Tag: Bear

Trail of Two Forests & Ape Canyon – 08/08/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 10, 2026
3 Comments on Trail of Two Forests & Ape Canyon – 08/08/2026

During the week a shift in the wind brought wildfire smoke from the numerous wildfires in Pacific NW and British Columbia to the Willamette Valley. After several days of unhealthy air quality another shift began pushing the smoke out of the valley which was good for us but not for the unlucky folks now in the smokes path. Some progress has been made on several of the fires, but new ones keep popping up. One of these was incident 282 in the Willamette National Forest approximately 4.5-miles north of Waldo Lake (post) which was detected on Friday afternoon. Our planned hike for Saturday had been to revisit nearby Bobby Lake (post). While the new fire was relatively small, we felt it was best to avoid the area and began looking for an alternate hike.

We decided that our best bet, based on weather forecast and proximity of fires, was to head to Washington’s Mt. St. Helens. For the main hike we picked the Ape Canyon Trail which we had hiked twice before, but the not since 2013 (post). Before the 2013 hike we had stopped at Ape Cave to explore the lava tube there. There is another short interpretive trail near Ape Cave, the Trail of Two Forests, that we had not visited yet, so we decided to stop there first this time.

A NW Forest Pass is required to park at the TH.

The hike is a short loop on a boardwalk with a number of interpretive stops where lava casts remind visitors of the previous forest that existed before the lava flow.

A tree stood here when the lava arrived.

A highlight is “The Crawl” where you can descend into a tree mold and crawl through a lave tube to a nearby exit.

For the sake of my knees, and the longer hike to come, I opted not to make the actual crawl and stuck to the boardwalk.

The sign for the exit from the entrance.

The exit

This was a fun little hike that would be great for kids as it is just under half a mile in length. There are also several picnic tables at the trailhead.

From the Trail of Two Forests we drove to the Ape Canyon Trailhead.

Map at the trailhead. This becomes important later at the end of our hike.

The hike to Ape Canyon is straight forward in that there are no junctions, it is just a 4.5-mile mostly uphill hike along a ridge to a rock chasm above Ape Canyon with a view of Mt. Adams to the east.

Pearly everlasting

The lower portion of the trail passes closely to the Muddy River’s lahar left created by the melting of much of the Shoestring Glacier during the 1980 eruption.

Red huckleberries, yummy.

Bunchberry, not edible.

Paintbrush

It was quite a bit smokier than we’d expected based on the forecast. The smell of smoke was prominent over the first couple of miles of trail.

Sickletop lousewort

Thimbleberry, extra yummy.

Oregon grape, apparently this makes good jelly but not pleasant off the plant.

Chipmunk

Ghost pipe

Baneberry, not edible.

Beardtongue

Scouler’s bluebells

We eventually climbed above the smoke.

Red elderberry, not edible raw and potentially dangerous even when processed.

Fireweed

Candyflower

The trail alternates between the SW and NE sides of the ridge providing views of Mt. Adams and Mt. Ranier and Mt. St. Helens.

Mt. Rainier through some haze.

Mt. Rainier

Mt. Adams

Pumice Butte

Mt. Adams amid the wildfire smoke.

Lupine

Paintbrush

Butterfly on aster

Ape Canyon

Golden-mantled ground squirrel with an itch.

Mountain heather

The chasm with Mt. Adams in the distance.

The trail is a little sketchy opposite the chasm and a reroute may soon be needed.

Just ahead to the right the tread gets pretty narrow.

Just beyond the chasm the trail arrives at a junction with the Loowit Trail.

We turned right onto the Loowit Trail and continued 0.8-miles to a currently dry spring-fed creek in the Plains of Abraham. Heather had spoken to a couple of hikers who mentioned that they had seen mountain goats on one of the hilltops from the trail closer to the spring. Last September I had seen goats on Pumice Butte during my hike from June Lake (post).

Dwarf lupine

Dwarf lupine on the Plains of Abraham.

When we got far enough around to look back at the hills above the Loowit Trail I took several pictures of what looked like they might be mountain goats to the naked eye.

One of them paid off.

The Loowit Trail crossing the Plains of Abraham.

Mountain goat fur.

Heading for the spring with Mt. Adams in the distance.

This area would have had a nice wildflower display if we had visited a few weeks earlier.

Above Ape Canyon.

The springs are back there but there was no flowing water today.

There were two small pools holding water in the creek bed.

On the far side of the creek bed two mountain bikers that had passed us earlier mentioned that they thought they’d seen a couple of bear cubs in the canyon below but weren’t certain. They continued on and I scanned the hillside.

