Tag: wildflowers

Wizard Way (Mt. Hood Meadows) – 07/12/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 14, 2025
1 Comment on Wizard Way (Mt. Hood Meadows) – 07/12/2025

In 2021 the Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Area opened a new collection of summer trails to the public. We had passed through the area clear back in 2013 (post) so it was past time for us to revisit and check out some of those new trails.

We used an entry in the OregonHikers Field Guide as inspiration for our planned route which included the Bear Grass, Bear Grass Cutoff, Stadium Loop, Lower Wizard Way, Middle Wizard Way, and Picnic Rock Spur trails. Our planned route got extended immediately upon our arrival at the entrance to the main parking lot at Mt. Hood Meadows. The lot is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and the amenities at the lodge (restaurant and restrooms) don’t open until 10am however it was our understanding that the lot was available to park in prior to 10am. This was true; however we failed to notice that the left side of the entrance gate was open.

Something about the ribbon, cones, and equipment in the background tricked my eyes into seeing a gate across both sides, green on the right and pink on the left so we parked in a small pullout on the side of the road.

You’d think I would have noticed that there wasn’t actually a gate on the left when I took this photo.

Parking here meant walking through the parking lot which took us right past the Umbrella Falls Trail.

It was just under a quarter of a mile down to Umbrella Falls from the parking lot and given we had not been to the falls in almost 12 years we detoured down the trail.

Valerian and false hellebore

Mountain bluebells

Aster

Mt. Hood from the Umbrella Falls Trail.

Umbrella Falls

After visiting the waterfall we climbed back up to the parking lot and continued on to the Mt. Hood Meadows Lodge.

Trail map at the lodge.

From the lodge we angled left on a roped gravel path passing several interpretive signs to a large “Blue Chair Lift” sign. The signed Bear Grass Trail began to the right of that sign.

Spirea

We followed this trail for a half mile through wildflower meadows to a junction with the Bear Grass Cutoff Trail.

An aster or fleabane

Elephants head

Penstemon, cat’s ear lilies, and spirea.

Beargrass on the hillside.

Beargrass and clumps of lupine on a hillside.

Arnica and valerian

The Bear Grass Trail crossing a service road.

Coiled lousewort

Jacob’s ladder

A short section of trees between meadows/ski runs.

Bear Grass Cutoff Trail on the left.

We turned left onto the cutoff trail which climbed roughly 350′ in 0.8-miles before rejoining the Bear Grass Trail. The climb was well graded and crossed several ski runs which provided views and more flowers.

Pink monkeyflower

One-sided wintergreen and dwarf bramble

Pacific coralroot

Sub-alpine mariposa lily (cat’s ear lily)

Coming up on another ski run covered in beargrass.

Partridgefoot

Bonney Butte (post) on the far right.

Hood River Express chairlift.

Back at the Bear Grass Trail we turned left to continue up the mountain.

Another half mile of views and wildflowers brought us to a fork where the Stadium Loop Trail split off to the left.

Mt. Jefferson to the south.

Broken Top, the Three Sisters, and Mt. Jefferson.

Cinquefoil

Mountain heather

Stadium Loop left and Bear Grass Trail to the right.

Mt. Hood Meadows Lodge from the junction.

We took the Stadium Loop Trail uphill and rejoined the Bear Grass Trail in less than a quarter mile.

The Stadium Express lift in front of Mt. Hood.

Goldenrod

Buckwheat

Yarrow

Penstemon

Subalpine fleabane

Trail signs below the Stadium Express at the upper junction with the Bear Grass Trail.

From the upper junction the Bear Grass Trail briefly followed a service road uphill to the top of the Stadium Express chairlift and a couple more interpretive signs.

The trail signage had been very good up to this point but there weren’t any signs at the top of the lift. The Bear Grass Trail was obvious though as it headed into a stand of trees.

In less than a tenth of a mile we arrived a the Timberline Trail where the Bear Grass Trail ended. The Lower Wizard Way Trail continued on the opposite side of Timberline Trail.

We crossed the Timberline Trail and began a mile long, 600′ climb, to the top of the Mt. Hood Express chairlift. This trail was a bit steeper than any of the lower trails, but it was still reasonably graded.

Sub-alpine mariposa lily and an orange agoseris

Paintbrush and cinquefoil

The trail crossing another service road.

Broken Top and the Three Sisters in the distance.

Jacob’s ladder

Townsend’s solitare

Pussypaws

Ragwort

Checkerspot on cinquefoil

Mountain heather and Jacob’s ladder

The trail got lost in the rocks here, but we simply walked under the lift to a service road and a ski patrol hut.

Penstemon

Mt. Hood from the top of the Mt. Hood Express lift.

That’s the blue lift to the right.

The ski patrol hut.

We followed the road past the ski patrol hut to the signed Middle Wizard Way Trail.

The Middle Wizard Way Trail is much rougher and steeper than any of the other trails. The route was flagged which helped us stay on course as we climbed over rocks and snowfields. Heather and I had split up on this portion and I made it a little over three quarters of a mile up to an old structure where I declared victory.

Stripped flagging marking the trail.

Paintbrush

Mt. Jefferson and the Three Sister from the trail.

The trail heading into a snowfield.

Penstemon, yarrow, buckwheat and pussypaws.

The lupine bloom was going strong.

Clark’s nutcracker

Mt. Jefferson from my turnaround point.

Broken Top, the Three Sisters and Mt. Jefferson

Looking down the Clark Creek Canyon. The Timberline Trail is visible near the bottom of the grey hillside on opposite canyon wall.

The Clark and Newton Glaciers.

The trail had gained 600′ from the service road and the remaining length of the trail gained at least 600′ more. On a cooler day I might have been tempted, but it was warm enough today to make me think twice.

The trail heads up the left side of this rock formation. It is reportedly possible to continue to the moraine behind and climb to 9000′ in elevation (which would be an additional 1300’+ climb from the top of the rock formation).

After a brief rest I started back down to find Heather was waiting for me part way up the trail near one of the snow fields.

Crossing one of the snow fields on the way down.

Jacob’s ladder and lupine

Aster

The view from Heather’s turnaround point.

We headed back down together retracing our steps back to the upper junction with the Stadium Loop where this time we stuck to the Bear Grass Trail.

Western white?

Mt. Jefferson and the ski patrol hut.

Checkerspot and aster

Cinquefoil

Stadium Loop Trail on the right.

It was just a tenth of mile before we arrived at the lower junction with Stadium Loop Trail and we were back on our earlier route.

Cat’s ear lilies along the trail.

The lower junction.

We followed the Bear Grass Trail downhill to the junction with the Bear Grass Cutoff Trail where we again left our earlier route and stayed on the Bear Grass Trail.

We followed the Bear Grass Trail down through the forest. This section of trail did not cross any ski runs and there were several patches of snow remaining in the trees.

Snow patch covering the Bear Grass Trail.

Shooting stars and cinquefoil

Violets

Four tenths of a mile from the Bear Grass Cutoff Trail we ignored the Jack Woods Trail joining from the left. This trail connects with the Timberline Trail along the ridge above the Clark Creek Canyon.

View across the Clark Creek Canyon.

Avalanche lilies

A little over 1.25-miles from the Bear Grass Cutoff Trail we came to a junction with the Picnic Rock Spur. This 0.3-mile spur led out to a rocky viewpoint above the Clark Creek Canyon.

Elk Mountain in the foreground with Lookout Mountain (post) behind to the right.

Arrowleaf buckwheat

Heather skipped the spur so after checking out the view I returned to the Bear Grass trail and followed it another 1.2-miles back to Mt. Hood Meadows Lodge.

The Umbrella Falls Cutoff Trail split off from the Bear Grass Trail and would have taken us back to Umbrella Falls, but we had agreed to meet up back at the lodge so we stuck to the Bear Grass Trail.

Trail sign at the junction with the Bear Grass Cutoff.

Pink monkeyflower

California tortoiseshell

Speedwell

It took a minute to locate Heather but once we’d reunited we headed back through the parking lot and returned to our car.

My mileage was 11.1 with a full mile of that attributed to parking at the gate and visiting Umbrella Falls. Total elevation gain was close to 2300′.

The green track is from our 2013 hike.

We were impressed with the trail system that Mt. Hood Meadows has developed and really enjoyed our hike here. There are a number of potential loops using the various trails and we look forward to returning and checking out more of them. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Wizard Way

Tags Bear Grass Cutoff, Bear Grass Trail, hiking, Lower Wizard Way, Middle Wizard Way, Mt. Hood, Mt. Hood Meadows, Mt. Hood Meadows Lodge, Oregon, Picnic Rocks Spur, Stadium Loop Trail, timberline trail, Umbrella Falls, Umbrella Falls Trail, wildflowers

Clackamas Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Mount Lowe – 07/04/2025

Whenever possible we try and take a hike in the Old Cascades in the morning on the 4th of July. This year we chose one of the few remaining hikes from Matt Reeder’s “101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region” (2nd edition) that we had yet to do. Many hikes featured in that book have been affected by fires over the last 5 years, primarily in 2020, but Mount Lowe has thus far been spared. Located along the Rho Ridge Trail, Mount Lowe rises to 5338′ and was home to a Forest Service lookout from 1916 into the 1960’s. We had hiked a portion of the Rho Ridge Trail in 2017 when we visited the Hawk Mountain Lookout (post). Much of that section of the trail was burned in the 2021 Bull Complex Fire.

While there are several potential starting points to reach Mount Lowe, we chose to start at Graham Pass where we had also parked for our 2017 hike.

Forest Road 6350 from the large parking area at Graham Pass.

This starting point creates a moderate 6.8-mile out-and-back with approximately 1400′ of elevation gain with options to extend it. From the parking area we walked down the gravel road, crossed FR 6350, and followed FR 4670 for 200′ to a sign for the Rho Ridge Trail.

Penstemon

Oregon sunshine and maybe a vetch?

