Tag: California

Eastern Oregon

Back in 2016 we set a goal for ourselves to hike all 500 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes…” series of guidebooks post. In 2020 we completed the first of these books covering the Central Oregon Cascades (post). We followed that up by completing a pair of books in 2021 starting with Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Oregon Coast and Coast Range” 3rd edition (post) followed up by “100 HIkes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington” 4th edition (post). Southern Oregon & Northern California was completed in 2023 leaving us with Eastern Oregon.

In 2023 we pivoted from the 3rd edition of Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” to his renamed 2022 1st edition “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” book. This was to avoid needing to make the tedious drive on horrible roads to Dug Bar in Hells Canyon which had been replaced as a featured hike in the newer edition.

The criteria for checking a hike off our list is to hike a portion of Sullivan’s described hike or, at least visit the main attraction(s) he identifies for the hike. For 67 of the hikes we completed the books described route. For the other 33 hikes various factors contributed to us not completing every option of each featured hike. For some we started at a different trailhead, others had portions of trail(s) closed when we visited, and several had additional options that we did not do.

Of the five regions Sullivan breaks his guidebooks into, the Eastern Oregon region is the largest and most diverse. The area covered in this book includes hikes in Oregon east of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon and from Klamath Falls (western most hike) east to the Idaho border. There is however one hike in Washington west of the Deschutes across the Columbia River from The Dalles, OR. It also includes one short option in Idaho (eastern most), one featured hike in California (southern most) making it his only book with hikes in more than two different States. The northern most hike is not the one in Washington. That honor belongs to the Wenaha River near Troy in NE Oregon.

The hikes involved several wilderness areas: Oregon Badlands, Mill Creek, Spring Basin, Strawberry Mountain, North Fork John Day, North Fork Umatilla, Wenaha-Tucannon, Eagle Cap, Hells Canyon, Monument Rock, and Steens Mountain. Missing from this list are the Black Canyon (post) and Gearhart Mountain (post) wilderness areas which had featured hikes in earlier versions of Sullivan’s book that we’d completed, but were removed in the 2022 edition due to wildfire damage.

In addition to the 11 designated wilderness areas there were hikes in two National Monuments, the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Oregon and the Lava Beds National Monument in California, and one National Volcanic Monument, the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Following is a list of the 100 featured hikes and the dates we visited.

#1 Cottonwood Canyon – Hiked 5/27/2017

#2 Columbia Hills – Hiked 4/4/2015 & 4/17/2021

#3 Lower Deschutes River – Hiked 6/9/2018

#4 Macks Canyon – Hiked 5/26/2018

#5 Criterion Tract – Hiked 05/28/2023

#6 Trout Creek – Hiked 10/12/2013

#7 Willow Creek at Madras – Hiked 5/27/2024

#8 Cove Palisades – Hiked 6/16/2018

#9 Gray Butte – Hiked 6/13/2015

#10 Oregon Badlands – Hiked 5/15/2016 & 12/24/2016

#11 Pine Mountain – Hiked 7/30/2012

#12 Paulina Falls – Hiked 8/9/2011 & 9/16/2017

#13 Paulina Lake – Hiked 8/9/2011 & 9/16/2017

#14 Obsidian Flow – Hiked 8/9/2011

#15 Crooked River Wetlands – Hiked 5/29/2024

#16 Chimney Rock – Hiked 9/22/2017

#17 Steins Pillar – Hiked 5/8/2013

#18 Juniper Hill – Visited* 5/27/2024

#19 Mill Creek – Hiked 7/31/2012

#20 Lookout Mountain – Hiked 6/12/2014

#21 Walton Lake – Hiked 6/17/2017 & 6/18/2021

#22 Spring Basin – Hiked 4/22/2017

#23 John Day Fossil Beds – Hiked 4/30/2016, 4/22/2017 & 9/17/2017
Painted Hills Unit

Clarno Unit

Blue Basin Unit

#24 Sutton Mountain – Hiked 4/30/2016

#25 Spanish Peak – Hiked 7/19/2021 & 7/20/2021

#26 Madison Butte – Hiked 5/28/2024

#27 Wildcat Basin – Hiked 7/24/2018

#28 High Lake – Hiked 7/26/2018

#29 Strawberry Lake – Hiked 7/25/2018

#30 Malheur River – Hiked 6/17/2021

#31 Canyon Mountain – Hiked 7/22/2021

#32 Monument Rock – Hiked 7/21/2021

#33 Bates and Sumpter – Hiked 9/17/2017

#34 Olive Lake – Hiked 9/18/2017

#35 Granite Creek – Hiked 9/21/2017

#36 North Fork John Day River – Hiked 9/19/2017

#37 Mount Ireland – Hiked 7/9/2022

#38 Baldy Lake – Hiked 9/20/2017

#39 Crawfish Lake – Hiked 8/16/2018

#40 Anothony Lake – Hiked 8/16/2018

#41 Elkhorn Crest – Hiked 8/12/2018, 8/13/2018, 8/14/2018, 8/15/2018 & 08/16/2018

#42 Twin Lakes – Hiked 8/13/2018

#43 North Fork Umatilla River – Hiked 6/14/2021

#44 Jubilee Lake – Hiked 9/12/2021

#45 Wenaha River – Hiked 5/25/2019

#46 Zumwalt Prairie – Hiked 5/26/2019

#47 Buckhorn Lookout – Hiked 6/15/2023

#48 Eureka Bar – Hiked 6/14/2023

#49 Hat Point – Hiked 7/21/2024

#50 Freezeout Saddle – Hiked 5/24/2019

#51 Hells Canyon Dam – Hiked 6/16/2023

#52 Hells Canyon Reservoir – Hiked 6/16/2023

#53 Imnaha Falls – Hiked 6/12/2023

#54 Bonny Lakes – Hiked 7/24/2024

#55 McCully Basin – Hiked 7/23/2024

#56 Mount Howard – Hiked 7/26/2024

#57 Aneroid Lake – Hiked 8/22/2024

#58 Wallowa Lake – Hiked 5/23/2019
B.C. Falls

#59 Ice Lake – Hiked 7/31/2016

#60 Horseshoe Lake – Hiked 8/3/2016 & 8/04/2016

#61 Hurricane Creek – Hiked 7/22/2024

#62 Eagle Cap – Hiked 8/3/2016

#63 Minam Lake – Hiked 7/25/2024

#64 Maxwell Lake – Hiked 8/21/2024

#65 Chimney Lake – Hiked 8/20/2024

#66 Wallowa Homeland – Hiked 7/14/2022

#67 Bear Creek – Hiked 7/14/2022

#68 Rock Springs – Hiked 7/11/2022

#69 Moss Springs – Hiked 7/13/2022

#70 Catherine Creek Meadows – Hiked 7/10/2022

#71 Burger Pass – Hiked 7/12/2022

#72 Tombstone Lake – Hiked 8/16/2023 & 8/17/2023

#73 Eagle Lake – Hiked 8/13/2023

#74 Bear Lake – Hiked 8/14/2023

#75 Hidden Lake – Hiked 9/9/2024

#76 Summit Point Lookout – Hiked 8/18/2024

#77 Pine Lakes – Hiked 8/19/2024

#78 Fort Rock – Hiked 6/14/2014 & 5/28/2017

#79 Fort Rock Valley – Hiked 5/28/2017

#80 Hager Mountain – Hiked 7/30/2013 & 6/14/2014

#81 Summer Lake – Hiked 7/24/2020

#82 Winter Ridge – Hiked 7/19/2020

#83 OC&E Railroad – Hiked 10/5/2018

#84 Klamath Falls – Hiked 10/20/2018

#85 Modoc Lava Beds – Hiked 10/6/2018

#86 DeGarmo Canyon – Hiked 7/22/2020

#87 Hart Mountain Hot Springs – Hiked 7/21/2020

#88 Petroglyph Lake – Hiked 7/22/2020

#89 Steens Summit – Hiked 8/18/2021

#90 Little Blitzen River – Hiked 8/19/2021

#91 Big Indian Gorge – Hiked 8/17/2021

#92 Threemile Canyon – Hiked 9/3/2023

#93 Pike Creek – Hiked 6/14/2018

#94 Big Sand Gap – Hiked 6/14/2018

#95 Borax Hot Springs – Hiked 6/14/2018

#96 Pueblo Mountains – Hiked 8/20/2021

#97 Leslie Gulch – Hiked 6/11/2018

#98 Coffeepot Crater – Hiked 6/11/2018

#99 Chalk Basin – Hiked 6/13/2018

#100 Three Forks – Hiked 6/12/2018

*The Juniper Hills Preserve is owned by the Nature Conservancy and had been closed to public entry in 2023, so we were unable to hike the trails. We parked and walked to the gates to take photos. If they ever reopen it to the public we will go back.

