Tag: wildflowers

Imnaha Falls – 06/12/2023

Our arrival in Enterprise coincided with the arrival of a couple of days with forecasted afternoon thunder storms. We did some rearraigning of the order of our hikes to avoid the storms and decided on Imnaha Falls as our Monday hike. We began at the Indian Crossing Trailhead located in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
Indian Crossing Trailhead

Imnaha River at the trailhead.

There were quite a few wildflowers blooming at the trailhead.
Jessica’s stickseed

Hooked spur violet

Woodland star

Valerian

Arnica

We took the South Fork Imnaha Trail #1816 following pointers for Blue Hole and Twin Lakes.

Violets

We passed a pack station in the forest on our right.

Ballhead waterleaf

Lupine along the trail

Anemone

Western meadowrue

We passed a trail sign at junction with a spur trail joining from the pack station and soon after we entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Paintbrush along the trail.

Larkspur, lupine, and Jessica’s stickseed

After three quarters of a mile we entered a previously burned forest where the views opened up some.

Chipmunk

A nice patch of lupine.

Snow patches high up on the ridge.

The Imnaha River below the trail.

One of many small unnamed stream crossings.

Large-flower triteleia

A ponderosa pine that survived the fire.

Robin

One of several types of penstemon along the trail.

We were just sure that there should be elk, deer, or a bear down along the river here.

There were quite a few of these millipedes in the trail.

In some cases the creeks had taken over the trail.

Cinquefoil

A brushy section of the trail.

Tall bluebells

Two-tailed tiger swallowtail

At the two-mile mark we came to a signed junction for Twin Lakes Trail and Blue Hole where we detoured left.

We followed this trail downhill for a tenth of a mile to an impassable ford of the Imnaha River just below the Blue Hole.

The river was running high still so we couldn’t get a view of Blue Hole from the ford. Instead we climbed the rocks which squeeze the river through a narrow gorge before it empties into Blue Hole.

Blue Hole, not exactly blue this time of year due to the amount of silty snowmelt water swelling the river.

Wildflowers above the gorge.

The Imnaha emerging from the gorge into Blue Hole.

After a nice break at Blue Hole we returned to the South Fork Imnaha Trail and continued further into the wilderness.
Arnica along the trail.

Coming up on a small stand of aspen.

A rockcress

Juba skipper

Roundleaf alumroot

Painted lady on Oregon sunshine.

Glacier carved rock outcrops provided some excellent views and good habitat for wildflowers.

Scabland penstemon

Paintbrush

Not a flower but very colorful.

Bush penstemon

Western tanager

Western blue clematis

Brown creeper on a tree trunk.

Left is Marble Mountain and to the right further back is Honeymoon Summit.

Larkspur along the trail.

Heartleaf springbeauty

Another flooded section of a the trail.

Western tiger swallowtails on chokecherry.

Dreamy duskywing

Threeleaf lewisia

We were too late for the Brown’s peony blooms.

Balsamroot and paintbrush

Three and a third miles beyond the Twin Lakes Trail junction we left the trail to see another gorge.

On the opposite side, with a series of drops, is Rock Creek flowing into the Imnaha.

The Imnaha River leaving the gorge.

Rock Creek cascading down through the forest.

After another short break we returned to the trail and continued another third of a mile where we left the trail again to find Imnaha Falls.

Another creek cascading down.

Marble Mountain

Twinberry honeysuckle

Marsh violet

Rock outcrop above Imnaha Falls

The 8′ Imnaha Falls was difficult to get a good view of. There was a large gap in the rocks that I eventually had to climb down into and out of to get to the edge of the rock outcrop above the river.
I tried going down river first to see if I could get a view back up to the falls, but the water level was into the brush along the riverbank.

The falls were just upriver from this bench with a couple of campsites.

The gap in the outcrop.

Imnaha Falls.

The falls were more of a rapids which might have been caused by the volume of water this time of year.

We took a final break on the rocks here and then headed back toward the trailhead. We kept a lookout for any flowers we’d missed on the first pass.
Utah honeysuckle

Bee on a dandelion

Nettle-leaf giant hyssop

Slender phlox

Silverleaf phacelia

Vetch

Diffuse-flower evening-primrose surrounded by blue-eyed Mary.

Osprey, the fishing here must have been good because we’d seen a bald eagle in this area in the morning.

Fairy slipper

Arriving back at the trailhead.

We saw three other people on the return to the trailhead. The first gentleman we encountered asked us how far it was to the lakes. He’d already passed the Twin Lakes Trail, not that he could have forded the river there, and the next closest lake was probably Fish Lake which was a good 7-8 miles away. We let him know that there weren’t any lakes nearby but that Imnaha Falls was a couple of miles further along the trail. He didn’t have much with him but he continued on after looking at the gathering clouds and saying he thought he had time to make it there. The next couple we passed after Blue Hole and they didn’t appear to be carrying any type of food, water, or gear. The number of unprepared and uninformed people we pass on trails really makes us wonder how there aren’t more rescues/deaths every year.

Our hike came in at 12.2 miles due to some extra exploring along the river with approximately 800′ of elevation gain.

We drove back to Enterprise, got cleaned up, and headed out for an early dinner. When we opened the motel room door we were greeted by a heavy rain shower. We had planned on eating at Terminal Gravity Brewing but when we got out of the car a lightning bolt immediately followed by thunder convinced us that outdoor dining was not a good idea at the moment. We decided to save Terminal Gravity for later in the week and instead got some tasty Pad Thai to go from Thai Enterprise and took it back to our room where we listened to the evening thunderstorms roll past.

