Tag: mountain goat

Fremont Lookout and Burroughs Mountain (Mt. Rainier ) – 08/05/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 12, 2025
No Comments on Fremont Lookout and Burroughs Mountain (Mt. Rainier ) – 08/05/2025

After getting replacement tires and hiking some of the trails in the Paradise Area on Monday (post) we headed for Mount Rainier’s Sunrise Area early Tuesday morning. Timed entry reservations are required to enter the Sunrise Corridor from 7am thru 5pm in 2025, so we made sure we were plenty early to avoid needing one.

We left Packwood, WA a little before 5am and stopped at Sunrise Point just before 5:45am to catch the tail end of the actual sunrise.

Alpenglow on Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Adams behind Barrier Peak

The view NE.

After the spectacular sunrise we continued up Sunrise Road and parked near the Sunrise Visitor Center.

Our first visit to Mount Rainier had been a 4-day backpacking trip (post) on the Northern Loop which began from Sunrise. Our first 1.6-miles followed our route from that trip following a “Trail Access” pointer to a wide trail next to a signboard.

There was no fog as there had been the day before, so we had good views as we climbed through open meadows toward Frozen Lake.

Looking back at the Sunrise Day Lodge.

Western pasque flowers and Mt. Rainier.

There is good signage throughout the park.

Parry’s arnica

Pine siskin

We went left when we reached the top of Sourdough Ridge.

A short distance along the ridge we were alerted to a herd of elk below in Huckleberry Basin.

There are at least seven elk visible in this photo.

A cow and three calves.

The trail climbed up along Sourdough Ridge and past Frozen Lake to a 5-way junction. The wildflowers on this side of the mountain are not as profuse as they are in the Paradise Area but there was still a nice variety of flowers in bloom.

False hellebore

A few remaining phlox flowers.

Paintbrush and aster

Rainiera

Pearly everlasting with a few paintbrush intermixed.

Harebells

Alumroot

Goldenrod

Lousewort and partridgefoot

First pika of the day.

Golden fleabane

Dwarf lupine

Penstemon and alpine false dandelions.

Catchfly

Frozen Lake which supplies water to the Sunrise area and is off-limits to visitors.

The 5-way junction. The Wonderland Trail is the first to the left and continues straight ahead. The Burroughs Mountain Trail is the second to the left heading uphill toward Mt. Rainier. To the right is the Mount Fremont Trail.

When we hiked the Northern Loop we had gone straight on the Wonderland Trail from this junction. Today’s plan was to head right to the Fremont Lookout then return to this junction and head out the Burroughs Mountain Trail returning to Sunrise via Shadow Lake.

We headed for the Fremont Lookout which was 1.3-miles away. After a brief initial steep climb the trail eased up and gradually climbed along the open hillside.

We took the righthand fork.

Passing above Frozen Lake.

Shrubby cinquefoil

The Burroughs Mountain Trail on the far hillside.

Heading up.

Frozen Lake behind.

The Fremont Lookout at the end of the ridge ahead.

The views from this trail were impressive as was the number of pikas living along the rocky hillside.

Looking back at Mt. Rainier.

Skyscraper Mountain directly ahead.

Pika

The rock fin in the foreground was pretty cool.

Yellow-bellied marmot

Penstemon

The trail eventually came to the top of the ridge as it neared the lookout.

The lookout is on the other side of the knoll ahead.

From the ridge we could see a ridge to the east where a herd of mountain goats was hanging out.

Heather pointed out this group in the rocks.

We took a break at the lookout taking in the views. It was chilly enough that we were eventually prompted to continue on.

Mount Rainier from the Fremont Lookout. Berkley Park is the green area below where the Northern Loop Trail climbs up to meet the Wonderland Trail.

The West Fork White River (post) below to the left. The plateau to the right is Grand Park (post).

The Mount Fremont Trail along the hillside with Little Tahoma to the right.

Chipmunk. Always begging but we will not be swayed. Please do not feed the animals no matter how cute they are.

Golden-mantled ground squrriel

Rocky Mountain goldenrod and alpine sandwort.

Paintbrush

Talus collomia

We made our way back down to the Burroughs Mountain Trail and began another 1.3-mile climb to Second Burroughs Mountain.

Bird’s beak lousewort

Cusick’s speedwell and white mountain heather.

Mt. Rainier beginning to come into view.

Looking across at the Mount Fremont Trail. The lookout is visible on the left shoulder of the middle peak.

Mount Rainier and Second Burroughs Mountain from First Burroughs Mountain.

I had gotten ahead of Heather and missed a mountain goat that peered over the hillside above her on the trail.

Our return trail, the Sunrise Rim Trail, met the Burroughs Mountain Trail on First Burroughs Mountain.

Berkeley Park from First Burroughs.

The Burroughs Mountain Trail dropped to a saddle between First and Second Burroughs Mountains then made a relatively steep climb to the top of Second Burroughs Mt.

Looking back at the saddle.

Heading up Second Burroughs.

The Goat Rocks (post) to the south.

Gilbert Peak, Goat Citadel, Littel Horn, Chimney Rock and Old Snowy Mountain in the Goat Rocks Wilderness.

Glacier Peak to the north beyond the Fremont Lookout.

All of my maps showed the Burroughs Mountain Trail dropping down from Second Burroughs and steeply descending to the Inter Fork River below Glacier Basin, however a trail does extend to Third Burroughs Mountain. That would have added three miles and over 1150′ of cumulative elevation gain to the day. That would have been tempting had we not already hiked up to the lookout, but since we had and we had another three days of hiking ahead of us we declared victory at Second Burroughs.

First Burroughs and the Inter Fork.

Emmons Glacier

Old Desolate Mountain to the left and Sluiskin Mountain to the right.

Bench on Second Burroughs.

Not sure if this is a thrush or something else (Merlin thought it was a horned lark but that doesn’t look right at all.)

After a nice break on Second Burroughs we headed back to First Burroughs and the Sunrise Rim Trail.

Pink mountain heather

Tundra aster

Lenticular cloud forming over Mt. Rainier.

The Sunrise Rim Trail junction.

We turned right on the Sunrise Rim Trail. This trail descended for 1.4-miles to the Wonderland Trail near Sunrise Camp and Shadow Lake.

A buckwheat

The lenticular cloud was growing.

Lupine and lousewort covered the hillside in spots.

Goldenrod and yarrow

As far as I can tell this unnamed lake isn’t shown on any maps.

Silverback luina

Dwarf mountain ragwort

Narrow sepal phacelia

Sourdough Ridge ahead.

Aster

Orange agoseris

Checkerspot

As we neared the Wonderland Trail we reentered the tree line where the wildflower display really picked up.

Sunrise Camp below along with the Wonderland Trail.

Old cabin near Sunrise Camp.

The Wonderland Trail heading toward Frozen Lake.

A short distance beyond Sunrise Camp we arrived at Shadow Lake.

Bistort and other flowers at Shadow Lake.

