meadow is packed with beargrass, but conditions have to be just right.

On our two previous visits we had road walked from the Coffin Mountain Trailhead to the Bachelor Mountain Trailhead. That is a 1.2-mile walk one-way so to avoid adding unnecessary miles to my back we drove this time.
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Rabbit along the road.

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Bachelor Mountain Trailhead at the end of the road.

Instead of hiking to the summit of Bachelor Mountain our plan was to take the Bugaboo Ridge Trail out to a rocky viewpoint where we hoped to get a view of Mount Jefferson and see some wildflowers. We headed up the Bachelor Mountain Trail admiring the flowers and some more snow.
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Lupine and paintbrush

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A cloud had overtaken Coffin Mountain.

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Cardwell’s penstemon

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Valerian

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The trail climbs steeply via switchback through the forest before rounding a ridge to more open terrain.
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There were about a half dozen trees down along the trail, but none were too difficult to get over/around.

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Bleeding heart

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Vanilla leaf

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Baneberry and arnica starting to bloom.

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Rounding the ridge.

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Coffin Mountain

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Scarlet gilia

The trail continued to climb but less steeply as it traversed the hillside.
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Three Fingered Jack hidden by clouds.

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Three Fingered Jack.

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Paintbrush and wild rose

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Paintbrush along the trail.

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Yellowleaf iris

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Scarlet gilia, Oregon sunshine, and paintbrush.

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A patch of false sunflowers that were just starting to bloom.

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False sunflowers

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This trail is a stark contrast to the Coffin Mountain Trail.

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Stonecrop

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Cinquefoil

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Penstemon

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Buckwheat and a yarrow.

The trail arrives at a large flat area where we spotted a lone rhododendron that hadn’t quite started to bloom.
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These may be northern microseris (Microseris borealis).

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Cloud over the summit of Bachelor Mountain.

At the far end of the flat area we reached the junction with the Bugaboo Ridge Trail.
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Trail sign at the junction. It is approximately 0.8-miles (and 550′) to the summit of Bachelor Mountain. The viewpoint along the Bugaboo Ridge Trail on the other hand was 0.7-miles away with minimal elevation change.

We headed out on the Bugaboo Ridge Trail which was a little rougher and more overgrown than the Bachelor Mountain Trail. It was however mostly free of blowdown to the view point.
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Coralroot

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The extent of the blowdown.

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Anemones

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The trail actually passes through several openings along the hillside with views of the Cascade Range, but not of Mt. Jefferson.

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The really snowy patch of forest is below Three Fingered Jack. Mt. Jefferson is north (left) of this and hidden by the hillside until the viewpoint where we would be turning around.

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Mt. Jefferson is straight ahead hidden behind the hillside.

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Jessica’s stickseed

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Waterleaf

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False sunflower

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Jacob’s ladder

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Larkspur and a butterfly

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Columbine

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Serviceberry

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Three Fingered Jack still hiding in the clouds.

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Diamond Peak was visible in the distance to the south.

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Penstemon and paintbrush

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Larkspur and monkeyflower

We arrived at the viewpoint for Mt. Jefferson to find it partially hidden by clouds.
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We took a break here hoping for a break in the clouds and in the meantime studied the flowers in the area.
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Larkspur and Oregon sunshine

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Cliff beardtongue

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Arrowleaf and sulphur flower buckwheat with some Oregon sunshine and stonecrop.

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A sub-alpine mariposa lily hiding in arrowleaf buckwheat.

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Paintbrush, larkspur, and arrowleaf buckwheat

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Sticky cinquefoil

The clouds were being stubborn, but we did eventually get a little better view of Three Fingered Jack.
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Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters also made an appearance.
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Snowy Diamond Peak in the distance to the left with peaks of the Old Cascades closer including the nearby Three Pyramids (post) and to their right Iron Mountain where I’d been the week before (post).

We started back but before we’d left the open area the clouds revealed the top of Mt. Jefferson.
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After getting our view we headed back. We were treated to some better views of the other Cascades along the way.
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Wallflower

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Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters.

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One of the few Jacob’s ladder blossoms that was open.

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Mt. Jefferson from the flat area.

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Coffin Mountain from the Bachelor Mountain Trail.

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Catchfly

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Three Fingered Jack

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Heading back into the forest for the descent to the trailhead.

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A couple cars had joined us at the trailhead.