Tuesday’s forecast was for more of the same with a slightly higher chance for showers so we’d planned to do a short hike in the morning followed by some time sightseeing in Joseph. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Imnaha Falls

Tags Blue Hole, eagle cap wilderness, enterprise, Gorge, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, hiking, Imnaha Falls, Indian Crossing Trailhead, Oregon, Rock Creek, South Fork Imnaha River Trail, Twin Lakes Trail, wildflowers

Grants Pass Area Hiking Oregon Trip report

Dollar Mountain, Limpy Creek, and Waters Creek – 05/03/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 10, 2023
3 Comments on Dollar Mountain, Limpy Creek, and Waters Creek – 05/03/2023

When I’d first planned our vacation to Grants Pass the plan had included seven of Sullivan’s featured hikes, six of which we needed to check off our to-do list, and one to tie up loose ends (post). One of those planned hikes had been Babyfoot Lake but with a trailhead elevation of 4340′ that hike had been postponed due to this years above average snowpack. Before leaving I had checked all our hikes including using a couple of snow-depth maps. At the time they showed 10-20 inches of snow at Babyfoot Lake but nothing for any of our other planned hikes including along the driving route to Marial which was our planned destination for day three. I had been concerned because the BLM roads to the Lower Rogue River-Mule Creek Trailhead spends a fair amount of time between 3400 and 3800′ in elevation before dropping to the trailhead at an elevation under 500′. There was no snow showing up online and neither the BLM nor Forest Service websites mentioned impassable roads. Sullivan lists this hike as open April to December but that is “normal” and this year’s snowpack is not that.

We started Wednesday morning by attempting the roughly 70-mile, nearly 2:30 hour drive. We managed to get within 17 miles of the trailhead before encountering large snow drifts still covering the roads, primarily on the North facing slopes. With no way to reach the trailhead (we couldn’t have even hiked the trail from Grave Creek due to a washout at trail mile 21) we pivoted to plan B. Plan B was to do some or all of the hikes that we’d planned for Friday before driving home. So after a little over 4 hours of driving we wound up at the Dollar Mountain Trailhead less than 2 miles from where we’d started at our cabin.

This was an odd little hike as the trail had no signage apart from the trailhead sign and it basically went straight uphill. There were some narrower trails off what appeared to be the main trail which may have been gentler switchbacks, but they just as easily could have been use trails leading to the surrounding neighborhoods or to nowhere in particular. We opted to go straight up on the wider rutted path.
Larkspur along the trail.

A pollinator in a Tolmie’s mariposa lily.

Shooting star

Grants Pass below Dollar Mountain.

Hooker’s Indian pink

Silver crown

Naked broomrape

Too cloudy for a good view.

Lupine

Scarlet fritillary

Sullivan had it as 1.2 miles from the trailhead to the summit but going straight up got us to the cell towers on top in exactly 1 mile (regardless of the route the climb is over 750′ of elevation gain).

View from the summit.

The view from the summit isn’t as good as those just below. From the summit we had the choice of heading back the way we’d come or following a rough roadbed down and around to Crescent Street 0.2 miles NW of the trailhead. We opted for the loop option and headed down the road.
We stuck to the road ignoring any side paths like this one since we had no idea where they might lead.

There were dozens of California groundcones along the roadbed.

California groundcones

Approaching Crescent Street.

It was a mile and a half from the summit to Crescent Street which we followed back to the car. From there we made the 16-mile drive to the Limpy Botanical Interpretive Loop Trailhead

Here we planned to do a mile long loop. We started clockwise from the trailhead signboard following Sullivan’s directions to stay left at all junctions.

Monkeyflower

Dwarf ceanothus

Paintbrush

Camas and shooting stars

Siskiyou fritillary

We got into a little trouble when we came to what we thought was another trail junction with a path leading to the right to a bench.

Since the directions we were following said to stay left at all junctions we stayed left following an increasingly rocky path uphill. We wound up just below a roadbed when the “trail” completely petered out. We headed back down to the trail with the bench and tried that one which turned out to be the correct route. This path led us across a pair of boardwalks then to a scenic little waterfall.
Passing the bench.

Trillium

Fairy slippers

Boardwalk #1

Second boardwalk

Waterfall on Limpy Creek.

Beyond the falls the trail crossed Limpy Creek then began to descend to another nice little creek.

Limpy Creek

Arriving at the second creek.

Unnamed creek

Mushrooms

The path turned along the unnamed creek and recrossed Limpy Creek before arriving back at the trailhead.
Final crossing of Limpy Creek.

With our wrong turn we managed to turn the 1-mile loop into a 1.3-mile hike and nearly doubled the 120′ of elevation gain that it should have been. From Limpy Creek we headed for our final stop of the day at the nearby Waters Creek Interpretive Trailhead. (The trailheads are just over 2.5 miles apart as the crow flies but the drive between them is close to 15 miles.)

This was another interpretive trail offering two loops, a 1-mile barrier free option or a nearly 3-mile longer, hiker only, loop. Both loops begin by following Waters Creek for a tenth of a mile then crossing it and passing by a grassy meadow.

Candyflower

Waters Creek

A phacelia

At the end of the meadow when the trail enters the forest it splits. We stayed left at all junctions again on this loop.
The start/end of the loops with the bridge being our return route.

Staying left.

This was the barrier free loop splitting off and heading back across an unnamed creek.

Sign announcing the hiker only extended loop.

Snail

The first vanilla leaf we’ve seen blooming this year.

There were a bunch of fawn lilies blooming along this trail.

One of several little footbridges across side streams.

Trillium

Bench where the trail turned to head back on the opposite side of the unnamed creek.

The view from the bench.

The trail climbed above the creek on the way back before descending via switchback to rejoin the barrier free loop.
Houndstongue

The barrier free trail below in the trees.

Back on the barrier free trail.

Biscuitroot and larkspur

Giant white wakerobin

The Sun was starting to shine a bit as we passed back by the meadow which brought out some butterflies and lots of lizards.

Our three hikes of the day added up to 7 miles and 1480′ of elevation gain. (2.8mi & 830′, 1.3mi & 250′, and 2.96mi & 400′ respectively.)

Despite the rocky start it had turned out to be a pleasant enough day and we were still back to our cabin around 3pm which gave us time to clean up and head to the Bohemian Bar & Bistro for an excellent dinner. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Dollar Mountain, Limpy Botanical Loop, and Waters Creek

Tags Bohemian Bar & Bistro, Dollar Mountain, Grants Pass, hiking, Limpy Botanical Interpretive Loop. Waters Creek Interpretive Trail, Limpy Creek, Marial, Oregon, Waters Creek, wildflowers

Grants Pass Area Hiking Oregon Trip report

Rogue River Trail from Grave Creek – 05/01/2023

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 8, 2023
2 Comments on Rogue River Trail from Grave Creek – 05/01/2023

For our first week of vacation this year we planned a trip to Grants Pass to continue working toward our goal of finishing all 100 featured hikes in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” edition 4.2. (post)

On the way down to Grants Pass we kicked off our week of hikes with a portion of the Rogue River Trail starting at the Grave Creek Boat Ramp.