It didn’t take long before I spotted what I thought could be a bear. When I zoomed in with the camera though I couldn’t tell at first if it was a bear or the shadowed end of a log. Then the head moved. It was the momma bear. A few moments later we had spotted the cubs as well.

We got to watch them forage for quite a while. The distance made it hard to get pictures but that didn’t stop me from trying (a lot).

Momma making sure the kids were following.

When we finally lost sight of the bears I decided to continue on the Loowit Trail to a viewpoint at the far end of the plains while Heather opted to break out her camp chair and relax a little longer.

Oregon sunshine

Paintbrush

Curious golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Alpine Butte

Coming up on the viewpoint at the junction of the Loowit and Abraham Trails. The peaks along the ridge from left to right are Coldwater Peak (post), The Dome, and Mt. Margaret (post). The top of Mt. Rainier is visible to the right.

Mt. Rainier

Penstemon

I turned around at the junction and headed back. Along the way I spotted a bear walking up the ridge of the butte that the bears had been below.

I assumed this was momma bear again but I didn’t see the cubs and the bear dropped over the far side of the ridge soon after I’d spotted it.

I reconnected with Heather and we headed back. The visibility of Mt. Adams was much improved and the smoke that had been present over the lower portion of the morning hike and moved on.

There were also clearer views of Mt. Rainier too.

Stonecrop

Fritillary on pearly everlasting.

Nuthatch

Marble Mountain across the lahar.

Circling back around to the trailhead head map. I was a little ahead of Heather and got back to the trailhead first. When I arrived there was a group of ladies and kids gathered around the map. One of them asked me if this trail went to the “canyon” and I said yes. I thought to myself it was crazy to be trying to get to Ape Canyon with such little kids and starting after 3pm to boot. A few moments later as I was putting my pack into the car I realized that she may not have been referring to Ape Canyon when she asked about the canyon, and she had probably meant nearby Lava Canyon (post). It was too late to catch them so I hoped that Heather might say something to them, but they didn’t ask her any questions, and she just assumed they were just exploring. I felt really bad and hopefully the figured it out sooner rather than later but in my defense I did give the correct answer to the question that was asked. The trail sign also named it the Ape Canyon Trail and the map was right there.

Aside from probably having sent a family on a wild goose chase the hike was great. Hiking to the far end of the plains put my hike at an even 13-miles.

There is some contention with the elevation gain as both Washington Trails Association and William L. Sullivan list the elevation gain as 1400′ while the Oregon Hikers Field Guide says 2485′. The GPS was much closer to the latter and by the way both Heather and I felt by the end the higher number seemed more realistic. It appears that the lower number is simply the difference in the high point and trailhead elevation and doesn’t account for the uphill sections on the way back.

Regardless of the actual elevation gain any hike that includes both mountain goats and bears (oh my) is a great one. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Trail of Two Forests and Ape Canyon

Tags ape canyon, Bear, hiking, Loowit Trail, mountain goat, Mt. St. Helens, Plains of Abraham, Trail of Two Forests, Washington

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Aneroid Lake – 08/22/2024

For the final hike of our trip we’d chosen Aneroid Lake. This would be our 99th featured hike out of the 100 in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022) and our 499th out of the 500 featured hikes that we’ve been working on for a number of years now (post). Sullivan gives two options for this hike, a moderate hike gaining 1150′ of elevation in just under 4-miles (round trip) to a waterfall on the East Fork Wallowa River, or the difficult hike to Aneroid Lake gaining nearly 3000′ of elevation in what he lists as a 12-mile round trip. Other reports put the hike to Aneroid Lake at just over 13-miles RT but agree on the elevation gain. Our plan for the day was to once again split up and go our own paces with Heather’s goal being the waterfall and mine being the lake. Heather would return to the trailhead and then head to the Trailhead Coffee stand and do a little shopping in the Wallowa Lake community while she waited for me to get back. We figured that the hike to Aneroid Lake would take me anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on how long the hike really was and how well my legs were working after four days of serious hiking.

We began at the Wallow Lake Trailhead which we’d started two other previous hikes from, a five-day backpacking trip (post) and a short hike to B.C. Creek Falls (post). For both of those hikes we’d taken the West Fork Wallowa Trail. Today we would be using the East Fork Wallowa Trail.

Map at the trailhead signboard and wilderness permit station.

Trail sign at the split of the East and West Fork trails.

The trail began by following a rocky roadbed uphill.

Trail sign for the East Fork Wallowa Trail at a junction with a gravel road.

The roadbed soon became a proper trail as it continued uphill.

Ghost pipe

Entering into the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

A little over three quarters of a mile from the trailhead I came to a junction with a connector trail to the West Fork Wallowa Trail used as a loop for horse tours.

Beyond the junction the trail passed through some rocky hillsides with views across Wallowa Lake.