Lupine and elephants head

Shadow Lake

We stayed on the Wonderland Trail for another 0.7-miles beyond Shadow Lake then forked left for 0.6-miles to return to the Sunrise parking area.

Cinquefoil

More clouds forming. As nice as it was today Wednesday’s forecast called for showers all day with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

Clark’s nutcrackers

We forked left a second time at a junction with the Silver Forest Trail.

Sunrise Visitor Center

After dropping off our packs we took a moment to explore the Visitor Center before heading back to Packwood.

This was interesting although neither of us had it in us to actually attempt to jump.

This hike clocked in at 9.3-miles with a little over 2000′ of elevation gain.

This was another amazing hike with huge views, plenty of wildflowers, and a lot of wildlife. It was also less crowded than the Paradise Area had been. I don’t know if that is a result of the timed entry reservation system or simply our choice of trails but there were plenty of moments of solitude during this hike. We had an early dinner at Cruiser’s Pizza back in Packwood (they have a full menu in addition to pizza) and worked on finalizing our plan for Wednesday’s hikes. With rain showers in the forecast for the entire day we did some shuffling of our planned hikes and made Wednesday a waterfall Wednesday. We were happy with our new schedule for the remainder of the week and were looking forward to the rest of the hikes. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fremont Lookout and Burroughs Mountain

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Woodpecker Trail to Jefferson Park – 09/13/2024

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 16, 2024
1 Comment on Woodpecker Trail to Jefferson Park – 09/13/2024

Our first visit to Jefferson Park was way back in 2011 and it made such an impact on us that we revisited yearly up to 2017 when the lightning sparked Whitewater Fire forced us to skip a year. We returned in 2018 (post) and then decided to take a break from our yearly visits. Then in 2020 the Lionshead Fire, driven by strong easterly winds, raced through the area before combining with the Beachie Fire on 9/7/20. There are still closures in effect due to that fire, but the Woodpecker Trailhead has since been reopened and we thought it was time to revisit an old friend.

We had used the Woodpecker Trailhead for our 2016 visit (post) prior to either of the fires impacting the area. This was also before the Central Cascade Wilderness Permits were enacted. Currently the Woodpecker Trailhead only requires a free self-issued permit for day-use which can be obtained at the trailhead. Overnight permits are required for the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness regardless of which trailhead is used from 6/15 to 10/15.

Heather and I had set different goals for the day. I had my sights set on finally visiting Sprague Lake which is located just below Park Ridge (post) and requires off-trail navigation. Heather had set a more sensible goal of stopping at Scout Lake which is the first lake that you reach when entering Jefferson Park from the SW. Given our different goals we established a meeting spot on the west side of Scout Lake and set off at our own paces.
Another reminder that overnight permits are required in the wilderness.

Due to the two recent fires having burned over the entire route of our planned hikes the vast majority of the trails up to Jefferson Park are devoid of any tree cover. Luckily for us it was in the upper 30’s when we set off and the highs were set to be in the upper 50’s in Jefferson Park and low 70’s at the trailhead. It was also forecast to be mostly clear skies as recently cooler temperatures combined with rain and even some snow at higher elevations had helped to suppress the numerous fires currently burning in other parts of the Cascades and eastern Oregon.
Low clouds in the valley.

Mt. Jefferson through some of the snags with a few surviving trees on the right.

After an initial steep climb the trail levels out then descends slightly into a patch of trees that survived the fires. At the 1.2-mile mark it enters the Mount Jefferson Wilderness.

Just under a half mile later the trail climbed to an unsigned junction with the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
Mt. Jefferson from the junction, note the rock cairn on the left marking the PCT.

The cairn at the junction.

We turned left on the PCT and followed it through the fire scars for 2.6-miles to a crossing of Russell Creek.
Triangulation Peak (post) getting hit with sunlight with Whitewater Lake (lower right) in Mt. Jefferson’s shadow.

Whitewater Lake

Triangulation Point and Bocca Cave (Trailheads still closed.)

Tarn 0.3-miles from the junction.

Mt. Jefferson reflecting in the tarn.

Ducks on the tarn.

The Sentinel Hills with Park Butte behind to the right. The Whitewater Trail (post) traverses the hillside below the Sentinel Hills, but that trailhead is also still closed.

The fires did open up fairly consistent views of the mountain.

A few remaining penstemon blossoms.

Heading down to the Russell Creek crossing.

This can be a tricky crossing at times, but there was a makeshift bridge which made it fairly easy this time.

Aster and pearly everlasting near the creek.

Beyond Russell Creek the PCT climbed for half a mile to a junction with the Whitewater Trail where we turned right sticking to the PCT.

We started seeing more trees that had survived the fire as we got closer to Jefferson Park.

Gentians and aster

Grass-of-parnassus

From this junction it was just under a mile to the first of several signed trails leading to Scout Lake off the PCT.
There were patches of burned forest along this stretch.

Approximately 0.4-miles from the junction the trail crosses Whitewater Creek.

From the other side of Whitewater Creek the views of Mt. Jefferson are amazing.

Based on the barred sides I believe this is a black-backed woodpecker.

Unofficial use trails are an issue in Jefferson Park which has prompted the Forest Service to install a number of “Closed for Rehabilitation” sign such as the one on the left side of the trail.

They’ve also added quite a few signs to indicated sanctioned trails. Typically in wilderness areas the Forest Service tries to keep signage to a minimum, but overuse has led them to add additional signs.

Another sign with Park Butte in background.

Since I was headed for Park Ridge I ignored the trails to Scout Lake for now and continued on the PCT for three quarters of a mile beyond the first sign for Scout Lake to a sign for Russell Lake on the right side of the trail.

The last of the pointers for Scout Lake.

PCT heading for Park Butte and Park Ridge.

Russell Lake pointer.

Tags hiking, Jefferson Park, mountain goat, Mt. Hood National Forest, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Park butte, PCT, Russell Creek, Russell Lake, scout lake, Sprague Lake, whitewater creek, whitewater trail, Willamette National Forest, Woodpecker Ridge, Woodpecker Trailhead

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Pine Lakes – 08/19/2024

For our second vacation hike in the Wallowa Mountains we set our sights on the Pine Lakes Trail. This was another of the 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon” 1st edition (2022) and would be number 96 for us on our quest to finish all 100 (post). Sullivan gives two out-and-back option for this trail, a 4.2-mile hike to Chute Falls and a 14.8-mile hike to Pine Lakes.

Heather and I had already decided that I would try for the lakes while she was going to aim for Chute Falls. She has continued to struggle with a breathing issue which has caused her to keep a slower pace than in years past making longer hikes problematic from a time standpoint. Our plan was to set off at our own paces and Heather would wait for me at or near Chute Falls. We also established a timeframe in which she should expect me.

The hike begins at the Cornucopia Trailhead which is on private land owned by the Cornucopia Lodge and Packstation. We followed pointers at the lodge to the current parking area.