Sullivan includes three hike options for his Rogue River East featured hike: a 4.2-mile out-and-back to Rainie Falls on the southern side of the Rogue, a 7-mile out-and-back to the Whiskey Creek Cabin on the Rogue River Trail, and a 23.2-mile one way option on the Rogue River Trail to Marial. The Rainie Falls hike was out due to the trail being damaged in the 2022 Rum Creek fire and the longer option wasn’t viable either for various reasons including a slide that currently has the trail closed roughly a mile upstream from Marial. That left the Whiskey Creek Cabin as our goal with an option to extend the hike if we felt like it.

Going into the trip there were two types of wildflowers that we hadn’t yet seen in bloom that we were hoping to find. One was red larkspur which I’d learned grew along the Rogue River Trail. As it turned out this was an easy one. When we climbed from the boat ramp to a set of signboards along the trail we immediately spotted some of the red larkspur blooming below the signs.

Red larkspur with blue dicks in the background.

Wildflowers are running a few weeks behind this year but they were putting on a good display as we set off on the trail.

Lupine

Red larkspur, madia, blue dicks, and tomcat clover along the trail.

Blue dicks

Tolmie’s mariposa lily and some madia.

Larkspur and a red larkspur

Plectritis

Monkeyflower

Serpentine phacelia

Naked broomrape

Camas with monkeyflower and plectritis

Fiddleneck

Saxifrage

A darker red larkspur

Some of the damage to the trail to Rainie Falls on the opposite side of the river.

Buttercups

Common whipplea

Silver crown

The wet rock here was sneaky slick.

We spotted a couple of pink larkspur.

Common mergansers

Common cryptantha

Starflower

Paintbrush

Del Norte iris

Coastal manroot

Canada geese

All of that was over the first mile plus. At the 1.2-mile mark we came to a sign marking the high water mark from a 1964 flood and just beyond were the remnants of the former Sanderson Bridge which was destroyed in a 1927 flood.

Looking back upriver from the high water sign.

Sanderson Bridge site

We continued on continuing to watch for additional wildlife and types of flowers.
Golden-crowned sparrow

Scarlet fritillary

Just over half a mile from the bridge site we came to a fork and a pointer for Rainie Falls. While we were aware that there was little to no view of the falls down this path we followed it down a tenth of a mile to the river.

White campion

The only water we could make out on the far side of the river.

While there was no view of Rainie Falls we did spot a few colorful birds along the bank.
Bullock’s oriole

Yellow warbler

Sandy beach along the Rogue River.

After watching the birds for a bit we hiked back up to the Rogue River Trail and continued on reaching China Gulch in another half mile.
Shooting star

California groundcone

Small-flowered woodland-star

Approaching China Gulch

From China Gulch it was approximately 1.2-miles to Whiskey Creek and the side trail to the cabin.
Vetch

Wallflower

Silverpuffs

This manzanita was particularly striking in person.

Hairy pink

Robin

Rafts at Whiskey Camp.

Whiskey Creek

Footbridge over Whiskey Creek

Sign at the spur trail to the cabin.

We turned up the spur trail and followed it uphill for 500′ to the cabin.

The initial cabin was built sometime around 1880 and improved/expanded over time to include a solar heated shower and insulated pantry. The cabin was lived in until the Bureau of Land Management purchased the deed in 1973.

After exploring the cabin and surrounding structures we decided to continue on the Rogue River Trail a bit further. We were trying to avoid getting to our accommodations in Grants Pass before check-in at 3pm so we decided to continue for another 15 to 20 minutes before heading back. We wound up hiking an additional 0.4-miles to Big Slide Camp.

Del Norte irises

Big Slide Camp to the left.

Outhouse at Big Slide Camp.

Common mergansers

Snow on a ridge above the Rogue River Valley. (This was a sign of issues for us later in the week.)

We lingered a bit at the camp before heading back. As always, we kept our eyes open for anything we might have missed on our first pass.
Redwood sorrel along Whiskey Creek.

Buiscuitroot

Passing the high water mark.

Arriving back at the trailhead.

Our hike here ended up being 8.7-miles with 450′ of cumulative elevation gain.

Aside from the rafters at Whiskey Creek Camp the only other people we saw were a pair of backpackers on their way out and a group of 15 on their way in. While we didn’t see any rattlesnakes (it was nice and cool out) we did pick up a couple of ticks along the way which we brushed off when spotted. Poison oak was present but easily avoidable.

We arrived at the Riverside Cabins in Grants Pass a little after 3pm. The six rentals were recently constructed and ours wound up being an excellent base of operations for the rest of the week.

It was a good start to our vacation, and we were looking forward to more great hikes in the days to come. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Rogue River East

Tags Big Slide Camp, Bullock's Oriole, China Gulch, Grants Pass, Grave Creek Boat Launch, Grave Creek Trailhead, hiking, Oregon, Rainie Falls, Red Larkspur, Riverside Cabins, Rogue River, Rogue River Trail, Sanderson Bridge Site, Whiskey Creek, Whiskey Creek Cabin, Whiskey Creek Camp, wildflowers

Hiking Year-end wrap up

2022 Flower Gallery

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

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

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

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

June 15th – Donomore Meadows

June 16th – Pacific Crest Trail near Siskiyou Gap

Marsh violet, June 25th – Goat Marsh Lake

July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

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

Goosefoot? violet, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

July 9th – Mt. Ireland

August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness.