The Rho Ridge Trail paralleled FR 4670 for just under half a mile before returning to the road.

Queen’s cup

Rhododendron

Flagging was present along most of the route. Here the trail is crossing a decommissioned logging road.

Bunchberry

Flagging at the point where the trail rejoined FR 4670.

For the next two tenths of a mile we walked along FR 4670 before spotting the resumption of the Rho Ridge Trail on the left side of the road across from a dirt spur road.

Paintbrush and penstemon

Continuation of the Rho Ridge Trail.

The dirt spur. This road leads to a few campsites and the Rho Creek Trail which is not shown on maps but is sometimes maintained by the Trail Advocates and is on our bucket list to check out some day.

The Rho Ridge Trail was in relatively good shape albeit a little overgrown in places. There was also some occasional blowdown, but it was all easy to either climb over or go around.

Pacific coralroot

Arnica

Beargrass

After a short climb the trail lost a little elevation as it dropped into a lovely forest before nearing FR 4670 again.

This was one we had to go around.

Beardtongue

We came to an open rocky section of the ridge covered in wildflowers as the trail neared FR 4670.

Mount Lowe from the trail.

Columbine

Paintbrush, lupine, penstemon, and false sunflowers.

Larkspur hiding in the grass.

Yarrow and paintbrush

Bleeding heart

Catchfly

Arrowleaf buckwheat and sunflowers.

Penstemon

FR 4670 from the trail.

Wallflower, catchfly, and penstemon.

FR 4670 and the Rho Ridge Trail (to the right).

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Sisi Butte (post)

Barestem buckwheat

Sisi Butte in the center with Olallie Butte to the right (post).

Olallie Butte

Trail sign facing FR 4670.

The trail began to climb again from here gaining a little over 400′ in just under a mile to the summit of Mount Lowe.

Washington lilies along the trail. These beautiful flowers are also by far the best smelling flowers that we encounter on hikes.

False sunflowers

Washington lily

Serviceberry

Snowberry

Thimbleberry

Larkspur

Rainiera, Lyall’s angelica, and columbine

Anemone’s and a queen’s cup

False sunflowers

Bastard toadflax

Blue-head gilia

Vetch

Red-flowering currant

Sisi Butte, Oallie Butte, and Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Jefferson

Sticky currant

Better view of Mt. Jefferson.

Scarlet gilia

Junco

First view of Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, and the Three Sisters.

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

The trail passed below a talus slope where there may have been a view of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier had we scrambled up it, but we didn’t want to disturb the residents.

Pika near the top of the talus slope.

One-sided wintergreen

Mt. Hood

View to the west above another pika filled talus slope.

Schreiner Peak, Knob Peak, Big Slide Mountain (post), and Bull of the Woods (post) in the Bull of the Woods Wilderness.

Spur trail to the summit on the left.

Paintbrush and penstemon

Windbreaks near the former lookout stie.

View west towards the Bull of the Woods.

View South toward Mt. Jefferson and the Central Cascades.

Bachelor and Coffin Mountains (post).

Broken Top poking up on the far left with Three Fingered Jack, North Sister, South & Middle Sister, and Mt. Washington.

The view North included Mt. Adams (center between the tress) and the tops of Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens but those would not show up in photos.

Subalpine fir cones

Douglas fir cones.

Stonecrop

Penstemon

After a nice break at the summit we headed back down from the summit and followed the Rho Ridge Trail back to FR 4670.

The Rho Ridge Trail continues left at this fork below the summit another 1.5-miles to a northern trailhead.

Orange agoseris

Star-flowered solomonseal

Phacelia

Rainiera

Vanilla leaf

Rose

Oregon bedstraw

Arriving at FR 4670.

We decided to detour here and check out a little of the Rho Creek Trail so we crossed FR 4670 and turned onto the dirt spur road.

We weren’t entirely sure where the trail began and there were a few spurs to campsites. We simply picked one and then headed cross country from it looking of any sign of tread or flagging.

The cross country was fairly easy and we were able to use our GPS and the map we’d downloaded from the Orgon Hikers Field Guide to pick up the tread.

The trail was in surprisingly good shape and we followed it downhill a little over a quarter of a mile to an unsigned junction.

The unsigned, but flagged, junction. Here the Rho Creek Trail turned left while the right-hand fork was said to lead to the remains of the Rho Ridge Guard Station.

The remains had been our goal for this brief detour so we went right.

Valerian

Flagging marking the trail.

More flagging marking the route.

Spirea

Somehow we never spotted the guard station remains, but the flagged route continued and theoretically would lead us back to Graham Pass so we just kept following the flagging.

Rhododendron

The tread got pretty faint the closer we got to the Rho Ridge Trail but the flagging made the route obvious enough.

We eventually popped out onto the decommissioned logging road just 100′ from the Rho Ridge Trail.

We turned right here and then left onto the Rho Ridge Trai and 500′ later were back on FR 4670.

With the detour our hike wound up being 7.4-miles with approximately 1600′ of elevation gain.

The hike to Mount Lowe was a really great one. There were views, flowers, wildlife and solitude. The trail itself was in good enough condition to not make the hike challenging while adding a feeling of it being a little wild. While we missed the remains on our side-trip the experience with the Rho Creek Trail encouraged us to get back there and hike more of it. Maybe next time we’ll locate the old guard station. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mount Lowe

Tags Graham Pass, hiking, Mount Lowe, Old Cascades, Oregon, Rho Creek Guard Station, Rho Creek Trail, Rho Ridge Trail, wildflowers

Hiking Oakridge Area Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Sourgrass Mountain – 06/28/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 30, 2025
No Comments on Sourgrass Mountain – 06/28/2025

A YouTube video posted last year by Hike Oregon brought our attention to a section of the Alpine Trail near Oakridge, OR. She described an out-and-back hike along this popular mountain bike trail over Sourgrass Mountain to visit the Elk Camp Shelter.

The Alpine Trail extends a total of 15.3-miles between Westfir, OR to Forest Road 1912 with a number of potential starting points. We hiked a different section of this trail in 2014 as part of our Tire Mountain hike (post). For this hike we parked at the junction of FR 1912 and FR 661 where the Alpine Trail crossed FR 1912.

We headed north on the Alpine Trail which climbed for almost 2 miles to a large meadow on Sourgrass Mountain. The climb was fairly gradual using switchbacks on the steeper parts of the ridge. Mountain bikers ride the trail south to Westfir so we were on the lookout for bikes coming downhill but we had started early enough in the morning to not run into any. (It was a different story on the way down.) The forest along the trail was very nice and there was a nice variety of wildflowers in bloom.

Little prince’s pine

Bunchberry

Rhododendron

Wild ginger

Queen’s cup

Beargrass

Stonecrop

Larkspur

There was a large patch of blue head gilia on this rock above the trail.

Vetch

Honeysuckle

Anemone

Pacific coralroot

Valerian

Starflower

Penstemon

Tiger lilies

Columbine

As we neared the meadow on Sourgrass Mountain we began to see an increasing amount of blooming beargrass.

A member of the lily family, beargrass only blooms when conditions are right, so their bloom cycle is a bit unpredictable. Due to the unpredictability it is always exciting when a visit aligns with a bloom cycle.

At the far end of the meadow we passed a newish looking bench.

Beyond the bench the trail descended along the north ridge of Sourgrass Mountain then followed a wide ridge with some small ups and downs on its way to Elk Camp Shelter.

Sub-alpine fleabane

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Bleeding heart

That might be rainiera behind the beargrass.

Roses

Valerian along the trail.

Anemone, bunchberry, and foam flower

At 2.8-miles from the trailhead we passed a junction with Kate’s Cut In where it appears that most mountain bikers begin their rides.

We could hear a large group of bikers on FR 1912 below getting ready for their rides as we continued straight on the Alpine Trail.

Spotted coralroot

Northwestern twayblade and foam flower

Arnica

A little over 4-miles from our trailhead we came to a 4-way junction at FR 142 which is the location of Alpine Trailhead 4.

We turned right at the 4-way junction following arrows on the road to the continuation of the trail.

Approximately a half mile from the 4-way junction we arrived at the Elk Camp Shelter.

Violets

Rhododendron and beargrass

Arnica

A short spur trail from FR 142 came in from the left shortly before arriving at the shelter.

Meadow just before the shelter.

There was a decent amount of coiled lousewort but it was all past its bloom.

First view of the shelter behind the trees.

Looking up from the shelter.

Information about the shelter on the table inside.

Hike Oregon’s entry for the hike has you turn around at the shelter making this a moderate 9-mile, 1623′ elevation gain out-and-back. The trail actually continues another nearly 2-miles to the Alpine Trailhead 5.

Looking at Google Earth it appeared that the trail passed through two more small meadows between the shelter and a road crossing approximately 0.75-miles from the shelter. It also appeared that there was minimal elevation loss along that section of the trail, so we had decided to make the road crossing our turn around point. After spending a little time at the shelter we’d attracted enough mosquitos to prompt us to move on.

Small-flowered solomonseal

Coneflower

The first meadow.

Coneflower, valerian, and columbine.

Inside-out-flower

Ragwort

Western meadow-rue

This meadow was very damp making the trail slick with mud.

Meadow fritillary

Self-heal

The second meadow.

Spirea, tiger lilies, columbine, valerian, and cinquefoil.

Sticky cinquefoil

Columbine

Bog orchids

White bog orchids

Lupine

The forest road where we turned around.

We took a break on some stumps along the road where mosquitos were not an issue and then headed back the way we’d come. We kept our eyes open for flowers we’d missed on our first pass and for mountain bikers making sure to step aside when we heard/spotted them coming.

Gold threads

Rhododendron blossoms

Clodius Parnassian

Fairy lanters

Baneberry

Arnica

There weren’t any unobstructed views at any point along this trail. We could occasionally see snow covered Cascade peaks through the trees, but the only peak we were able to identify was The Twins (post) near the junction with Kate’s Cut In.