Completing our featured hike goals provided a sense of relief. While we thoroughly enjoyed all of the hikes, and the Wallowa Mountains became our favorite destination in Oregon, we had begun to put pressure on ourselves to finish. That pressure had begun following the September 2020 wildfires that ravaged parts of the Central Cascades and left many trails closed for years. We had just finished the featured hikes in that area earlier that year and realized how close we’d come to having to put our goal on hold. In the grand scheme of things reaching 500 featured hikes is irrelevant but having worked on it for several years it was something we didn’t want to abandon. We will gig deeper into that in a later post covering finishing the 500, but it’s nice to have the urgency to get to specific places removed.

Setting the goal did provide us with an excuse to visit parts of Oregon that we’d never seen before. While we were checking off the 100 featured hikes we stopped at over three dozen additional spots including eight previously featured hikes. There are still numerous trails left for us to explore so we will almost certainly be heading back to Eastern Oregon from time to time to see new sights and possibly revisit some familiar ones. Happy Trails!

Tags Alvord Desert, Blue Mountains, Boulder Creek Wilderness, California, Deschutes River, eagle cap wilderness, Eastern Oregon, Gearhart Mountain Wilderness, Hells Canyon Wilderness, hiking, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, John Day river, Lava Beds National Monument, Malheur National Forest, Malheur River, Mill Creek Wilderness, Monument Rock Wilderness, Newberry Caldera, Newberry Crater, Newberry National Volcanic Monument, North Fork John Day Wilderness, North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, Ochoco Mountains, ochoco national forest, Oregon, oregon badlands wilderness, Pueblo Mountains, Spring Basin Wilderness, Steens Mountain Wilderness, Strawberry Mountains, Wallowa Mountains, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, 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 Year-end wrap up

2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 23, 2023
1 Comment on 2022 Wildlife Gallery Part 1 – Feathered Friends

We thought we’d do something different this year and split our 2022 wildlife gallery into two posts to keep them a little shorter. It made the most sense to us to do a post with the different birds we saw during 2022 and then one of the other wildlife. As with our wildflower post any corrections or additions to our attempts at identifying what we’ve photographed is greatly appreciated. One last note, while we really enjoy taking pictures as a way to record what we see on our hikes, we are by no means photographers. We use our phones and a point and shoot camera on the auto setting, so the pictures are far from professional, but we hope you enjoy them.

We’ll start small which, aside from some of the raptors, is where we have the most difficulty identifying the various species (ducks and sea birds can be tricky too).
Hummingbird at Memaloose Hills in May.

Hummingbird at Upper Table Rock in May.

Black capped chickadee at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon’s) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Wren (marsh?) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

White-crowned sparrow at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Sparrow? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Common yellow throat at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Yellow-rumped warbler (Myrtle) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Tree swallows at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

White-crowned sparrow and a wren at Miller Woods in May.

American goldfinch pair at Miller Woods in May.

Another sparrow at Miller Woods in May.

Hermit warbler? near Kings Mountain in May.

House finch? at Upper Table Rock in May.

Rock wren? at Upper Table Rock in May.

Ash-throated flycatcher at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Unknown at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Swallow at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Some sort of warbler? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Purple martins at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Another wren at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Unknown at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Sparrow? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Warbler? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Black phoebe? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Mountain bluebird near Union Peak in September.

Red-breasted nuthatch (best I could get) at Crater Lake in September.

Red crossbilss at Crater Lake in September.

Wren on the Eagle Creek Trail in November.

Dark eyed junco at Waverly Lake in December.

Going up a bit in size now (and a little easier to identify).
Canada jay (grey jay) along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.

California scrub jay along the Balfour-Klickitat Trail in April.

Stellar’s jay along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Female red-winged blackbird at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Red-winged blackbird at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Spotted towhee at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Starlings along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Brownheaded cowbird at Upper Table Rock in May.

American robin at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Tropical kingbird? at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Black-headed grosbeak (also all I could get) at Applegate Lake in May.

Lazuli bunting at Roxy Ann Peak in May.

Cedar waxwing at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Western tanagers, Siskiyou Wilderness in July.

American dipper (Ouzel) near South Umpqua Falls in September.

Townsends solitaire at Crater Lake National Park in September.

Clark’s nutcracker at Crater Lake National Park in September.

Varied thrush along the Eagle Creek Trail in November.

Unknown at Cascade Head in October.

We also struggle with a few of the woodpeckers.
Forest Park in January.

Northern flicker at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April. We seem to see flickers on nearly every hike, but they don’t often sit still long enough for us to get a decent picture.

Pileated woodpecker at Chehalem Ridge Nature Park in May. We rarely see these but like the flickers, when we do they are very difficult to get a photo of.

Acorn woodpecker at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Hairy? woodpecker near Twin Lakes in the Umpqua National Forst in June.

Red breasted sapsucker at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area in July.

Either a hairy or downy woodpecker along the Eagle Creek Trail in November.

Unknown, Sky Lakes Wilderness in late September.

Next up are scavengers and birds of prey including those pesky hawks.
Crow along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.

Raven at Upper Table Rock in May.

Turkey Vulture at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

American kestral along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.

Osprey along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Another osprey at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Bald eagle at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Eagle in the Sky Lakes Wilderness in September. Not sure if it is a bald or golden.

A bald eagle and hawk at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Pair of hawks at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Hawk at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Hawk at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.

Hawk along the Pacific Crest Trail near Carter Meadows Summit in August.

Hawk at Crater Lake National Park in September.

Barred owl at Noble Woods in May.

Great horned owl at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Young great horned owl at Roxy Ann Peak in May.

Moving on to game birds, a few of the species we saw this year were at the E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area at their breeding facility in June.

Ring-necked pheasant

Silver pheasant

Near the breeding facility at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area.

Mourning dove at Roxy Ann Peak a in May.

Grouse? in the Siskiyou Wilderness in July.

Grouse in the Mt. Adams Wilderness in August.

Grouse in the Sky Lakes Wilderness in September.

Bodies of water attract a lot of birds and provide us with a less obstructed view vs the forest.
Long billed dowitchers? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Killdeer at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Sandpiper? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Great blue heron at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Kingfisher at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.

American bittern at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.

White pelicans at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.

Hooded mergansers at Yakona Nature Preserve in February.

Common mergansers along the Klickitat Trail in April.

American coot at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Cinnamon teal at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Ring-necked ducks (and an American coot) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Northern shoveler at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

White-fronted geese at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.

Mallard along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.

Wood duck at Denman Wildlife Area in May.

Not sure if this is a ruddy duck at Waverly Lake in December.

Mostly American widgeons with a green winged teal and a female bufflehead or two mixed in at Talking Water Gardens in December.

Bufflehead at Talking Water Gardens in December.

Canada geese at Applegate Lake in May.

Domestic geese near the Klickitat Trail in April.

Domestic or hybrid? ducks at Waverly Lake in December.

Hiking Year-end wrap up

2022 Flower Gallery

In 2018 we began a tradition of posting a collection of the variety of flowers that we encountered during the years hikes. It’s always a bit shocking to see just how many different varieties we actually saw over the course of the year. It appears that the total in 2022 was right around 400. We are still learning to identify the flowers and are a long way from being able to tell some of the different species apart. For instance, we encounter species in both the genus Castilleja as well as Penstemon regularly but are not typically knowledgeable enough to determine which one we are seeing. That doesn’t take away from our ability to enjoy the flowers though, but the large number of different flowers makes it difficult if not impossible to get them all in one post.