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

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

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

California lady slippers, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Bolander’s lily, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Scarlet fritillary, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

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

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

Columbia desert parsley, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Woodland stars, April 2nd – Balfour Trail

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

Lupine, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Big leaf maple, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Slender phlox, April 2nd – Klickitat Trail

Fringecup, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Buttercups, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Checkermallow, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Another checkermallow, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

Iris, April 23rd – Ankeny Wildlife Refuge

A paintbrush, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Balsamroot, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Large-flower triteleia, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Naked broomrape, May 1st – Memaloose Hills

Vetch, May 1st – Moiser Plateau

Large-head clover, May 1st – Moiser Plateau

Fiddleneck, May 1st – Moiser Plateau

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

Service berry, May 7th – Orenco Woods

Aven, May 7th – Noble Woods

Camas, May 7th – Miller Woods

Wild ginger, May 7th – Miller Woods

Striped coralroot, May 7th – Miller Woods

Fairy slippers, May 7th – Miller Woods

Plectritis, May 14th – Chehalem Ridge Nature Park

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

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

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

Trillium, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

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

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

Kittentails, May 21st – Elk/Kings Mountain Traverse

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

Henderson’s stars, May 25th – Mule Mountain

Larkspur, May 25th – Mule Mountain

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

Douglas’ stichwort, May 25th – Mule Mountain

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

California poppy, May 25th – Mule Mountain

A clarkia, May 25 – Mule Mountain

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

Star flower, May 25th – Mule Mountain

California ground cone, May 25th – Mule Mountain

Ookow, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Blow wives, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

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

Clustered broomrape, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Narrowleaf onion, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

California goldfield, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

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

Marigold pincushion plant, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Arrowleaf buckwheat, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

A clarkia, May 26th – Upper Table Rock

Iris, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Milkvetch, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

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

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

A larkspur, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Rough eyelashweed, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

Wallflower, May 27th – Jack-Ash Trail

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

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

Death camas, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Common madia, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Common viburnum, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Hairy Indian paintbrush, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

White campion, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Pale flax, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

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

Rose, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Pea, May 28th – Denman Wildlife Area

Kellog’s monkeyflower, May 29th – Applegate Lake

Heart-leaf milkweed, May 29th – Applegate Lake

Northern phlox, May 29th – Applegate Lake

White lupine, May 29th – Applegate Lake

Carrotleaf horkelia, May 30th – Roxy Ann Peak

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

Baneberry, June 4th – North Siouxon Trail

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

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

Candyflower, June 4th – North Siouxon Trail

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

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

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

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

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

Columbine, June 13th – Susan Creek Falls Trail

Solomonseal, June 13th – North Umpqua Trail

Valerian, June 13th – Lemolo Falls Trail

Gooseberry, June 14th – Illahee Rock

Blue-eyed Mary, June 14th – Illahee Rock

Fawn lilies, June 14th – Illahee Rock

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

Bistort, June 15th – Donomore Meadows

Cutleaf daisy, June 15th – Observation Peak

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

A rockcress, June 15th – Observation Peak

Alpine pennycress, June 15th – Observation Peak

Quill-leaf lewisia, June 15th – Observation Peak

Marsh marigold, June 15th – Pacific Crest Trail

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Diamond? clarkia, June 17th – Bandersnatch Trail

A honeysuckle, June 17th – Bandersnatch Trail

A catchfly, June 17th – Bandersnatch Trail

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

Deerbrush, June 17th – Mike Uthoff Trail

Grand collomia, June 17th – Mike Uthoff Trail

A phaceli, June 17th – Mike Uthoff Trail

Rhododendron, June 18th – Frog Pond Trail

Pretty Face, June 18th – Frog Pond Trail

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

Avalanche lily, June 25th – Toutle Trail

A penstemon, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

A phlox, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Lewis flax, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

A paintbrush, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

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

Queen’s cup, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Beargrass, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Shooting star, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Wolley-head clover, July 1st – Siskiyou ikyWilderness

A nightshade, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Siskiyou lewisia, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

Spotted coralroot, July 1st – Siskiyou Wilderness

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

Azalea, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Honeysuckle, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Pacific ninebark, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

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

White-vein wintergreen, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

California pitcher-plant, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

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

White-stemmed frasera, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Washington lily, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Phantom orchid, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Oregon sunshine, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Pussypaws, July 2nd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Musk monkeyflower, July 3rd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Klamath arnica, July 3rd – Siskiyou Wilderness

White rushlily, July 3rd – Siskiyou Wilderness

Spirea, July 4th – Siskiyou Wilderness

Wild onion, July 4th – Siskiyou Wilderness

A penstemon, July 4th – Siskiyou Wilderness

Phlox, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

Brown’s peony, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

Yet another paintbrush, July 9th – Mt. Ireland

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

Venus penstemon, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Douglas dustymaidens, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Bog orchid, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Mountain lady slippers, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Rosy pussytoes, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Yellow columbine, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

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

Elephants head, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Cone flower, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Tall mountain bluebells, July 10th – Catherine Creek Trail

Another wild onion, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Scarlet gilia, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Arrowleaf groundsel, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Purple sticky geranium, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Ragged robin, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

False? sunflower, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

White mariposa lily, July 11th – Horse Ranch Trail

Rosy paintbrush, July 12th – Buck Creek Trail

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

Pacific coralroot, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

Hyssop, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

Another penstemon, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

Thistle, July 13th – Rock Springs
Trail

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

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

Pinedrop, July 14th – Bear Creek Trail

Sagebrush mariposa lily, July 14th – Wallowa Homeland

Blanket flower, July 14th – Wallowa Homeland

Yarrow, July 14th – Wallowa Homeland

Scouler’s bluebells, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Inside-out flower, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Tiger lily, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Bluebells of Scotland, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Subalpine mariposa lily, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Western sweetvetch, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Coiled lousewort, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

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

Orange agoseris, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

A larkspur, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

Mock orange, July 23rd – Silverstar Mountain

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

Indian pipe, August 6th – Yasko Falls Trail

Leopard lily, August 6th – Hemlock Creek Trail

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

Rainiera, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Hedgenettle, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Large boykina, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Candy sticks, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Monkshood, August 6th – Yellowjacket Loop Trail

Scarlet monkeyflower, August 7th – Fall Creek Falls Trail

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

Mountain heather, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Gentian, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