The Twins are in the center with Waldo Mountain (post) closer and to the left.

One sided wintergreen.

Candy flower

Wallflower

Nearing the bench at the edge of the meadow on Sourgrass Mountain.

We took a break on the bench and were joined by a pair of mountain bikers who were making the ride from Kate’s Cut In to Westfir. The first gentleman explained that some cyclists head north on the trail from Kate’s Cut In and ride (mostly) downhill to the Alpine Trailhead 5 then loop back to Kate’s Cut In along FR 1912 before heading south to Westfir. That loop is known as the “Chrome Toilet” (no explanation given), but he had never ridden that loop. We had passed one group heading down the Alpine Trail as we were heading back by the shelter.

The cyclists continued on, and we followed shortly after. It was just after Noon and as we made our way through the meadow the first of several groups rode past us. They were all very polite about sharing the trail with hikers and we did our part by stepping off the trail as quickly as possible whenever we spotted them coming. This meant a lot of looking back over our shoulders and led to us hiking a little faster than we normally would have otherwise.

Looking up at the highpoint of Sourgrass Mountain.

Larkspur

Royal Jacob’s ladder

The trail dropping down to FR 1912 where we’d parked.

Our version of this hike clocked in at just over 10.5 miles with roughly 1700′ of cumulative elevation gain.

This was a really enjoyable hike made better by the beargrass bloom. Even if the beargrass had not been blooming this year there were enough other flowers to make it a good wildflower hike, and the forest along the trail was lovely. We could see why it is such a popular biking trail which is the only real drawback as a hike. Weekday mornings would probably be a good time to limit the number of bikers to watch for. If you do visit just stay aware and share the trail appropriately. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Sourgrass Mountain

Tags alpine trail, Beargrass, Elk Camp Shelter, hiking, Kate's Cut In, oakridge, Oregon, Sourgrass Mountain, tire mountain, Westfir, wildflowers

Badger Creek Area Hiking Oregon Trip report

Underhill Trail & Eightmile Loop – 06/14/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 16, 2025
2 Comments on Underhill Trail & Eightmile Loop – 06/14/2025

We’re continuing to whittle away at the hikes contained in Matt Redder’s various guidebooks (Off the Beaten Trail!) and were down to just two of the 55 hikes from the second edition of “Off the Beaten Trail”. One of those is a bit too far from Salem to be a day hike, but the Underhill Trail is just a 2:15 drive if traffic is cooperative. Leaving between 4:45 and 5am usually means that traffic isn’t a problem on the way to trailhead, but coming home is always a different story.

Reeder’s suggested hike for the Underhill Trail is an out-and-back to Fifteenmile Creek which for us came to 6.3-miles with approximately 1600′ of elevation gain.
Clearly the trail has been realigned based on where the map shows it is and where our track shows we were.

Since that hike alone would have led us to violating our self-imposed rule of not spending more time driving than hiking on day hikes we wanted to add some hiking miles. We had some options including continuing down Fifteenmile Creek three miles on a seldom used section of trail. We also could have hiked upstream along Fifteenmile Creek, but we had hiked the trails leading upstream in 2016 on an 11.9-mile loop (post). The third option was to try another nearby hike which is the option we chose. We picked the Eightmile Loop based on its proximity to the Underhill Trail (less than 5 miles) and length.

We began our day at the Underhill Site.

Scarlet gilia with the Underhill Site picnic shelter in the background.

The Underhill Trail began next to a signboard and descended to cross Forest Road 4450.

Balsamroot

Penstemon

Rosy pussytoes

Lomatium

Paintbrush

Forest Road crossing.

Shortly after crossing the road we passed an old fence and then came to a fork in the trail.

Here the Old Cabin Loop Trail headed left while the Underhill Trail continued straight ahead. We decided to turn onto the Old Cabin Loop after looking at the map and seeing that it wouldn’t add too much distance to the hike (it added about a third of a mile).

The abandoned East Loop splits off from the Old Cabin Loop shortly beyond the Underhill Trail.

The Old Cabin Loop descended to a footbridge over Ramsey Creek where Scouts from nearby Camp Baldwin had placed some benches.

Ramsey Creek

After crossing Ramsey Creek the trail climbed to an unmarked junction with the Underhill Trail.

The first Queen’s cup blossom that we’d seen this year.

The junction with the Underhill Trail.

We turned left on the Underhill Trail and climbed gradually to Logging Gulch Road atop a ridge.

Penstemon along the trail.

View of the opposite ridge from the trail.

Sliverleaf phacelia

Rayless arnica

Honeysuckle and snowberry

There were no signs at the road crossing but a small rock on top of a larger rock to the left on the far side of the road marked the continuation of the Underhill Trail.

Lookout Mountain (post) from the road.

Closer look at Lookout Mountain.

After crossing the road the Underhill Trail starts a 1.8-mile descent to Fifteenmile Creek. While this section of the trail loses over 800′ of elevation it managed to do so without ever feeling too steep. This was accomplished by good use of switchbacks and hopping ridges a couple of times.

Yarrow and white-stemmed frasera

There was a lot of white-stemmed frasera blooming which was exciting because we had been too early for the bloom when we were in the area Memorial Day Weekend (post).

Flag Point is the highest point to the left and Lookout Mountain is behind the tree.

Buckwheat

Diamond clarkia

Onion

Nevada deervetch

Balsamoot covering the hillside. We were a few weeks late for the balsamroot bloom, but getting to see so much white-stemmed frasera made up for it.

Onion

Passing over a ridge.

Grand collomia

Gently heading down an open ridge.

Mt. Hood making an appearance.

Mt. Hood

Desert yellow fleabane

Pacific coralroot

The junction with the Fifteenmile Creek Trail.

Fifteenmile Creek

We took a short break at the creek before starting the climb back up to the Underhill Site. The reasonable grade of the trail kept the climb from feeling overly difficult.

Mt. Hood from the Underhill Trail.

Sagebrush false dandelion

Western sulphur

Balsamroot covered hillside.

Beetles on white-stemmed frasera

Brief glimpse of Mt. Adams through the trees.

Swallowtail

Woodland stars

Lupine

We went left sticking to the Underhill Trail when we reached the junction with the Old Cabin Loop Trail.

Vanilla leaf lining the trail.

Footbridge over Ramsey Creek.

Old cabin ruins near Ramsey Creek.

Steep set of stairs leading up from the creek.

Passing the upper junction with the Old Cabin Loop Trail.

During the hike Heather was dealing with a blister on her foot which wasn’t causing a problem yet, but she was a little concerned that doing the whole Eightmile Loop might be pushing it. We’d talked about it and came up with a plan. I would drop her off at the Bottle Prairie Trailhead where we had originally planned to start the loop. I would then take the car to the day-use area at Eightmile Campground and start the loop from that trailhead. This would allow me to be following behind Heather and possibly catch up to her at the Fivemile Butte Lookout, and Heather would be able to skip approximately 3-miles of the loop along Eightmile Creek while still getting to see the views from the lookout site. It took just ten minutes to drive to the day-use area after dropping Heather off and I was quickly on my way behind her.

Please note that this campground is one of several that the Forest Service has contracted private concessionaires to manage and there is a $10.00/day parking fee for day-use. An annual NW Forest Pass is accepted in lieu of the fee but a single day NW Forest Pass and some interagency passes may not be. There is conflicting information online through the Forest Service website and what is posted at the trailhead.
Signage at the trailhead still shows that a variety of passes are honored there but the link for the campground provided above only lists the annual NW Forest Pass as accepted.

I followed the trail from the parking area down to Eightmile Creek and crossed it on a footbridge.

Beyond Eightmile Creek the trail switchbacked up to a crossing of Forest Road 4430 and then to a junction starting the actual loop.

The trail also crossed the campground road before climbing to FR 4430.

Raceme pussytoes

img src=”https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54590353341_97b8774ccf.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”IMG_3383″/>
FR 4430

Sticky cinquefoil

The start of the Eightmile Loop.

The loop is more popular with mountain bikers than hikers, in fact we saw no other hikers on any of the day’s trails. We did see around a dozen mountain bikers on the loop trails though.
Clockwise provides the gentlest climbing for the loop which is the direction we were hiking so I went left.

The trail gradually climbed for a little over 2.5-miles gaining over 650′ before arriving at the Bottle Prairie Trailhead.

Lupine

Columbine

The creek wasn’t visible for much of the 2.5-miles, but it was always within earshot.

Vanilla leaf

About a mile into the loop the trail crossed Eightmile Creek.

Eightmile Creek

Bunchberry

Western Jacob’s ladder

Arnica

Trillium

Valerian

Tall mountain bluebells

Eightmile Creek to the right of the trail.

Forest Road 120 near the Bottle Prairie Trailehad.

The Bottle Prairie Trailhead.

I located the sign for the continuation of the Eightmile Loop and headed up the trail.

Just beyond that trail sign I came to a fork where I went right on the unsigned Bottle Prairie Trail (the left fork was the Knebal Springs Trail

I learned later that Heather had gone left a short distance before realizing the mistake, something I too almost did.

A 0.4-mile climb brought me to another fork where the Bottle Prairie continued left and the Eightmile Loop split off to the right.

Duksy horkelia

Silvercrown along the trail.

This hillside was covered in buckwheat.

The OregonHikers Field Guild mentioned a short detour up the Bottle Prairie Trail to visit Perry Point, the site of a former crow’s nest lookout. At some point in the future we plan to hike a loop using the Bottle Prairie and Knebal Springs Trails and we will pass Perry Point then so I could have skipped the extension, but that’s just not in my nature so left I went.

I followed the Bottle Prairie Trail uphill a little over a quarter mile to a spur trail signed for Perry Point.

Flowers along the trail.

Penstemon, false sunflower, and scarlet gilia.

The spur trail toward Perry Point.

It was about two tenths of a mile out to the rocky point.