With that in mind here are some (but not all) of the different flowers we saw this past year, in no particular order. (Any IDs provided are best guesses and any corrections or additional IDs are greatly appreciated.)

The first wildflower we spotted was a little violet on February 5th at the Yakona Nature Preserve.

It was certainly not the last violet we’d encounter as they are one of the more common flowers we see and also one that struggle to identify beyond “violet”.
May 14th – Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

June 15th – Donomore Meadows

June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Siskiyou Gap

Marsh violet, June 25th – Goat Marsh Lake

July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Wedgeleaf? violet – July 1st – Youngs Valley, Siskiyou Wilderness

Goosefoot? violet, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

July 9th – Mt. Ireland

August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness.

The final flower to be photographed was a bleeding heart enjoying a late season bloom along the Eagle Creek Trail on November 19th.

Here is a more photogenic bleeding heart from May 21st on the Kings Mountain Trail.

We were lucky enough to see a handful of bucket list flowers during our trips to Southern Oregon and Northern California.
Snow plant, June 18th – Red Buttes Wilderness

California lady slippers, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Bolander’s lily, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Scarlet fritillary, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Henderson’s fawn lily, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Here are some of the other’s that we encountered over the course of the year.
Pungent desert parsley, April 2nd -Balfour Trail

Columbia desert parsley, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Woodland stars, April 2nd – Balfour Trail

Pacific hound’s tongue, April 2nd – Balfour Trail

Lupine, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Big leaf maple, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Slender phlox, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Fringecup, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Buttercups, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Checkermallow, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Another checkermallow, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Iris, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

A paintbrush, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Balsamroot, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Large-flower triteleia, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Naked broomrape, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Vetch, May 1st – Moiser Plateau

Large-head clover, May 1st – Moiser Plateau

Fiddleneck, May 1st – Moiser Plateau

Bachelor button (non-native), May 1st – Moiser Plateau

Service berry, May 7th – Orenco Woods

Aven, May 7th – Noble Woods

Camas, May 7th – Miller Woods

Wild ginger, May 7th – Miller Woods

Striped coralroot, May 7th – Miller Woods

Fairy slippers, May 7th – Miller Woods

Plectritis, May 14th – Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

Fairy bells, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

Snow queen, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

Red flowering currant, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

Trillium, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

A monkeyflower, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

Chocolate lily, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

Kittentails, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

Glacier lily, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

Henderson’s stars, May 25th – Mule Mountain

Larkspur, May 25th – Mule Mountain

Not sure if this is a cryptantha or a popcorn flower, May 25th – Mule Mountain

Douglas’ stichwort, May 25th – Mule Mountain

A blue-eyed Mary, May 25th – Mule Mountain

California poppy, May 25th – Mule Mountain

A clarkia, May 25 – Mule Mountain

Hooker’s Indian pink, May 25th – Mule Mountain

Star flower, May 25th – Mule Mountain

California ground cone, May 25th – Mule Mountain

Ookow, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Blow wives, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Best guess is Parry’s hawkweed, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Clustered broomrape, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Narrowleaf onion, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

California goldfield, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Possibly Fitch’s tarweed, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Marigold pincushion plant, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Arrowleaf buckwheat, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

A clarkia, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Iris, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Milkvetch, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Unknown on Anderson Butte, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Giant white wakerobbin, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

A larkspur, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Rough eyelashweed, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Wallflower, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

A wild onion, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Jacob’s ladder, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Death camas, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Common madia, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Common viburnum, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Hairy Indian paintbrush, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

White campion, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Pale flax, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Purple oyster (non-native), May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Rose, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Pea, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Kellog’s monkeyflower, May 29th – Applegate Lake

Heart-leaf milkweed, May 29th – Applegate Lake

Northern phlox, May 29th – Applegate Lake

White lupine, May 29th – Applegate Lake

Carrotleaf horkelia, May 30th – Roxy Ann Peak

Blue-eyed grass, May 30th – Roxy Ann Peak

Baneberry, June 4th – North Siouxon Trail

Star-flower solomonseal, June 4th – North Siouxon Trail

False lily-of-the valley, June 4th – North Siouxon Trail

Candyflower, June 4th – North Siouxon Trail

Scouler’s corydalis, June 4th – North Siouxon Trail

Yellow glandweed (non-native), June 11th – Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Daisy (non-native), June 11th – Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

Unknown shrub (non-native), June 11th – Julia Butler Hanson Wildlife Refuge

A vetch or pea, June 13th – Susan Creek Falls Trail

Columbine, June 13th – Susan Creek Falls Trail

Solomonseal, June 13th – North Umpqua Trail

Valerian, June 13th – Lemolo Falls Trail

Gooseberry, June 14th – Illahee Rock

Blue-eyed Mary, June 14th – Illahee Rock

Fawn lilies, June 14th – Illahee Rock

Pussytoes, June 15th – Pacific Crest Trail near the Stateline Trailhead

Bistort, June 15th – Donomore Meadows

Cutleaf daisy, June 15th – Observation Peak

Lance-leaf spring beauty, June 15th – Observation Peak

A rockcress, June 15th – Observation Peak

Alpine pennycress, June 15th – Observation Peak

Quill-leaf lewisia, June 15th – Observation Peak

Marsh marigold, June 15th – Pacific Crest Trail

Anemone, June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Siskiyou Gap

Jacob’s ladder, June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail

Buds of an unknown flower, June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Big Red Mountain

A paintbrush, June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Big Red Mountain

Drummond’s anemone, June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Big Red Mountain

Ballhead waterleaf, June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Big Red Mountain

A mariposa lily, June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Siskiyou Gap

Diamond? clarkia, June 17th – Bandersnatch Trail

A honeysuckle, June 17th – Bandersnatch Trail

A catchfly, June 17th – Bandersnatch Trail

Blue-head gilia, June 17th – Red Queen Trail

Deerbrush, June 17th – Mike Uthoff Trail

Grand collomia, June 17th – Mike Uthoff Trail

A phaceli, June 17th – Mike Uthoff Trail

Rhododendron, June 18th – Frog Pond Trail

Pretty Face, June 18th – Frog Pond Trail

Believe this is some sort of saxifrage, June 25th – Toutle Trail

Avalanche lily, June 25th – Toutle Trail

A penstemon, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

A phlox, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Lewis flax, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

A paintbrush, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Nuttall’s sandwort?, July 1st -Siskiyou Wilderness

Queen’s cup, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Beargrass, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Shooting star, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Wolley-head clover, July 1st – Siskiyou ikyWilderness

A nightshade, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Siskiyou lewisia, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Spotted coralroot, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

This tiny flower was at the edge of the meadow in Young’s Valley, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Azalea, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Honeysuckle, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Pacific ninebark, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Streambank bird’s-foot trefoil, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

White-vein wintergreen, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

California pitcher-plant, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Also California pitcher-plant, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

White-stemmed frasera, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Washington lily, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Phantom orchid, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Oregon sunshine, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Pussypaws, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Musk monkeyflower, July 3rd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Klamath arnica, July 3rd – Siskiyou Wilderness

White rushlily, July 3rd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Spirea, July 4th – Siskiyou Wilderness

Wild onion, July 4th – Siskiyou Wilderness

A penstemon, July 4th – Siskiyou Wilderness

Phlox, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

Brown’s peony, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

Yet another paintbrush, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

Silverleaf phacelia with visitor, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

Venus penstemon, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Douglas dustymaidens, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Bog orchid, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Mountain lady slippers, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Rosy pussytoes, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Yellow columbine, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Heart-leaved bittercress?, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Elephants head, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Cone flower, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Tall mountain bluebells, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Another wild onion, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Scarlet gilia, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Arrowleaf groundsel, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Purple sticky geranium, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Ragged robin, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

False? sunflower, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

White mariposa lily, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Rosy paintbrush, July 12th – Buck Creek Trail

Lyall’s rockcress, July 12th – Buck Creek Trail

Pacific coralroot, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

Hyssop, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

Another penstemon, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

Thistle, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

Oregon checker-mallow, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

This was a new one for us one-flowered moneses, July 14th – Bear Creek Trail

Pinedrop, July 14th – Bear Creek Trail

Sagebrush mariposa lily, July 14th – Wallowa Homeland

Blanket flower, July 14th – Wallowa Homeland

Yarrow, July 14th – Wallowa Homeland

Scouler’s bluebells, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Inside-out flower, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Tiger lily, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Bluebells of Scotland, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Subalpine mariposa lily, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Western sweetvetch, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Coiled lousewort, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Best guess is subapline fleabane, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Orange agoseris, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

A larkspur, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Mock orange, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Chicory (non-native), July 30th – E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area

Indian pipe, August 6th – Yasko Falls Trail

Leopard lily, August 6th – Hemlock Creek Trail

Mountain owl’s clover, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Rainiera, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Hedgenettle, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Large boykina, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Candy sticks, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Monkshood, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Scarlet monkeyflower, August 7th – Fall Creek Falls Trail

White mountain heather, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Mountain heather, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Gentian, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

False hellebore, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

A saxifrage, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Beardstongue, August 20th – Grizzley Peak

Shasta knotweed, August 22nd – Mt. Shasta Wilderness

Marsh grass-of-Parnassus, August 22nd – Mt. Shasta Wilderness

Western pasque flower, August 22nd – Mt. Shasta Wilderness

Bigelow’s sneezeweed, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Western snakeroot, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

A buckwheat, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Autumn dwarf gentian, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Saffron-flowered lupine, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

An aster or fleabane, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Hooded ladies tresses, August 24th – Russian Wilderness

Can’t seem to identify this flower on the shore of Russian Lake, August 24th – Russian Wilderness

This one has me a bit stumped too, it looks like a wirelettuce or some sort of lewisa, August 24th – Russian Wilderness

Buckwheat, August 24th – Russian Wilderness

A monkeyflower (dwarf purple?), August 26th -Pacific Crest Trail near Carter Meadows Summit

Mountain coyote mint, August 26th – Pacific Crest Trail near Carter Meadows Summit

Sierra larkspur, August 26th – Pacific Crest Trail

Tasselflower brickellbush, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

Monkeyflower, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

Thistle, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

California hairbells, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

Common toadflax (non-native), September 10th – Spring Valley Greenway

Fireweed, September 17th – Union Peak Trail

Douglas spirea, September 18th – Sky Lakes Wilderness

Best guess is Crater Lake collomia, September 19th – Dutton Creek Trail

Another mystery seen near the Cold Springs Trailhead, September 25th – Sky Lakes Wilderness

We have a few wildflower hikes planned in 2023. We are hoping to see at least one or two more that we haven’t before along with plenty of familiar faces. Happy Trails!

Tags Bolander's Lily, California, California Lady Slippers, california pitcher plant, Crater Lake, lily, Mt. Adams Wilderness, Oregon, Silver Star Mountain, Siskiyou Wilderness, snow plant, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Washington, wildflowers

Hiking Year-end wrap up

The Hikes of 2022 – A Look Back

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date January 2, 2023
No Comments on The Hikes of 2022 – A Look Back

What a strange year 2022 was for us from a hiking standpoint. We have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a “normal” year knowing that there will always be surprises and things that we haven’t experienced yet. This year was full of ups and downs, sometimes on the same day. We go into every year with an initial set of hikes planned out for the year knowing that by the end of the year changes will have been made, but this year may have seen the most changes to the initial plan in the 10 years we’ve been doing this. As is the case most years weather and wildfires caused the majority of the changes but in 2022 we were the cause several as well.

Our goal is to get out once a month from Jan through April and in both November and December while taking at least one hike a week from May through October. We had managed to hike a least once a month since February 2013 but the injury bug finally got one of us this year. Heather had to shut her hiking down at the end of September but did manage to get back out for the December hike. I kept to the schedule but instead of the planned hikes which would have been new to both of us I put some new twists on some old favorites. My end of the year numbers were 61 days hiking totaling just over 660 miles with a little more than 115,200′ of elevation gain. Heather’s numbers were 55 hikes, approximately 557 miles, and 97,450′ of elevation gain.

Once again we focused on hikes that were new to us (at least in part) so no day was an exact duplicate of one we’d done before. Union Creek Falls (post) was very close for me but I did manage to see one section of Union Creek that I hadn’t bushwhacked to on my first visit (post). Heather had not been with me that day due to an injury she’d sustained earlier in the day at Abbott Butte. While our Elk and Kings Mountain Loop (post) in May was a repeated hike we added a stop at Killin Wetlands to keep the day from being a repeat. Forty-four days were completely new trail for me while forty-five of Heather’s were new.

Another focus was our continuing quest to complete 100 featured hikes from each of the five William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes…” books (Feb 2022 Progress Report). We’ll go into more detail on that quest in our annual progress report next month, but we managed to make significant progress in the Southern Oregon/Northern California area and inched a little closer to our goal in Eastern Oregon. We now have an outside shot of finishing all 500 by the end of 2024.

Five days were spent hiking in Washington while twelve days were, at least in part, spent in California, our first visits since 2018. We visited four designated wilderness areas in California including our first ever visit to the Siskiyou Wilderness (post).

It’s interesting to me each year to see what hikes were the furtherst in each direction on the map. This year our most southern hike was our visit to Trail and Long Gulch Lakes (post).
Long Gulch Lake. The furthest south we hiked was on the trail a short distance after leaving this lake.

To the west one of the beaches along the Pacific Ocean is typically our most western hike but this year it was just inland from the ocean at Yakona Nature Preserve (post).
Technically the western most spot we hiked at was the trailhead for this hike, but the Yaquina River was a nicer picture.

Surprisingly our northernmost hike was neither our visit to Goat Marsh Lake at Mt. St. Helens (post) or Crystal Lake in the Mt. Adams Wilderness (post) but rather a hike we did just across the Columbia River from Oregon at the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer (post).
We hit our northernmost point during the stretch of our hike that followed Brooks Slough.

Our one trip to Eastern Oregon produced our easternmost hike which was a visit to the Wallowa Homeland (post) in Wallowa, Oregon.
View of the Wallowa Mountains from our easternmost point.

While weather considerations prompted us to make a number of changes to the timing of, and sometimes destinations for, our hikes 2022 may well have been the best all-around weather conditions we’ve experienced in a year. Several hikes throughout the year had forecasts for possible rain showers yet we only experience a couple of very brief periods of precipitation. Clouds also seemed to be less of an issue this year than in years past. It seems that almost every year we have at least one “viewpoint” hike where we arrive to find ourselves in a sea of grey. This year that really didn’t happen. We did arrive at the lookouts atop Illahee Rock (post) in the clouds, but the lookouts were the goal not necessarily the view.

Furthermore, it was just the first of two stops that day and by the time we arrived at our second viewpoint of the day above Twin Lakes the views had drastically improved.

Wildfires, which there were still far too many of, also had much less of an impact on our plans than they’ve had the last couple of years. The second week of September was the only time fires forced us to get creative. Heavy smoke saw us stick close to home for a short hike at the Spring Valley Greenway (post).
That’s the Sun above the trees.

I believe the destinations for our 2022 hikes were the most diverse in terms of the type of managing agency/entity. We visited trails located on private timberland (obtaining permits ahead of time when required), in city, county, state and national parks, and privately owned nature preserves (again with permits where required). We took hikes on BLM managed lands, state and federal wildlife refuges, state and national forests, wilderness areas, and a National Volcanic Monument. Our hikes also took place on a variety of trail types and surfaces.
Iced over snow in Portland’s Forest Park.

The Crown-Zellerbach Trail, a converted logging road.

The Klickitat Trail, a converted railroad.

The Hood River Pipeline Trail.

Sidewalk, Rock Creek Trail.

Rope section of the Kings Mountain Trail.

Gravel Road at Denman Wildlife Area.

Paved Brooks Slough Road, Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge (it is open to cars).

Dirt road at Siskiyou Gap.

Cross-country to Observation Peak.

Crossing over granite to reach the Devil’s Punchbowl in the Siskiyou Wilderness.

Water covered trail at Catherine Creek Meadows.

Sandy dirt Mt. Shasta.

Rock field, Union Peak.

The remains of the Union Creek Trail.

Frozen tunnel on the Eagle Creek Trail.

As far as our destinations go waterfalls and lakes were the top two goals for the hikes this past year, and we are always on the lookout for wildlife and flowers. There were also a few unique features, both natural and man-made, that we visited.
Witch’s Castle – Forest Park, Portland, OR

Wind Telephone, Yakona Nature Preserve – Newport, OR

Erratic Rock (post)

One of several military bunkers at Ken Denman Wildlife Area – Medford, OR

Umpqua Hot Springs – Umpqua National Forest, OR

Illahee Rock Lookout – Umpqua National Forest, OR

Twin Lakes Shelter – Umpqua National Forest, OR

Donomore Cabin – Donomore Meadows, CA

Mt. Ireland Lookout – Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR

Cabin at Catherine Creek Meadows – Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR

Reds Horse Ranch – Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR

Lodge ruins – Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR

Bear Creek Guard Station – Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, OR

Gazebo on Tick Hill – Wallowa, OR

Spring above Southgate Meadows – Mount Shasta Wilderness, CA

Panther Spring – Mount Shasta Wilderness, CA

Remnants of the OSU Dean’s house – McDonald Forest, Corvallis, OR

Talking Water Gardens – Water treatment wetlands, Albany, OR

I will save the flowers, wildlife, waterfalls, and lakes for their own 2022 galleries. We’re looking forward to 2023 and hoping that Heather makes a full recovery. We’ve done a bit of shuffling for the first part of 2023 to help ease her back into things. While 2022 was a good year we hope 2023 has a few less bumps along the way. Happy Trails!

Tags 2022, Bear Creek Guard Station, California, Catherine Creek Meadows, Erratic Rock, Forest Park, hiking, Mount Shasta, Mt. Ireland, Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland, Oregon, Red's Horse Ranch, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Washington, Witch's Castle

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trinity Alps Trip report

Hidden and South Fork Lakes – 08/26/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 2, 2022
1 Comment on Hidden and South Fork Lakes – 08/26/2022

For the last hike of our week in Etna, CA we had chosen Hidden and South Fork Lakes in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. (Featured hike #91 in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” 4th edition.) This was both the shortest hike and drive of the week which would allow us to get home as early as possible. We began the hike at the Carter Meadows Summit Trailhead which is right next to a helipad. This area was hit pretty hard by the 2021 Haypress Fire.

From the small parking area a trail descends 50′ to a junction which was left unsigned by the fire. Here the to the left was the Pacific Crest Trail coming up from the south and heading uphill to the north on the far right. A second trail to the right led downhill to the Carter Meadows Campground and finally the Hidden Lake Trail went straight ahead on along a ridge.
The PCT running left to right with the Hidden Lake Trail extending straight ahead.

Remnants of a trail sign. The sticks across the Hidden Lake Trail are to let PCT hikers know that is not their trail.

We followed the Hidden Lake Trail just under a mile to Hidden Lake. (Sullivan showed a distance of 1.2 miles but our GPS put it at 0.9 each way.) The trail followed a ridge and gained a little over 500′ of elevation which doesn’t sound like a lot but it felt quite a bit harder than we’d expected. Perhaps it was the fact that it was the final day of our trip and we were just worn out, but we were glad that we hadn’t tried to do this portion of the hike the day before after our Gulch Lake Loop (post).

A layer of smoke over the valley on the horizon.

A fleabane, possibly California rayless fleabane.

Hidden Lake Trail following the ridge.

Dwarf purple monkeyflower

Blue-eyed Mary

Approaching Hidden Lake.

We arrived at Hidden Lake right around 7am, early enough that the Sun hadn’t had time to rise high enough to hit the lake.

The lighting conditions were not ideal for photos but it was nice to sit in the shade by the lake after the climb up.

After a short break we headed back along the ridge to the PCT.

Golden-mantle watching us from atop the ridge.

Looking back now that there was a little more sunlight.

We turned right onto the PCT and began a 0.9 mile descent to a crossing of the South Fork Scott River.

Diamond clarkia

A small raptor watching from a snag.

Wildflowers in the burn scar.

Spreading dogbane

A small stream/spring providing some green.

Bleeding heart, fireweed, monkeyflower, and hedge nettle along the stream.

Yarrow and Oregon sunshine.

California harebells

A lot more green vegetation near the river crossing.

South Fork Scott River

Mountain coyote mint

Mountain larkspur

Snacks

Campsites along the PCT near the river crossing.

Two tenths of a mile beyond the river crossing we came to an unsigned junction with the South Fork Lakes Trail.
You can just make out the trail ahead heading uphill to the right.

We turned onto this trail and climbed a quarter of a mile to a meadow where the tread became faint.
This trail was the most overgrown/least maintained of all the trails we’d been on this trip.

Nearing the meadow.

Entering the meadow and losing the trail.

As of yet unidentified flower in the meadow.

We were behind a pair of bow hunters who were just exiting the meadow at the other end so we were able to follow their path through the tall grass. Beyond the meadow the trail began a steep rocky half mile climb before leveling out in a basin near Lower South Fork Lake.
There was a brief pause in the climb while the trail passed a series of springs.

Vegetation along the trail at the springs.

Back to climbing.

The final spring that we passed was coming out of this hollowed trunk.

There were several places where it looked like the trail was going to finally crest but when you got there you just found more uphill.

Finally the trail is leveling out.

It had just been a mile between the PCT junction and the lower lake but it had been the hardest mile of our trip. A well deserved break was taken at the lake.

After the break we followed the trail around the west side of the lake and then bushwhacked two tenths of a mile to Upper South Fork Lake.

Looking back over the lower lake.

Heading off-trail for the upper lake.

We took another break at the upper lake watching dragon flies zoom up and down the shore.

The bow hunters arrived as we were starting to head back. It had been years since they’d visited the lake and were glad to see that at least most of the trees, including those around the campsite had survived the fire. We headed back down to the PCT and then hiked back up to the trailhead passing another group of backpackers heading for the lakes along the way.
Back to the lower lake.

A penstemon

Another look at the cool spring.

Monkeyflowers along the springs.

Butterfly on western snakeroot

Back through the meadow.

Thistle

Close up of a California harebell.

I can see a car at the trailhead.

The helipad at the trailhead.

Sullivan has these hikes listed as 2.4 miles out-and-back to Hidden Lake and 6 miles out-and-back to Upper South Fork Lake. Our GPS put the distances as 1.8 and 5 respectively giving us a 6.8 mile total for the day. The cumulative elevation gain was 1770′.

The lower mileage allowed us to get an earlier start on our drive home than expected which was nice. We were back home in Salem a little after 4:30pm giving us plenty of time to unpack and relax for a bit. Despite the flat tire on Wednesday it had been both a successful and enjoyable trip. It also marked our completion of all of Sullivan’s featured hikes in California. That doesn’t mean we are done hiking in that State but it does mean we are that much closer to completing our goal of hiking all the featured hikes in Sullivan’s Southern Oregon & Northern California guidebook (post). Happy Trails!

Flickr: Hidden and South Fork Lakes

Tags California, Carter Meadows Summit, Carter Meadows Summit Trailhead, hidden lake, hiking, Lower South Fork Lake, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, South Fork Lakes, South Fork Lakes Trail, South Fork Scott River, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Upper South Fork Lake

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trinity Alps Trip report

Trail Gulch and Long Gulch Lakes Loop – 08/25/2022

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date September 1, 2022
2 Comments on Trail Gulch and Long Gulch Lakes Loop – 08/25/2022

After our adventure with the flat tire Wednesday (post) we slept in a little since Valley Tire didn’t open until 8am. Not heading out first thing for a hike did give us a chance to walk from the motel to Grain Street Bakery where we had some delicious scones and half a breakfast sandwich (the other half wound up being Friday’s breakfast). After breakfast we drove into Fort Jones where Valley Tire got us in right away and pulled a small rock out of the tire which had blistered in several places meaning it needed to be replaced. They had a set on hand so we had them replace all four tires and were on our way by 8:45am. It was plenty early for us to still get our planned hike in so we stopped by our room, changed, and grabbed our packs before heading back up to Carter Meadows Summit. From the summit we continued driving downhill another 0.7 miles and turned left onto Carter Meadows Road (FR 39N08) at a sign for Carter Meadows Trailheads. We followed Carter Meadows Road for 1.8 miles to the Trail Gulch Trailhead.

Before getting into the hike please note that many maps have Trail Gulch Lake and Long Gulch Lake reversed including the map embedded on the Forest Service page linked above. Our GPS as well as the PCT paper map that we were carrying also showed the lakes reversed but the signage along the trails here are correct. This loop is also almost entirely within the fire scar of the 2021 Haypress Fire although portions of the forest did not burn too intensely.

From the trailhead the trail climbs steadily but not too steeply along a creek. It soon enters the Trinity Alps Wilderness and at the 0.9 mile mark crosses the creek.

An aster (or a fleabane, it’s so hard to tell).

Musk monkeyflower

Tiny green frog.

It was easy to spot where the creek was based on the green.

The wilderness boundary.

The creek crossing.

Paintbrush

A checker-mallow near the creek.

Shortly after crossing the creek the trail veered away from it and began a steeper climb to a junction with a 0.3 mile trail to Trail Gulch Lake.

A junco. We saw a large number of small birds flying around during our trip, mostly junco’s and chickadees but they rarely ever sat still where we could see them.

Pointer for Trail Gulch Lake 0.8 miles from the Creek Crossing.

We turned right on the 0.3 mile trail which climbed to Trail Gulch Lake.

The lake was very scenic but the combination of the position of the Sun and a hint of smoke in the sky made capturing it with the cameras difficult.

After a short break we returned to the Trail Gulch Trail and continued further up the gulch. The trail gained 700′ over the next mile to reach a pass above Trail Gulch Lake.

One of several deer seen running uphill as we made our way up the trail.

View back down Trail Gulch.

Paintbrush

Peaks in the Russian Wilderness.

Arriving at the pass.

Trail Gulch Lake from the pass.

Clark’s nutcracker

Just over the pass was a trail junction with a mix of signed and unsigned trails. We took a hard right on the unsigned Trail Gulch Tie Trail which was just slightly above a trail with sign pointing to Steveale Meadows.

The sign for Steveale Meadows where we went uphill on the trail to the right.

The tie trail gained 400′ as it traversed a severely burnt hillside before arriving at a pass above Long Gulch Lake 1.1 miles from the junction.

View south from the tie trail.

Approaching the pass.

Sullivan mentions that it is possible to scramble 0.2 miles to the right along this ridge to get a view of Mt. Shasta and the heart of the Trinity Alps but with the smoke on the horizon we didn’t feel it was worth the effort and skipped that option.

Looking down into Long Gulch from the pass.

After pausing at the pass we started downhill and began getting occasional views of Long Gulch Lake.

To the north we could see much of the route we’d taken the day before on the way to Siphon and Russian Lakes.

Chipmunk with a snack.

A slightly frustrating feature of the trail down was a long switchback along a ridge which led past and away from the lake before turning back toward it. That big swing made the 1.4 miles down to the lake seem to take forever.

The outlet creek.

Long Gulch Trail passed to the north of Long Gulch Lake for a quarter mile.

The pass that the trail came down is along the ridge to the left here.

The trail continued west beyond the lake another third of a mile before arriving at a junction.

Parnassian on mountain coyote mint.

Skipper on mountain coyote mint.

At the junction we turned right beginning a 2.7 mile gradual descent to the Long Gulch Trailhead.

Meadow with a number of big trees that survived the fire.

Common buckeye

A copper or blue

Lorquin’s admiral

Leaving the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

The trail briefly followed the Long Gulch Creek.

Checker-mallow

The trail crossed the creek just under 2 miles from the junction.

Arriving at the Long Gulch Trailhead.

The only other person we saw all day was a backpacker who had just hiked out of Long Gulch Lake and was packing up his truck at the trailhead. He offered us a lift to our car but we wanted to finish hiking Sullivan’s loop so we declined. Sullivan described following horse trails for 0.9 miles back to the Trail Gulch Trailhead rather than following the road for 0.8 miles.

We crossed the road at a post and began to follow the horse trail.

Sullivan showed a junction after 0.3 miles just before arriving at a creek. As we neared the creek our GPS showed us having gone the 0.3 miles so we were looking for a trail to our right. We spotted what looked like it might be a trail complete with some flagging so we turned up hill following it.

Long story short we’d turned too early and wound up just below the road at a horseshoe turn. At that point it was easier to bushwack up to the road and follow it back to the trailhead instead of searching for the horse trail so we finished the loop on the road.

We did pass a sign for the horse trail along the road.

As I neared the trailhead a large bird flew into a nearby tree. I took a couple of pictures and it appears that it may have been an owl.
To the far right of the photo in between the green and orange branches is where it landed.

This was a 10.2 mile loop with 2280′ of elevation gain.

Our drive back to Etna was delightfully uneventful and after cleaning up we headed to Etna Brewing for a great meal and some beer. Despite the tire fiasco we were still on track to finish all five featured hikes before heading back to Salem. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Gulch Lakes Loop

Tags Butterfly, California, Carter Meadows, hiking, Long Gulch Lake, Long Gulch Trailhead, Trail Gulch Lake, Trail Gulch Trailhead, Trinity Alps Wilderness

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trip report

Russian Lake – 08/24/2022

Our third day in Northern California was set to be our longest. Our goal was Russian Lake which is Sullivan’s featured hike #90 in his “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” (edition 4.2) guidebook. Sullivan’s described hike is only 8.6 miles with 1300′ of elevation gain starting from the Deacon Lee Trailhead. Normally that is where we would have started our hike but his description of the drive to that trailhead is less than encouraging. He says “This narrow road is no place for drivers with a fear of heights. And because of sharp rocks, you must drive slowly to avoid blowouts.” Given our trouble earlier this year with low tire pressure (post) we were reluctant to attempt the drive. Another option was provided by Boots on the Trail using the PCT (post).

This approach only required 0.6 miles of driving on gravel roads as we parked at the second switchback of Forest Road 39N48 within sight of the Pacific Crest Trail.
PCT below FR 39N48.

We walked downhill to the PCT and turned right following it along the hillside.

Tail and Long Gulches in the Trinity Alps Wilderness (our next hike).

Lots of buckwheat along the ridge.

At the 0.7 mile mark we crossed an old roadbed.

For the next 3.8 miles the PCT alternated between forest and open hillside in a series of ups and downs before arriving at a junction with the Deacon Lee Trail.

Buckwheat

Trinity Alps Wilderness

Caesar and Thompson Peak

We would be passing below the peak in the distance later.

Small buck on the hillside above the PCT.

The Deacon Lee Trail was visible crossing the opening on the far hillside.

Checker-mallow

Crescent butterfly

Small spring along the PCT.

The junction with the Deacon Lee Trail.

We turned onto the Deacon Lee Trail following pointers for Syphon (Siphon on maps) and Waterdog Lakes.

The Deacon Lee Trail follows an old roadbed through a forest and across an open hillside that was full of buckwheats.

Dwarf lupine

Fritillary butterfly on spreading dogbane.

Nearing Siphon Lake.

Siphon Lake was just under a mile from the PCT.

We took a break at Siphon Lake to enjoy the scenery before continuing along the old roadbed.
Old pipe that used to bring water down to mines lower on the hillside.

A third of a mile from Siphon Lake the trail veered right leaving the old roadbed and becoming single track.

We were now heading NW and descending slightly.

We spotted a doe in the trail ahead stopped in its tracks staring at us.

She had a pair of fawns with her which we didn’t spot until they headed back down the trail. She stayed put though and as we slowly made our way downhill we were wondering if whether or not she was going to follow them. Soon one of the fawns reappeared and we all stood staring at one another for a few minutes before they finally retreated.

Zoomed in on the pair.

The curious fawn.

After the deer had moved on we continued downhill to a point where the ridge on our right came down near the trail. Here we spotted a cairn and what appeared to be a use trail that we hoped would lead down to Russian Lake.

We could have continued downhill on the Deacon Lee Trail another 0.3 miles to a junction where a right turn would have led us past Waterdog Lake to Russian Lake in half a mile but cutting over the ridge would save us around three quarters of a mile. We pretty easily found the use trail leading steeply downhill.

When we neared Russian Lake we went to the right to visit a small pond in the rocks above the lake.

The pond was full of tadpoles.

After taking a break overlooking the lake we made our way around its NW side and crossed the dry outlet creek.

Hooded ladies tresses

View from the outlet creek.

We explored the rocks on the NE side of the lake with views of Russian Peak and some other interesting rock formations.

Russian Peak

We both fell in love with this lake and wished we were staying there for a couple of days just to explore the area more but alas we weren’t so after a nice break we recrossed the outlet creek and picked up a trail heading toward Waterdog Lake.
Fireweed near the outlet.

Large boykinia

Saxifrage seed head

It was a pretty good drop down to Waterdog Lake.

Waterdog Lake.

Waterdog Lake was a nice lake but not nearly as dramatic as Russian Lake had been. As we made our way around the lake we spotted a large frog and several deer, one of which couldn’t stop sneezing.

The deer were across the lake in those trees.

Looking back along the lake.

The trail climbed away from the lake offering a brief glimpse of Lower Russian Lake.

After cresting a saddle the trail dropped to a junction with the Deacon Lee Trail near the boundary of the Russian Wilderness.

We turned left following pointers for the PCT and Siphon Lake.

It was a pretty steady 0.3 mile climb back to where we had left the trail earlier and then another good climb back up to the old roadbed.
Paintbrush

There were dozens of lizards scurrying across the trails all day but not many stopped long enough for photos.

Haven’t been able to identify this one yet.

We paused again briefly at Siphon Lake before continuing on and then retraced our steps to the car. The only other person we saw all day was a lone bow hunter.

Butterfly on mountain coyote mint

Another butterfly on mountain coyote mint.

Grasshopper that became obsessed with Heather’s glove.

Cricket

Our hike came in at 14.8 miles with approximately 2900′ cumulative elevation gain.

Our adventure for the day was only beginning though. Ironically shortly after passing Carter Meadows Summit our “low tire pressure” light once again came on. We made it back down to Callahan but less than a mile later I could feel the car begin to pull right so we pulled off Highway 3 into some gravel. The front passenger side tire was flat. I got the jack and spare tire out but was struggling to get the tire off due to the lug nuts being quite tight. Heather was on the phone trying to secure roadside service but the call center on the other end couldn’t even figure out where we were. (Seriously it was a State Highway a mile outside of a town shown on every map but I digress.) I finally managed to get the flat off but hadn’t raised the car quite far enough to get the spare on and of course as I tried to lift the car a bit more it rolled forward off the jack. I managed to get the jack back under and the car up a bit when a pair of ladies in a Forest Service Truck turned around to check on us. We cannot thank Megan and Malia enough, they were able to get their jack under the car to shore it up and used a shovel to create a little more room under the car in order for us to get it high enough to get the spare on. It was over 90 degrees and nearing 5pm and who knows how long we’d have been out there because Heather was still trying to get the road side assistance to understand where we were (she even gave GPS coordinates).

By the time we got back to Etna it was too late to find a tire place so we returned to our motel and put a plan together for the following day. We would get up and drive to Valley Tire & Tackle in Fort Jones when they opened at 8am in hopes that they could either repair the tire or had a set of replacements (we’d already had both driver side tires patched up this year) and then depending on how long that took we would either hike later in the day or extend our stay in order to get all our planned hikes in. After all we didn’t want to leave one featured hike undone that far from home. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Russian Lake

Tags California, Callahan, Carter Meadows Summit, Deacon Lee Trail, Etna, hiking, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Russian Lake, Russian Wildernss, Siphon Lake, Syphon Lake, Waterdog Lake

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trinity Alps

Boulder Lakes Loop (Trinity Alps) – 08/23/2022

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date August 30, 2022
2 Comments on Boulder Lakes Loop (Trinity Alps) – 08/23/2022

By spending the night in Etna, CA we were only 30 to 45 minutes from the trailheads for the four remaining hikes we had planned for the week. As mentioned in the previous post we chose to do East Boulder Lake first due to it being the closest to the recently started Callahan Fire and thus the most likely to be affected if that fire were to escape containment. From Etna we drove south on Highway 3 to Callahan then made our way to the East Boulder Trailhead.

The road to the trailhead passes through forest burned in the 2021 Haypress Fire but the trailhead and trails for our hike escaped damage.

Sullivan describes three options for his featured hike; a 4 mile out-and-back to East Boulder Lake, a 6.4 mile out-and-back to a pass beyond the lake, and a 9.8 mile lollipop loop past Middle Boulder Lake at the edge of the fire scar which was the option we were planning on. The East Boulder Trail climbed gradually at first through the forest and a couple of small meadows before steepening and climbing past a small waterfall on East Boulder Creek.
Entering the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

First view of the small waterfall.

Bigelow’s sneezeweed

Marsh grass-of-Parnassus

Not sure what these little guys are.

Checker-mallow

Western snakeroot

Passing the waterfall.

Above the falls the trail leveled out some and made a final short climb to East Boulder Lake, just over 1.8 miles from the trailhead.
Peaks in the Russian Wilderness to the NE.

Dam near East Boulder Lake.

The trail crosses the dam here but there were better views this time of the morning in the other direction so we detoured to the left admiring the reflections in the lake.

We took a nice break along the lake shore listening to cow bells coming from the trees on the far shore.
There were cows out there somewhere but we couldn’t see them.

After the break we crossed the dam and continued around the lake.
View from the dam. We had to watch out for frogs here.

We lost the trail briefly in a meadow on the southern end of the lake but picked it up again after crossing the inlet creek.

We should have stuck closer to the lake.

Buckwheat

Back on the trail where the cows were just leaving.

The trail then passed two smaller unnamed lakes and Upper Boulder Lake where there were several cows and some ducks.

We detoured to the right to get a view of Upper Boulder Lake then returned to the trail and began to climb out of the basin to the pass.
Upper Boulder Lake

Upper Boulder Lake in the background.

One of the cows on the far side of the lake to the left.

Toothed owl’s clover

Ducks on Upper Boulder Lake.

The climb was fairly steep at times.

All four lakes in view.

Almost to the pass.

At the pass.

Looking south further into the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

Beyond the pass the trail descended 150 yards to the Pacific Crest Trail where we turned right.

We turned right onto that trail following it for 2 miles to another pass. The scenery along this section was great, particularly the colorful rocks.

Balloon-pod milk vetch

Golden-mantled ground squirrel taking in the views.

Mt. Shasta over Mt. Eddy through the haze. I believe the lake below to the right is Big Marshy Lake.

Fireweed in the rocks.

Paintbrush

A bit of water from a spring along the PCT.

The water was coming from somewhere up there.

Looking back along the PCT.

Snack time.

Caesar and Thompson Peak

This northern flicker looks like its head is on backwards.

A little bit of burned forest near the pass.

More peaks in the heart of the Trinity Alps.

Caribou Mountain (post) on the right with Sawtooth Mountain over its shoulder.

The pass above Middle Boulder Lake.

Middle Boulder Lake is just visible beyond two smaller unnamed lakes.

There was no sign at the pass but a small cairn marked a trail to the right that led down past the lakes.
Middle Boulder Lake Trail at the pass.

The Middle Boulder Lake Trail traversing down the hillside.

A sulphur butterfly.

The trail stayed above the two unnamed lakes.

The trail grew faint as it passed through a series of meadows where little frogs were abundant.
The trees on the far hillside were burned in the 2021 fire.