False hellebore, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

A saxifrage, August 13th – Mt. Adams Wilderness

Beardstongue, August 20th – Grizzley Peak

Shasta knotweed, August 22nd – Mt. Shasta Wilderness

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

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

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

Western snakeroot, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

A buckwheat, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

Autumn dwarf gentian, August 23rd – Trinity Alps Wilderness

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

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

Hooded ladies tresses, August 24th – Russian Wilderness

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

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

Buckwheat, August 24th – Russian Wilderness

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

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

Sierra larkspur, August 26th – Pacific Crest Trail

Tasselflower brickellbush, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

Monkeyflower, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

Thistle, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

California hairbells, August 26th – South Fork Lakes Trail

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

Fireweed, September 17th – Union Peak Trail

Douglas spirea, September 18th – Sky Lakes Wilderness

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

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

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

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

Hiking Mt. Adams Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Crystal Lake (Mount Adams Wilderness) -08/13/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 17, 2022
2 Comments on Crystal Lake (Mount Adams Wilderness) -08/13/2022

For our day trips we try and keep our driving time time to trailheads under 3 hours (preferably two and a half or less). The one exception to that is Mount Adams which sits right around that 3 hour mark from Salem. Due to the distance we don’t get there as much as we’d like but we’d put it on this years schedule. We’ve been turning more to Matt Reeder’s guidebooks and hike #16 his “Off the Beaten Trail (2nd edition) was the hike that we’d originally planned on. While doing some research on the Riley Camp Trail I learned of a use trail not far from the that trail’s junction with the Pacific Crest Trail that led to Crystal Lake so we decided to extend his suggested hike a bit.

A very favorable forecast, sunny skies with a high in the low 50s, provided a green light for our plans and we made the long drive to the Riley Camp Trailhead.
The Riley Camp Trail (Trail 64) on the opposite side of FR 23.

A short distance up the trail we stopped to fill out a day use permit (free) and review the wilderness map on the signboard.

Trail 64 led gradually uphill through a nice forest.

A little over one and a quarter mile from the trailhead we came to a signed junction with the Riley South Trail (Trail 64A).

We stayed left on the Riley Camp Trail which almost immediately entered the Mount Adams Wilderness.

We weren’t aware that the Forest Service was employing wilderness greeters.

May I see your self-issued permit?

We had started to notice a fair number of mosquitos near the junction and were forced to turn to the Deet. We’d been pretty luck so far this year at avoiding the little blood suckers but not on this day. While they weren’t anywhere near as bad as we’ve had them before they were persistent between the Riley South junction and the end of the Riley Camp Trail at the PCT. With the bugs after us we kept a decent pace as the trail continued it’s gradual climb through the forest.
The trail was in pretty good shape with just a few downed trees to step over/under.

First look at Mt. Adams through the trees.

Near the 2.7 mile mark the trail briefly entered a 2015 fire scar.

Luna Lake

Aster

We left the fire scar behind as the trail turned north passing by a series of ponds/lakes (mosquito breeding grounds).

More Mt. Adams.

Paintbrush and lupine

Beyond the mosquito birthing centers the trail began to curve back to the east and entered Riley Creek Meadows.

Sub-alpine mariposa lily

Riley Creek along the trail.

Just over 4.5 miles from the trailhead we crossed Riley Creek.
Riley Creek at the crossing.

Beyond the crossing the trail made a final 0.3 mile climb to the PCT.
A trail sign up ahead at the junction.

We turned right on the PCT which brought us back to Riley Creek after 0.2 miles.
PCT marker on the tree.

Riley Creek below the PCT crossing.

We detoured briefly upstream to revisit our dinner spot during an overnight trip in 2017 (post).

White mountain heather

A nice paintbrush

After the short detour we continued south on the PCT to Burnt Rock (just under half a mile from Riley Creek).
Mt. Adams behind us as we headed south.

Sheep Lake

Mt. Rainier behind a line of clouds.

Burnt Rock behind the snags left over from the 2012 Cascade Creek Fire.

Alpine false dandelion

Grouse

Near Burnt Rock we looked for a user trail heading toward the mountain and took a left onto it once we spotted it.

It was another half mile to Crystal Lake. The use trail was fairly easy to follow. It did steepen just before the lake.

Hummingbird visiting paint.

Mountain heather

On the final pitch.

Mt. Rainier and Goat Rocks

Phlox

Almost there.

Not Crystal Lake, just a pretty little tarn nearby.

Fortunately mosquitos weren’t an issue up here so we were able to relax and spend a good deal of time exploring around the lake and a little beyond.
Mt. Rainier

Just a bit of snow left around 6300′.

The little tarn we’d passed.

While not big Crystal Lake was deep.

View down from the rocky ridge on the south side of the lake.

The rocky ridge along the south side of the lake.

We continued a tenth of a mile beyond the lake for a dramatic view of Mt. Adams.

We could hear a waterfall below on Riley Creek.

Zoomed in on the waterfall below.

Crystal Lake from above.

Mt. Rainier with Goat Rocks to the right.

Mt. Rainier

Some of Goat Rocks.

Golden-mantled grounds squirrel

After a good break we headed back down past the lake and back to the PCT.

Getting ready to drop down.

Clark’s nutcrackers

Butterfly on mountain heather.

Saxifrage

Violet

Alpine speedwell

A checkerspot

A crescent

Mountain bluebird

Northern flicker

I’m guessing a warbler of some sort. We saw quite a few of these little yellow birds but had a hard time actually getting a photo.

We turned right on the PCT and followed it back to the Riley Camp Trail and then followed that trail back to our car.
Mt. Adams from the PCT.

Adams Glacier

Riley Creek at the PCT crossing.

Wildflowers along the PCT.

Bee on valerian

Butterfly on valerian

Another butterfly on valerian

Looking back at Mt. Adams from the Riley Camp Trail.

Passing through Riley Creek Meadows.

Gentian

We only saw a couple of beargrass blooms.

Pollinators on fleabane.

False hellebore

Luna Lake and Mt. Adams from the trail.

The mosquitos remained a nuisance as we made our way back to the car so we kept a brisk pace. When we arrived back at the car there was a family preparing to set off for an overnight stay. They had an extra half of a pizza due to getting a free pie after the pizzeria initially made the wrong one. They offered us the extra since they couldn’t take it with them and we gladly accepted. Lunch was solved and dinner wound up also being solved when my parents took us and our Son (who was visiting for our Nephew Tyler’s 4th birthday party) out to Gilgamesh Brewing’s The Woods. It was a great ending to the day.