I failed to look for the remains of the old crow’s nest although there appears to be a small board at the top of the fir tree in the center.

Mt. Adams between the trees.

Lookout Mountain from Perry Point.

Larkspur

After visiting the point I returned to the Eightmile Loop and turned left.

After a brief climb the trail gradually descended to a saddle where it crossed Rail Hollow Road.

Orange agoseris

Vanilla leaf

Anemones

On the far side of the road the trail once again began climbing. It was a gentle climb through some recent thinning activities which are intended to help stop invasive insect damage to the areas trees.

Moth on yarrow.

View toward Central Oregon.

The trail stayed below the top of the ridge where Rail Hollow Road was.

View toward Lookout Mountain.

A little over half a mile from the crossing of Rail Hollow Road I forked left at this unsigned junction to visit the Fivemile Butte Lookout where Heather was waiting.

The rentable Fivemile Butte Lookout. Because the lookout is actively rented the Forest Service asks other visitors not to go up the tower.

Heather was sitting at a picnic table below the lookout and said she’d only been there about 15 minutes. She let me know where the views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier were.

Mt. Hood from below the lookout.

Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier from a path to the north of the lookout.

Mt. Adams with Mt. Rainier to the left.

Paintbrush and yarrow.

Rosy pussytoes

After a short break at the picnic table I started to get a little too warm in the sunlight and we resumed the hike together. From the junction with the spur to the lookout the trail began a series of long switchbacks that brought us down the hillside 1.6-miles to the junction at the start of my loop.

Large-flower triteleia

Stonecrop

Duskywing on penstemon.

The hill was fairly steep but the switchbacks made the descent nice and gradual.

Lupine and paintbrush along the trail.

Western tanager

Twinflower

Signs below marking the start/end of the loop.

After completing the loop we made our way to the car, changed shoes, and headed home. My hike including the side trips wound up coming in at a very fitting 8-miles.

My hike included approximately 1400′ of elevation gain.

These were a fun pair of hikes with lots of wildflowers and good variety in the forest types. Our timing was good for the flowers on the Eightmile Loop and okay for the Underhill Trail although as I mentioned earlier May would have been better for catching the balsamroot bloom there. We were also pleasantly surprised by how reasonably graded these trails were after a couple of extremely steep hikes in the area over Memorial Day Weekend. We’re looking forward to heading back to the area to experience more of the trails in the future. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Underhill Trail and Eightmile Loop

Tags Bottle Prairie Trail, Bottle Prairie Trailhead, Eightmile Campground, Eightmile Creek, Eightmile Loop, Fifteenmile creek, Fivemile Butte Lookout, hiking, Mt. Hood National Forest, Old Cabin Loop, Oregon, Perry Point, Ramsey Creek, Underhill Site, Underhill Trail, wildflowers

Coastal Range Hiking Oregon Trip report

Rogers Peak Loop – 06/07/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 9, 2025
No Comments on Rogers Peak Loop – 06/07/2025

We had our first heat advisory of the year issued for the weekend which prompted us to think twice about the 12 plus mile loop with over 3400′ of elevation gain that we had on our schedule for this week. I went looking at some of the hikes I had on our schedule for future Junes hoping to find something a little less strenuous and landed on the Rogers Peak Loop. This was another Oregon Hikers Field Guide entry. That entry described a 7.1-mile loop with 1065′ of elevation gain and an optional visit to Blue Lake which would add about 1.25-miles and 450′ of extra elevation gain. At 3706′ in elevation Rogers Peak is the third highest peak in the Coast Range behind 4319′ Mt. Bolivar and 4097′ Marys Peak (post).

The hike is located on private timberland using logging roads for almost the entire route. A big thank you to Hampton Lumber for allowing walk-in recreation to the public. Because this is private land access can be restricted at any time so, please check with Hampton Lumber before heading out and be respectful when visiting. They have a web page devoted to recreation here. Also note that weekdays may not be the best time to visit to avoid logging operations and log trucks using the roads.

We followed the Oregon Hikers directions to the trailhead which is just a small pullout before a yellow gate on Gilmore Creek Road. The roads to the trailhead were in good shape, but sections of the final 3.5-miles are very steep and windy.
The pullout only has room for two cars, a third might be able to squeeze in but it would be tight. DO NOT drive past the gate if it happens to be open as motor vehicle use by the public is not allowed beyond the gate.

Again please respect the private landowner’s rights and property. They have no obligation to allow the public access.

Before we started hiking we got distracted by the various wildflowers blooming near the gate.

Thimbleberry

Paintbrush

Lupine

Vanilla leaf

Inside-out flower

Iris

Starflower

Bunchberry

Trailing blackberry

Once we started hiking the road split shortly after the gate with the right-hand fork being the shortest route to Rogers Peak but being short also means steeper. We followed the field guide route and forked left.

The roadbed was fairly level as it traversed along a logged hillside which provided views of the Coast Range.

Cedar Butte and Triangulation Peak in the distance. (post)

Closer look at Cedar Butte

The roadbed also provided the open conditions that many wildflowers prefer.

Paintbrush and penstemon

Beargrass

Unsurprisingly the road passed a number of clearcuts but there was some intact forest along the route as well.

Thimbleberry and blackberry blossoms along the road.

Raspberry

Thistle

Lupine

Rosy bird’s-foot trefoil

We arrived at a saddle 0.8-miles from the car where we stayed right along the hillside.

A section of intact forest.

Coastal monkeyflower

Window to a clearcut.

Window to green.

View across the Rogers Creek drainage.

Columbine and thimbleberry

False lily-of-the-valley

Bunchberry bunch

Valerian

Another thistle

Fairy lanterns

Chipmunk

Anemone

Paintbrush, lupine, and iris

Junco

Clover

Salmonberry

Buttercups

Iris between a thimbleberry (green) and vine maple (reddish).

Scouler’s corydalis

Stink currant

California figwort. This one was driving us crazy trying to ID it on the hike. There was quite a bit of it along the route.

Another stretch of green forest.

Candyflower

At the 1.9-mile mark we came to a second saddle where we again stayed right along the hillside.

Views now were to the north where Saddle Mountain rose above a sea of clouds.

Humbug Mountain and the aptly named Saddle Mountain (post) rising above the clouds.

Saddle Mountain

Paintbrush

Self-heal

The view ahead. The route thus far had been mostly shaded due to the hillsides shadow which was helping to keep the temperatures down.

Youth-on-age

Bleeding heart

Plumed solomonseal

At the 2.8-mile mark we passed a road leading off to the left past a large pile of gravel.

Just 0.2-miles beyond that road (the 3-mile mark of the hike) another road forked off to the left, but downhill. The road to the left led down to Blue Lake, the optional detour. We decided that we should go down and visit the lake at least this one time to say we’d seen it.

The road lost approximately 450′ of elevation in 0.6-miles to a saddle above the little lake where a user trail next to a pole led down to the shore.

Blue Lake along the North Fork Wilson River. There were a few rough-skinned newts swimming in the lake.

After visiting the lake we made the relatively steep climb back up and continued on the loop.

Heading up. The shade was becoming more sporadic as the morning progressed.

A mustard

Another junco

Best guess is slender phlox.

A tenth of mile from the junction, or the 3.1-mile mark of the loop, we came to another fork. Once again we stayed right, and now the road began to climb.

Fork ahead.

The shade was abandoning us, and it was getting warm fast.

In person this was one of the best bunchberry displays we’d seen.

We’d been keeping an eye out for Mt. St. Helens on the horizon, but someone missed it the first time it should have been visible. We did however spot Mt. Rainier as we made our way up the road.

It was just hazy enough that the snowy peaks blended in on the horizon.

Mt. Rainier

We passed a gravel pit as the road rounded a ridge where we had a view toward Rogers Peak.

There were some wonderful clumps of penstemon at the gravel pit.

Saddle Mountain from the gravel pit.

The road continuing to climb past the gravel pit.

At the 3.9-mile mark of the loop we came to yet another fork where we again stayed right to continue up to the ridge below Rogers Peak.

Taking a left at the fork would have put us onto the road seen below.

Dandelion (non-native) in the penstemon. There were surprisingly few non-native wildflowers which was nice.

These little guys might be some sort of speedwell.

Variable-leaf collomia (pink) and slender phlox (white)

Looking back after having made it onto the ridge. The loop route is the road seen on the right cutting along the hillside, not the roadbed straight ahead going up the knoll.

From the ridge we finally could see Mt. St. Helens (and Mt. Adams).

Mt. St. Helens (post) to the left and Mt. Adams to the right of the hill.

More zoomed in shot of Mt. St. Helens.

Closer look at the recently more active Mt. Adams.

In addition to the two Washington volcanos Oregon’s Mt. Hood was visible to the east.

Again the sun angle and haze made it hard to make out the snow peaks.

We actually stayed left at a fork along the ridge and at the 4.5-mile mark of the loop came to the spur road up Rogers Peak.

Don’t go right here, one of the few times we stayed left. This road would take you back down to the other side of the loop near the second saddle we passed through.

Violets

Oregon grape

Black currant

Spur road up Rogers Peak.

When the field guide entry was written this was an abandoned track but at some point recently the road was restored. Heather decided to skip the somewhat steep 0.2-mile climb up this road as the summit is relatively viewless due to trees. I however wanted to tag the summit and find the summit register so up I went.
Lomatium

Wide area at the end of the road below the actual summit.

The summit was a short scramble up this hillside to the right (NE) of the road.

The mossy rocks at the summit where the register is located.

Sourgrass

The summit register cans below the rocks.

I signed the register and left a Wanderingyuncks card in the can then had a quick snack and headed back to the loop to work on catching up to Heather.

While there wasn’t much of a view from the summit on the way down the road I had a pretty good view of Mt. St. Helens.

Back on the loop. You can see the road to the summit on the right heading uphill.

The only mushrooms I noticed all hike.

An alumroot

Penstemon and beargrass.

A clodius parnassian on arnica.