Approximately 0.6 miles from the pass we came to a cairn near a downed tree. A trail sign had been attached to the end of the tree marking the Boulder Tie Trail.
The cairn to the right of the downed tree.

It took us a minute to identify the actual start of this trail which was in a wet meadow. There were a few small cairns that helped guide the way and we soon found ourselves on clear tread again.
This may be Autumn dwarf gentian

One of the more obvious cairns.

Butterfly on a seed head.

The tread getting clearer.

Middle Boulder Lake

Back on good tread.

As we were traversing a sagebrush hillside Heather started repeating something behind me. She was saying “buck” but that isn’t what I heard and thought something bad had happened to her.

The vegetation was tall enough that he was hard to pick out but when he raised up we got some decent views.

Orange agoseris

After a mile and a half on this trail we climbed to a saddle overlooking East Boulder Lake.
Passing through a bit of forest before climbing to the saddle.

From the saddle we spotted a hiker making his way along the lake. He spotted us as we were descending and waited for us to come down. We lost the trail again as we descended and simply hiked cross country through the sagebrush to the East Boulder Trail. The waiting hiker asked us about the loop and how hard it was to follow. He was a local that had been to the lake and the pass above several times but had never attempted the loop. After getting some information from us and taking photos of our paper map he was considering giving the loop a go. We went our separate ways, recrossed the dam, and returned to the trailhead.
Approaching the dam.

Fish in East Boulder Creek.

Descending near the waterfall.

An aster or fleabane.

Butterfly

Woodpecker

While Sullivan listed the hike as 9.8 miles our GPS only registered 9.6 miles with a total elevation gain just under 2000′.

We returned to Etna, showered, and then headed to Paystreak Brewing for dinner. We turned in fairly early in anticipation of our longest hike of the week the next day when we would be taking the PCT north from Carter Meadows Summit and heading into the Russian Wilderness. Happy Trails!

Flickr: East Boulder Lake

Tags Big Marshy Lake, Boulder Tie Trail, California, East Boulder Lake, East Boulder Lake Trail, East Boulder Lake Trailhead, Etna, hiking, Middle Boulder Lake, Middle Boulder Lake Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Paystreak Brewing, PCT, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Upper Boulder Lake

California Hiking Mt. Shasta Area Trip report

Mount Shasta Meadows – 08/22/2022

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date August 29, 2022
4 Comments on Mount Shasta Meadows – 08/22/2022

We had planned a five day backpacking trip in the Wallowas but then a red flag warning for the possibility of abundant lightning the first day followed by more chances of thunderstorms over then next two derailed those plans. That trip would have checked three more featured hikes from the remaining twenty one hikes on our to-do list from the Eastern Oregon area. With all twenty one of the those hikes being located in the NE corner of Oregon (15 in the Wallowas and 6 along Hells Canyon) there were no alternate plans we could look to in that area to continue making progress toward or 500 featured hikes goal (post) so we turned to the Southern Oregon & Northern California book instead. For that area we still had thirty one featured hikes left including five hikes in Northern California, one at Mt. Shasta and four near Carter Meadows Summit west of Callahan, CA. A clear forecast and no wildfire closures provided a green light so we booked a last minute room at the Etna Motel in Etna, CA and once again headed south this year.

When we reached Yreka, CA instead of taking Highway 3 to Etna we stayed on Interstate 5 and continued south to Mt. Shasta and made our way to the Upper Panther Meadows Trailhead. We had tried to do the hike here in late July 2017 but a late snow melt that year had kept the gate to this trailhead closed so we had hiked from Bunny Flat instead (post).

Lupine at the trailhead.

A line of smoke over the Castle Crags (post) and Mt. Eddy (post).

Castle Crags

From this trailhead we followed the Everitt Memorial Highway uphill a quarter mile to the South Gate Meadows Trailhead.
Green Butte and Mt. Shasta

Here we hopped onto a rock lined trail and climbed a half mile to a pass where we entered the Mt. Shasta Wilderness.

Common buckeye

Red Butte from the pass.

Mount Eddy from the pass.

Heather standing at the wilderness boundary.

From the pass the trail descended 0.6 miles to a signed trail junction at The Gate below Red Butte.
A dry spring along the trail. Ideally we would have been doing this hike (and trip) in late July for more wildflowers but sometimes the circumstances dictate when and where we wind up.

Approaching The Gate.

Shastarama Point and Thumb Rock

Gray Butte

The trail junction near The Gate. The trail to the right would be our return route to make a loop through Panther Meadows, but for now we went left following the pointer for South Gate Meadows.

We followed the trail downhill through boulders from Red Butte then into a forest that provided the first real shade of the hike.

A paintbrush and aster.

Penstemon

Some haze to the south but we could make out Lassen Peak which is one we rarely ever get to see.

Lassen Peak

Just under three quarters of a mile from The Gate we arrived at South Gate Meadows.

Primrose monkeyflower

From the meadows use trails head both up and downhill along South Gate Creek (aka Squaw Valley Creek). Sullivan showed a “monkeyflower spring” a half mile uphill and a “circular meadow” four tenths of a mile downhill. Not knowing when we might be back we decided to do both starting with the downhill first.
The use trail crossing the creek.

In sight of the circular meadow.

Marsh grass-of-Parnassus

Paintbrush

After a quick visit we headed back up to South Gate Meadows.

Back at the meadows.

We then took a use trail up along the eastern side of the creek which brought us to the spring.

A pair of common buckeyes.

Primrose monkeyflowers and paintbrush

Not the “monkeyflower” spring but a smaller one along the way up.

The “monkeyflower” spring.

A couple of monkeyflowers and a buckeye.

I climbed a bit above the spring to check out the view.

Heather arriving at the spring.

We took a break here and one at the little spring we’d passed on the way up and then headed back toward The Gate.
A Clark’s nutcracker also taking a break.

Two types of monkeyflower and bog St. John’s wort,

One last pass through South Gate Meadows.

Red Butte

Shasta knotweed

Back at The Gate.

From The Gate we followed the pointer for Panther Meadows. This trail brought us through a barren landscape before climbing over some glaciated rock and entering a forest.
Mt. Shasta from the trail.

Red Butte

Glaciated rock.

Mt. Shasta and Sargents Ridge.

Into the forest.

The trail left the wilderness along the way.

Just over three quarters of a mile from The Gate we arrived at a junction with the Gray Butte Trail. We had considered taking this 0.9 mile detour but it was already 2:20pm and it was also fairly warm so we decided to skip it this time around.
The junction with Gray Butte behind the trees.

From the junction the trail gradually descended a half mile to Panther Meadows.

Another Clark’s nutcracker. They are boisterous birds and other than first thing in the morning we get a kick out of listening to them.

Stream flowing through the meadows.

Gray Butte from Panther Meadows.

At a junction on the west side of the meadow near Panther Meadows Campground we followed a pointer for Upper Panther Meadow.

We followed this trail just over a third of a mile uphill to another junction where we turned right and followed a path across the creek.

We kept right for 0.2 miles to reach Panther Spring.

After visiting the spring we backtracked a tenth of a mile and turned right for a third of a mile back to the Panther Meadows Trailhead to complete the loop.

Picnic tables at the trailhead.

With the two side trips at South Gate Meadows and some other wandering the hike came to 7.4 miles with approximately 1900′ of elevation gain.

From the trailhead we drove to Etna and checked into our motel then made a quick run to Ray’s Food Place for some food for the week. It was a nice start to the vacation made even better when we saw that the Callahan Fire which had started on 20th just 6 miles east of Callahan had been fully contained at less than 10 acres. That one had the potential to do a lot of damage (and put a nix on the rest of our hikes). Our plan for the next day was to hike to East Boulder Lake as that was the closest to where the Callahan Fire was and therefore most likely to be closed if that fire were to spread but thankfully it sounded like that wasn’t going to happen. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mount Shasta Meadows

Tags California, gray butte, Green Butte, hiking, Mount Shasta, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Shasta Wilderness, Panther Meadows, Panther Spring, Red Butte, Shastrama Point, South Gate Meadows, The Gate, The Thumb, Upper Panther Meadows Trailhead