To hike to the viewpoint and back came in at 3.8-miles with approximately 700′ of elevation gain giving us 6.7-miles and 1750′ of elevation gain on the day.
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This was a great hike despite being a little early for the peak wildflower bloom. The overnight snow more than made up for that. By the end my hips were feeling the hike a little but overall I felt better than I have for the past few months. I still have a way to go but it was encouraging. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Coffin Mountain and the Bugaboo Ridge Trail

Categories
Hiking Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Cone Peak Meadows – 05/31/2026

I suffered a setback in my rehab coming out of Memorial Day Weekend. My back stiffened up going into the week and by late Thursday night I could barely turn my head to the left. Sleeping was also difficult and I was relegated to back only due to the amount of discomfort laying on my sides was causing. By Friday night I had pretty much given up on thoughts of hiking during the weekend and was instead looking forward to my next PT appointment Monday afternoon. Heather went on a solo hike Saturday to Ramona Falls while I stayed home and rotated between an ice pack and heating pad on my back. Since she isn’t writing up her solo outings here is a link to our 2013 visit to the falls (post). By Saturday night I was feeling quite a bit better, still stiff and limited to back sleeping, but improved enough to be considering an outing to see the wildflowers in Cone Peak Meadows the next day. I woke up the next morning, did my PT stretching and felt good enough to give it a go. I did a lot of praying on the drive to the trailhead that God would grant me the wisdom to know if this was a bad idea and not to overdo anything.

I had been wanting to get back to Cone Peak Meadows in late Spring to look for a particular wildflower, Longhorn steer’s-head (Dicentra uniflora). It is at the top of my most wanted list of wildflowers within day hiking range. I wasn’t sure about timing though given that blooms are early this year due to the lack of snow this past Winter. I had seen reports from other years of these flowers blooming during the first couple of weeks of June. Our two previous visits had been on July 25th & July 4th (post) which was much too late. I spent some time online familiarizing myself with the size and look of the flowers so that I would know what I was looking for. Spoiler alert I did not spot any. It may have been too late this year or I might have simply failed to notice any of the penny sized blooms. Regardless it was an excellent hike which I will finally get to.

I began at the Tombstone Pass Trailhead shortly after 5:30am and set off on the loop counterclockwise.
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The trailhead just off Highway 20 at Tombstone Pass.

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The start/end of the loop on the left and right of FR 60.

I turned left onto the loop and descended through the forest to Tombstone Prairie.
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Valerian along the trail.

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Bunchberry and starry false solomon’s-seal

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Salmonberry

The Tombstone Prairie Nature Trail is an optional short loop that can be done around the prairie. I opted to skip the loop this time.
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Tombstone Prairie

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The other end of the Tombstone Nature Trail.

I forked left at this junction, crossed a branch of Hackleman Creek then climbed to Highway 20.
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The Cone Peak Trail picks up across the highway to the west near some road signs.
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The Cone Peak Trail climbs gradually through the forest before coming to increasingly large openings.
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Trillium, fairy bells, Solomon’s seal, and starry false Solomon’s seal.

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There were a few trees that needed to be stepped over.

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Valerian starting to bloom in a meadow.

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Vanilla leaf

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This was the only beargrass bloom I spotted on the hike.

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Northwestern twayblade

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Larkspur was the most prevalent of the flowers that were currently blooming.

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Sub-alpine mariposa lily

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Larkspur and maiden blue-eyed Mary

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Larkspur and paintbrush

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Solomon’s seal

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Another patch of larkspur.

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Larkspur and monkey flower

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Strawberry patch

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Ball-head waterleaf

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Baneberry

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Phlox and maiden blue-eyed Mary

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Biscuitroot and phlox

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Olympic onion

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Sandwort

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Cone Peak as the trail enters Cone Peak Meadows.

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Buckwheat

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Death camas

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Littleflower penstemon

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Paintbrush, larkspur and sandwort?

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Iron Mountain

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Oregon sunshine

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Smallflower woodland star

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The lupine was just getting started.

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Heading toward Iron Mountain.

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Another buckwheat

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The trail left Cone Peak Meadows and descended slightly as it passed through the forest on the way to Iron Mountain.
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Columbine

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Jessica’s stickseed

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Bleeding heart

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Bluebells

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Arrowleaf groundsel

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Scarlet gilia

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Sticky cinquefoil and bastard toadflax?

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Not sure what this tiny flower is.

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Wormleaf stonecrop

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Silverleaf phacelia

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Wallflower

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Another one that I’m not sure of.

The trail eventually began climbing to a saddle between Cone Peak and Iron Mountain.
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Violets

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Vetch

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The Three Pyramids (post) to the right and the flat top of Coffin Mountain (post) straight ahead.

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Mt. Hood behind Coffin Mountain.

After the saddle viewpoint the trail begins to traverse along the flank of Iron Mountain where it comes to a junction with the Iron Mountain Tail.
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Arnica

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This was the worst of the blowdown.

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Fairy bells and trillium

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Flax

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Yarrow and larkspur

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The Iron Mountain Trail forking off to the left.

I hadn’t originally planned on taking the side trip up Iron Mountain as it adds a little over a mile and a half, and 600′ of elevation gain to the hike. From the junction I only had another 1.5-miles to get back to the Tombstone Pass Trailhead, and I was feeling really good. I been continuing to pray that I would know my limitations and was at peace with the decision to try the climb. I turned up the trail behind a couple of other hikers and climbed through the frosty meadows to the former lookout site atop the mountain.
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Frosty paintbrush

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Larkspur

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The Three Sisters from the Iron Mountain Trail.