Looking out on the horizon I spotted another faint snowy peak on the horizon. The hump in the center foreground between the two trees is Kings Mountain (post).

Low quality due to how much I had to zoom and the poor visibility, but this is Mt. Jefferson.

Arnica

A half mile after rejoining the loop a short spur road on the right led to a nice viewpoint and where I found Heather.

Rogers Peak to the right of the spur road.

The two higher peaks to the right are Angora (post) and West Onion.

Mt. Rainier

We returned to the loop and began to descend.

The wildflowers had been good all day, but the stretch of road after the spur up Rogers Peak was spectacular.

Penstemon clumps with Saddle Mountain in the background.

Four tenths of a mile beyond the summit road we passed to the left of a small knoll.

The road steepened here as it dropped down to a saddle in another 0.4-miles.

We made a sharp right turn at the saddle and got a brief respite from the steep descent as the road passed above Morris Creek.

Robin

My guess is that this is a non-native species given it was growing in the roadbed, but it was pretty.

The road eventually steepened again as it dropped down to the fork near the gate where we’d gone left earlier in the morning.

The road junction as we decsended.

The gate from the junction.

My GPS showed 8.5-miles total including the side trip to Blue Lake, visit to the summit, and the viewpoint on the spur road. Total elevation gain was approximately 1525′.

This wound up being a very enjoyable hike. The wildflower displays and variety was impressive, we got to see five Cascade volcanoes along with several familiar peaks in the Coast Range, and we only saw one other person all morning. (Shortly after setting off we’d spoken with a Hampton Lumber employee who was driving out.) Again I wanted to acknowledge how much we appreciate when the lumber companies offer recreational access to their land. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Rogers Peak Loop

Tags blue lake, coast range, Hampton Lumber, hiking, North Fork Wilson River, Oregon, Oregon Hikers Field Guide, Rogers Peak, wildflowers

Badger Creek Area Hiking Oregon Trip report

Tygh Creek Trail – 05/26/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 29, 2025
4 Comments on Tygh Creek Trail – 05/26/2025

After spending a second night in The Dalles it was time to return home, but before we headed to Salem we had one more hike to do in the area. There was one more hike on the east side of the Badger Creek Wilderness featured in Matt Reeder’s “Off the Beaten Trail” (2nd edition) guidebook – Tygh Creek. His recommended hike on the trail is a 4-mile out-and-back gaining 1700′. If that sounds steep, it is!

We left The Dalles and drove south on Highway 197 and made our way to the unsigned Tygh Creek Trailhead along Forest Road 27.
The Tygh Creek Trail across FR 27 from the Tygh Creek Trailhead.

The trailhead is just 1.4-miles from the School Canyon Trailhead where we had started our hike two days earlier (post). It is theoretically possible to combine the two trails into a 13.7-mile loop, but the upper portion of the Tygh Creek Trail is reported faint and prone to heavy blow down. Even if the trails were clear we didn’t have time for a long hike today, so the 4-mile option was perfect.

For the first half mile the trail did a little up and down along Tygh Creek.

The only two trees down that needed to be climbed under/over.

Tygh Creek

At the half mile mark the trail left the creek and began the steep climb to the ridge above.

Heather had opted to not tackle the climb after already having done two challenging hikes this weekend so I had left the car before her and was on my own heading uphill when I spotted something moving in the forest ahead. I noticed the black first but then saw white as well and realized it was a skunk on the trail ahead.
Distance + low light + moving animal = blurry photo.

The skunk had been at the far end of this section of trail which was lined with lupine.

I stopped and watched the skunk head uphill until it was out of sight and then proceeded carefully not wanting to wind up smelling of skunk for the entire ride home. (I’m sure Heather would not have appreciated that either.) It was a good thing I was being cautious because after a short distance I noticed the skunk in some brush just off the trail.

The little stinker had a pretty cute face.

We stared at each other for a minute, and I politely requested it move along. When that didn’t work I left the trail in an attempt to swing out wide and pick up the trail further uphill. My moving again prompted the skunk to run off deeper into the forest with its tail in “firing position”. I hoped it wasn’t randomly spraying the air which might still get me but fortunately the safety was kept on and I was in the clear to continue the hike.

Reeder mentioned the middle third of the 0.9-mile climb as being “some of the steepest, dustiest trail in the Badger Creek Wilderness.” From the sample of trails we’ve hiked in this wilderness I’d agree with that statement. The first and final third were no picnic either. There were however great views and a lot of wildflowers to look at as I slowly trudged uphill.
The trail is to the right in this photo.

Paintbrush, balsamroot, and a strawberry blossom.

Ball Point

Rough eyelashweed

When a trail looks steep in a photo that tells you something.

More paintbrush and balsamroot.

Townsend’s solitaire

Buckwheat

My goal, the turn around point, was up on the crest of that ridge ahead.

Lupine, balsamroot, and a death camas.

Dogwood tree among the ponderosa pines.

Mahala mat

Getting close to the ridge and still steep.

The trail got less steep near the ridge.

Gordon Butte to the right. Broken Top, the Three Sisters, and Mt. Jefferson would also have been visible if not for the clouds.

Level trail on the ridge!

The hike describes cresting a “small” ridge and finding a user trail on the left that leads to a viewpoint sometimes used as a helispot. I headed out the ridge and quickly realized that my definition of “small” and Reeder’s were not the same.
Looking ahead at the trees atop the “small” ridge.

Sandwort

Oregon sunshine

Wildflowers on the “small” ridge.

Almost to the crest.

While I never actually spotted a use trail it was easy to see the opening where a helicopter could land just to the left of the trail, so I made my way out to the opening.

The clouds here are hiding Mt. Hood which should be visible behind the ridge. What is visible is Flag Point (post) in the middle with the Flag Point Lookout Tower.

Looking toward Mt. Jefferson.

Parts of Mt. Jefferson peeking out through the clouds.

After catching my breath at the viewpoint I began the steep descent back to Tygh Creek. I had been so focused on the climb up that I saw a few flowers that I’d missed on my first pass.
I’d seen a couple whitestem frasera going up but coming down I realized just how many there actually were, although none of the plants were quite blooming yet.

Groundsel

Broken Top and some of the Three Sisters were visible on the way down.

Tam McArthur Rim (post), Broken Top with Green Ridge (post) and Black Butte (post) in front, and parts of the Three Sisters.

I missed this whole patch of silvercrown earlier.

Pine Hollow Reservoir and Central Oregon.

Elkhorn clarkia aka ragged robin.

Threadleaf phacelia

Paintbrush with Ball Point in the background.

Vetch

Penstemon

Bastard toadflax

Buttes in Cental Oregon.

Back in the forest near Tygh Creek.

Tygh Creek

Squirrel

Starflower

Coral fungus

The trailhead in sight.

The hike was just under 4-miles with 1700′ of elevation gain.
The Tygh Creek track along with a portion of Saturday’s hike on the School Canyon Trail at the bottom.

Tackling this hike when my legs were already tired from the previous two days wasn’t ideal, but its length was which allowed us to get home to Salem before 11am. It was a little disappointing not having clearer views from the helispot given the effort to get there, but the wildflowers and views that I did have made for a good hike regardless.

In a crazy twist I posted a few photos on Instagram and Matt Reeder himself commented having also hiked the trail a little later that same morning. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Tygh Creek

Tags Badger Creek Wilderness, Ball Point. School Canyon Trail, hiking, Off the Beaten Trail, Oregon, Pen Point, Skunk, Tygh Creek, Tygh Creek Trail, Tygh Creek Trailhead, wildflowers

Central Oregon Hiking Oregon Trip report

Criterion Tract – 05/25/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 28, 2025
1 Comment on Criterion Tract – 05/25/2025

After spending the night in The Dalles, OR we got another early start and drove south on Highway 97 to Maupin, OR. On the south side of the Deschutes River near the southern end of town we turned right (west) at a signboard for the “Deschutes River Rec. Area” and followed this narrow road 3.9-miles to a small parking area at a locked gate.

The road beyond the gate passes through private property but the BLM has an easement that allows hiking (and wheelchairs) along the next 4.5-miles of the road.

We had hiked in the BLM’s “Criterion Tract” in 2023 (post) as part of our goal to hike at least part of 500 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s guidebook series (post). That hike was one of the “part of” hikes where we started at an alternate location and took a different route to the hikes main goal. In this case that was Stag Point, a viewpoint above the Deschutes River. We had started from Highway 197 above Stag Point for that hike while the hike described in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes Easter Oregon” began at the locked gate. He describes an out-and-back hike from the road to Stag Point, but various trip reports in the Oregon Hikers Forums showed loop options using the road easement as a return route. A good map, GPS and route-finding skills are important here since there are no official trails, just a collection of old jeep tracks and game/cattle trails.

From the parking area we headed uphill past a rusty gate and picked up a clear path.

Phacelia

Fleabane

Thistle

Madia

There was a lot of really nice lupine along this lower portion of the hike.

Fiddleneck and lupine

The first of several deer we spotted during the day.

The distinctive cliffs behind the lupine are across the river from the parking area so we were almost always able to tell where we had parked.

This jeep track would veer to the left to pass between the smaller hills and cliffs ahead.

Western meadowlarks could be heard throughout the hike.

The view south.

Desert yellow fleabane

The view west.

Mt. Hood peaking over the canyon rim to the NW.

Mt. Hood

Butterfly on yarrow

Grasses and wildflowers added color to the landscape.

The route became very faint at times.

Balsamroot

Looking back at the route so far.

View from the trail after passing between the hills and cliffs.

An old fence.

Mt. Hood and Lookout Mountain (post).

Buckwheat

As we continued to follow the jeep track views of the Deschutes began to open up.

Rough eyelashweed

Paintbrush

A short detour to the cliff edges just over 2-miles from the rusty gate led to a nice view.

We continued to follow the jeep track beyond the viewpoint as it veered away from the river to hug the hillside.
Another stretch of faint tread.