The current trailhead was approximately half mile from where the public parking area was in Sullivan’s description. That meant an extra mile of hiking for each of us. I threw my pack on and set off on the private road following pointers for the Pine Lakes Trail.
This pointer refers to trail 1880 as “Pine Creek” but other signs and the Forest Service website refer to it as “Pine Lakes”.

This one says Pine Lakes.

Sign for the Packstation.

As I neared the packstation a pair of dogs noisily raced toward me, one a German shepherd. Luckily they were all bark and no bite, but it got my adrenaline pumping. I continued on passing the forest boundary and the small parking area Sullivan had described.
Squirrel with breakfast at the packstation.

The trail follows an old roadbed for most of the first 2.1 miles.
Old footbridge over a dry creek bed. It didn’t look particularly safe so I stuck to the road.

The dry creek bed crossing.

Shortly beyond the dry creek bed I came to the East Fork Pine Creek where a pair of cow elk dashed across the trail and disappeared in the underbrush.

Seeing the elk was exciting. Less exciting was seeing the actual cows after crossing the footbridge. In typical cow fashion their plan for avoiding me was to get onto the trail ahead of me and walk 10 to 20 yards down trail then turn around to see if I was still following.
Black cows on the trail ahead.

Meanwhile Heather was taking pictures of flowers along the road to the packstation.
Coneflower

Snowberry

Try as I might to convince the cows that they simply needed to step off the trail to either side they were convinced that sticking to the trail, and booby trapping it with fresh pies, was the best way to lose me.

West Fork Pine Creek

Formation on the hillside.

Western clematis

Paintbrush

Fireweed

Approximately a mile beyond the packstation I arrived at the first of two bridges over the West Fork Pine Creek. I briefly lost the cows here when they forked right along the creek while I crossed the slightly damaged bride.
The bridge felt stable despite being slanted at a 45-degree angle.

I picked up my pace hoping to beat the cows to the second bridge which was another 1.1-miles up the trail.

View from the trail.

I could hear and see the cows on the far side of the creek, and now they seemed to be racing me to the second bridge. Before getting that far I met a second group of cattle on my side of the creek near a ford where the fist group of cows were now crossing. Lucky for me this new group was a little smarter and they led the first group off trail into the brush leaving me cow free.

The second bridge.

West Fork Pine Creek

Heather caught this cool cloud from her currently cow free hike. (She would run into them later where they’d ducked off the trail in front of me.)

Not far from the bridge was an established campsite just before the trail began to switchback uphill.
Looking back down at the campsite.

Chute Falls is located slightly off-trail near a righthand switchback 0.3-miles from the second bridge.
The use trail straight ahead at the switchback.

I followed the steep use trail 150 yards to Chute Falls.

I carefully made my way down to the base of the falls.

The base of Chute Falls.

After visiting the falls I returned to the trail and continued to climb toward Pine Lakes. The trail switchbacked past the 10′ upper tier of Chute Falls.

I continued uphill through the forest past a view of a waterfall on the Middle Fork Pine Creek and passed into the Eagle Cap Wilderness 1.2-miles beyond Chute Falls.

Looking back down the valley.

View up the valley.

Wilderness sign on the tree marking the boundary.

The Pine Lakes are back up there somewhere.

The trail traversed a rocky hillside with excellent views for 0.8-miles after entering the wilderness before reaching another set of switchbacks. While the climb was gradual the rocky trail tread made for some tricky walking.

Somewhere on the other side of the peaks on the left is the Schneider Cabin where we’d hiked the day before.

Cliffs above the trail.

As I made my way across the rocks I tried to keep my eyes open for any larger animals on the surrounding hillsides. It wasn’t easy due to the tricky terrain, but it paid off when I spotted a few mountain goats on far side of the valley.
I spy mountain goats!

A zoomed in photo of the mountain goats.

I kept my eye on the goats as I continued.

I arrived at another set of switchbacks 0.8-miles from the wilderness boundary that climbed uphill through a rock field where I spotted a single pika that dashed out of sight before I could get a photo.

I believe that is Cornucopia Peak on the left.

Going up.

Fireweed above the trail.

Above the switchbacks the trail leveled out a bit then descended to a basin with a mixture of forest and meadows.

Paintbrush along the trail.

The forest on the other side of the pass.

West Fork Pine Creek

There was a large waterfall flowing down from the outlet of the Pine Lakes. (Not West Fork Pine Creek whose headwaters were beyond the meadowed basin.

West Fork Pine Creek begins somewhere above the basin at the far end.

Rock formations along the cliffs.

Arnica and pearly everlasting

I tried to get a clearer look at the large waterfall but couldn’t find a clear line of sight.

Approximately 3.2-miles from Chute Falls the trail crossed the outlet creek.

Gentians along the trail.

Evidence of an avalanche at the far end of this meadow. It took a lot of trail maintenance to clear the snapped trees from the trail.

Wildflowers lining the trail.

The trail began another series of switchbacks in order to climb above the waterfall and to Lower Pine Lake.
A doe that turned out to be on the trail above me. There was a switchback just ahead of where I was.

The forest in the basin.

The Pine Lakes are in the basin ahead.

Arnica and aster?

Monkshood

Seep along the trail.

Grass of parnassus

American sawort

Something had been bedded down in this little bowl below the trail.

Goldenrod

The valley I’d come up to the right.

Nearly 5-miles from Chute Falls I arrived at the dam at the outlet of Lower Pine Lake. A number of lakes in the Wallows were dammed to control water flow to the surrounding communities.

Lower Pine Lake

The trail headed north around Lower Pine Lake arriving at Upper Pine Lake 0.2-miles from the dam.

Lower Pine Lake

Lower Pine Lake from between the two lakes.

Upper Pine Lake from the same spot.

Upper Pine Lake.

I did a little exploration along the eastern shore and then found a spot in the shade to take a brief break and change into a new pair of socks.

The view from my break spot.

After my break I headed back to Chute Falls to locate Heather. Along the way I stopped for more photos and to look for pikas and mountain goats (to no avail).

Shrubby cinquefoil

White mariposa lily, the only one I spotted, and I’d missed it on the way up.

Yellow columbine, I also missed this on the first pass.

Dusky flycacther

A meadow and the forest in the lower basin.

Fritillary on pearly everlasting

Trail maintenance in the avalanche section.

Loved the rock colors in the area.

I’m guessing some sort of wren.

Caterpillers

I detoured to Chute Falls again to see if Heather was waiting there which she wasn’t, so I hiked down to the campsite where I found her waiting. While I was taking another break we started to talk about the falls and realized that Heather had missed the lower, larger, portion of Chute Falls. She had missed the first user trail and detoured at the next righthand switchback which brought her to the upper tier. I showed her a photo from my phone to confirm that she’d missed that part of the falls then, we hiked up together to check it out.

After making sure she’d seen the rest of Chute Falls we headed for the trailhead.

We picked up the cows again in between the two bridges and herded (followed) them back to where I’d picked up the first group at the East Fork Pine Creek before they finally turned off the trail.

Herding the cattle back past the damaged bridge.

West Fork Pine Creek.

The footbridge across the East Fork Pine Creek ahead. We’d left the cows behind here and made our way back to the trailhead.

Given our starting point, three detours to Chute Falls and some exploring at Upper Pine Lake my hike came in at 16.4-miles and over 2700′ of elevation gain.

The rocky trail surface and amount of sun exposure added to the difficulty of this hike, but luckily there had been a fairly consistent cooling breeze which kept it from feeling too hot. The views were spectacular along the entire route and aside from the cows the variety of wildlife was great. We returned to Baker City and had dinner at the Eagle Cap Grill before turning in for the night for our last night in Baker City. We’d be moving our base to Enterprise the next day for the final three hikes of our trip. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Pine Lakes

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

Blue Mountains - South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Mount Ireland – 07/09/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 17, 2022
8 Comments on Mount Ireland – 07/09/2022

As we continue to work toward our goal of completing the 100 featured hikes (post) in each of the five areas covered by William L. Sullivan in his “100 Hikes” series we headed for Eastern Oregon for a week hoping to check off 6 more hikes from that area. The first hike on our list, Mt. Ireland, had become something of a white whale for us. We had tried to do this hike during a September 2017 to Sumpter, OR but an early round of snow forced us to change that plan (post). We tried again on the way home from backpacking the Elkhorn Crest (post) but a round of severe thunderstorms stymied that plan.

We hoped the third time would be the charm but a little doubt crept in when I checked the forecast Friday night before leaving and saw it called for a slight chance of thunder storms the next day. We left at 5am to make the five and a half hour drive to the trailhead. Our plan was to watch the weather on the way there and if all looked good to try the hike but if it looked like thunder storms were imminent we would drive straight to Baker City where we had reservations for that night and try the hike again on our way home. There were a few clouds in the sky as we approached but none looked threatening so we followed Sullivan’s driving directions to the small, poorly marked, parking area.
A small sign post was all that marked the trailhead.

The trail begins along a closed roadbed which climbs steeply for the first 0.3 miles to a junction with other old roadbeds a view of Mt. Ireland.

Mt. Ireland from the junction.

Hound’s tongue

There were several old roads/skids in the area but the trail was well flagged (we later learned that flagging had been recently placed by folks manning the lookout).
Flagging on the left marking the “trail”.

After another mile we came to FR 142 where a trail sign marked the continuation of the the trail.
Another flag hanging on the tree to the right.

Another glimpse of Mt. Ireland.

Small meadow near FR 142 along a tributary of East Fork Boundary Creek.

Trail sign at FR 142.

The trail climbed for nearly another mile from FR 142 to a junction on an open ridge.

Jacob’s ladder

This was one of three trees across the trail, all of which were easily navigated.

Ironside Mountain in the distance.

Phlox

Brown’s peony

Nearing the junction.

The trail to the right led 1.3 miles downhill to Downie Lake a possible side trip but one we decided to skip given our late start, the warm temperature, and we had another six straight days of hikes planned after this. We turned left and headed uphill, steeply at times (most times) toward Mt. Ireland.
Heading uphill.

Pussy paws

Mt. Ireland ahead.

Rock Creek Butte (post) and Elkhorn Peak along the Elkhorn Crest.

Paintbrush

Goosefoot violet

Vinegar Hill in the Greenhorn Mountains (post) with a few snow patches.

It was just over a mile from the junction to the lookout and as we neared the lookout we began noticing signs of mountain goats.
Mountain goat fur on the trail.

I was a little ahead of Heather reaching the tower and when I arrived there were goats at a salt lick placed below the tower to keep the goats from disturbing the tower itself.
Just to the right of the silver stump in the center of the photo is one of the goats.

One of the goats below the lookout tower.

Zoomed in shot of one of the goats leaving upon my arrival.

I rested at the saddle below the lookout tower next to a helipad and took in the view of Baldy Lake below.
Arriving at the saddle.

Baldy Lake below Mt. Ireland.

The tower from the saddle.

The helipad.

Being watched.

The tower is typically staffed from late-June thru late-September and as I waited for Heather I was waved up to the tower by the current staffer, Warren. Warren and his wife Chris(sp?), who are from Arkansas, welcomed me to the tower where they offered me a chair while I waited for Heather to arrive. Heather soon joined us and we spent almost an hour in the tower visiting. We learned the tower is a bit of an anomaly being steel framed and that the day before 23 goats had been at the summit. Warren also informed us that under the right conditions Mt. Rainier was visible from the tower over 200 miles away. Another interesting tidbit of information was that dietician was the most common occupation of visitors to the tower in 2021 which was Warren’s first year staffing the tower. Apparently they don’t get a lot of visitors which was surprising to us given how great the view was from here.

While we were visiting a nanny and kid came to the salt lick.
The kid was on the other side of mom.

After our visit we returned to the saddle for a few more photos and then headed back down the trail to the car.
The Elkhorns from the tower.

The snowy Wallowa Mountains beyond a gap in the Elkhorns.

Milbert’s tortoiseshell

Vinegar Hill with Dixie Butte to the left and Strawberry Mountain (post) the high point to the far left in the distance.

Clark’s nutcracker

Butterfly on pussy paws.

A comma?

Beetle on arnica.

Hookedspur violet

After returning to the car we drove into Sumpter and stopped for hand dipped corn dogs at a small stand that is only there typically between July 4th and Labor Day. The owner of the stand had stayed later in September of 2017 and we’d had several of the corn dogs (and cheese sticks) then which were delicious. The next year the stand wasn’t there but it was this year to our delight.

After a couple of corn dogs (w/jalapeno mustard) and a cheese stick each we continued to Baker City and checked into our room for the night. The hike came in at a little over 7 miles with just over 2300′ of elevation gain.

We really enjoyed this hike and getting to visit with the staffers made it even more enjoyable. It’s really hard to understand why this hike isn’t more popular except that there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information out there about it. It felt good to finally be able to check this one off our to-do list but we would happily do it again if the opportunity arose. Happy trails!

Flickr: Mt. Ireland

Tags Baldy Lake, Blue Mountains, elkhorns, Greenhorns, hiking, Mount Ireland Lookout, mountain goat, Mt. Ireland, Oregon, Sumpter

Blue Mountains - South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 3

As far as we know we didn’t have any mountain goat visitors during our night at Lower Twin Lake but I did wake up once and managed to see a streak across the sky which I assume was part of the Perseid meteor shower. Another goat did pass close by in the morning though as we were preparing to leave.

It wasn’t nearly as chilly as it had been the previous morning and the air had gotten quite a bit hazier overnight.

The increased smoke made us thankful that we had made our climb up Rock Creek Butte the day before instead of waiting until this morning. We had a fairly straight forward day planned as we would simply be returning the way we’d come the day before minus the side trip up to Rock Creek Butte’s summit. We were still seriously considering not going all the way back to Summit Lake which would be approximately a 13 mile hike. We figured we could shorten that by nearly a mile if we set up camp near one of the streams along the Summit Lake Trail.

As we began the mile climb from Lower Twin Lake back to the Elkhorn Crest Trail we passed the mountain goat who had stop to graze.

A little further along we spotted three deer doing the same in a patch of yellow wildflowers.

The hoofed animals weren’t the only ones out this morning.

As we climbed away from the Twin Lakes Rock Creek Butte came into view.

When we reached the Elkhorn Crest Trail we turned left and headed toward Rock Creek Butte where we spotted another mountain goat coming down the ridge where we had gone up the day before.

It turned out to be a mountain goat filled morning. As we were passing around the western side of Rock Creek Butte a herd of goats came up from the valley below. Some of them crossed the trail in front of us while others stayed down in the trees until we passed.

We had another encounter a short while later as I passed around a rock outcropping and came face to face with a goat heading south on the trail. We were both equally startled and the goat quickly leapt downhill behind more rocks.

The increased smoke limited the views on the way back so we focused more on the things along the trail.
Mt. Ruth to the north

Rock Creek Butte to the south

Looking east toward the Wallowas

Curiosity got the best of Heather as we came to a jeep track heading uphill to a ridge 9.3 miles from the Twin Lakes Trail junction and 1.2 miles before the Summit Lake junction.

Wondering if there might be a view of Summit Lake from the ridge we followed it steeply uphill only to discover that the angle was wrong and we were looking north over Little Summit Lake which was hidden in the trees below.

We were feeling relatively good all things considered so we had decided to go all the way to Summit Lake and stay there again only this time we would take the first available camp site we came too instead of going half way around the lake. We arrived at the lake to find it a little smokier than we had left it the morning before but it was still a great lake.

We were the only people there when we arrived and did indeed set up camp in the first available spot.

We were later joined by a solo backpacker who we had passed along the Summit Lake Trail. We spent the afternoon lounging around camp and hanging out with the locals.

The total distance for the day was just a bit over 13 miles but there had been a lot less elevation gain making it a fairly mild day. We were dealing with some blisters and Heather was having a little issue with an ankle that was being bruised by her shoe which told her it was time for a new pair. The good news was the next two days were only going to be around 10 miles each, but we were facing some more climbing on day four along the Lost Lake Trail which I had been told was steep and rocky. We turned in after memorizing the route for the following day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 3

Tags backpacking, Blue Mountains - South, Butterfly, deer, Elkhorn Crest National Recreation Trail, Elkhorn Crest Trail, Elkhorn Range, elkhorns, hiking, Lower Twin Lake, mountain goat, Mt. Ruth, Oregon, Rock Creek Butte, Summit Lake, Summit Lake Trail, Twin Lakes, Twin Lakes Trail

Blue Mountains - South Hiking Oregon Trip report

Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 2

The second day of our Elkhorn Crest backpacking trip began with a welcome chill in the morning. It was actually cold enough to break out the beanie, Buff, and gloves.

We ate breakfast as the Sun came up creating a nice reflection in Summit Lake.

After packing up we decided to continue around the lake counter-clockwise to complete a loop around the shore. We crossed a small inlet in a meadow at the southern end of the lake.

Beyond the meadow the trail passed a couple of other campsites with views to the north across the water.

Birds were busily flying from tree to tree but one sat still long enough for a photograph.

After completing the loop we began the 1.5 mile climb back to the Elkhorn Crest Trail. The trail crossed over several small streams and meadows as it passed through a forested section. We spotted two does and a fawn in the area.
One of the does (the fawn dashed by moments later)

Close-up of the doe

As we continued along we were hailed by the group of hikers we had passed early on the first day who had said they were aiming for Summit Lake as well. They wound up running out of gas they said so they set up camp on a rocky overlook of the valley below. After talking with them briefly we continued on to the cairn marking the junction with the Elkhorn Crest Trail where we turned left.

Our goal for the day was Twin Lakes but we also planned to summit Rock Creek Butte, the highest peak in the Elkhorn Range. We were leaving our options open though. The route up was 9.5 miles away and we weren’t sure if it would be better to wait and attempt it the next day when it would be earlier in the day and likely cooler or if doing it today would be better since the sky was still relatively smoke free in the immediate area. Either way we had time to decide as we followed the trail along the western side of the crest.

We were very interested in a peak on the horizon to the south. It was clearly separated from the Strawberry Mountains further west and we weren’t sure what it was. When we returned home it was one of the first things I looked up and it turned out to be Ironside Mountain.

We spotted a number of animals along the crest in the morning including the biggest caterpillar either of us had ever seen digging in the dirt.

Approximately a mile and a half from the junction with the Summit Lake Trail we came across the only water we would encounter along the entire Elkhorn Crest Trail. A small flower lined stream heading down into Sardine Gulch to join Cracker Creek.

The trail had left the North Fork John Day Wilderness at Cracker Saddle and we began seeing the difference at a hairpin turn around a ridge.

From above we couldn’t read the sign without the aid of the camera zoom.

Someone clearly put some work into that. A little further along the trail we started noticing mining operations along the hillside. We could also see 9106′ Rock Creek Butte further along the ridge.

The trail spent a short while along a wide section of the ridge top before returning to the western side of the crest.

We would again gain the ridge top with a nice view down the Rock Creek Valley to the east.

Nearly seven miles from the Summit Lake Trail junction we came to the Pole Creek Ridge Trail which headed faintly downhill along a ridge.

By the time we’d reached this junction we had decided to attempt Rock Creek Butte on the way by instead of waiting for the next day. It wasn’t too hot and more importantly it looked like smoke was creeping towards us from both sides so we thought we’d better get what views we could while the getting was good. It was still a little over two and a half miles to the SW ridge of Rock Creek Butte where we would turn up for the climb.

We were having a hard time coming from the direction that we were determining which peak ahead was actually Rock Creek Butte. We were hoping that the closest rounded peak was our goal and not the larger one further away. From the angle we were at they appeared to be somewhat similar in height.

When we gained the ridge top again though we could just make out Rock Creek Lake in the basin below the further peak which told us that was our next goal.

As it turned out the peak we had hoped was Rock Creek Butte was 500′ shorter although it did seem to have a possible route up.
Looking up “not” Rock Creek Butte

Rock Creek Butte is still a little ways away.

It took another mile and a half to reach the saddle where we would turn up the SW ridge of Rock Creek Butte.
Looking ahead to the saddle.

Nearing the saddle.

At the saddle we left the trail and ditched are backpacks in a group of trees in favor of our day packs.

Before starting the climb we noticed that we weren’t the only ones traveling south on the Elkhorn Crest Trail. A pair of mountain goats could be seen walking along the trail.

After watching the goats head over the ridge toward Twin Lakes we began our ascent.
Mountain goat sign was everywhere along the rocky ridge and there was no discernible path, although we did occasionally spot a human foot print in the dirt.

The half mile route gains roughly 600′ with the final tenth of a mile being the steepest portion.

A large cairn and register box sit atop the peak.

From the summit Lower Twin Lake was visible to the south.

Mt. Ireland and Vinegar Hill lay to the west.

To the NE should have been the Wallowas but smoke appeared to have overtaken them.

The view to the north included many of the peaks of the Elkhorn Range but there was no view of Rock Creek Lake due to the broad summit.

A 500′ stroll across the summit though revealed the gorgeous lake below.

Notice the golden-mantled ground squirrel sitting atop the large rock overlooking the lake.

Mountain goats were grazing in some green grass by a smaller body of water near the lake.
(Full disclosure neither of us noticed the goats until I was looking through the pictures at home.)

Looking back at the summit cairn from the Rock Creek Lake overlook.

There were a lot of flying ants on the cairn as well as several lady bugs and some butterflies nearby.

After recovering from the climb up we started back down just as another hiker was closing in on the summit. It turned out that he had been the other person besides us camped at Summit Lake the night before. We left him to the summit and slowly picked our way back down to our backpacks. After retrieving them we returned to the Elkhorn Crest Trail following a section of trail that had been blasted out of the rocks.

Soon Lower Twin Lake came into view followed by Upper Twin Lake.

The trail made a sweeping curve for the next three quarters of a mile above the lakes bringing around to the opposite end of them before arriving at a junction with the Twin Lakes Trail.

Although the lakes are only about 350′ below the junction the Twin Lakes Trail takes its own sweet time getting down to them via a series of long switchbacks.

They made for a relatively easy climb out the next day but I was ready to be done for the day and became rather impatient with the slow decent. After a little over a mile we arrived at the lake and chose a camp stie.

Both our guidebook and signs at the trailheads had warned about the mountain goats in the area being habituated to humans. A good reminder of why people shouldn’t feed wildlife, without the fear of humans the goats have been known to nibble on tents, clothing and backpacks in search of salt. We made sure not to leave anything lying around outside the tent but it wasn’t long before the first goat passed nearby.
You can see Heather’s arm on the left side of the photo.

About a half hour later a second goat followed.

After dinner we watched a nanny and kid circle around the lake and graze nearby.

We did leave our tent for about 45 minutes to visit Upper Twin Lake which was just .3 miles away.

More mountain goats were grazing on the hillsides above this lake.

The goats left our tent alone and we turned in for the night after what would be the longest day of our trip at 15.9 miles. Our original plan had been to return to Summit Lake the next day and stay there again but we were now considering camping along the Summit Lake Trail like the other group we had met had done. The nearby streams would allow us to get water and it would shave off a little distance both the next day and the day after when we were planning on heading from Summit Lake to Dutch Flat Lake. We decided to play it by ear the next day and turned in for the night halfway expecting to wake up to a mountain goat staring at us through the mesh on our tent. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Elkhorn Crest Trail Day 2

Tags backpacking, deer, Elkhorn Crest National Recreation Trail, Elkhorn Crest Trail, hiking, Ironside Mountain, Lower Twin Lake, mountain goat, Oregon, Pole Creek Ridge Trail, Rock Creek, Rock Creek Butte, Rock Creek Lake, Summit Lake, Summit Lake Trail, Upper Twin Lake

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Eagle Cap Wilderness Day 2 – The Matterhorn and West Fork Wallowa Trail

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 7, 2016
3 Comments on Eagle Cap Wilderness Day 2 – The Matterhorn and West Fork Wallowa Trail

When we had gone to sleep the night before we weren’t sure if we would be continuing our trip or hiking back to the car after only one night due to Heather having gotten sick during the night. She was feeling pretty good in the morning though and was fairly certain she had just overheated the day before, so we decided to move ahead with our plans and see how she held up.

We had breakfast and watched as the morning light slowly made it’s way into the Ice Lake basin.

The Matterhorn catching the morning sunlight.

Our plan for the day was to take our day packs and hike up to the 9826′ summit of the Matterhorn before packing up camp and heading further up the West Fork Wallowa River. To reach the Matterhorn we would need to follow a use trail on the west side of Ice Lake up almost 2000′. We had explored some of the south side of the lake the day before so we went around the north side of the lake to reach the use trail. This proved to be a good choice as there was no wind allowing for some beautiful reflections in the lake.

The lupine was just starting to bloom along the north shore as well.

The trail crossed an inlet creek at the west end of the lake and then grew fainter as it headed uphill.

The scenery grew more alpine like as we climbed. A few trees dotted the rocky landscape and wildflowers added color.

Alpine shooting star

Alpine springbeauty

Lewis flax and wallflowers

Ice Lake was getting further away as we continued up.

The path led to a marble outcrop that overlooked a basin where we spotted a pair of mountain goats.

In addition to Ice Lake below there were a couple of snow melt tarns visible below the trail.

The trail had been fairly easy to follow but it became more difficult after crossing a section of red rocks and starting up the marble of the Matterhorn.

Despite the rocky terrain several different wildflowers had managed to find footholds.

Once we were on the marble we worked our way up following cairns and whatever footprints we could find in the areas of dirt that were present. A couple of times we realized we had lost the shoe prints and were only following mountain goat hoof prints. We made our way up to a surprisingly wide ridge top and followed it south toward the summit of the Matterhorn.

The view of the Wallowas was amazing. Smokey skies surrounded us limiting the visible distance, but we couldn’t complain.

The Elkhorns

The Lostine Valley

Cairn marking the summit of the Matterhorn with a smoke plume from a wildfire in Idaho in the distance.

Eagle Cap in the center of the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

In addition to the great views were some interesting rock features.

We headed back down from the summit stopping along the way to chat with another hiker on his way up. After packing up we took the Ice Lake Trail back down to the West Fork Wallowa Trail. We were surprised by the number of hikers we passed heading up to Ice Lake on a Monday.

When we arrived back at the junction with the West Fork Wallowa Trail Heather was doing well so we continued with our trip and took the trail south toward Sixmile Meadow.

This 3.3 mile section of the West Fork Wallowa Trail wasn’t the most exciting trail we’d been on, but to be fair it was following up Ice Lake and the Matterhorn. We also had remembered the distance incorrectly thinking it was only about 1.5 miles to the meadow causing it to seem like it was taking forever to get there.

We had originally considered setting up camp at Sixmile meadow but after passing the junction with the Lakes Basin Trail at the edge of the meadow we only saw one campsite which was closer to the trail and more exposed than we wanted to be.

We decided to continue further along the West Fork Wallowa Trail planning on stopping at the first good campsite we found. That proved to be more difficult than we had expected. The scenery along the trail improved beyond Sixmile Meadow as open wildflower meadows replaced the forest but there was a lack of noticeable campsites and the couple we saw were already occupied.

One of the more interesting flowers we had been seeing on the trip were yellow columbine which was becoming more profuse in these higher meadows.

After passing an unsigned junction with the trail up to Polaris Pass the West Fork Wallowa Trail passed through a narrow canyon before entering another meadow.

It was getting close to 6pm and we were getting a little tired and anxious about finding a suitable campsite. Our worst case scenario was to push on to Frazier Lake but that would mean possibly fording the river, another climb and an additional mile plus of hiking. Luckily as we passed through this meadow we spotted a faint path to the left which led to a small campsite next to some trees. We quickly claimed the spot and set up the tent.

We had gone quite a bit further than we’d originally planned that day ending up having covered 16.7 miles for the day, but this site turned out to be wonderful. The sounds of the nearby river was joined by the distant roar of several waterfalls cascading down the surrounding cliffs.

Heather was starting to feel a little under the weather again as we turned in for the night and we decided that we would try and take it a little easier the next day. We had already cut down the distance we needed to go to get to our next planned stop at Mirror Lake and we decided that instead of an afternoon side trip we would just hang out around the lake. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157671954055746

Tags eagle cap wilderness, hiking, ice lake, mountain goat, Oregon, sixmile meadow, the matterhorn, Wallowas, west fork wallowa river, west fork wallowa trail, yellow columbine

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mount Margaret Backcountry – Obscurity Lake to South Coldwater Trailhead

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 22, 2016
1 Comment on Mount Margaret Backcountry – Obscurity Lake to South Coldwater Trailhead

Waking up to a third tent at Obscurity Camp wasn’t our only surprise in the morning. I awoke at 4:30am to find nearly clear skies above the lake save for one small finger of cloud creeping over the ridge behind Obscurity Lake. We were getting an extra early start due to the forecast of possible Thunderstorms after 11am. The clear sky was encouraging, but it wasn’t long before clouds began creeping into the basin from all sides.

By the time we were on our way we were hiking through fog.

It was a fairly steep climb out of the Obscurity Lake Basin but as we neared the saddle between Obscurity and Panhandle Lakes beautiful blue skies appeared through the fog giving us some hope for views.

There were some views if we looked up but when we crested the saddle it was evident that the view of Panhandle Lake would not be clear.

Down we went back into even thicker fog. The trail crossed a couple of nice streams with marsh marigolds as it wound around the lake.

As we neared the lake we spotted a mountain goat lounging just above the trail.

It sized us up and kept a close eye on us as we passed by.

We decided not to go down to the lake figuring the view couldn’t be much better than what we had along the trail.

We continued on toward Shovel Lake. Once again the trail climbed out of a basin but instead of dropping back down toward Shovel Lake the trail passed above it along a ridge. On the far side of the lake was Mt. Whittier making this one of the most dramatic lakes in the backcountry but we never saw it.
The thickest layer of clouds lay right over Shovel Lake, but as we climbed the ridge we eventually rose above the clouds.

We were pretty excited when we realized we could see the top of Mt. Rainier in the distance.

The trail to Shovel Lake was near the top of the ridge which meant we would have had to descend a half mile back into the clouds to visit this lake. Once again we passed figuring it left us one more thing to come back for.

From the Shovel Lake Trail junction though we had a great view of Mt. Adams, which appeared to be wrestling with the clouds.

The trail continued up the ridge to a saddle where it was joined by the Whittier Ridge Trail.

From this saddle we then began our descent toward Coldwater Lake. First up was Snow Lake.

We had finally found a lake without clouds and as an added bonus we had a great view beyond to Coldwater Peak.

The trail swung out around the lake and as it did so we gained a little glimpse of Mt. St. Helens as well.

This time the trail went right by Snow Lake giving us an up close look.

The other nice thing about Snow Lake was the climb out of the basin was short and not steep. We quickly crested the saddle above the lake and began to drop into another mass of clouds.

From Snow Lake it was 3.4 miles to the Coldwater Trail and a footbridge over Coldwater Creek. We were passing through the cloud layer for the first part of this section so we couldn’t see much. The trail itself was brushy with thimbleberry bushes and vine maples.

The tread was also narrow and washed out in spots but passable.

We eventually got under the clouds and could see Coldwater Creek below us.

We were also seeing more wildflowers again and finding ripe berries, including our first thimbleberries of the year.

Trailing blackberry

Thimbleberry

Red huckleberry

We passed a couple of small waterfalls along side streams, one on either side of the valley.

The trail then passed above what appeared to be a nice fall along Coldwater Creek but didn’t provide much of a view.

Just after passing the waterfall the trail entered a forested area.

Hedgenettle

From there to the Coldwater Trail junction the trial alternated between small meadows and woods with occasional views back to Coldwater Creek.

Another trail crew from the Washington Trails Association was working on the Coldwater Trail on the far side of the footbridge when we arrived there. We stopped on some rocks above the bridge for a snack break and watched them as they worked.

We were now on familiar trail, at least in theory. When we had hiked the loop around Coldwater Lake in May 2014 much of the vegetation was only beginning to produce leaves.
Coldwater Trail

This time the trail was crowded with plants.

The wildflowers were out in force as we drew nearer to Tractor Junction.

A male grouse flew out of one of the meadows and landed in a nearby tree. It was the first one we’d seen in full display and was quite colorful.

IMG_2360 (2)

The views were much better than they had been the day before at Tractor Junction and along the 3.2 miles from there back to the trailhead. Coldwater Lake was clearly visible and Mt. St. Helens even made an appearance.

For the second day in a row we’d escaped without dealing with any rain showers and the thunderstorms had not materialized before we’d made it back to the car. Despite the sometimes cloudy conditions it had turned out to be a really nice trip. The views we did miss out on can now be our excuse for return trip sometime in the future. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157670492933452

Tags Coldwater Creek, Coldwater Lake, Coldwater Peak, Coldwater Trail, hiking, Lakes trail, male sooty grouse, mount margaret backcountry, mountain goat, Mt. St. Helens, Obscurity lake, panhandle lake, shovel lake, snow lake, sooty grouse, South Coldwater Trail, Thimbleberry, Washington

Hiking Mt. St. Helens Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Mount Margaret Backcountry – South Coldwater Trailhead to Obscurity Lake

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 21, 2016
8 Comments on Mount Margaret Backcountry – South Coldwater Trailhead to Obscurity Lake

The only backpacking trip that we had planned for this year which required a permit was an overnight stay in the Mount Margaret Backcountry near Mt. St. Helens. The area is part of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, displaying the effects of the 1980 eruption. The lateral blast from the eruption shattered trees toppling thousands of acres of forest.

Camping is limited to designated sites at eight backcountry camps where the maximum group size for camping is four. Pets and pack stock are prohibited in the Mount Margaret Backcountry and fires are not allowed. We made our reservation for Obscurity Camp on March 19th, the day the permits became available.

One drawback of a permit system is not having any idea what the weather is going to be like on the days you reserve. We were looking at the chance of showers and maybe even a thunderstorm as we were hiking out, but we liked our odds and we had spent a whole $6.00 on the permit so we decided to give it a go. It was a wet drive to the South Coldwater Trailhead which is located along the Spirit Lake Highway (SR 504).