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The Three Sisters

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Diamond Peak (post)

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Lupine

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Chickweed

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Saxifrage

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The final climb to the top.

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Viewing platform

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Mountain locator

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The view to the north includes Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson.

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Mt. Hood behind Coffin Mountain.

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Mt. Jefferson

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Mt. Washington

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The Three Sisters and Diamond Peak to the SE.

I’d passed the three hikers ahead of me and had the platform to myself long enough to send a video to family and take a snack break on the platforms bench. Shortly after the next hiker arrived I headed down to give her a few moments alone at the summit.

While climbing up always feels like it requires effort it is descending that is harder on the body. I was reminded of this on my way down the trail when my right Gluteus Medius announced its presence. It wasn’t much more than a slight burn letting me know it was having to do some extra work on the way down. I kept a slower pace and took several breaks one the way back to the junction where I then continued my loop.
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Rock wren

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Cliff beardtongue. One of the brightest wildflowers we see.

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The view on the way down.

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The trail junction ahead.

The final 1.5-miles back to the Tombstone Pass Trailhead was mostly a gradual descent.
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I stayed left at this junction with the connector trail to the Iron Mountain Civil Road Trailhead.

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Alpine knotweed

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The trail recrossing Highway 20.

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Spotted coralroot

At a junction, I turned left on the Santiam Wagon Road Trail.
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Wild ginger

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The Tombstone Pass Trailhead below.

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Back on FR 60.

Today’s hike tallied 7.2-miles with 1740′ of elevation gain.
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This is a great hike for both flowers and views. We’ll be heading back, possibly next year, to try once again to spot a Longhorn steer’s-head (Dicentra uniflora).

From a purely hiking standpoint I felt better during this hike than I had on a hike since February. My middle back however was still tight and giving me problems at night. Since then, I’ve had another PT visit, a doctor’s appointment, and x-rays (no results yet). Hopefully it is just tight muscles but if not, we’re working on getting to the bottom of it. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Cone Peak Meadows

Categories
Hiking Oregon Portland Trip report Willamette Valley

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge – 05/25/2026

On the morning of Memorial Day I headed to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge in hopes of photographing some wildlife while taking my longest hike since beginning physical therapy. Heather wasn’t able to join me for this one, so I was on my own when I set off from the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead just before 5:30am.
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I followed the same general route as I had last year on May 1st (post) so instead of describing it here please refer to that post if you are interested in those details. Instead, here are some of the sights that I saw on this visit.

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Mt. Hood at sunrise.

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Lots of lupine in bloom.

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Yarrow

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Mourning dove

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Gadwall and a cinnamon teal drakes

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Gadwall

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Savannah sparrow

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Mallards and a nutria

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Mama and ducklings

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Cedar waxwings

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Northern shovelers and a killdeer

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Northern shoveler drake

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Nutria

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The Visitor’s Center on the hill ahead.

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Geese and nutria

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Hardhack

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Grand collomia and an insect

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Goose family

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Swallow and purple martin

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This viewpoint paid off big today.

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A buck and a duck from the viewpoint.

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White pelicans from the viewpoint.

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Great egret near the viewpoint.

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Tree swallow

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I got hissed at by a goose from each of these families ahead. We eventually came to an agreement and they allowed me to pass.

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Gadwall pair

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Purple martins

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Common madia

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Oregon sunshine

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Savannah sparrow and daisies.

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Red-winged blackbird

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Bald eagle

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Song sparrow

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Rabbit

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Heading toward the Visitor’s Center.

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Great blue heron

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Blue-winged teal

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Barn swallow

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Female wood duck and ducklings

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Robin

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Mule’s ears?

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The difference between today’s hike and the route in 2025 was I took a handful of short out-and-back detours at various exploration sites.

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Junco

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Finch

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Rock Creek

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Bushtit

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Tualatin River

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Fringecup

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Thimbleberry

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Douglas squirrel

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Spotted towhee

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Bleeding heart

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For once this “Wildlife Ahead” sign was correct. There was a rabbit at the far end of the bridge.

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Hummingbird

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Northern harriers harassing ducks.

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Ookow

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Cedar waxwings

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This covered bench was new.

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I spotted a pair of deer in the field shortly before arriving back at the Roy Rogers Road Trailhead.

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I was also spotted.

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Wildflower garden next to the trailhead. (TH is in the trees.)

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Biscuitroot and checker mallow.

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A few golden paintbrush were still in bloom.

I wound up adding half a mile to my 2025 route with the out-and-back detours with today’s hike coming in at 5.2-miles.
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This was my first time over 5-miles since my injury which was encouraging. So far, I don’t seem to be any worse for the ware. The hike itself was great. After a somewhat disappointing visit to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the month (post) it was nice to see such a variety of wildlife. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge