Tag: wildflowers

Mary’s Peak – 06/21/2026

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

Heather decided that she wasn’t quite feeling well enough for a strenuous hike so headed out solo to the East Ridge Trail on Mary’s Peak starting from the Connor’s Camp Trailhead.

I had left my route open not knowing how my hip, or any of the other back and lower body issues I’ve been in physical therapy for, would react to hiking. My plan was to take the East Ridge Trail up to the Summit Loop Trail to visit the summit of the highest peak in the Coast Range. My route back was open with a couple of possible loop combinations or simply heading straight back down the East Ridge Trail.

Faded trail maps at the information board at Connor’s Camp.

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

Columbine and iris

Rattan’s beardtongue (Penstemon rattanii)

Pink pyrola

Little prince’s pine

Just over a mile from the trailhead, near a bench, the trail arrives at a junction with the Tie Trail.

At the junction the East Ridge Trail made a switchback and began a fairly steep 1.2-mile climb to the Summit Loop Trail.

The number of wildflowers that I was seeing in the forest increased as I climbed.

Vanilla leaf

Fringecup

Anemones

Small-flowered alumroot

Lupine

Chickweed

Inside-out flower

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

Monkeyflower

A layer of clouds was covering the valley below.

Trail sign at the junction with the Summit Loop Trail.

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

This is a photo from later in the morning as I came down to the junction on the new section.

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

Queen’s cup

Chipmunk

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

Penstemon along the trail.

The summit of Mary’s Peak ahead.

Mary’s Peak Road

Beargrass

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

Paintbrush

One of two grouse that were on the road.

Penstemon and chickweed

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

The Three Sisters

Towers on the summit.

Oregon sunshine and bluehead gilia

Paintbrush, Oregon sunshine and bluehead gilia

Catchfly

Cascade desert parsley

Wallflower

Blue head gilia

Olympic onions

The Mary’s Peak West Ridge

The last of the larkspur.

What was left of the phlox.

At the summit.

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

Mt. Hood in the distance to the NE.

Tiger lily

Looking back up at the summit.

The trail veered to the NW toward the west ridge of Mary’s Peak before turning east and leaving the meadows.

Shortly after entering the forest I forked left at junction on the Meadows Edge Trail (trail 1325). While on the summit I had decided to do this 1.6-mile loop before heading back.

The Summit Loop Trail I’d come down to the left and the Meadows Edge Trail to the right.

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

Map at the start of the loop.

Queen’s cup

The summit towers from the loop.

Moth

Bleeding heart

Footbridge over Parker Creek.

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

Columbine

Junction with a spur to Mary’s Peak Campground.

An almost ripe salmonberry.

False starry solomon’s seal and a violet.

Beargrass

Nearing the end of the loop.

After completing the loop I turned left and headed back to the Summit Loop then completed that loop.

Mary’s Peak Road on the other side of the trees.

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

Looking back down at Mary’s Peak Road.

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

Butterfly

Mt. Hood in the distance above the clouds.

The Three Sisters

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

The new alignment.

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

Looking down the switchbacks.

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

I headed left here.

This trail led up to the day use area.

California figwort

The day use area.

White crowned sparrow

Looking back toward the summit.

The North Ridge Trail began at the far end of the parking area.

I followed this trail downhill for three quarters of a mile to the junction with the Tie Trail.

Daisies along the trail near the day use area.

Star flowers

Bench at the junction.

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

Stripped coralroot

Pacific coralroot

Monkeyflower

Twinflower

Honeysuckle

I was delayed while I battled my nemesis, the varied thrush, in an attempt to get a picture.

The Tie Trail was in good shape, just a bit overgrown near the junction with the East Ridge Trail.

After completing the Tie Trail I followed the East Ridge Trail back downhill to the trailhead.

Thimbleberry and vetch

The trailhead through the trees.

Today’s route came in at 8.6-miles with approximately 1750′ of elevation gain.

This was the longest hike I’d done since my leg/back issues began in February, and it was the best I’d felt after a hike since then as well. I’m still having some issues, but this was encouraging. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mary’s Peak

Tags Connor's Camp, Corvallis, East Ridge Trail, hiking, mary's peak, Meadows Edge Trail, North Ridge Trail, Oregon, Tie Trail, TKO, wildflowers

Hiking Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

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

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 11, 2026
No Comments on Coffin Mountain and Bugaboo Ridge Trail – 06/07/2026

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

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

We started our morning from the Coffin Mountain Trailhead.

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

Beargrass at the trailhead.

Sticky currant

Yellowleaf iris

Paintbrush

A yellow paintbrush

Starry false Solomon’s seal

The morning clouds were giving way to some blue sky.

Wildflowers along the ridge.

Phlox

Onion and larkspur

Lupine and a little snow from the night before.

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

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Arrowleaf buckwheat

Bindweed

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

Trillium fading out.

Bluebells

False sunflowers

Penstemon

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

Beargrass

Columbine

Snow covered lupine

The trail traverses uphill through the meadow toward the Coffin Mountain Lookout.

First view of the lookout.

Bleeding heart

The radio towers on the southern end of Coffin Mountain.

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

The helipad on Coffin Mountain.

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

Heather had detoured to the southern end, so when I arrived at the lookout she was arriving at the radio towers.

I pulled my Z Seat out and sat down on the helipad and had a snack while I waited for her to make her way over.

The view north which includes Mt. Hood when the clouds aren’t in the way.

Detroit Lake to the NW.

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

Junco and bleeding heart

The meadow was rapidly melting out.

Bastard toadflax

Paintbrush

Violet

Silverleaf phacelia

Yarrow

Cinquefoil, sandwort, and penstemon

Ragwort

Oregon sunshine and paintbrush

Larkspur

Violet

The trailhead signboard in view.

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

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

Rabbit along the road.

Bachelor Mountain Trailhead at the end of the road.

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

Lupine and paintbrush

A cloud had overtaken Coffin Mountain.

Cardwell’s penstemon

Valerian

The trail climbs steeply via switchback through the forest before rounding a ridge to more open terrain.

There were about a half dozen trees down along the trail, but none were too difficult to get over/around.

Bleeding heart

Vanilla leaf

Baneberry and arnica starting to bloom.

Rounding the ridge.

Coffin Mountain

Scarlet gilia

The trail continued to climb but less steeply as it traversed the hillside.

Three Fingered Jack hidden by clouds.

Three Fingered Jack.

Paintbrush and wild rose

Paintbrush along the trail.

Yellowleaf iris

Scarlet gilia, Oregon sunshine, and paintbrush.

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

False sunflowers

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

Stonecrop

Cinquefoil

Penstemon

Buckwheat and a yarrow.

The trail arrives at a large flat area where we spotted a lone rhododendron that hadn’t quite started to bloom.

These may be northern microseris (Microseris borealis).

Cloud over the summit of Bachelor Mountain.

At the far end of the flat area we reached the junction with the Bugaboo Ridge Trail.

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

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

Coralroot

The extent of the blowdown.

Anemones

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

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

Mt. Jefferson is straight ahead hidden behind the hillside.

Jessica’s stickseed

Waterleaf

False sunflower

Jacob’s ladder

Larkspur and a butterfly

Columbine

Serviceberry

Three Fingered Jack still hiding in the clouds.

Diamond Peak was visible in the distance to the south.

Penstemon and paintbrush

Larkspur and monkeyflower

We arrived at the viewpoint for Mt. Jefferson to find it partially hidden by clouds.

We took a break here hoping for a break in the clouds and in the meantime studied the flowers in the area.

Larkspur and Oregon sunshine

Cliff beardtongue

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

A sub-alpine mariposa lily hiding in arrowleaf buckwheat.

Paintbrush, larkspur, and arrowleaf buckwheat

Sticky cinquefoil

The clouds were being stubborn, but we did eventually get a little better view of Three Fingered Jack.

Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters also made an appearance.

Snowy Diamond Peak in the distance to the left with peaks of the Old Cascades closer including the nearby Three Pyramids (post) and to their right Iron Mountain where I’d been the week before (post).

We started back but before we’d left the open area the clouds revealed the top of Mt. Jefferson.

After getting our view we headed back. We were treated to some better views of the other Cascades along the way.

Wallflower

Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters.

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

Mt. Jefferson from the flat area.

Coffin Mountain from the Bachelor Mountain Trail.

Catchfly

Three Fingered Jack

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

A couple cars had joined us at the trailhead.

To hike to the viewpoint and back came in at 3.8-miles with approximately 700′ of elevation gain giving us 6.7-miles and 1750′ of elevation gain on the day.

This was a great hike despite being a little early for the peak wildflower bloom. The overnight snow more than made up for that. By the end my hips were feeling the hike a little but overall I felt better than I have for the past few months. I still have a way to go but it was encouraging. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Coffin Mountain and the Bugaboo Ridge Trail

Tags Bachelor Mountain, Bachelor Mountain Trailhead, bugaboo ridge trail, Coffin Mountain, Coffin mountain lookout, Coffin Mountain Trailhead, hiking, Oregon, wildflowers

Hiking Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Cone Peak Meadows – 05/31/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 4, 2026
7 Comments on Cone Peak Meadows – 05/31/2026

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

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

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

The trailhead just off Highway 20 at Tombstone Pass.

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

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

Valerian along the trail.

Bunchberry and starry false solomon’s-seal

Salmonberry

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

Tombstone Prairie

The other end of the Tombstone Nature Trail.

I forked left at this junction, crossed a branch of Hackleman Creek then climbed to Highway 20.

The Cone Peak Trail picks up across the highway to the west near some road signs.

The Cone Peak Trail climbs gradually through the forest before coming to increasingly large openings.

Trillium, fairy bells, Solomon’s seal, and starry false Solomon’s seal.

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

Valerian starting to bloom in a meadow.

Vanilla leaf

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

Northwestern twayblade

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

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Larkspur and maiden blue-eyed Mary

Larkspur and paintbrush

Solomon’s seal

Another patch of larkspur.

Larkspur and monkey flower

Strawberry patch

Ball-head waterleaf

Baneberry

Phlox and maiden blue-eyed Mary

Biscuitroot and phlox

Olympic onion

Sandwort

Cone Peak as the trail enters Cone Peak Meadows.

Buckwheat

Death camas

Littleflower penstemon

Paintbrush, larkspur and sandwort?

Iron Mountain

Oregon sunshine

Smallflower woodland star

The lupine was just getting started.

Heading toward Iron Mountain.

Another buckwheat

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

Columbine

Jessica’s stickseed

Bleeding heart

Bluebells

Arrowleaf groundsel

Scarlet gilia

Sticky cinquefoil and bastard toadflax?

Not sure what this tiny flower is.

Wormleaf stonecrop

Silverleaf phacelia

Wallflower

Another one that I’m not sure of.

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

Violets

Vetch

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

Mt. Hood behind Coffin Mountain.

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

Arnica

This was the worst of the blowdown.

Fairy bells and trillium

Flax

Yarrow and larkspur

The Iron Mountain Trail forking off to the left.

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

Frosty paintbrush

Larkspur

The Three Sisters from the Iron Mountain Trail.

The Three Sisters

Diamond Peak (post)

Lupine

Chickweed

Saxifrage

The final climb to the top.

Viewing platform

Mountain locator

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

Mt. Hood behind Coffin Mountain.

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Washington

The Three Sisters and Diamond Peak to the SE.

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

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

Rock wren

Cliff beardtongue. One of the brightest wildflowers we see.

The view on the way down.

The trail junction ahead.

The final 1.5-miles back to the Tombstone Pass Trailhead was mostly a gradual descent.

I stayed left at this junction with the connector trail to the Iron Mountain Civil Road Trailhead.

Alpine knotweed

The trail recrossing Highway 20.

Spotted coralroot

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

Wild ginger

The Tombstone Pass Trailhead below.

Back on FR 60.

Today’s hike tallied 7.2-miles with 1740′ of elevation gain.

This is a great hike for both flowers and views. We’ll be heading back, possibly next year, to try once again to spot a Longhorn steer’s-head (Dicentra uniflora).

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

Flickr: Cone Peak Meadows

Tags Cone Peak, Cone Peak Meadows, Cone Peak Trail, hiking, Iron Mountain, Iron Mountain Trail, Oregon, Santiam Wagon Road, tombstone pass, Tombstone Prairie, wildflowers

Hiking Oregon Salem/Albany Trip report Willamette Valley

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge – 05/07/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 11, 2026
2 Comments on Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge – 05/07/2026

I missed my planned wildlife week when I canceled a planned week of vacation in April due to my left leg/lower back issues. One of the hikes scheduled for that week was a visit to Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge. Heather had not been to the Ankeny Hill Nature Center yet, so we decided to make the 30-minute drive to the refuge and do two short loops on this vacation.

We started our morning at the Pintail Marsh Trailhead.

Pintail Marsh

There wasn’t much action happening at this marsh or anywhere along the loop we wound up doing. It was by far the least number of birds I’d encountered in this part of the refuge over the years.

Gadwall

Mallard

Cinnamon teals

We headed counterclockwise from the trailhead along the mowed grassy track and took the first left to hike between Frog and Pintail Marshes.(There no views of either to speak of from the path.)

Leaving the trailhead.

Pintail Marsh on the left and Frog Marsh on the right.

We took a left again at the next junction at the north end of Frog Marsh. Here there was a view of Pintail Marsh where we spotted a northern shoveler and a black phoebe.

The junction at the north end of Frog Marsh.

Pintail Marsh

Northern shoveler

Black phoebe

At the next junction we stayed right.

The left track angles between Pintail and Egret Marshes while the right just passes Egret Marsh.

The one view of Egret Marsh. We spotted a single pair of mallards here.

Camas

The grassy track ends at a service road near Mallard Marsh.

We turned left onto the service road and found that Mallard Marsh was seriously lacking water this year.

Cinnamon teals and a gadwall in what water remained in Mallard Marsh.

Egret Marsh on the opposite side of the service road did have water, but not much in the way of birds.

Marsh wren

At a 4-way junction we turned right onto a dike between Mallard Marsh and Mohoff Pond. In previous years this has been a very good stretch for seeing birds, but that was not the case this year. Mohoff Pond still had some water, but not nearly as much as in years past and the number of birds was way down.

Mohoff Pond

American coots

Red-winged blackbird

Mohoff Pond on the left and Mallard Marsh on the right.

We looped around the end of Mohoff Pond and headed back.

Heading back long Mohoff Pond.

A couple of buffleheads out in the middle of the water.

The snakes (harmless) were starting to come out so we needed to watch where we stepped.

At the end of Mohoff Pond we forked right and completed our loop around Pintail Marsh.

Geese in Pintail Marsh.

Mallards in Pintail Marsh.

Butterfly

Pintail Marsh

Given the limited number of birds this was a bit of a disappointing hike compared to what we’ve come to expect from Ankney. On a positive note, we did see a decent variety of species on this 3-mile loop.

From Pintail Marsh we drove to the lower parking lot along Buena Vista Road S. The gate to the lot was closed when we drove by a little before 6:30am but it was open after 8am. This lot wasn’t open when I first visited in 2022 (post).

We set off on the gravel Connector Trail.

The Connector Trail links up with the Big Loop Trail in less than a tenth of a mile. The trails pass through a restored upland prairie which was full of blooming native wildflowers.

Biscuitroot

A cinquefoil

Meadow checkermallow

Rose checkermallow

Columbine and lupine

Mule’s ear

David B. Marshall Outdoor Classroom

Another cinquefoil

Goose

Lupine

Tree swallows

Iris

Coastal manroot (wild cucumber)

Cow parsnip

Camas

Common madia

Decomposition educational node

Yarrow

Oak Overlook near the Nature Center

Fiddleneck

Ankeny Hill Nature Center

We explored the Little Loop at the Nature Center before continuing one the Big Loop.
Pollinator Patch at the Nature Center

Bridge in the center of the Little Loop.

Spotted towhee

Continuing on the Big Loop from the Nature Center.

Ladybug on vetch.

Miniature lupine

Egret at Peregrine Marsh from the outdoor classroom.

The hike, and wandering around the Nature Center, came in just over 1-mile giving us a 4.1-mile total for the morning with minimal elevation gain.

This was the longest hike since starting PT and it went about as well as the others. The leg felt fine, but the lower back/hips remained tight and somewhat uncomfortable through most of the outing. That evening a new issue popped up in my left hip area which made it difficult to find a comfortable sleep position. Oddly I woke up with my lower back feeling really good, but the left hip was still a little uncomfortable. It will be interesting to discuss all this with the physical therapist next week. Until then – Happy Trails!

Flickr: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge

Tags Ankeny Hill Nature Center, Ankeny Wildlife Refuge, David B. Marshall Outdoor Classroom, Egret Marsh, hiking, Mallard Marsh, Mohoff Pond, Oregon, Peregrine Marsh, Pintail Marsh, wildflowers

Eugene Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Wild Iris Ridge – 05/02/2026

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 4, 2026
3 Comments on Wild Iris Ridge – 05/02/2026

With me recently starting physical therapy for my leg/hip/lower back issues we decided to cancel a planned road trip around Northern California and instead focus on shorter recovery hikes closer to home. The bright side of missing out on the road trip was we’d be saving a lot of money on gas.

To kick off our staycation we headed south to Eugene for the 3.5-mile Wild Iris Ridge loop before picking up our son who would be spending part of the week with us. Wild Iris Park opened in 2017 offering a 3.5-mile lollipop loop through an oak savannah with Spring wildflowers. We parked at the small trailhead along Bailey Hill Road.

A one-mile segment of trail climbs a little over 300′ from the trailhead to the start of the loop on Wild Iris Ridge. Initially the trail passes under a set of powerlines before entering the woods. Wildflowers were blooming in the grass.

Camas

Buttercups

Rose checkermallow

We found more wildflowers in the woods.

Cow parsnip

The wild roses were just beginning to bloom.

Hawthorne

Tough-leaved iris

Rosy plectritis

Dogwood

Chickadee

Passing back under the powerlines.

Vetch

Houndstongue

Fringecup

Bench near the start of the loop.

Serviceberry

We opted to hike the loop clockwise and followed the pointer for Bailey Hill Drive.

It was a 0.3-mile climb to the Bailey Hill Drive Trailhead. This section continued through the woods before reaching a meadow below the trailhead.

Lupine

Columbine

Smallflower woodland star

Baby blue eyes

Miniature lupine

Rosy plectritis

The trailhead at Bailey Hill Drive.

Barestem biscuitroot

View from the trailhead area. There was a forecasted 20% chance of showers, but those never materialized. We were however surprised when we started hearing occasional rumbling thunder in the distance.

From Bailey Hill Dirve the loop follows old roadbeds for 1.2-miles to complete the loop.

There were a lot of irises in bloom along the road.

Grass pea

The blurry brown spot to the right of the bend in the road is the second of two deer that crossed in front of us.

Bench in a meadow along the loop. With the cloudy conditions there wasn’t much of a view today.

Olive-sided flycatcher

Tolmie’s mariposa lily

The final tenth of the mile of the loop narrows and climbs up to the junction.

After finishing the loop, we hiked back down the 1-mile stretch to the trailhead. We spotted a few flowers that we’d missed on our fist pass.

Yarrow

Avens

Finch

Purple oyster salsify

Nearing the trailhead.

The 3.5-mile hike gained a little over 700′ of elevation but was never steep. We saw a decent number of other trail users, but it never felt crowded.

My leg/hips responded well to the hike which was a little longer and had more elevation gain than my previous hike at Fort Hoskins (post) which was encouraging. We (or at least I) will continue with shorter hikes while I work through the physical therapy. Luckily there are plenty of nearby options that fit the bill. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wild Iris Ridge

Tags Bailey Hill Drive Trailhead, Eugune, hiking, Oregon, Wild Iris Park, Wild Iris Ridge, Wild Iris Trailhead, wildflowers

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Cascades

Naches Peak Loop (Mt. Rainier) – 08/08/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 15, 2025
No Comments on Naches Peak Loop (Mt. Rainier) – 08/08/2025

For our final hike of our Mount Rainier vacation we landed on the Naches Peak Loop. This was originally not going to be our final hike but after several changes to our plans throughout the week it wound up here and we couldn’t be happier that it did. This was a spectacular hike with tons of wildflowers, great views, and a nice variety of wildlife.

Less than 40 minutes from Packwood we arrived at the trailhead a little before 5:45am.

Double Peak

The Naches Peak Loop Trail is 3.5-miles with 500′ of elevation gain. A portion of the loop follows the Pacific Crest Trail which provided an opportunity for a side trip down to Dewey Lakes in the William O. Douglas Wilderness.

It is recommended to hike the loop clockwise to maximize the views of Mount Rainier so that was our plan as we set off. The wildflower display was immediately profuse.

Heading down to the start of the loop near Tipsoo Lake.

Tipsoo Lake

Spirea, lupine, western pasque flower, and bistort.

We turned left at the start of the loop and climbed for a third of a mile to the Pacific Crest Trail at Chinook Pass.

Western pasque flower seedheads and aster.

Valerian and bistort

Larkspur

Arnica, fleabane, lupine, bistort, and valerian.

Partridgefoot

Highway 410 at Chinook Pass.

Trail sign for the PCT.

We turned right on the PCT and crossed the highway on an overpass.

The PCT was more level as it traversed the hillside below Naches Peak.

Looking back at Yakima Peak.

We were leaving the National Park and entering the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

The top of Mount Rainier to the left of Yakima Peak.

Saxifrage

Bird’s beak lousewort

At one point we looked back toward Yakima Peak and spotted some deer dashing across the hillside.

Doe and two fawns.

White mountain heather

Wilderness information for the William O. Dougals Wilderness.

Paintbrush

Grass-of-parnassus and an arnica.

Allumroot

Columbine with several other types of flowers.

Cusick’s speedwell

Pink monkeyflower

Wilderness sign

Bird with a snack.

Naches Peak

Just under a mile from Chinook Pass the PCT passes a small tarn below Naches Peak. We detoured around the tarn on a use trail.

Sickle-top lousewort

Penstemon

Aster

Pink monkeyflower and arnica

Pussytoes

Dewey Peak

The top of Mt. Adams between Dewey and Seymour Peaks.

Mt. Adams

Golden-mantled ground squirrel enjoying the view.

Dewey Lake below Dewey Peak.

We came to a junction 1.7-miles from Chinook Pass where the PCT forked left to head downhill to Dewey Lake.

Heather decided not to make the side trip down to Dewey Lake as it added over 600′ of elevation gain, and over 3 miles to the hike. I headed down the PCT which made one big switchback then headed more directly toward the lakes.

Double Peak with the snowy Tatoosh Range behind.

Stevens, Boundary, and Unicorn Peaks

Yarrow

Rainiera

No fires reminder.

Dewey Lake

There are several smaller ponds/lakes along the PCT in addition to Dewey Lake.

The largest of the smaller bodies of water.

Reflections in a pond.

PCT along Dewey Lake.

I turned around at the southern end of the lake and headed back to the Naches Peak Loop.

Elephants head at Dewey Lake.

Sandpiper

Junco

Great blue heron

Lousewort

Mushrooms

Grouse

The signs at the Naches Peak Loop junction ahead.

I continued counterclockwise on the Naches Peak Loop. The wildflowers were not as thick on this side of Naches Peak, but the views of Mount Rainier were excellent.

The Tatoosh Range.

Mt. Rainier and Naches Peak

Unnamed lake along the Naches Peak Loop.

There were some good flowers near the unnamed lake.

Robin

A nice buck crossed the trail just ahead of me then disappeared into the forest.

Harebells

Cedar waxwings

Mt. Adams

Hawkeye Point and Johnson Peak in the Goat Rocks Wilderness in front of Mt. Adams.

Sourdough Ridge

Yakima Peak and Highway 410.

Tipsoo Lake from the southern trailhead.

Yakima Peak from Tipsoo Lake.

Mt. Rainier from Tipsoo Lake.

Butterfly

Pine siskin

The trailhead where we had parked on the far side of a small pond.

With the detour to Dewey Lakes my hike wound up being 7.2-miles with roughly 1200′ of elevation gain.

This wound up being the perfect hike to end our trip with providing big views and extensive wildflower meadows along with a surprising variety of wildlife sightings. It was also short enough that we on our way back to Salem a little before 10am allowing us to be home mid-afternoon (no thanks to Portland traffic). It had been a great trip, even with the flat tire the first day. The temperatures had been especially welcome as it never got above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems like it had been many years since our last summer vacation that didn’t include 90-to-100-degree temperatures at some point. We were also pleasantly surprised with how often we didn’t notice the crowds. While the park was busy there were times every day where we were able to enjoy a feeling of solitude, even in the Paradise Area. We weren’t in the park on a weekend so things might have felt differently on a Saturday, but our experience was very positive. I don’t know when we’ll be back, but there are still plenty of trails left for us to explore at Mount Rainier. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Naches Peak Loop

Tags cedar waxwings, Chinook Pass, deer, Dewey Lake, grouse, hiking, Mount Rainier National Park, Naches Peak, Naches Peak Loop, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Tipsoo Lake, Washington, wildflowers, William O. Douglas Wilderness

Hiking Mt. Rainier Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Paradise Area (Mt. Rainier) – 08/04/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 11, 2025
2 Comments on Paradise Area (Mt. Rainier) – 08/04/2025

We had planned five days of hiking in Mount Rainier National Park starting with a visit to the Sunrise Area. Those plans fell through when we experienced a flat tire on Sunday’s drive to Walupt Falls (post). In 2024 the park instituted a timed entry reservation system to help alleviate congestion in parts of the park. In 2025 the Sunrise Area was the only one subject to timed entry. Timed entry reservations are required from 7am to 5pm. Reservations are not required outside of that window however and given our penchant for early starts our plan was to arrive well before 7am.

Instead of heading to the park first thing Monday morning we were waiting for 7am when Rod’s Tire Source in Randle, WA opened. Thankfully not only did they have tires in stock that would fit our Subaru they could get us in just after 8am. That meant we should have plenty of time to still get one of our other planned hikes in. We made the 14-mile drive to Randle and the folks at Rod’s were all ready for us at 8am. They had us on our way shortly after 8:30am, and after stopping by our room to grab our packs we headed for the Paradise Area of Mt. Rainier.

The Paradise Area is possibly the most popular area at Mt. Rainier and had been subject to the timed entry reservations in 2024. Due to road and pavement projects in 2025 timed entry wasn’t applied to Paradise in 2025. By the time we reached the trailhead parking area at 9:45am it was full. Luckily there was space along a pullout between this lot and the picnic area (the picnic area acts as overflow parking).

Sign for the picnic area from the pullout.

We headed toward the picnic area the crossed the road to a set of stairs that led to the lower parking area.

The forecast had been for partly sunny skies, but the parking area was socked in with fog. We hoped that it might burn off at some point, but regardless we were excited to be getting a hike in at all given the tire issue. We stopped at a signboard and confirmed out planned route which was to hike the Skyline Trail counterclockwise.

Because we started from the lower lot we needed to take the Alta Vista Trail to the Skyline Trail.

The wildflowers were amazing from the start, and we couldn’t imagine what it would have looked like if the fog wasn’t limiting our sight distance.

When we arrived at the junction with the Avalanche Lily Trail a family mentioned that there was a doe bedded down a couple hundred feet to the left, so we detoured that way.

The doe bedded down in the wildflowers.

We kept the proper distance from the doe and used the zoom on the camera to get some photos.

After a few pics we headed back to the junction and took the Avalanche Lily Trail toward the Jackson Visitors Center where we picked up the Skyline Trail.

Jackson Visitors Center

We headed toward Myrtle Falls to do the loop counterclockwise.

Paradise Inn

A big patch of partridgefoot amid other wildflowers.

Arnica and multiple other flowers.

Shooting star

Mostly bistort

We detoured down the short path to the Myrtle Falls Viewpoint before continuing on the loop.

Myrtle Falls

Edith Creek above Myrtle Falls.

Pink monkeyflower and a speedwell.

A white field of valerian (and some bistort).

There are a number of trails crisscrossing the Paradise Area allowing for shorter loops and a lot of exploration.

Spirea

Yellow penstemon

Coiled lousewort

Arrowleaf groundsel

Bird’s beak lousewort

It wasn’t all wildflowers, but it mostly was.

Sickle-top lousewort

We ran into a small crowd gathered below a talus slope. Most of them were watching a hoary marmot but there was also a pika for those who spotted the small animal.

Pika

Marmot

The marmot was busy looking for brunch.

Tall mountain bluebells

After watching the critters for a few minutes we continued on past the parade of flowers.

Fireweed

Thistle

There were so many flowers it was impossible to catch everything but on this hillside we spotted some yellow paintbrush.

Paradise River

Paintbrush in front of western pasque flowers.

Columbine and yellow willow-herb

Pink mountain heather and lupine

Sparrow with a snack.

Bracted lousewort

Cusick’s speedwell

Golden-mantled ground squirrel.

Despite the many reminders not to feed the wildlife we witnessed several people unable to follow this simple rule (at least one of which got bit).

Phlox

Beargrass

Elephant’s head

Monkeyflower

Bird and some sort of willowherb (tiny pink flowers on the right).

Bird’s beak lousewort and white mountain heather.

First patch of snow along the trails.

Pussytoes

Cinquefoil

Western pasque flower in bloom.

Saxifrage

Marsh marigold

Catchfly

Orange agoseris

Pink monkeyflower

Littleflower penstemon

As we neared the highpoint of the loop the fog began to give way.

Golden fleabane

When the trail gained a ridge there was a slightly obscured view of Mt. Raininer.

I took a seat on a rock and watched the changing views while I waited for Heather to catch up.

The Goat Rocks on the left with Mt. Adams on the right.

I was not alone at the viewpiont.

When Heather got to my rock I left my pack with her and continued up the ridge to McClure Rock.

McClure Rock straight ahead.

Penstemon

There was a little more elevation involved than I had anticipated.

Aster and partridgefoot

Giant cairn on McClure Rock.

Climber’s trail heading toward the mountain.

A look at people on the snowfield above.

Goat Rocks and Mt. Adams from McClure Rock.

Bismark Peak to the right with Mount Aix behind Nelson Ridge.

Pussypaws

Dwarf lupine

I returned to Heather and we continued on the loop which quickly reentered the fog.

Raven

Goldenrod

Penstemon

The Panaroma Point Overlook was crowded despite being in the fog.

Back into the flowers.

Arnica, mountain heather, and lupine.

Bog laurel

Gentians

Saxifrage

The only snow remaining over the trail.

Lots of marmots along the route.

Fleabane and mountain heather

Fleabane and paintbrush

We decided to leave the Skyline Trail when we came to a junction with the Dead Horse Creek Trail

The stroller was empty, not sure what the story with that was.

The Dead Horse Creek Trail was much less used which provided a little more solitude as we headed downhill. There was not a noticeable drop off in flowers though.

Not sure what this chipmunk was eating but it wasn’t from us or any other person we saw.

We paused to watch four marmots on a rock, two of which were wrestling.

We stayed right here on the Dead Horse Creek Trail.

Flowers along Dead Horse Creek.

Nuthatch

As we neared the end of trail we spotted another deer bedded down amid the flowers.

Buck in the wildflowers

The lupine was profuse near the bottom of the Dead Horse Creek Trail.

Stairs leading to the lower parking lot.

My hike here wound up being 7.7-miles with a little over 2000′ of cumulative elevation gain.

Before we headed back to Packwood we drove up to the upper parking lot and found a spot near the visitor’s center and went inside to grab a little food and check out the exhibits.

When we finally got back to our room we were greeted with a few elk grazing in the grass out back. (This was a regular occurrence.)

It turned out to be a great day considering we started off needing to replace our tires. Our plan was to visit the Sunrise Area on Tuesday where the forecast was for mostly sunny skies. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Paradise Area

Tags Alta Vista Trail, Dead Horse Creek Trail, Edith Creek, hiking, Jackson Visitor's Center, McClure Rock, Mount Rainier National Park, Myrtle Falls, Packwood WA, Panorama Point, Paradise, Paradise Area, Paradise River, Skyline Trail, Washington, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Craig Lake – 07/17/2025

Disclaimer – This hike requires map and navigational skills due to portions of the route using abandoned trails and some off-trail travel.

For the final outing of my solo vacation I decided to attempt a visit to Craig Lake in the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness. This is one of Hike Oregon’s “Members Only” hikes. I decided to combine that described hike with a visit to the Berley Lakes, which Heather and I had visited in 2021 (post).

At one time there had been official trails to all these lakes but at some point, possibly after the 2003 B&B Fire, the trails were abandoned by the Forest Service. The old trails aren’t shown on my GPS map, but I found them on CalTopo and made sure I had a copy of them with me. The hike starts at the Santiam Pass Pacific Crest Trailhead which requires a NW Forest Pass to park, but not a Central Cascades Wilderness Permit for day hikes (you do need a permit for overnight stays).

A short connector trail leads from the trailhead to the PCT where I turned left.

Water left for thru hikers.

The PCT climbs gradually through the 2003 fire scar with increasingly good views to the south of Mt. Washington, the Three Sisters and Broken Top.

After 0.2-miles on the PCT the Old Summit Trail heads off to the right (post).

Broken Top, North Sister, Middle Sister, and Mt. Washington (L to R).

It was a good beargrass year, but the bloom had happened a few weeks before my visit.

The lupine however was near peak bloom.

Tent caterpillars

Scarlet gilia and lupine.

Three Fingered Jack

Penstemon

At the 1.3-mile mark I arrived a junction with the Santiam Lake Trail which I turned left onto.

The Santiam Lake Trail descends gradually providing some decent views of Three Fingered Jack.

Thistle

The trail passes this unnamed lake shortly after splitting from the PCT.

Scarlet gilia

Buckwheat

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Lupine along the trail.

Scarlet gilia and lupine

Broken Top, North Sister, Middle Sister, Mt. Washington, Hayrick Butte, and Hoodoo Butte.

Penstemon lining the trail.

I followed the Santiam Lake Trail for a mile and a half before I spotted the former Berley Lakes Trail splitting off to the left.

Even with the wood over it the tread was obvious at the junction.

The Berley Lakes Trail sees just enough use for the tread to be reasonably visible, but the lack of maintenance requires some effort to stick to the path.

Beargrass at the dry bed of Lost Creek Lake.

Plume moth on arnica

Columbine

According to the CalTopo map it was 0.4-miles between junction with the Santiam Lake Trail and the old Craig Lake Trail. It also showed it was just on the other side of another seasonal branch of Lost Creek. Unlike the Berley Lake Trail juction with the Santiam Lake Trail the Craig Lake Trail wasn’t obvious. Without the trails being on the GPS map as well I was forced to try and compare the CalTopo map to the GPS. I could tell by comparing the maps that I had gone too far so I decided to simply turn off the Berley Lakes Trail and head in the general direction of the missing trail in hopes of picking up the tread along the way. I discovered later that I missed the Craig Lake Trail by less than 100 yards, but I didn’t manage to find the tread on the way up to Craig Lake.

I needed to get up this butte to find the lake which was some 250′ above the Berley Lakes Trail.

I angled through the forest, but I didn’t angle far enough SW to find the Craig Lake Trail. This was partly due to needing to find a passable route up and partly due to not matching my route closely enough to the alignment shown on the CalTopo map.

Forest at the base of the butte.

Starting up the butte.

Hummingbird

Three Fingered Jack

I was hoping this was going to be the trail when I spotted it from a distance, but it was nothing more than a steep game trail.

I eventually gave up on trying to find the trail and instead focused on getting up to some flat terrain. I knew that if I could reach the lake then I would more than likely find the trail there and be able to follow it down.

I headed more or less straight up here.

Finally some level terrain.

My adventure wasn’t over just because I’d reached the plateau where the lake was. I had come up north of the lake and still needed to make my way there. In a classic lost person move my initial attempt resulted in a 0.2-mile loop as I over corrected while picking my way through the trees. I paid closer attention to the GPS on my next attempt to reach Craig Lake and was successful however this time I hadn’t drifted far enough east to reach the trail and instead found myself on a rock peninsula.

North Sister and Mt. Washington from the peninsula.

Craig Lake

Penstemon

After regathering myself I headed back off the peninsula and worked my way east to find the Craig Lake Trail which I was able to do.

The peninsula from the Craig Lake Trail.

At times the Craig Lake Trail was fairly obvious.

My next mistake came after following the Craig Lake Trail for a tenth of a mile. I lost the tread in some blowdown and vegetation. The trail had turned right to climb up some rocks, but I stayed straight and wound up on some cliffs with a view to the south.

From the viewpoint I scrambled up the rocks and wound up picking up the trail again near a campsite.

Where I went up the rocks.

Woodland beardtongue

One of the campsites on the east end of Craig Lake.

Three Fingered Jack from Craig Lake

Craig Lake

I took a break at one of the campsites and had some food while enjoying the view.

My break spot.

Aster

The view from the campsite. The mosquitos were an issue at the lake shore but they weren’t too bad up here.

When it was time to continue on I followed the Craig Lake Trail around the lake to where I would have come up had I been able to find the trail earlier.

Bunchberry

View across Craig Lake.

The Craig Trail heading down from the plateau.

The upper portion of the trail was obvious but after 0.2-miles of descending I lost the tread in a meadow.

The meadow where I lost the trail.

View of the Craig Lake Trail entering the meadow.

Here again I used the GPS to head for the Berley Lakes Trail which I arrived at in another tenth of a mile, just a few yards from where CalTopo Map showed the junction.

The old trail veered further right (south) in the meadow than I did.

Orange agoseris

Phacelia

Butterfly

The Berley Lakes Trail.

I turned left on the Berley Lakes Trail planning on visiting Lower Berley then Upper Berley Lakes. In hindsight I should have saved our 2021 track to the GPS because after just a third of a mile I made yet another mistake. I came to a fork and incorrectly chose to stay left on what was an obvious path but not the old alignment of the Berley Lakes Trail. I figured out my mistake pretty quickly and the tread petered out leaving me to follow game trails and any other route I could find while I used my GPS to get me to Upper Berley Lake. (I’d passed Lower Berley and didn’t want to back track to the trail, so I just skipped visiting that lake today.)

Checkerspot on an alpine false dandelion.

Stellar’s jay

Still on the trail.

The trail passed through a number of flowering meadows.

At this point I was off trail just trying to get over a rise to be able to drop down to Upper Berley Lake.

I wound up following a draw that was lined with lingering snow patches and full of mosquitos.

Witch’s butter

Looking back up the draw.

Pussypaws

I finally located the Berley Lakes Trail between the two lakes and turned left to reach Upper Berley Lake.

Shooting stars

Mountain heather

Three Fingered Jack from Upper Berley Lake.

I followed the old trail to the east side of the lake to its historic end. From there it was a 0.6-mile cross country hike through meadows to reach the Santiam Lake Trail.

Paintbrush

Sub-alpine mariposa lilies and pentstmon

From here I could see the Santiam Lake Trail.

The Santiam Lake Trail, a welcome sight.

I turned right onto the trail and followed it 2.7-miles back to the Pacific Crest Trail.

Dwarf lupine

Alpine wild buckwheat

Lost Creek

There were a lot of nice wildflower meadows, but this was the best one of the day.

Buckwheat, lupine and scarlet gilia.

Pond along the trail.

Fritillary on an orange agoseris.

Clodius parnassian on penstemon.

Looking back at Three Fingered Jack.

Maxwell Butte (post)

The Pacific Crest Trail junction.

From the junction it was mostly downhill for the 1.3-miles back to my car.

Woodpecker

Leaving the wilderness.

I wound up hiking 10.8-miles and climbed a cumulative 1500′. The hike was challenging due to the abandoned trails compounded by my mistakes leading me cross country a couple of times.

The orange portion marks the Craig Trail alignment.

The blue is my track overlaid on the CalTopo map showing the historical trail alignments for Berley and Craig Lakes.

It was a fun, and at times, frustrating morning but I was glad to have been able to visit another of the lakes in the Cascades. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Craig Lake

Tags Berley Lakes Trail, Craig Lake, Craig Lake Trail, Hike Oregon, hiking, Mt. Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Santiam Pass Trailhead, Three Fingered Jack. Santiam Lake Trail, Upper Berley Lake, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report

Obsidian Loop – 07/15/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 18, 2025
2 Comments on Obsidian Loop – 07/15/2025

Following a great visit to Jefferson Park on Monday (post) I continued my solo vacation by revisiting a hike that we refer to as “The hike that shall not be named.” On October 14th, 2012, we (including our Son) had set off from the Obsidian Trail for what I thought was going to be 15-mile loop with epic views. A combination of me misunderstanding the route described in the guidebook and cloudy conditions it wound up being a largely viewless 18.6-mile trudge (post). Heather and I revisited a portion of that hike by visiting Four-in-One Cone in 2019 (post), but we had not been back to the Obsidian Trail.

I had my Central Cascades Wilderness Permit for the Obsidian Trailhead and set off ridiculously early (3am) to make the 2:30 hour drive.

The trailhead at 5:30am.

In addition to the Central Cascades Wilderness Permit a NW Forest Pass is required to park at the trailhead.

I set off on the trail which began in the trees before briefly passing through the 2017 Separation Fire scar.

A connector trail joins from the left shortly after leaving the hiker trailhead. This trail connects to the equestrian trailhead, and it theoretically connects to the Scott Trail. We had used this connecter for the hike that shall not be named, and I was planning on using it again today but more on that later.

Most of the beargrass was past but there were a few still in bloom.

Entering the Three Sisters Wilderness.

The initial section of the trail climbs gradually.

Entering the fire scar.

Sims Butte

The Middle Sister on the left and South Sister (post) to the right.

There had been some recent trail work done on the Obsidian Trail.

Just under 3.5-miles from the trailhead I arrived at a lava flow which the Obsidian Trail climbs over providing the loop’s first set of great views.

Partridgefoot

North and Middle Sister

Scott Mountain (post) on the left.

Belknap Crater (post), Mt. Washington, and Mt. Jefferson

Belknap Crater, Mt. Washington, Mt. Jefferson, and Little Belknap Crater

Buckwheat

North and Middle Sister as the trail began to descend to the White Branch.

White Branch crossing. I was able to rock hop and keep my feet dry.

On the far side of the White Branch is a junction with the Glacier Way Trail.

Lupine and a patch of snow on the far side of the White Branch.

Both of the trails lead to the Pacific Crest Trail 1.4-miles apart The Glacier Way meets the PCT near Sunshine, a large meadow, in 0.7-miles and the Obsidian Trail meets the PCT near Obsidian Falls in 1.7-miles. This allows for a nearly 12-mile lollipop loop. It is also where the hike that shall not be named went awry. Sullivan described a 15-mile loop using the PCT and Scott Trails, but I failed to pick up on needing to use the Glacier Way Trail in order to keep the milage to fifteen. Just as we’d done in 2012, I stuck to the Obsidian Trail only this time I knew what I was signing up for. The only thing I wasn’t sure of was how much snow might still be lingering in the area. I was carrying micro spikes and prepared to either turn back or bail on the Glacier Way Trail if need be.

Beyond the junction the Obsidian Trail climbed more steeply before reaching a series of meadows along the South Fork White Branch.

There was a lot of lupine in bloom along the trail.

There were quite a few patches of snow starting at 5800′ but most were easy to cross without needing the spikes.

More trail work.

I did put the spikes on to cross this patch since it was on a fairly steep hillside.

When the trail leveled out near the meadows start looking for obsidian in and along the trail.

Middle Sister from one of the meadows.

The same meadow in 2012.

Alpine false dandelion

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Alpine wild buckwheat

Cobwebby paintbrush

South Fork White Branch

More patchy snow.

Second crossing of the South Fork White Branch in the meadows.

Western pasque flowers going to seed.

Western pasque flower still in bloom.

Heading back to the trees near Obsidian Creek.

The trail descended to a crossing of Obsidian Creek below Obsidian Falls then climbed to a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail.

Obsidian Creek

The top of The Husband sticking up above the trees.

Jacob’s ladder

Junction with the PCT.

I turned left onto the PCT which switchbacked up above Obsidian Falls. I made the short detour down to the viewpoint below the waterfall.

Spur to the base of the falls on the left.

Obsidian Falls

Obsidian Falls from the PCT.

Above the waterfall the PCT levels out on a wide plateau with a view of the Middle Sister.

Looking back down Obsidian Creek.

The headwaters of Obsidian Creek.

Spring feeding the creek.

There were two large snowfields still covering the PCT along this section but given the terrain was flat and there were well established footprints they were fairly easy to cross.

The first snowfield passed one of several ponds on the plateau, this one being frozen.

Frozen Pond.

The same pond in October 2012.

The second snowfield crossing.

Roughly the same spot in 2012, note the small pond ahead.

The small pond today.

Obsidian

Little Brother ahead.

North Sister

At the northern end of the plateau the trail begins a descent into Sunshine, a large meadow along Glacier Creek.

User trail leading down to Glacier Creek. I did see one person down at the creek gathering water.

View from the junction with the user trail. If you look closely, you can see the person who was getting water near the trail crossing of the creek below.

There were more patches of snow to navigate as I made my way down to Sunshine on the PCT but nothing had been too bad, so I decided not to bail when I passed the Glacier Way Trail junction and continued down to Glacier Creek.

Belknap Crater and Mt. Washington were once again visible.

I ended up going around this one.

Sign at the junction.

A closed user trail that has been replaced by the one up above.

The PCT crossing Glacier Creek.

Paintbrush

Beyond Glacier Creek the Pacific Crest Trail did some ups and downs before arriving at Sawyer Bar, a crossing of the White Branch at a lava flow.

Leaving the Obsidian area.

I’d also left the maintained trail area. This was probably the worst obstacle of the day but there were a number of downed trees along this section of the PCT and later on the Scott Trail.

Lots of lupine again.

The PCT made a hard right turn to the east at the lava flow.

Belknap Crater, Mt. Washington, Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Jefferson

It had been a little hazy to the north all morning, and I had started getting a faint whiff of smoke every once in a while, after crossing Glacier Creek. Looking at the sky as I neared Sawyer Bar it was obvious that smoke from the Cram Fire over 60 miles away just NE of Madras was being blown into the area by the NE winds.

North Sister and Little Brother

Dropping down to Sawyer Bar. There was still a snowfield over the White Branch.

My arrival at Sawyer Bar was loudly announced by a resident yellow-bellied marmot.

After a brief stint in some sparse trees the trail entered the lava flow and headed for a narrow chute where it switched back relentlessly in the loose volcanic rock.

Collier Cone poking up ahead.

Paintbrush

Heading into the chute with the Sun above.

Penstemon

Sorrel

Looking back down from near the top.

Goldenrod

I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to climb up onto the rim of Collier Cone as we had in 2012 due to the presence of snow, but after reaching the top of the chute and seeing the use trail into the cone I could tell that it would be possible.

The high point of Collier Cone from the PCT.

Catchfly

North and Middle Sister from inside the cone. I was following use trails toward the low point along the rim to save myself some effort.

Looking back at the smoke from the Cram Fire flowing through Santiam Pass.

The opposite side of the cone.

North and Middle Sister from the rim. The glacial lake at the bottom is from melting snow and the shrinking Collier Glacier.

Middle Sister and Little Brother

The view was a little different in 2012.

The wind was whipping pretty strongly but I took advantage of a couple of large cinder rocks to take a seat, have some food, and change my socks before continuing.

Silvery raillardella

Dwarf alpinegold

Heading down to the PCT.

On last look back from the PCT.

I continued north on the PCT rounding Collier Cone’s ridge and then descending for almost a mile and a half to Scott Meadow.

I passed a hiker and her dog just before rounding the ridge here, the first I’d seen other than the person getting water from Glacier Creek.

After rounding the ridge I spotted the sketchiest snowfield of the entire hike, but having just seen the hiker and dog coming from that direction helped boost my confidence.

I put my micro spikes on for the second time today and carefully made my way across the soft melting snowfield. That was the last time the spikes felt necessary, but not the end of the snow patches.

Collier Cone, North Sister and Little Brother from the far side of another snow patch.

There was evidence of some glissading down this patch to the PCT below. I was able to avoid most of the snow by looping around it.

I just had to cross this short section in order to loop around the rest.

The creek along the trail here is not named on maps and is shown as seasonal.

The final snow patch along the PCT before Scott Meadow.

Almost to the meadow.

This would mark my fourth visit to this meadow. The first was of course in October 2012 and the third was in August 2019 on our Four-in-One Cone hike. In between those two hikes was a July 29th visit during our Matthieu Lakes hike (post). The 2013 hike had been the only one where there were any flowers to speak of blooming in the meadow. At that time it was primarily lupine with some scattered paintbrush, and a host of mosquitos. I had been expecting mosquitos all day, but whether it was timing, the breeze, or the DEET I had applied before setting off there had been almost no sign of them all morning and it was the same at the meadow.

I’m not sure my timing could have been much better for the flowers this year. It took me a bit to cover the 0.2-miles between the start of the meadow and the Scott Trail junction.

Paintbrush and cinquefoil

Western pasque flowers

Alpine speedwell

Lupine

Alpine false dandelions, speedwell, cinquefoil and possibly some pussytoes.

California tortoiseshell

Bog laurel

The meadow through the years.

October 14,2012

July 29, 2013

August 14, 2019

Today

The junction with the Scott Trail.

I turned left onto the Scott Trail and followed it up an open hillside.

Yapoah Crater to the left.

After making the climb the trail gradually descended to a cinder field near Four-in-One Cone.

Pussy paws

Four-in-One Cone

A user trail leads up the cone and despite the lack of views we had made the 0.4-mile detour along the top. That detour had been the last straw for our son who didn’t realize that it wasn’t part of the loop needed to get back to the car. When he got to the top and found out it was just an out-and-back side trail he was not at all happy with me. I didn’t make the side trip this time given the increasing smoke on the horizon and the fact that Heather and I had gotten to enjoy the view in 2019.

Looking back at the side trail after passing it.

The view from the trail below Four-in-One Cone isn’t too bad.

Beyond Four-in-One Cone the Scott Trail briefly continues through the cinder field before skirting the tree line next to a lava flow.

North Sister and an increasingly hazy sky.

The Scott Trail eventually crosses over the lava flow then enters the forest as it descends toward the McKenzie Highway.

Sign reminding visitors there are no campfires allowed above 5700′.

There were more snow patches in the forest but nothing much on the trail itself. A bigger issue was the amount of blowdown along the trail; however, I did pass a trail crew working their way up the trail.

Fritillary on valerian

Queen’s cup

Lousewort

Rosy spirea

Fading Washington lilies.

Strawberry blossoms

Larkspur

I had been watching for the connector trail and keeping my eye on the GPS, but somehow I completely missed it. I did pass a decommissioned trail with a closed for rehabilitation sign. In 2012 there had been a sign at the junction but by 2019 the sign was missing but the trail was obvious.

The connector trail on the right coming from the opposite direction that I was headed.

The Forest Service page for the Obsidian Trailhead still lists the Obsidian Tie Trail and as providing access to the Scott Trail which leads me to believe I just didn’t notice it, but it’s also possible that it has been decommissioned and the trail that I had passed after just setting off is now just a connector to the Obsidian Equestrian Trailhead.

Missing the connector wasn’t the end of the world as the Scott Trail crosses the McKenzie Highway a little over a quarter mile from the tie trail (or former tie trail).

It was when I reached this meadow that I knew I’d missed the turn.

Looking across the meadow.

Shooting stars

The highway from the wilderness sign.

I popped out onto the highway and turned left for a 0.6-mile road walk to the Obsidian Trailhead.

Historical marker for the 1862 Scott Road.

It was another third of a mile to my car along the gravel road to the trailhead.

I saved myself a little over a mile by not retracing our side trip across Four-in-One Cone, but missing the connector trail added almost a third of a mile so instead of an 18.6-mile loop like 2012 my GPS came in at 17.8-miles. Skipping Four-in-One-Cone also shaved off a little over 100′ of elevation gain leaving today just under 3400′ of cumulative gain.

Not sure why the Garmin map shows the PCT going along the rim of Collier Cone. It looks as though there is a use trail around the rim, but it certainly is not the PCT.

This was an excellent hike with spectacular views and some nice wildflowers. I was pushing the timing as far as snow goes, but this year has been warm and dry enough that it was passable (with micro spikes) this early. The lack of mosquitos was a huge blessing.

The only bummer was the arrival of the smoke from what has become a very serious fire. As of my writing this on July 16, 2025, the fire is over 64,000 acres with zero containment. Many people have had to evacuate, and many others are on standby to do so. Our prayers go out to them and to the responders doing everything they can to get the blaze under control.

Flickr: Obsidian Loop

Tags Collier Cone, Glacier Creek, Glacier Way, hiking, Little Brother, Obsidian Falls, Obsidian Trailhead, Opie Dilldock Pass, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Sawyer Bar, Scott Meadow, Scott Trail, Sunshine, three sister, Three Sisters Wilderness, White Branch, wildflowers

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Jefferson Area Oregon Trip report

Whitewater Trail to Jefferson Park – 07/14/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 17, 2025
3 Comments on Whitewater Trail to Jefferson Park – 07/14/2025

I had another solo week of vacation while Heather had to work (boo), and I kicked it off with a visit to the recently reopened Whitewater Trailhead. The trailhead had been closed after the Labor Day fires in 2020 and remained so until late Autumn 2024. The Whitewater Trail was the trail we used the time we visited Jefferson Park in 2011 as well as 2014 and 2015.

In all this would be my 9th visit to Jefferson Park which is the arguably my favorite spot in the Oregon Cascades outside of Crater Lake. Our most recent visit was last September via the Woodpecker Ridge Trail (post). The earliest date of any of the previous visits had been the 2015 visit on August 8th. That was a dry year leaving the flowers and other vegetation looking more like September than early August. We had always avoided July to avoid the mosquitos that follow the snow melt. They tend to be very attracted to Heather and will harass her unforgivingly. With her having to sit this one out I thought it would be a good time to finally try a July visit. I secured my Central Cascades Wilderness Permit and got an extra early start to avoid the heat of the day.

There were about a half dozen cars parked at the trailhead when I arrived at 5:30am.

The trail is in good shape and did not need to be rerouted due to the fire. Regardless it was a different experience due to the lack of trees along the route which created new views nearly the entire 4.2-miles to its end at the Pacific Crest Trail.

Northwestern rabbit-tobacco

Entering the Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

Pearly everlasting

Mt. Jefferson

White-veined and one-sided wintergreen

The Three Pyramids (post) on the left and Bachelor & Coffin Mountain (post) on the right.

Penstemon along the trail with Mt. Jefferson in the distance.

Lousewort

Fading Washington lily.

Thimbleberry

Mt. Jefferson, the Three Sisters, and Three Fingered Jack

The Three Sisters and Three Fingered Jack

Boca Cave (post) below Triangulation Peak.

Boca Cave

Pika! It was great to see several of these “rock rabbits” scurrying about the rock fields along the trails today.

Lewis’ monkeyflower

Woodpecker

Aster

Yarrow and penstemon

Whitewater Falls

Scarlet gilia

Stonecrop

Scouler’s bluebells

Oregon sunshine

Bleeding heart

Phacelia and rosy spirea

Aster?

Looking for pikas….

Found one!

Valerian, ragwort and bleeding heart

Whitewater Creek crossing.

Yellow monkeyflower

Marsh marigolds

Junction with the Pacific Crest Trail.

The mosquito activity had picked up near the Whitewater Creek crossing and they remained a bit of a nuisance throughout Jefferson Park, but they weren’t too bad unless I stopped for an extended period of time.

Arnica

Lupine with Mt. Jeferson in the background.

Junco

Sign announcing Jefferson Park.

Wildflowers at the entrance to Jefferson Park.

More wildflowers near the entrance.

Lupine along Whitewater Creek

We almost always see a pika in the rocks along this stretch.

Cinquefoil

Park Butte

I stuck to the PCT through Jefferson Park with the plan being to start visiting the lakes from the northern end with Russell Lake. There were many pauses to look back over my shoulder at Mt. Jefferson.

Snowmelt pond along the PCT.

Shooting stars and pink mountain heather.

Field of paintbrush and mountain heather on the far side of Jefferson Park.

Paintbrush lining the PCT heading toward Park Butte.

The only patch of snow still covering the PCT along this section was on a north facing hill prior to descending to the South Breitenbush River.

South Breitenbush River

Mt. Jefferson from Russell Lake.

Marsh marigolds

Park Butte from Russell Lake.

Bog laurel

I took a short break at Russell Lake before being prompted to continue by the host of mosquitos that were beginning to congregate around me.
I followed one of the trails around the lake through an unoccupied campsite and back to the PCT above the snow covered portion.

Campsite with a “No Fires” reminder post.

Moth

Heading south on the PCT near its junction with the South Breitenbush Trail.

I turned right on the South Breitenbush Trail which would lead me down to a junction with a side trail to Park Lake.

South Breitenbush Trail

Another snowmelt pond.

There was a little more snow remaining along this stretch of trail.

Heading down toward the junction.

Lewis’ monkeyflower

South Breitenbush River from the trail.

I turned uphill on the obvious trail and climb over a hill then dropped down to Park Lake.

Going up!

Park Lake

Sandwort

After tagging Park Lake I headed toward Rock Lake with a quick detour to Scout Lake first.

Alpine false dandelion

Looking back at Park Lake and Park Butte.

Either an aster or fleabane.

Mt. Jefferson from Scout Lake. One of the advantages of visiting earlier in the year was the location of the Sun overhead. Later in the Summer it has moved far enough south to make getting a good photo from this angle hard. The disadvantage of course was not being able to sit longer and enjoy the view sans mosquitos.

After getting a couple of shots of Scout Lake I made my way over to Rock Lake.

I wanted to get a view of Mt. Jefferson from this lake as well so I made my way around the lake counterclockwise.

At the SE side of the lake I followed a trail up a small hill and made my way to Bays Lake.

Rock Lake and Park Butte from the hill.

Bays Lake

I again headed counterclockwise around this lake on what began as a good trail.

Clodius parnassian

Mt. Jefferson from the outlet of Bays Lake.

Frog hanging out at the outlet.

Park Butte from Bays Lake.

The trail I was following led to an occupied camp site (the only one that I encountered this day) so I followed a fainter path to swing around them. I rejoined the original path I’d been following but I wound up losing it along the rocky shore of Bays Lake. Looking at my 2015 track the “good” trail was above the rocks, but I didn’t have that track handy, so I picked my way along the rocks until things got really rough and I bailed straight uphill.

Small pond above Bays Lake.

Climbing above the rocks.

Park Butte and Bays Lake

Pond above Bays Lake.

I found clear trails above the rocks and followed them for 0.2-miles. At that point I was back on my 2015 route, but I knew that trail curved back ENE to pass near Scout Lake before intersecting the PCT. The PCT wasn’t too far below where I was and when I saw a fairly clear path heading in that direction I decided to follow it. Long story short this path got very faint as it passed through an area that had been impacted by one of the fires. I was debating whether to turn back or try and continue downhill when I spotted a couple of hikers heading into the park. The PCT was close enough that I decided to pick my way down to the trail. I wouldn’t recommend this route, but it worked out.

Looking up at where I came down.

Back on the PCT I headed for the Whitewater Trail and my car.

No pika sightings on the way back but I did hear a few “meeps”.

Beetles on beargrass

The meadow at the entrance of Jefferson Park was now in full sunlight.

Lupine

I believe this is an arnica.

It was heating up fast on the exposed Whitewater Trail. The lack of tree cover does allow for some epic views, but it also means there is no escaping the sun.

Penstemon

Bee visiting stonecrop.

I don’t recall this rock formation from our previous hikes, another thing revealed by the fires.

There were at least five checkerspot butterflies on this clump of aster.

Nowhere to hide from the heat.

Mt. Jefferson, the Three Sisters and Three Fingered Jack

Fireweed

Black-backed woodpecker

There were copious amounts of trailing blackberries along the lower portion of the Whitewater Trail, some of which were ripe (and eaten).

This patch of spreading dogbane was being visited by over a half dozen butterflies of different varieties as well as some other pollinators.

Arriving back at the trailhead.

Today’s route around Jefferson Park came in at 13.3 miles with just under 2350′ of elevation gain.

It was bittersweet to revisit the Whitewater Trail. It was tough to see how intensely the fires had burned the area, but the trail was in good shape and the hike was very enjoyable. I had passed a number of people heading up on my way out including a Forest Service Ranger. We talked for a bit, and he asked if I’d seen any fire rings or trash, which I hadn’t. He eventually got around to asking to see my Cascade Wilderness Permit which I had ready on my phone (and a paper copy in my pack). It was actually exciting to be asked to show the permit since we always make sure we have the required permits whether it be California Campfire, National Park Entry, Central Cascades, or a county park, but we almost never are asked for proof that we have them. I know that there are some out there that remain vehemently opposed to the permit system, but there are no easy answers to overcrowding and overuse. It’s the system in place and we’ll continue to respect that. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Jefferson Park 2025

Tags bays lake, Central Cascade Wilderness Permit, hiking, Jefferson Park, Mount Jefferson Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, Park lake, PCT, rock lake, Russell Lake, scout lake, whitewater trail, Whitewater Trailhead, wildflowers