Our hike to Crystal Lake came in at 12.6 miles with approximately 2900′ in cumulative elevation gain. While I typically don’t share tracks for off trail hikes this one is listed on several prominent hiking websites so am including it below. If you do visit please be respectful, tread lightly, and Leave No Trace. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Crystal Lake

Tags Crystal Lake, Gilgamesh Brewing, Gilgamesh The Woods, hiking, Luna Lake, Mt. Adams, Mt. Adams Wilderness, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Riley Camp Trail, Riley Camp Trailhead, Riley Creek, Riley South Trail, sheep lake, Washington, wildflowers

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Minam River via Rock Springs – 07/13/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 21, 2022
1 Comment on Minam River via Rock Springs – 07/13/2022

No Summer trip to Eastern Oregon is complete without at least one thunder storm and ours came early Wednesday morning. When we awoke at 4am in La Grande one was passing overhead nearby. I pulled up the weather forecast for the hike we had planned that day and much like the forecast had been for Mt. Ireland on Saturday there was a slight chance of a thunder storm. We packed up and headed for the Rock Springs Trailhead which was between La Grande where we had been staying and Wallowa where we had reservations for the next two nights. We were following the storm as it passed over the Wallowas but it stayed ahead of us and things looked pretty good when we parked along the shoulder of FR 62 where the Rock Springs Trail headed downhill toward the confluence of the Minam and Little Minam Rivers.
We parked about 200′ north of the actual trailhead per a suggestion by Sullivan in his guidebook.

The Rock Springs Trail at FR 62.

The trail loses approximately 2500′ in the first 3.5 miles, sometimes steeply, passing viewpoints at the 0.7 and 2.0 mile marks. There were views along other stretches of trail though as the trail alternated between open wildflower filled hillsides and forest. It was the least maintained trail that we were on all week with quite a bit of grass and brush encroaching on the trail. It was also the only trail on which we encountered multiple ticks, about a half dozen, during the trip. (The only other tick we saw all week was one on my pants at Mt. Ireland on the first day (post).
The trail passed a large rock field just below FR 62 and then entered the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Lupine

Coralroot

The edge of the storm clouds.

Scarlet gilia along the trail.

Oregon sunshine and tapertip onion

Nettle-leaf giant hyssop

View from the trail before the first “viewpoint”.

Oregon checker-mallow

Assorted wildflowers

Blue sky following the storm clouds.

Scabland penstemon

Penstemon near the first “viewpoint”.

Yarrow

Douglas dustymaiden

Looking back from the viewpoint.

Buckwheat

The Point Prominence Lookout atop the high point to the left.

Ballhead sandwort

Heather coming down from the viewpoint.

Blowdown over the trail.

Nookta rose

Wood rose

View to the SE deeper into the Wallowas.

Mountain parnassian?

Back in the trees.

Some pale columbine. At first we thought it might be yellow columbine but it definitely had a red tint.

Thimbleberry crowding the trail. The storm had left a lot of water on the vegetation which in turn wound up on our legs and shoes.

Heading down into the valley.

Elkhorn clarkia

Approaching the second viewpoint.

Backbone Ridge which separates the Minam and Little Minam Rivers. We had crossed over that ridge further south on Tuesday when we took the Horse Ranch Trail from Moss Springs to the Minam River (post).

Grand collomia

Prairie smoke

Mock orange along the trail.

Twin flower and foam flower

Sign marking the junction of the Rock Springs and Little Minam Trails.

Possibly a wasp of some sort near the junction.

We turned left at the junction and descended another tenth of a mile where we spotted the first of several structures that used to be part of a lodge.
The first cabin ruin.

Almost looks okay from this angle.

Not so good from this angle.

The lodge was at the edge of this meadow.

The lodge

The fireplace seems to have held up well.

This cabin didn’t hold up.

Beyond the lodge several faint trails led off into the meadow.

The map in Sullivan’s book appeared to show the main trail turning left after passing the lodge with a spur continuing straight to the Little Minam River and a drinking hole for horses.

We had intended on taking the left hand fork but we wound up at the watering hole instead.
Wildflowers near the watering hole.

The Little Minam River. We couldn’t quite see the confluence of the two rivers from here despite being very close.

We headed north using our GPS units in an attempt to locate the actual trail which should take us to a dangerous ford three quarters of a mile from the old lodge. After a bit of searching we picked up the faint trail.

The dangerous ford.

According to Sullivan, horses are able to cross later in the Summer but hikers should follow the Little Minam Trail south to the Horse Ranch Trail and cross the Minam on the footbridge that we had crossed on near Red’s Horse Ranch.

We sat on the rocks along the Minam for a bit before heading back.

On the way back it was a little easier to follow the faint trail which led us to some campsites above the old lodge.
Here we tried looking for horse hoof prints to stick to the trail.

Butterfly on yarrow.

We think this was the trail.

The campsites where we picked up the Rock Springs Trail again.

We made the 2500′ climb back up, watching for things we missed (and ticks) as we went.
Lorquin’s admiral

Looking across the gully we could see the trail cut climbing up the far hillside.

Pincushion plant

Resting moth

A plane taking off from Minam Lodge.

A popular thistle.

A skipper of some sort.

We both missed this yellow columbine on the way down.

View from the upper viewpoint on the way back up.

A final view from the Rock Springs Trail.

The cloud cover that moved in turned out to be a blessing as it kept the temperature reasonable as we made the long climb back up.

Our hike here came in just a tad over 9 miles to go with the 2500′ of elevation gain.