It was often easier to see the road ahead than below our feet.

Balsamroot and lupine

Grand collomia and lupine.

Spreading dogbane

Digging in.

Small water trough (empty).

View from the water trough.

Haven’t identified this bird yet.

Looking back at the route again.

Approximately 0.4-miles beyond the water trough the jeep road turned more steeply uphill climbing to a newer barbed wire fence and the BLM boundary.

Mt. Hood again.

Ochre ringlet. There were hundreds of butterflies.

Looking at the climb ahead. At this point most of the rest of the hike would be in direct sunlight, and it was already getting warm.

Buck

Buck number two.

We had to get pretty high up before we could see Washington’s Mt. Adams and even once it was in view the lighting made it hard to make out.

Mt. Adams

The newer barbed wire fence at the public land boundary. This is around 3.5-miles from the parking area.

Hawksbeard

After taking a warm break at the fence, we turned right (south) along the fence line. The jeep track had gone through the fence onto the private land, so we were now relegated to following cattle/game trails.
The fence went up and down steeply so that meant we got to as well.

Crow

Fritillary

Cattle trail

Western kingbirds

A milkvetch

Another butterfly on balsamroot.

Stag Point is the high triangular point along the plateau in the foreground.

Zoom in on Stag Point. (The lone post on top gives it away.)

First and only brief view of the top of Mt. Jefferson.

Mt. Jefferson

After approximately 0.8-miles along this newer fence we came to a corner where an old rusty fence continued straight.
The newer fence turned left at the corner.

We began following the rusty fence line which Sullivan said came to an old road in another 0.4-miles.
Onion

This rocky gully was a little tricky to cross.

Checkerspot

Old stone structure along the fence.

Western meadowlark

Lark sparrow

After following the rust fence for maybe 0.2 of a mile we decided we could cut a little distance off our hike by heading diagonally cross country toward Stag Point since we could see it from where we were.

Probably cattle bones.

Checkerspot on fiddleneck.

We came upon the road after 0.3-miles of following cattle trails.

Balsamroot and Mt. Hood from the road.

We turned right onto the road and headed downhill. At this point we discussed if we really wanted to head cross country to Stag Point. Since we had climbed up to it on our previous trip, and the hike today had already provided extensive views we opted to skip Stag Point and just continue our loop on the road.

Phlox

Indra swallowtail

Checkerspot

Another checkerspot

A blue or copper of some sort.

The old road made a series of switchbacks below a stock pond gaining views again of the Deschutes River.

Oregon sunshine

Skipper

Colorful rocks

Looking back up along the switchback section.

Gate along the road at the end of the switchbacks.

Beyond the gate the road straightened as it descended below some cliffs.

Allumroot

Cusick’s sunflowers and desert yellow fleabane.

Cusick’s sunflowers

As we descended the road we were alerted to the presence of a western rattlesnake when it loudly hissed and shook its rattle.

Unbelievably this was only the second rattlesnake that we’ve encountered while hiking. It gave us a jump scare but stayed in its defensive position and kept an eye on us while we left the road to give it a wide berth before hoping back onto the tack.
Looking back up the road toward the snake.

The still coiled snake to the right of the track.

After that bit of excitement we continued down the road a short distance before arriving at an even fainter jeep track heading steeply downhill.
The fainter jeep track split off here to the right. It’s really hard to see it in the photo but was a little more obvious in person.

It is necessary to use this jeep track for the loop due to the other road entering the private landholdings just a little further on. The jeep track stays on public lands which extend all the way across the river here making it the only area where one can legally descend down to the access road.
The goal was to aim for the knoll ahead then find two junipers that were relatively close together and descend between them.

Looking back up from the jeep track.

The view upriver with a private house.

From the knoll the tops of the two junipers were visible.

Going between the two junipers.

The hillside was steep so we carefully picked our way down through the bunchgrass, eventually picking up a faint path that led us down to the road.

Looking back up at the two junipers.

We turned right on the road for a 4-mile road walk back to the gate at the parking area. It was flat which was welcome, but it was late enough in the morning that there was virtually no shade being cast from the canyon walls. It was in the low to mid 80s so we were feeling the heat. As road walks go it wasn’t bad aside from the heat with lots of views of the river along with a number of bird sightings. There were a few cars and closer to the parking area we encountered a number of anglers. Before reaching the road the only people we’d seen was a group of four people coming up the rattlesnake road, presumably from the private land at the end of that road which is owned by the Portland Deschutes Club.
It’s a checkerboard of public and private land along the road. While this portion of the road is open to hikers, public fishing along the riverbank is limited to the public land portions. No trespassing signs line the road in the private sections.

Heather spotted this rattlesnake off the side of the road. We couldn’t tell if it was still alive and didn’t really want to find out.

One of the few bits of shade along the road walk.

Probably some sort of flycatcher.

There were a lot of osprey along the river.

There were also quite a few Bullock’s orioles.

Mock orange along the river.

Mallard

Bindweed

Another unknown bird and an angler in the river.

Cliff swallow

Dove

More osprey

Portland Deschutes Club Gatekeepers House

Visitors hiking in along the road must check in and then sign out at the Gatekeepers House but since we didn’t come up the road we hadn’t checked in so we couldn’t check out. Heather did use the shade along the road here for a break from the Sun though.

From the Gatekeepers House we had 2.5 more road miles left and we wound up using just about every bit of water, including the extra water we’d brought with us, to get back to the car.

Geese

Common merganser

Yarrow covered hillside.

Rock formations above the road.

The distinctive cliffs on the opposite side of the river from the parking area.

Arriving back at the parking area.

The loop came to 11.8-miles with approximately 2100′ of elevation gain.
Yellow is our track from 2023.

This was a beautiful albeit challenging hike made even more difficult by the warm temperature. That being said it was enjoyable. There are other possible loop options and routes in the BLM land here if you’re comfortable with route finding and not afraid of some challenging terrain. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Criterion Tract

Tags BLM Access Road, Bullock's Oriole, Criterion Tract, Deschutes River, hiking, Oregon, Rattlesnake, wildflowers

Badger Creek Area Hiking Oregon Trip report

School Canyon-Little Badger Loop – 05/24/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 27, 2025
1 Comment on School Canyon-Little Badger Loop – 05/24/2025

We spent Memorial Day weekend in The Dalles in order to cross a few “to-dos” off our hiking list. Our first stop was a two-for-one hike in the Badger Creek Wilderness. The plan was to make a loop out of the School Canyon and Little Badger Trails which would allow us to cross those trails off the list of hikes we still hadn’t done featured in our Matt Reeder guidebooks (Off the Beaten Trail). The School Canyon Trail is featured in his “PDX Hiking 365” (1st edition) and The Little Badger Trail is covered in “Off the Beaten Trail” (2nd edition).

The two trailheads are 3.5 road miles apart but only about a half mile separates them in a direct line. Both Reeder and the entry in the Oregon Hikers Field Guide mention avoiding the longer road walk by cutting cross country suggesting slightly different routes and having differing opinions on difficulty. Based on the two hike descriptions and a recent discussion in the Oregon Hikers Forum it appeared to me that the “best” solution was to bushwack downhill from Forest Road 27 to the Little Badger Trailhead roughly a half mile from the School Canyon Trailhead. I arrived at this conclusion based on our belief that going down is easier than climbing up and by comparing Google Earth imagery with a topographic map. I was looking for the least steep looking open hillside which would limit the number of downed trees we might encounter. Prior to leaving I added waypoints to our GPS units to mark where I thought we should leave the road and one at the Little Badger Trailhead so we could easily see what we were aiming for.

We left Salem extra early and arrived at the School Canyon Trailhead about a quarter after seven.

From the trailhead we headed left (SE) on FR 27 until we reached the waypoint I had created then looked for an open spot to start the cross-country portion of the hike.

We headed off through the trees here.

After passing through a small stand of trees the views opened up to the SW where Mt. Jefferson and Olallie Butte stood out on the horizon.

Mt. Jefferson and Olallie Butte (post).

Gordon Butte in the foreground.

Our route steepened as we headed downhill among a number of different wildflowers.
Balsamroot and oak trees.

Buckwheat and balsamroot

Whitestem frasera with Mt. Jefferson in the background.

Rough eyelashweed

Paintbrush

We picked up a faint path, not sure if it was a game or use trail.

As we neared the Little Badger Trailhead we entered another stand of trees.

Lupine and ponderosa pines.

We popped out of the trees on FR 2710 less than 20 yards from the Little Badger Trail.

The trailhead is on the opposite side of FR 2710 from the trail.

Sign at the start of the Little Badger Trail.

After the half mile road walk and 0.6-miles cross country we were now on official trail and quickly entered the Badger Creek Wilderness.
Badger Creek Wilderness sign next to Little Badger Creek.

For the first two miles the trail stuck closely to the creek.

Groundsel

Woodland stars

Little Badger Creek

Fairy slipper

The trail then climbed a little higher on the hillside as it continued further into the wilderness.

American vetch

Bastard toadflax

Duskywing on sagebrush false dandelion.

Balsamroot

Bee coming in for a landing on phacelia.

Sticky cinquefoil

Western wood-pewee

Madia

Brown elfin (and another pollinator) on Oregon sunshine.

Starflower

Mahala mat along the trail.

Duskywing on blue-eyed Mary

Largeleaf sandwort along the trail.

Skunk cabbage

Red-flowering currant

Duskywing on arnica

Silvercrown

Oregon grape

Last of the trillium.

Plumed solomonseal

The trail had begun a descent back to the creek at the 3-mile mark and just under 4-miles from the trailhead we arrived at the site of the former Kinzel Mine Cabin.

What’s left of the cabin.

Little Badger Creek at the cabin site.

We took a brief break at the cabin to prepare for the nearly 900′ climb to reach the School Canyon Trail. After the break we walked past the cabin remains and forked left to visit the old Kinzel Mine.
Anemone

There was a short climb before reaching the spur trail.

Spur trail to the mine.

The old mine. We did not go in as wildlife do sometimes use it for shelter.

Ballhead waterleaf near the mine.

After visiting the mine we returned to the main trail and began the steep 0.7-mile climb to the School Canyon Trail. This was a challengingly steep ascent, but there were plenty of wildflowers, wildlife, and views to distract us.

Western tanager

A stand of oaks ahead.

Balsamroot along the trail.

Paintbrush

Buckwheat

Juniper trees

Threadleaf phacelia

Signpost ahead for the trail junction.

We took a much-needed break at the junction before detouring left (west) on the School Canyon Trail for a tenth of a mile to a spur trail on the left that led to a Helispot Viewpoint where there were several rock pinnacles.

Wildflowers along the trail.

The spur trail on the left to the Helispot.

Penstemon

Pine Hollow Reservoir in Central Oregon.

We returned to the junction after visiting the helispot and followed the School Canyon Trail as it gradually descended to a ridge below Ball Point.

Woodland star

This was the most significant obstacle we had to navigate on the entire loop.

Yarrow

A dogwood on top of the rocks and penstemon below.

First view of Ball Point.

Penstemon

From the ridge we could faintly make out Broken Top and the Three Sisters.

The Three Sisters on the right and Broken Top with Tam McArthur Rim (post) to the left.

Pen Point across the Tygh Creek Valley.

The trail left the ridge and traversed the hillside around Ball Point.
Passing through the 2009 Ball Point Fire scar.

Pen Point toward the center and the taller Hootnanny Point to the right.

Death camas

View east as we came around Ball Point.

Desert yellow fleabane.

Prairie smoke aka Old Man’s Whiskers

On the far side of Ball Point the trail descended fairly steeply along a ridge covered in wildflowers and a view of Mt. Jefferson.

Heather coming down the ridge.

I think this is a western racer.

The trail dropped off the ridge and descended just over a mile to the trailhead. The wildflowers and views were nice along this entire stretch.
Looking up at the ridge.

A clarkia

Lewis’ woodpecker

Lizard

On last view of Mt. Jefferson

Ball Point

Butterfly on whitestem frasera

Signs at the trailhead.

The loop ended up being 9.9-miles with 2150′ of elevation gain.
Orange is the road + cross country portion.

We really enjoyed the variety this hike provided, and we only saw two other hikers all day. The climb from the cabin site to the School Canyon trail was tough but we were glad to have tackled it. We checked in to our room in The Dalles and after having dinner and picking up some snacks for the room we turned in so we could get another early start the following day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: School Canyon-Little Badger Loop

Tags Badger Creek Wilderness, Ball Point, Helispot, hiking, Little Badger Creek, Little Badger Trail, Little Badger Trailhead, Oregon, Pen Point, School Canyon Trail, School Canyon Trailhead. Off the Beaten Trail, The Dalles, wildflowers

Eugene Hiking Oregon Trip report Willamette Valley

Thurston Hills, Jasper, and Elijah Bristow Parks – 04/19/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 21, 2025
1 Comment on Thurston Hills, Jasper, and Elijah Bristow Parks – 04/19/2025

As we continue to look for hikes/trails that we have yet to visit we turned to the Eugene-Springfield area. There are numerous parks and natural areas offering hikes of varying lengths in or near these cities. We’ve visited a number of them in past and this outing would add three more to our list of places visited.

We began our day at Thurston Hills Natural Area. The trailhead, located within the city limits of Springfield, opens at 6am (restrooms at 7am).

Opened in 2017 the area offers trails for hikers and mountain bikers. The bike only trails are closed during the wet season which making it a quieter time for hiking. We set off on the gravel Mossy Maple Trail and began a gradual climb.

The trails were well marked with plenty of reminders which users were allowed on them.

There was a variety of Spring wildflowers blooming in the forest as we made our way up the trail.
Giant white wakerobin (Trillium albidum)

The only columbine we spotted.

Fairy lanterns

In addition to identifying the trails by name, several had mile markers.

Trillium

Solomon’s seal

Toothwort

Largeleaf sandwort

Bleeding heart

At 1.9-miles the trail crossed a gravel road (Mossy Maple Connector) and leveled out as it traversed a forested hillside.

Old fungus

Oregon grape

The 2.5-mile marker on the Mossy Maple Trail.

Seasonal closure sign and map at the upper junction with the bike only Yee-Haw Trail.

Pacific hound’s tongue

Fairy slippers

Star flowered solomon’s seal

Iris

Vetch

Fringecup

After approximately three miles on the Mossy Maple Trail we arrived at a junction with the Basalt Rim Trail. The Basalt Rim Trail would be our return route so for now we turned left and climbed a small hill to a meadow in a wide saddle.

Strawberry

Shooting star

Spotted towhee

We crossed the saddle (and an access road) to pick up the Camas Crest Trail.

Small-flowered woodland-stars

Checker lily and baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii)

Manroot

Red-flowering currant

The Camas Crest Trail joined the humorously named Cervus Road briefly where we went left for 100 yards to find the Basalt Rim Trail.

Dogwood

On the Cervus Road passing an old quarry on the right.

The Basalt Rim Trail.

The lupine is still a week or so away from blooming.

Basalt columns

We climbed up the Basalt Rim Trail to a junction with the Cascadian Thumb Trail on the right.

Warning signs along this hiker only trail cautioned trail users of dangerous cliffs and the risk of falling.

Fawn lily

Springfield from the trail.

There is a short one-way loop at the top.

The loop passes several rocky viewpoints, and a lot of poison oak.
Looking down from one of the viewpoints.

The highest peak to the left in the distance is Mount June (post) and the peak in the center is Bear Mountain.

Mt. Pisgah (post) just across the Middle Fork Willamette River with Spencer Butte (post) behind to the right.

Biscuitroot

Another viewpoint along the loop.

The peak with two humps is Mount Nebo. With the naked eye we could just make out Tidbits Mountain (post) in the distance to the right.

Camas (and poison oak) near the viewpoint.

Finishing the loop.

Stripped coralroot.

After completing the loop we returned to the Basalt Rim Trail and turned right and made our way back to the Mossy Maple Trail.
Switchbacks leading down to the Basalt Rim Trail.

Wren

Violets

Basalt outcrops

Ginger

Arriving back at the Mossy Maple Trail.

On the way back down we took the Mossy Maple Connector Trail which was simply a fairly steep gravel road but otherwise retraced our steps to the trailhead.

Starflower

Dunn’s salamander

Mossy Maple Connector Trail (left).

The Yee-Haw Trail coming down from the left to the Mossy Maple Connector Trail.

Buttercups

Fairy bells

Meadow near the trailhead.

The hike here came in just under 8 miles with 1215′ of elevation gain, by far the most strenuous stop of our day.

From Thurston Hills it was just a 15-minute drive to our next stop at Jasper State Recreation Site. This is one of the 25 State Park fee sites requiring a $10.00 day use fee. This year we purchased a $30.00 annual pass, so this stop was in part to make use of the pass and get our money’s worth. The hike description (or lack thereof) was from AllTrails so it was no surprise when we were immediately confused as to where to go from the parking area.

There was no obvious path down to the picnic shelters so we simply headed down to a gravel road where we turned right. After passing an impressive display of Menzies’ larkspur we found an actual trail and wound up making a short (0.6-mile) loop through the woods.

Menzies’ larkspur

Western meadowrue

Bleeding heart and purple deadnettle

Completing the loop.

AllTrails showed a 1.6-mile loop that not only went through the woods but also the picnic areas of the park. Aside from a few service roads there weren’t many obvious paths/trails that we could see so we made up our route which stuck mostly to a faint grassy track along the Middle Fork Willamette River.

Faint grassy path.

Golden crowned sparrow

A section of obvious trail.

The faint path disappeared near the fenced off-leash dog area. The AllTrails loop appeared to turn around here, but since we couldn’t see even a faint path leading back around closer to the parking areas we turned around and followed the river back.
We did find this short section of what appears to have been a paved path in the grass.

This was an odd little hike but the park itself was nice. There was some playground equipment, nice picnic shelters, the off-leash dog area, and some disc golf holes. We managed to get 1.5-miles of walking in and saw some really nice larkspur along the way.

A 10-minute drive took us from the Jasper State Recreation Site to Elijah Bristow State Park. Currently this is not a fee park, which was a bit surprising to us given it has wide range of activities to offer. There are over 10-miles of trails open to hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers along with access to the Middle Fork Willamette River for anglers and kayakers. There are several trailheads to choose from, but we parked at the Lost Creek Trailhead.

The trails here were well maintained and all official junctions were marked with posts consisting of pointers and symbols representing the trail names. That being said having a copy of the map handy was very helpful because the trail names, such as the Elk Trail, can apply to multiple spurs in the same area.

We set off past the signboard on the Elk Trail and soon found ourselves hiking along Lost Creek.

An example of the posts. Every directional arrow, including the far side that you can’t see, was for the “Elk Trail”.

Cedar along the Elk Trail.

We simply stayed left at posted junctions which brought us to the River Trail and the Middle Fork Willamette.

Candy flower and woodland buttercups

Picnic tables near Lost Creek.

Lost Creek

Not a signed junction so this is the one time we veered right.

Middle Fork Willamette River.

The River Trail turned eastward and ran parallel to the Middle Fork for a mile. For much of the mile the river was not visible however there were a few opportunities to reach the river bank.

I was hoping that there might be a turtle hiding in this photo but alas it does not appear that is the case.

We veered left here leaving the River Trail briefly to actually get a view of the river.

We hadn’t noticed the goslings in the grass until seeing the picture of the parents.

Another look at the river shortly before the River Trail turned away.

Barrow’s goldeneye

When we reached a post for the Angler’s Trail we turned right.