Chief Joseph Mountain and Wallowa Lake

I never saw any but I heard a number of pikas in the rock fields.

Switchback

Rock clematis seed heads.

When Heather came through the rock fields she did spot a pika.

Bridge at the upper end of the access road that I had passed earlier.

The lower section of the waterfall from the bridge.

After checking out the lower portion of the falls from access road bridge I returned to the trail and continued up to a switchback with a view of the upper section of the falls.

The access road bridge from the switchback.

From the switchback the trail continued its steady climb arriving at a damaged bridge after a little over 2 miles.

East Fork Wallowa River Forebay

Interpretive sign at the forebay.

Aster

The trail entering the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Shortly after entering the wilderness the trail passed through some small meadows with fireweed and various berries.

Elderberry and baneberry

As I was pondering which animals if any might eat the different berries I spotted something brown in the fireweed below the trail. It took a moment to register what I was seeing. I had my camera out and was zooming in to try and identify it, but as soon as it lifted its head I realized it was a bear.
Zoomed in photo.

It didn’t seem to notice me so I quietly and quickly continued on trying to put some distance between myself and it. I wasn’t too thrilled when the trail suddenly made a switchback and I was headed back toward where the bear was, albeit I was now higher up the hillside. I continued with a bit of a quicker pace until I felt that I’d gotten a decent distance away then slowed a bit to avoid missing the scenery. I passed a couple of hikers on their way down who I mentioned the bear to just in case it was still there.

Small meadow along the trail.

Aneroid Mountain in the distance.

Mountain larkspur

Pika underneath some raspberries.

Pika

A few lupine were still blooming along the trail.

Doe in a small meadow along the trail.

Tall mountain bluebells

The damaged footbridge.

While the climb had not been steep beyond the footbridge the climb became even more gradual. Just under a quarter mile from the bridge the trail split with inbound traffic staying right.

The inbound trail traversed an exposed hillside with views down to the East Fork Wallowa River.

East Fork Wallowa River

The inbound and outbound forks rejoining.

East Fork Wallowa River flowing through a meadow along the trail.

Goldenrod

Unnamed creek crossing.

American sawort

Another doe in a meadow.

A hazy view of Aneroid Mountain.

Pearly everlasting along the trail.

East Peak (post)

A closer look at East Peak.

I arrived at Roger Lake at what my GPS said was the 6-mile mark.

It was another half mile of climbing to reach Aneroid Lake.

Sullivan’s description said to ignore a use trail on the right leading to a campsite and to continue on to another fork that led to the private cabins at Camp Halton. I passed what I believed to be the right-hand fork Sullivan mentioned just before reaching a pair of wooden benches along the trail.
The benches.

Beyond the benches I came to a second fork which I mistook for the trail to the cabins. Sullivan mentioned that despite the cabins being on a small parcel of private land the caretakers accepted respectful visitors.

There were no signs posted at all at this fork, so I proceeded steeply downhill and wound up in a campsite.

I still wasn’t sure if this was the trail to the cabins or the one Sullivan had said to ignore so I continued to follow the trail to the lakeshore.
Groundsel along the trail.

A boat docked on the lakeshore in the distance.

I decided to follow the trail along the lake shore and eventually wound up at the boat dock. At that point I realized that I for sure had taken the wrong fork and backtracked.
An inlet creek to the lake near the boat dock.

East Peak from Aneroid Lake.

I followed a different use path that climbed up from the lake a bit more gradually and wound up on the path down to the private cabins.

I started down the trail but when I got into view of the cabins I decided not to bother anyone and took some zoomed in photos and headed back uphill.

Signs for Camp Halton at the actual junction with the East Fork Wallowa Trail.

I headed back on the East Fork Trail and detoured down the first righthand fork to visit the lakeshore one last time before heading back to the trailhead.

I kept a pretty quick pace on the way back down stopping for a few photos and to let a handful of uphill hikers pass.
Hammond’s flycatcher

East Peak

Lewis monkeyflower

Aneroid Mountain

Pollinator on a flower.

The split trail.

The outbound trail dropped quite steeply before meeting back up with the inbound trail.

The damaged bridge from the other side.

Fritillary butterfly

A comma butterfly

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

Mount Howard

Coneflower

Wallowa Lake

Quaking aspen

Arriving back at the trailhead.

According to the GPS my hike was 14-miles which lines up better with the reported 13.1-mile roundtrip vs Sullivan’s 12. The extra milage is mostly due to my taking the wrong righthand fork and then backtracking before heading down toward the cabins.

I finished in just over 6 hours and located Heather at the Little Alps Day Use Area near where we’d parked. After taking a break at the picnic table she was sitting at I changed my shoes and socks and we drove down to the Khao Neaow Food Cart to get some tasty Thai food to take back to our room.

This was yet another great hike in the Eagle Cap Wilderness which is easily our favorite wilderness area in Oregon. We’re excited that the final hike in our quest for the 500 featured hikes will be in this wilderness, hopefully a little later this year. Of course there are many other hikes in the Wallowas that we’ve yet to do so that won’t be the last time we visit. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Aneroid Lake

Tags Aneroid Lake, Aneroid Mountain, Bear, eagle cap wilderness, East Fork Wallowa River, East Fork Wallowa River Forebay, East Fork Wallowa Trail, East Peak, hiking, Khao Neaow Food Cart, Oregon, Pika, Roger Lake, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, William L Sullivan

Hiking Year-end wrap up

2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 26, 2023
No Comments on 2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 2 – Featherless Friends

This year we split our wildlife gallery into two posts starting with our feather friends (post). We now move on to our featherless friends which ranged from tiny ants to bull elk and an almost too friendly black bear. It was an especially good year for deer including several encounters with does and fawns.

We’ll start out small and work our way up to the larger mammals.
Ants dropping sawdust from a log along the Catherine Creek Trail. We sat and watched these busy ants for quite a while. They had created a good-sized pile on the ground below.

We see a lot of beetles but usually not all at once like these lady bugs on Observation Peak.

Lady bug – Upper Table Rock

Yellow & black beetle – Mule Mountain

Redish brown beetle – Siskiyou Wilderness

Green beetle – Siskiyou Wilderness

Hitchhiker – Mt. Ireland

Blueish green beetle – Catherine Creek Meadows

Small beetle – Catherine Creek Meadows

Green beetle on a geranium – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Green beetle on a wallflower – Silver Star Mountain

Stripped beetle – Spring Valley Greenway

Water skippers – Big Twin Lake

Spider on thimbleberry – Siskiyou Wilderness

Crab spider – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Another crab spider – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Cricket – Pacific Crest Trail

We are often literally struck by grasshoppers as we hike. Sometimes they stick when they hit us such as this one along the PCT.

Bee on phacelia – Mule Mountain

Wet bee on lupine – Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Bumble bee – Hemlock Creek Trail

Lots of pollen – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Bee landing on a marsh marigold along the PCT

Bee approaching penstemon – Siskiyou Wilderness

Bee and a tiny ant in a bindweed – Siskiyou Wilderness

Insects on thistle – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Wasp? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Some sort of wasp – Silver Star Mountain

Insect along Bear Creek – Eagle Cap Wilderness

My brother and I used to call these “weird things”; I have no idea what it actually is – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Damsel fly – Denman Wildlife Area

Damsel fly – Hemlock Lake

Dragon fly – Goat Marsh Lake

Dragon fly – Siskiyou Wilderness

Dragon fly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Dragon fly along the Wallowa River – Wallowa Homeland

Dragon fly – E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Dragon fly – Hemlock Lake

Dragon fly – Sky Lakes Wilderness

Snail – Rock Creek Trail

Snail – Applegate Lake

Snail – North Siouxon Trail

Snail – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Snail – Siskiyou Wilderness

Snail – Cascade Head

Slug – Larch Mountain Trail

Slug (and a fly) – Susan Creek Trail

Slug – Fish Lake

Slug on lupine – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Slug and an unfortunate earth worm – Rock Creek Trail

Worms – Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Millipede – North Siouxon Trail

Millipede – Rock Creek Trail

Millipede – Illahee Rock

Millipede – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Wet caterpillar – Yakona Nature Preserve

Dry version – Larch Mountain Trail

Caterpillar – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Caterpillar – Siskiyou Wilderness

Caterpillar – Larch Mountain Trail

Moth – Klickitat Trail

Moth -Eagle Cap Wilderness

Moth – Twin Lakes

Moth – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Moth – Wolf Creek Falls Trail

Moth – Cascade Head

Propertius duskywing (Erynnis propertius) – Klickitat Trail

Duskywing – Siskiyou Wilderness

Northern Cloudywing? – Siskiyou Wilderness

Silver-spotted skipper – Siskiyou Wilderness

Skipper – Grizzly Peak

Skipper – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Skipper – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Hairstreak (bramble?) – Siskiyou Mountains

Cedar hairstreak – Siskiyou Wilderness

Hairstreak (possibly thicket) – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Ochre ringlet – Jack Ash Trail

Butterfly – Siskiyou Wilderness

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Butterfly – Upper Table Rock

Butterfly – Mule Mountain

Butterfly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Ireland

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Butterfly – Silver Star Mountain

Butterfly – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Sara’s orangetip – Klickitat Trail

Common woodnymph – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Another woodnymph – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Orange sulphur – Siskiyou Wilderness