The ticks had been a bit of a distraction but the views had been good and there were a lot of wildflowers along the way. At the end of the day it was our least favorite hike of the trip but there was still plenty to enjoy. From the trailhead we drove to Wallow and checked into the Mingo Motel which turned out to be a surprisingly nice room. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Minam River via Rock Springs

Tags cabin, eagle cap wilderness, hiking, Little Minam River, Minam River, Mingo Motel, Oregon, Point Prominence Lookout, Rock Springs Trail, Rock Springs Trailhead, Wallowa, Wallowa Mountains, wildflowers

Hiking Oregon Wallowas

Minam River via Moss Springs – 07/11/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 19, 2022
2 Comments on Minam River via Moss Springs – 07/11/2022

Following a great first two days of hikes (Mt. Ireland & Catherine Creek Meadows) on our visit to Eastern Oregon Monday’s hike was set to be the longest in the trip, a visit to the Minam River via the Moss Springs Trailhead. We’d set our alarm for 4am in order to try and get as much hiking done during the cooler morning hours as possible. We’d left our motel at 5am and I started having abdominal pain as we drove to the trailhead. We think it was a side effect of my having preemptively taken some over the counter heartburn medication the previous nights since we had been eating richer foods than we typically do. Whatever the cause the my stomach seemed constantly cramped which was affecting my lower back and hips as well. I hoped that whatever was ailing me would subside soon as we set off on the Horse Ranch Trail (Trail 1908).

Entering the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

The trail descended from the trailhead 1.4 miles to a bridge over Horseshoe Creek. Going downhill was particularly painful for me as my cramped muscles protested each time I stepped down.

Scarlet gilia along the trail.

Tapertip onion

Scarlet gilia

Lewis flax, we were hoping to see it opened up on the way back up to the car but somehow we both completely missed it.

Arrowleaf groundsel

Bog orchid

False sunflowers

Paintbrush

Sticky geranium

Footbridge over Horseshoe Creek.

Horseshoe Creek

Shortly after crossing Horseshoe Creek the trail came close to the Little Minam River.

The trail gradually descended along the river for approximately three miles to a bridge crossing it.

Spotted coralroot

Mountain lady slipper

Little Minam River

Coral fungus

Huckleberry Creek

Bridge across the Little Minam River.

Little Minam River

I had been forced to take a number of breaks due to the abdominal discomfort including several bouts of dry heaves. Other than my core though I felt good and being just a tad stubborn we continued on from the bridge. On the far side of the bridge we stayed left at a junction with the Jim White Ridge Trail.

The Horse Ranch Trail briefly descended then climbed to a pass a little over 2 miles from the river crossing.

The only area that we encountered showing signs of having burned in the not too distant past.

Elkhorn clarkia

Junction with the Little Minam Trail (left) just below the pass.

At the pass the trail turned left and began to descend along a ridge.

Soon the trail left the ridge and began a steep descent to a meadow along the Minam River.
The meadow from the trail.

Arriving at the meadow.

The U.S.F.S. owned Red’s Horse Ranch is located in the meadow. This historic ranch was acquired by the Forest Service in 1994 and still has a caretaker. Due to how I was feeling we didn’t actually visit the ranch but instead continued past it to the Minam River where we crossed on another bridge and took a long break across the river from the ranch.

Horses at Red’s Horse Ranch.

Minam River

I was hoping the long break would finally help my stomach relax but alas it wasn’t to be; so after our break we began the 8 mile trek back up to the car. We stopped at a spring on the way up to the pass to top off our water. For whatever reason I felt way better going uphill than I had downhill or even on level trail which was nice.
Landing strip near Red’s Horse Ranch.

A plane coming in for a landing at the nearby Minam River Lodge.

Lousewort

Diamond clarkia

Grand collomia

Millipede

The pain was back as we descended from the pass but alleviated again every time we climbed. It was the first time I was happy to be climbing on a trail. We missed the flax on the way back up to the car but we did spot several white mariposa lilies which we hadn’t noticed that morning as well as a large patch of broomrape.
Pink pyrola

Little Minam River

Coral fungus

We saw a bunch of these black moths? but they seldom sat still long enough to get a photo.

An Orobanche

Penstemon

Butterfly

White mariposa lily

Large-flower triteleia

Arriving back at the trailhead.

We arrived back at the car around 3:15pm after the long hike. It was a nice hike but admittedly my issues were a distraction for both of us which kept us from appreciating it as much as we should have.

Heather drove us back to La Grande where I tried taking a bath and eating half a sandwich was the only thing other than water and Gatorade that I’d had all day. Neither helped immediately so I laid down in bed and soon fell asleep. We kept the alarm set in hopes that I would be feeling better in the morning but if I didn’t we’d have to delay our planned hike to Burger Pass. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Minam River via Moss Springs

Tags eagle cap wilderness, hiking, Horse Ranch Trail, Horseshoe Creek, Huckleberry Creek, Jim White Ridge Trail, Little Minam River, Little Minam Trail, Minam Lodge, Minam River, Moss Springs Trailhead, Oregon, Red's Horse Ranch, Wallowa Mountains, white mariposa lily, wildflowers

Hiking Oregon Trip report Wallowas

Catherine Creek Meadows – 07/10/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 18, 2022
1 Comment on Catherine Creek Meadows – 07/10/2022

We’d spent the night in Baker City following our hike to the Mt. Ireland Lookout (post). Our plan for the next six days was to do five more of the “featured hikes” (post) from Sullivan’s 3rd edition “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” then before heading home on Friday do the Wallowa Homeland hike which is featured in Sullivan’s most recent 2022 edition of “100 Hikes Eastern Oregon”. Because the hikes were spread out along the western and northern sides of the Wallowas we would be moving our base of operations a couple of times during the week starting with a move to La Grande for Sunday through Tuesday nights.

Sunday morning we packed everything up and headed for the North Fork Catherine Creek Trailhead. After navigating the pothole filled FR 7785 we pulled into the large trailhead parking area.

A $5 fee is required here and at several other trailheads we visited during the week. (An annual NW Forest Pass can be used instead.)

The trail doesn’t start at the parking area but rather another tenth of a mile up the road so we road walked to the official trailhead.

The trail initially climbs above the creek to an open hillside, that was putting on a pretty good wildflower display, before descending to a bridge a little after 1.5 miles.
Lots of purple venus penstemon.

There were also some white scabland penstemon on the hillside.

Buckwheat

Venus penstemon

Lupine and stonecrop

Paintbrush

North Fork Catherine Creek

Douglas dustymaiden

Spreading dogbane

The trail crossed several side creeks, all of which were we were able to cross dry footed.

A brief stretch along North Fork Catherine Creek.

Queen’s cup

Another side creek.