We stayed left again at the next junction then right at the following two. For the remainder of the hike we stayed left back to the park entrance road across from the Lost Creek Trailhead.
Left here as right led to a picnic area at the end of the entrance road.

Signpost at the second junction where we kept right.

The clouds had been stubborn all morning but by early afternoon they had mostly burned off.

We stayed left on the trail near the entrance road (across from the Channel Lake Trailhead).

ADA accessible path to a brushy wildlife viewing spot along a backwater channel.

Bufflehead and at least three turtles on the logs behind.

The Lost Creek Trailhead on the far side of the entrance road.

Our loop here came to 3.2-miles with less than 50′ of elevation gain.

A look at the relative proximity of our three stops.

On the day we wound up hiking 12.6-miles with approximately 1250′ of elevation gain, nearly all of which came at Thurston Hills. Thurston Hills was a great hike with a lot more varied scenery and wildflowers than we had expected. We are already planning on returning to Elijah Bristow to check out more of the trails there at some point. Jasper State Recreation Area was a pleasant addition to the stops, but it wouldn’t be a place that we would visit again if we were simply looking for a hike. It did however seem to be a great place to have a picnic with the family and spend a day along the river. Happy Trails!

Tags Barrow's Goldeneye, Basalt Rim Trail, Camas Crest Trail, Cascadian Thumb Trail, Dunn's salamander, Elijah Bristow State Park, Eugune, hiking, Jasper State Recreation Area, Lost Creek, Lost Creek Trailhead, Middle Fork Willamette River, Mossy Maple Trail, Oregon, Springfield, Thurston Hills, Thurston Hills Natural Area, wildflowers

Columbia Gorge North Hiking Trip report Washington

Catherine Creek – Coyote Wall Loop – 03/29/2025

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date March 31, 2025
1 Comment on Catherine Creek – Coyote Wall Loop – 03/29/2025

** Note the 2025 Burdoin Fire burned over much of the route described here. **

A combination of inclement weather and illnesses had kept us off the trails for a few weeks, so we were excited to get a chance to head out and check out some wildflowers. We decided to revisit a pair of hikes that we’d done back in 2016 as part of our 500 featured hikes quest. On our 2016 outing we made separate stops at Catherine Creek and Coyote Wall but this time our plan was to hike a loop between the two areas.

We based our route on a loop described in the Oregonhikers.org field guide which begins at the Catherine Creek Trailhead.

The Forest Service along with the Washington Trails Association have been working on restoring these areas including by improving, rerouting and decommissioning various user created trails. It is a work in process so knowing the current conditions and respecting any closed trails/areas is important before visiting.

For our loop today we began by following Atwood Road (right of the signboard).
Atwood Road

The first 3.5 miles of our loop followed this old roadbed. The initial 1.5 miles climbed steadily before the road turned west to traverse the hillside toward Coyote Wall. There were a variety of wildflowers blooming along the lower portion of the road.
Death camas

Saxifrage and a yellow bells.

Grass widows

Gold stars, wood-land stars, and blue-eyed Mary.

Catherine Creek from Atwood Road.

Pungent desert parsley

Catherine Creek Arch from Atwood Road.

Closer look at the arch.

Buttercup

One of the highlights of the day was spotting a number of Dutchman’s breeches on a hillside below some cliffs.
I believe this was just our second time coming across these flowers.

Closer look at the Dutchman’s breeches.

The Columbia River from Atwood Road.

Hairy bittercress (non-native)

Entering the sunlight.

Glacier lilies

wood-land stars

Toothwort

Nearing the forest.

Columbia desert parsley

Shortly before Atwood Road turned we passed a roadbed on the right that led to an old stove.

Heading through the forest.

The road exited the forest not long after turning west and passed through an open hillside with views of Mt. Hood.
Looking east as the road emerged from the forest.

Grassy hillside

This signed trail heading down Sunflower hill is the Bitterwood Trail aka Ca2. This is not yet an official trail, and the Forest Service plans to reroute and build out an official trail in 2025. (Assuming they have employees and funding.)

Mt. Hood behind a few clouds.

Mt. Hood

Popcorn flower

The trail descending into another stand of trees to cross Rowland Creek and continued to alternate between open hillsides and stands of trees before arriving at a signed junction.

Rowland Creek

Another user trail on the left, referred to as the Shoestring Trail by the Oregonhikers Field Guide. This trail is not shown on the Forest Service map nor is it mentioned on their website.

Coastal manroot

Grass widows

View of Mt. Hood’s summit.

Robin hunting worms.

Daffodils

The Upper Labyrinth Trail (aka Co8) joining from below. This was the first junction with signs naming official trails.

We had come up the Upper Labyrinth Trail in 2016 making the next three quarters of a mile a repeat.

Labyrinth Creek below Atwood Road.

The Labyrinth Creek crossing.

Wet trail climbing away from Labyrinth Creek.

Red-tailed hawk

A half mile from the Upper Labyrinth Trail junction, and 3.5-miles along Atwood Road, we arrived at another signed junction at a boundary with some private land.

Here Atwood Road enters the private property, so we followed the pointer for the Old Ranch Trail #4426. We followed this trail downhill 0.3-miles to a signed junction with trail #4427 – Traverse to Coyote Wall where we turned right.

Yellow bells

This was once again new trail for us and we followed it uphill just over three quarters of a mile to a confusing signed junction near the rim of Coyote Wall.

We stayed left here.

We ignored the singletrack leading right on the far side of this unnamed stream.

Here we veered right on the single track. I believe the single track is the “official trail” although both paths led to the signed junction.

A multitude of tracks near the junction.

It appears that the ultimate plan is to have one official route for the Coyote Wall Trail #4428 (aka Co1) and to decommission all others. At this point there was only one small sign identifying a closed trail and it was a path along the rim of Coyote Wall that was covered in a type of netting. We turned uphill at the junction to visit the meadow at the junction but were unsure which path to take. The field guide map has not been updated to identify the new official route and showed a narrow-elongated loop. There was no consistency watching other trail users, so we picked a hiker and followed his route up.

We eventually came to the conclusion that the new official trail was the one that used a series of switchbacks to reach the upper viewpoint.
On one of the switchbacks.

Turkey vulture

The upper viewpoint.

After a short break at the viewpoint we headed back down to the signed junction where we continued down the Coyote Wall Trail.

Balsamroot

Looking east over the Columbia River.

Gold stars

A mile beyond the junction the Old Ranch Road Trail joined from the left at a three way junction.

Here we stayed right on the Little Moab Trail (Co3) and continued downhill along Coyote Wall.

Coyote Wall

The Coyote Wall Trailhead.

Woolly-pod milk-vetch

Miniture lupine, redstem storksbill and a popcorn flower.

Fiddleneck

Poet’s shooting star

We turned right at this junction with the Old Ranch Trail to continue downhill.

Naked broomrape and redstem storksbill

We took another right at this junction with the Little Maui Trail to drop down even further to an old highway.

Tomcat clover and redstem storksbill

The old highway below.

We turned left (east) on the highway and followed it for 0.3-miles to the Labyrinth Trail #4423 (Co7) where we turned left.

The Labyrinth Trail wound through rocky outcrops for 1.2-miles to an unsigned junction with the Upper Labyrinth Trail on an open hillside.
We ignored the Little Maui Connector Trail on the left near the old highway.

Larkspur

The trail to the right here is a spur to Labyrinth Falls.

Labyrinth Falls

Crossing for Labyrinth Creek.

Labyrinth Trail

First view of the Catherine Creek Trailhead on the plateau ahead.

At the junction we stayed right on the Labyrinth Trail. We were happy to not be climbing for a bit as the Labyrinth Trail traversed the hillside before dropping to an ancient rockslide where Native Americans built vision quest pits.

Hound’s tongue

Rowland Creek

Rowland Basin

Lupine and balsamroot

We’d done a pretty good job staying on course given the numerous trail junctions, a good number of which were unsigned, but that ended when we reached another unsigned junction with a rough trail on the left marked by a small rock cairn.

We should have turned left here but got confused reading the field guide entry and wound up staying straight. Apparently straight is the Raptor Trail (Ca1). We didn’t realize our mistake until we spotted the highway below.

At that point I turned around to go back to the junction. Heather was just behind me on her way down and when I informed her of the mistake she decided not to climb back up to the junction but to simply walk the highway a little over a third of a mile to the trailhead. (Apparently the Raptor Trail is closed seasonally from Feb 1 – July 15th, but we didn’t see any signs to that effect.)

I returned to the cairn and turned right up the rough path which led to basalt cliffs and up a scree slope to another unsigned junction after just 0.2-miles.

The Rowland Pinnacle

I turned right at the junction and followed this trail just over half a mile back to the trailhead where Heather was waiting. (Eventually the Bitterroot Trail (Ca2) will replace this user created trail.)

One of several small vernal pools.

The GPS put this hike at 11.9 miles consisting of a little over 2900′ of elevation gain.

There was more climbing than we’d anticipated between Coyote Wall and the Upper Labyrinth Trail junction, but we should have expected it since we’d hike that section before. There was an extra 0.6-miles in that total from the Raptor Trail mistake (which also added 280′ of the elevation gain). It was a great hike though with a lot of variety both in flowers and scenery. Hopefully the Forest Service will be able to finish their projects at these areas and add signage to the official trail junctions to help keep people on the correct trails. These are busy areas (as can be seen from the trailhead photos) in later Winter/early Spring when the wildflowers are blooming. Starting early and doing the longer loop as we did helped to keep our hike from feeling overly busy, but if you can swing a weekday, it would be ideal. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Catherine Creek-Coyote Wall Loop

Tags Atwood Road, catherine creek, catherine creek arch, Catherine Creek Trailhead, coyote wall, hiking, labyrinth falls, Labyrinth Trail, Little Maui Trail, Little Moab Trail, Old Ranch Road Trail, Rowland Basin, Rowland Pinnacle, Upper Labyrinth Trail, Upper Viewpoint, Washington, wildflowers