Mountain parnassian – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Clodius parnassian – Hemlock Lake

Western white? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Western white – Trinty Alps Wilderness

Pine white – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Butterfly – Russian Wilderness

Butterfly – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Butterfly – Mule Mountain

Butterfly – Silver Star Mountain

Western meadow fritillary? – Silver Star Mountain

A fritillary – Silver Star Mountain

A fritillary – Trinity Alps Wilderness

A fritillary -Russian Wilderness

A fritillary – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Mourning cloak – Klickitat Trail

California tortoiseshell – Siskiyou Wilderness

Milbert’s tortoiseshell – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Lorquin’s admiral – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Common buckeye – Mt. Shasta Wilderness

Hoary comma – Sky Lakes Wilderness

Green comma? – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Swallowtails:
Klickitat Trail

Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Eagle Cap Wilderness

Tadpoles – Russian Wilderness

Tadpole transforming – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Frog – Russian Wilderness

Frog – Goat Marsh Lake

Tree frog – Siskiyou Wilderness

Frog – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Toad – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Toad – Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

Fish – Siphon Lake

Rough skinned newt – Yakona Nature Preserve

Western painted turtle – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Baby snake – Miller Woods

Garter snake – Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge

Lizard – Mule Mountain

Lizard – Upper Table Rock

Lizard – Russian Wilderness

Lizard – Siskiyou Wilderness

Lizard – Klickitat Trail

Lizard – Upper Table Rock

Alligator lizard – Mule Mountain

Chipmunk – Observation Peak

Ground squirrel – Russian Wilderness

Ground squirrel – Klickitat Trail

Ground squirrel – Eagle Cap Wilderness

Ground squirrel – Upper Table Rock

Squirrel – Rock Creek Trail

Squirrel – Twin Lakes

Squirrel – Larch Mountain Trail

Marmot – Wallowa Homeland

Jack rabbit – Denman Wildlife Area

Rabbit – E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Pika – Silver Star Mountain

Muskrat – Julia Butler Hansen – Wildlife Refuge

Otter – Killin Wetlands

Sea lion – Hart’s Cove

Deer – Memaloose Hills

Doe – Miller Woods

Mamma – Roxy Ann Peak

Fawn – Roxy Ann Peak

Columbian white-tailed buck – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Doe & fawn – Donomore Meadows

Three bucks – Siskiyou Wilderness

Buck – Siskiyou Wilderness

Buck – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Doe & fawn – Russian Wilderness

Buck and does – Russian Wilderness

Two bucks – Crater Lake National Park

Elk – Yakona Nature Preserve

Bull elk – Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Mountain goat below the Mt. Ireland Lookout – Mt. Ireland

Domestic goat – Near the Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge

Black bear – Siskiyou Wilderness

The same black bear making eye contact the day before.

Tags Bear, Butterfly, California, Columbian White-tailed deer, deer, eagle cap wilderness, elk, fawn, Julia Butler Hansen Refuge, mountain goat, Oregon, Pika, Russian Wilderness, Siskiyou Wilderness, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Washington, Wildlife

Hiking Oakridge Area Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Bunchgrass Ridge – 7/04/2019

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 9, 2019
5 Comments on Bunchgrass Ridge – 7/04/2019

**Note a portion of this hike burned in the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire.**

For the 4th of July this year we headed to the Oakridge area to check out a portion of the Eugene to Crest Trail. The concept of the trail is for a continuous trail from Eugene, OR to the Pacific Crest Trail east of Waldo Lake. Despite beginning in the 1970’s the trail has not been completed but a 108 mile route has been established using trails and roads with multiple access points.

We chose to begin our hike at the Eugene to Crest Trailhead #4 It was an interesting drive to the trailhead as winter storms brought extensive damage along Highway 58 causing its closure for a time due to slides and downed trees. Those same conditions affected many of the Forest Service roads and trails. As we headed up FR 2408 toward the trailhead it was apparent that the Forest Service had been busy clearing downed trees along the lower portion of the road. It was interesting to see that higher elevations hadn’t suffered near as much damage though as the number of recently cut trees decreased significantly. Then as we neared the trailhead a young black bear darted across the road in front of the car.

After the excitement of seeing the bear we pulled into the parking area where we discovered a fair number of mosquitoes waiting for us. We applied a bit of bug spray and set off on the signed trail.

In a tenth of a mile we arrived at a junction with the Eugene to Crest Trail where we turned left.

A short distance later we entered Little Bunchgrass Meadow.

The meadow had quite a bit of lupine and some white pussytoes and cat’s ear lilies blooming with tiger lilies and orange agoseris just getting started.

The only tiger lily that seemed to be open yet.

20190704_072419 orange agoseris beginning to open.

20190704_072403 Cat’s ear lily

Pussytoes

At the end of the meadow the trail entered the forest where a few vanilla leaf and a single trillium were still blooming.

It wasn’t long before we popped out into a second meadow. This one was filled with bunchgrass aka beargrass. Unfortunately it appeared that we had missed the beargrass bloom by a year as only a couple of plants had flowers while many others had dead stalks.

We repeated the meadow-forest-meadow pattern a couple of times as the trail followed the ridge SE. Occasionally there were views of the Three Sisters, Broken Top, and the top of Mt. Bachelor to the NE.
The Three Sisters and Broken Top

Larkspur along the trail.

Bunchberry

Anemone

Another meadow

The Three Sisters and Broken Top

Queen’s cup

The Three Sisters, Broken Top, and a bit of Mt. Bachelor

Rhododendron

Another meadow full of not-in-bloom beargrass.

The first mile and a half of the trail had been fairly level as it passed along the ridge but after passing through the last beargrass meadow for a while the trail began to gradually gain elevation. The trail left the ridge top in favor of the SW facing slope.
View from the SW facing hillside.

Looking SE

The trail then regained the ridge where we once again had views of the Three Sisters and Broken Top along with Mt. Jefferson and the very tip of Three Fingered Jack.

Mt. Jefferson behind the ridge extending from Mule Mountain (post). The tip of Three Fingered Jack is visible just to the left of the high point along the ridge to the far right.

After passing a knoll on our right we got our fist glimpse of Diamond Peak ahead to the SE.

Diamond Peak through the trees.

After a brief drop to a saddle we climbed past a wildflower rock garden to a nice viewpoint just over two and a quarter miles from the trailhead.
Valerian in the saddle.

Mt. Yoran, Diamond Peak, and Mt. Bailey

Mt. Yoran and Diamond Peak

Mt. Bailey

View to the NE (from the afternoon on the way back)

The Husband, Three Sisters, Broken Top, and Ball Butte(from the afternoon on the way back)

Mt. Jefferson and the tips of Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Washington

From the viewpoint the trail descended fairly steeply past what appeared to be a small spring but it is not shown on any map that I could find.

Sections of our route passed through and by the fire scar from the 1991 Warner Creek burn but as we descended from the viewpoint we were passed through a newer scar from the 2017 Kelsey Creek Fire.

In this newer scar we found one of the best clumps of western wallfower we’d ever seen.

20190704_084603

There was also a large wild ginger blossom which we don’t get to see very often so clearly.

After losing almost 500′ of elevation the trail looked to regain it as it climbed from a saddle up a ridge and around a knoll before dropping down again.

From the high point we had a nice view of the ridge behind us that our route had followed.

Ahead we could see another ridge line on the far side of Kelsey Creek which was in the valley below.

From this view we couldn’t really make out the ridge between us and the one across the valley. We began to wonder about the rest of our route. We did have two paper maps and our GPS with us but instead of looking at those we wondered if we would be curving around this valley or following an unseen ridge to our right. Whatever our route would be, it began by heading downhill. There was fairly thick vegetation along the trail but it had also recently been cut back.

We could see a green meadow ahead of and below us.

Just over three and a half miles in the trail leveled off at a saddle above the meadow. The wildflower display on the saddle was really impressive with large groups of blue-head gilia and giant blue-eyed Mary creating carpets of blue and numerous other flowers scattered about.

Giant blue-eyed Mary

20190704_091315 Giant blue-eyed Mary

Giant blue-eyed Mary and blue-head gilia

Cat’s ear lily and blue-head gilia

Coneflower

Cow parsnip

Tall mountain bluebell

More of the blue flowers

Larkspur

20190704_092323 Jacob’s ladder

20190704_092346 An aster or fleabane

Columbine and valerian

Lupine

Not sure what type of flower this one is.

Valerian filled meadow below the trail.

White yarrow, giant blue-eyed Mary, and tall mountain bluebells

Beyond the saddle the trail did not follow a ridge in any direction. It lost a little more elevation passing under a hillside dotted with pink rhododendron.

The low elevation was approximately 5250′ which the trail dipped to briefly as it started to wind around the headwaters of Kelsey Creek. As we came around we started to climb and quickly realized that the trail was going to take us up and over the ridge we had been looking at from the viewpoint across the valley. From the low point the trail gained 150′ over the first three tenths of a mile before launching uphill to gain another 450′ in the next .4 miles.
Looking back at our route so far.

The trail coming around Kelsey Creek is visible on the hillside behind us.

The trail crested in yet another bunchgrass filled meadow.