Starting at Norway Pass would have made it a shorter hike but where is the fun in that? It also would have been a longer drive. Our plan was a lollipop route using the South Coldwater Trail 230A, Coldwater Trail 230, Boundary Trail 1, and Lakes Trail 211. We had been on some of the trails in 2013 during a May hike around Coldwater Lake, but that hike had been early enough in the season that there had been very little vegetation and almost no flowers. It was evident from the flowers at the trailhead that we’d be seeing different sights this time around.

We were under the clouds as we set off on the trail which passed through a short section of woods before emerging into wildflower filled meadows.

Although the clouds limited the view we were able to see back down to the South Coldwater Creek Valley where we spotted several elk.

The trail then crossed over the ridge we were climbing providing views of Coldwater Lake.

The wildflowers were thick along the trail, but we were starting to enter the cloud bank and quickly losing our visibility.

The trail continued to climb along the ridge passing a couple of pieces of old machinery that is left over from the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens.

We were now in the midst (or mist) of the clouds. At least it wasn’t raining and despite the low visibility there were still plenty of flowers along the trail to see and there were a couple of snowshoe hares out having breakfast.

The hares weren’t the only ones enjoying some snacks. A variety of ripe berries offered us a nice selection of treats.

After 3.2 miles we arrived at Tractor Junction. Named for another piece of nearby equipment, this junction marks the end of the South Coldwater Trail at it’s intersection with the Coldwater Trail.

We turned right at the junction and headed toward the Boundary Trail which was just over 2 miles away. After .2 miles we passed Ridge Camp, one of the designated camps in the area.

The wildflowers were once again impressive along this trail, but the visibility was even worse. We focused on finding as many different flowers as we could.
Tiger lilies

Lupine, paintbrush and yellow wildflowers

Large patch of paintbrush

Arnica

Bugbane

Corydalis

Columbine

Scouler’s bluebell

An aster or fleabane

Pussypaws

Mock orange

Bistort

Another type of aster or fleabane

Violets

Orange agoseris

Spirea

Cat’s ear lily

Avalanche lily

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the junction with the Boundary Trail overlooking St. Helens Lake. We had suddenly found a little blue sky and some better visibility.

Coldwater Peak was to our left and seemed to be acting as a cloud break.

While we were watching the clouds swirl around the back side of Coldwater Peak we noticed a mountain goat on the cliffs below the summit.

We took a nice long break at the junction watching the mountain goat and the ever changing clouds. When we finally set off again we passed by Coldwater Peak in sunlight.

We had some great views of St. Helens Lake below us as we passed the spur trail to Coldwater Peak after .4 miles.

The trail the continued around the lake with views opening up to Spirit Lake below St. Helens Lake.

For the next 3 plus miles the clouds came and went as the drifted over the ridge down toward Spirit Lake.

There was more snow along this section of trail and we started seeing more flowers that bloom soon after snow melt.

Cinquefoil

Cusick’s speedwell

White heather

Avalanche lilies

Cat’s ear lily

We crossed our first snowfield near The Dome, which was mostly hidden by the clouds.

It was a bit of a shame that we couldn’t see more of the surrounding area because the peaks and cliffs we could see where really neat.

The view downhill was a little better and we got a decent look at the outlet of St. Helens Lake, a log jam on Spirit Lake, and some elk in the valley.

We had skipped the .6 mile trail up to the summit of Coldwater Peak not wanting to make that climb with our full packs on a day when the visibility wasn’t great, but when we reached the shorter spur trail to the summit of Mt. Margaret we decided to head up. Unlike Coldwater Peak we had not been up this trail before so even if we didn’t have a view we couldn’t pass it up. The view from Mt. Margaret turned out to not be too bad. We could see Spirit Lake fairly well and the Boundary Trail below the peak. Other nearby peaks occasionally emerged from the clouds.

We could see some spots where mountain goats had been on a nearby ledge but no goats, just a swallowtail butterfly.

We took a nice long break and had some lunch on Mt. Margaret. As we were preparing to start hiking again we could hear people coming up the Boundary Trail, lots of people. Heather counted nearly 30 folks emerging from the trees below. We made it back to the junction with the Boundary Trail just as the first of these other hikers were arriving. The majority of them turned out to be members of the Mazamas, a nonprofit Mountaineering Education Organization based in Portland, Oregon.

After passing through the Mazamas we crossed another nice snowfield and reached a junction with the Whittier Ridge Trail.

The Whittier Ridge Trail was not on our to-do list on this hike. The trail is narrow and in places along exposed cliffs where the rocks had to be blasted to create a trail at all. Recent reports from members of the Oregon Hikers forum reported some snow still along the trail as well and with little visibility it wasn’t even tempting. We continued on the Boundary Trail getting our first view of some the lakes in the Mt. Margaret Backcountry.
Boot and Obscurity Lakes

We had been gradually descending since Mt. Margaret and the visibility was getting better the lower we got.

Along the way we spotted another mountain goat not far above the trail.

As we got closer it crossed the trail and disappeared over the hillside leaving us with just it’s smell. (And boy did it smell)

We had been working our way around Spirit Lake and were now just to the NE of it. Mt. St. Helens lay directly behind the lake but only the lowest portions were visible. What we could see was Windy Ridge on the Mountain’s flank.

Two miles from the Whittier Ridge Trail we arrived at the junction with the Lakes Trail at Bear Pass.

The Lakes Trail descended from Bear Pass toward Grizzly Lake.

A trail crew from the Washington Trails Association was busy brushing out the trail and restoring the tread along this section. They were doing some impressive work and we thanked them as we passed by.

Between Grizzly Lake and our final destination at Obscurity Lake were more wildflowers including a few we hadn’t seen yet that day.
Partridge foot and paintbrush

Penstemon and candyflower

Pink monkeyflower

Blue-bells of Scotland

Fireweed

Bleeding heart

As we approached Obscurity Lake a waterfall was visible along the outlet creek of the lake.

We finally arrived at Obscurity Lake after almost 16 miles of hiking.

We thought the hard part was over but then we went in search of the designated camp site. We found one tent pad already occupied and began looking for a second one. When I had made the reservation on the Recreation.gov website there had been 2 available permits for up to 4 people. There were several areas where tents had obviously been placed in the past but we couldn’t find any other tent pad or post marking another designated site. The hikers from the other tent said they had not been able to find a second one either so we picked what seemed like the most likely spot where there was no vegetation to trample and set up the tent.

We hoped that we had picked the right spot and figured if we hadn’t and a ranger came along we’d just ask them where the other designated site was and move there if we had chosen poorly. Oddly enough a third tent had appeared when we awoke the next morning. I don’t know if they were possibly with the Forest Service, but if they weren’t someone was not where they should have been.

Regardless of the confusion over the camp sites the day had been pretty spectacular. The showers had never materialized and between the wildflowers, wildlife, and scattered views we did get we’d been totally entertained. The clouds just made us more eager to come back again someday in the future so we could see what we missed this time around. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157668318616563