The open hillside here provided views ahead to Fuji Mountain in the Waldo Lake Wilderness (post) as well as Diamond Peak and a good look at Mt. Bailey (post).
Fuji Mountain (left), flat topped Mt. David Douglass, Mt. Yoran (shorter thumb to the left of Diamond Peak), and Diamond Peak.

Mt. Yoran and Diamond Peak

Mt. Bailey

We were particularly excited to see Mt. Bailey. It’s one we don’t often get a good view of due to its relatively low profile (8368′) and its alignment which often puts it behind Diamond Peak in the line of sight.

This meadow lasted off and on for a little over half a mile. There again wasn’t much beargrass in bloom but we did come upon a nice display of scarlet gilia, also known as skyrocket which seemed fitting on the 4th of July.

20190704_101615 A few orange agoseris were scattered about.

Scarlet gilia

More scarlet gilia

20190704_112526 Skyrocket

At the edge of the meadow we arrived at a rock outcrop.

The trail switchbacked down below the outcrop which was home to a few flowers of it’s own.

A thistle that was getting ready to bloom.

Wallflower

Below the outcrop the trail passed through more beargrass with Big Bunchgrass Meadow covering the hillside ahead with a bright green color.

We had one complaint as we headed toward our goal, the trail was losing elevation. Interestingly though we found ourselves in an entirely different type of forest than we had encountered during the hike so far. It had a drier feel with pines and a grassy forest floor.

Soon though we popped out into Big Bunchgrass Meadow which didn’t appear to have much if any bunchgrass. False hellebore, grasses, and flowers filled this meadow.

The flowers weren’t profuse but there was a nice variety and the butterflies seemed to be enjoying them.
Owl’s head clover

Larkspur, an owl’s head clover, and scarlet gilia

Aster or fleabane and an orange agoseris

Coneflower

Hyssop

Butterflies on a cat’s ear lily

20190704_105633 Wait that’s not a butterfly.

As the trail continued to lose elevation we decided to make our turnaround point a trail junction with a tie trail coming up to the meadow from the Bunchgrass Lower Trailhead. There was a post in the meadow with a pointer for the trail but it wasn’t exactly near the post and we missed it on our first pass. We turned around after rounding a small corner that gave us a nice view of Fuji Mountain.

Fuji Mountain

Looking back we realized just how far we had come down to reach the meadow.

As we came back around the small corner we spotted the faint trail veering off to the left.
The post, with an orange top, is up and to the right in front of a tree.

We headed back uphill and stopped for a break at the rock outcrop.
Heather at the rock outcrop.

I wandered up along the outcrop to see if there might be a good viewpoint atop the ridge. I was hoping for the Three Sisters and Broken Top but they were nowhere to be seen.

Big Bunchgrass Meadow and Fuji Mountain

Diamond Peak

I did find a little clump of Oregon sunshine though.

After our break we continued on looking for anything we might have missed on our first pass as well as for any wildlife.

Crab spider (probably waiting for that Washington lily to open)

Turkey vulture

Back in the valerian meadows

Not sure what this is going to be either.

We never did see that bear again, although there were several piles of scat along the trail. As for people we passed a group of three hikers at the viewpoint about 2 miles from the trailhead and a pair of mountain bikers at the junction near the trailhead. It was a little surprising to us that we didn’t see more, the trail was in great shape with good views and wildflowers. The first few miles were relatively easy too with the real climbing occuring in the latter half of the hike. We logged 11.8 miles on the GPS which seems to be right around where all our hikes have been lately. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Bunchgrass Ridge

Tags Bear, Beargrass, Bunchgrass RIdge, Butterfly, Diamond Peak, Eugene to Crest Trail, Eugene to Crest Trailhead #4, hiking, Kelsey Creek, Mt. Bailey, Mule Mountain, oakridge, Oregon, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

Rebel Creek Loop – Three Sisters Wilderness

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 26, 2016
No Comments on Rebel Creek Loop – Three Sisters Wilderness

**Note the 2017 Rebel Fire burned a portion of this hike.**

The Three Sisters Wilderness hosts approximately 260 miles of trails. Some of them such as Green Lakes and Obsidian are overused while others see little if any use. The 12.3 mile loop starting at the Rebel Trailhead on the Rebel Creek and Rebel Rock Trails is on the lesser used end of the scale. The trailhead is 14.5 miles from Highway 126 along paved Aufderheide Road 19.

The loop starts on the Rebel Creek Trail and quickly comes to a fork where the Rebel Rock Trail splits to the right. We stayed on the Rebel Creek Trail and would meet back up with the upper end of the Rebel Rock Trail in 5 miles.

The forested trail led along Rebel Creek, crossing twice on footbridges, while it gradually climbed up the valley.

The hike through the forest was peaceful with the sound of the creek below and birds singing in the trees. We didn’t see many of the birds we were hearing, but we did spot a nice variety of flowers along the way.
Prince’s Pine

Pink pyrola

Spotted coralroot

Fringed pinesap

Rhododendron

Tall bluebells

Yellow coralroot

Bunchberry

The trail was in pretty good shape despite it’s light usage. There were a few downed trees and near the upper end it became a little brushy in spots.

We met back up with the Rebel Rock Trail at the edge of thimbleberry meadow where a post with no signs left marked the junction.

The Rebel Creek Trail technically continued to the left to the Olallie Trail but that section is, according to the Forest Service, faint due to lack of use/maintenance. After a short break we turned right onto the Rebel Creek Trail skirting the meadow and climbing up and over a ridge near the hidden Rebel Rock. More thimbleberry filled meadows awaited us as we traversed along what was now a west facing hillside. The meadows contained a few flowers beside the white thimbleberry blossom and also allowed for views across the valley to the opposite hillside.

Lupine

Columbine

Larkspur

Cat’s ear lily

Whenever we have views of distant meadows we try and scan them for wildlife. It always seems like we should see deer, elk or even a bear and on a couple of occasions we have managed to spot deer or elk. More often than not though we get our hopes up only to discover we are staring at a rock or downed tree. This time though I was sure I’d seen a dark object, I had my eyes on, move so I used the 120x digital zoom on the camera to take a closer look. It turned out to be a bear wandering around in a meadow full of white valerian flowers. Given the distance the pictures didn’t turn out great but we watched it for a while before it disappeared into the trees.
With 30x optical zoom.
IMG_9007 (2)

120x digital zoom

The trail continued to pass through similar meadows until finally reentering the forest where we startled a grouse.

Meadowrue

Coneflower

Blurry grouse photo

A short distance later it crested a ridge where we entered a drier environment as we moved to the south facing side of the ridge.

The first snowy peak of the day came into view to the south, Maiden Peak near Waldo Lake.

The trail had entered a wildflower meadow filled with bright red scarlet gilia.

There were several other types of flowers mixed in as well.
Cat’s ear lily

Oregon sunshine

Blue gilia and buckwheat

Paintbrush and penstemon

Clarkia

As we worked our way through the meadow the view behind us to the east opened up revealing the only view of Rebel Rock’s spire, the top of South Sister and Mt. Bachelor.

The trail passed into another section of trees where we noticed what appeared to be a faint trail to the left leading to a possible viewpoint. We followed it out to an open rocky ledge which allowed us to see the old Rebel Rock Lookout further to the west.

We returned to the trail and continued west watching for the side trail to the old lookout building. A rock cairn along an open area marked the path.

The lookout itself was not visible until we’d gone a couple hundred feet on the side path. The windows were mostly broken out and several boards were missing from the deck but the view was nice.

After a break at the lookout we returned to the trail in the rocky meadow. The flower display was pretty nice here too with a few different flowers that we hadn’t seen yet during the hike.
Bastard toadflax

Catchfly and a yellow composite

Owl’s clover and blue gilia

A half mile from the side path the the lookout was yet another meadow and the best viewpoint of the day.

From this meadow Mt. Jefferson, the Three Sisters, and Mt. Bachelor were all clearly visible.

The meadow sported another nice collection of wildflowers.
Phlox

Penstemon

The Three Sisters

The trail began to descend beyond the viewpoint through another series of thimblerry meadows. The tread here was often hidden by the thick vegetation.

The trail switched back just before reaching Trail Creek and reentered the forest.

This section of trail gradually descended through the forest. Along the way were a couple of additional meadows where there were again some different flowers.

Oregon sunshine and clarkias

Farewell-to-Spring

Diamond clarkia

There was also a nice supply of ripe, warm, strawberries to munch on.

Although a few cars had joined ours at the trailhead we completed the loop without seeing any other people along the trails. Any time the number of bears you see is more than other people it’s a good day on the trail. After doing this loop we were left wondering why it isn’t a little more popular. Although there are a couple of longer stretches without view there were some nice ones and the amount and variety of flowers had surprised us. There is a cumulative elevation gain of 3300′ but the trail was never particularly steep and it was spread over such a distance that it didn’t feel like we’d done that much climbing. The fact that the trailhead is an easy drive on good paved roads is an added bonus. It is definitely a hike we’d recommend. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157670151874216

Tags Bear, farewell-to-spring, fringed pinesap, grouse, hiking, Oregon, Rebel Creek, Rebel Creek Trail, Rebel Rock, Rebel Rock lookout, Rebel Rock Trail, Rebel trailhead, The Three Sisters, Thimbleberry meadow, Three Sisters Wilderness, Trail Creek