Bog orchid

Spotted coralroot

A fleabane

One of the more interesting things we’ve witnessed was watching carpenter ants removing sawdust from a dead log and dropping it in a pile below.

They’re a little blurry but you can see the ants in the cracks where they would drop their sawdust. It was fascinating to watch and we paused for quite a while.

Columbine

Mountain lady slippers

Large-flower triteleia

Back above the creek.

The bridge over Catherine Creek.

Bluebells next to the bridge.

The trail climbed gradually for the next three and a half miles before reaching Catherine Creek Meadows.

Crab spider

Another type of penstemon

Rosy pussytoes

A side creek running down the trail.

Yellow columbine

Entering the Eagle Cap Wilderness.

Jim Creek, this was one of the trickier crossings.

Hound’s tongue

Nettle-leaf giant hyssop

One of several smaller meadows along the trail.

Jacob’s ladder

California corn lily and bluebells.

Boot Hill Creek was also tricky as it had taken over the trail.

A large patch of coralroot.

A few remaining balsamroot blooming above North Fork Catherine Creek.

Arriving at Catherine Creek Meadows.

Up until this point we had been very lucky this year with mosquitos but the meadows were very wet and the recent warm weather had the bugs out in decent numbers so we couldn’t linger in any one spot too long but we did take a short break at a campsite near a side creek.

All the black dots in the blue sky were gnats flying over the stream at the trail crossing.

Heart-leaved bittercress

Our goal for the day lay about a half mile away, an early 1900’s log cabin at the far end of the meadow. After our break we set off across the creek following what became an increasingly wet trail to a junction where we forked left.

Looking back at the sign post in the meadow marking the trail junction.

Another dry section of trail.

It wasn’t dry for long.

Yellow buttercups and pink elephant’s head.

Elephant’s head, one of our favorites.

Ladybug

Nearing the cabin.

Ground squirrel

Squatter running from the cabin.

We checked out the inside of the cabin before heading back.

It was only 9:45am when we started back so we took our time and kept an eye out for anything we’d missed on our first pass.
Beetle

Another beetle and Nevada bitterroot.

Brunch

A comma of some sort.

Big mushroom

Something from the Lycaenidae family.

Coneflower

Swallow-tail on red clover.

Fritilary on clover

Mourning cloak perched overhead.

Lorquin’s admiral

A tortoiseshell

Skullcap, one of the hardest flowers to get a decent picture of for some reason.

Tapertip onion

Yarrow and other wildflowers up the hillside.

Our hike came in at 11.8 miles with approximately 1450′ of elevation gain.

From the trailhead we drove to La Grande and checked into our Motel, after hanging out at a park for about an hour because we’d arrived a bit too early, and then headed to Side A Brewing for an early dinner. It was going to be a warm week so we turned in early planning on another 4am wake-up the next morning to beat as much of the heat as we could. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Catherine Creek Meadows

Tags Catherine Creek Cabin, Catherine Creek Meadows, eagle cap wilderness, hiking, La Grande, North Fork Catherine Creek, North Fork Catherine Creek Trail, North Fork Catherine Creek Trailehad, Oregon, Side A Brewing, Wallowa Mountains, wildflowers

Hiking Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains Medford/Ashland Area Oregon Trip report

Bandersnatch & White Rabbit Trails

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 25, 2022
1 Comment on Bandersnatch & White Rabbit Trails

A change in the forecast led us to swap the final two hikes of our Ashland vacation when Friday called for rain and the possibility of thunderstorms. Heading into the Red Buttes Wilderness under those conditions didn’t sound like the best idea so instead we looked to a closer pair of Sullivan’s featured hikes in the Ashland Trails System. The two featured hikes are a 3.5 mile lollipop loop using the Bandersnatch Trail (hike #53 edition 4.2) and a 4 mile lollipop on the Mike Uhtoff and White Rabbit Trails (hike #54 edition 4.2). Our plan was to combine the two hikes utilizing several of the other trails within the trail system. Our plan was to start at the Witzend Trailhead and take the Waterline Trail from there to the Bandersnatch Trail where we would turn left
following it to the Red Queen Trail. We would then take a right on the Red Queen Trail following it to the Caterpillar Trail where we would turn left to a junction where we thought we would turn right onto the Mike Uhtoff Trail. (Spoiler – you have to first take the Queen of Hearts Loop to reach the Mike Uhtoff Trail.) We then planned to follow the Mike Uhtoff Trail to a junction with a trail from the Oredson-Todd Woods where we would hook up with the White Rabbit Trail. We could then turn left onto it and follow it to an upper trailhead where we could pick up the Alice in Wonderland Trail which would bring us back to the Bandersnatch Trail. A right on the Bandersnatch Trail would then bring us to the Jubjub Trail where a left turn would lead us back again to the Bandersnatch Trail section that we’d first been on which we would follow back to the Waterline Trail and our car. If that sounds confusing you’re not alone, we spent much of the hike confused but for the most part successfully managed to follow our plan.

We got a little later start than usual due to taking advantage of the full breakfast offered at the motel but there was still only one or two other cars at the trailhead when arrived.
Sign for the Witzend Trail at the trailhead. Not one of the trails we wanted today.

The Waterline Trail is the smaller gravel roadbed to the left of the fire hydrant.

Despite the sign saying Snark online maps show that trail starting further up the Waterline Trail.

The Snark Trail splitting off to the right.

Turning left onto the Bandersnatch Trail.

There were a few pieces of art along the lower section of trail.
Marty the Pacific Fisher

The Bandersnatch Trail climbed uphill passed a number of wildflowers and a whole lot of poison oak.
Henderson’s stars

Paintbrush and blue sky.

Mariposa lily

Ookow

Diamond clarkia

Some of that poison oak.

A cryptantha

Honeysuckle

Madia and winecup clarkia

Bell catchfly

View down toward Ashland.

Picnic table at the top of the hill.

From the picnic table the Bandersnatch Trail descended to a crossing of the bike only BTI Trail before arriving at the junction with the Red Queen Trail.
Crossing the BTI Trail

Baresteam wild buckwheat

Wallflower

heart-leaf milkweed

Wild onion

Another Snark Trail encounter.

The Red Queen Trail junction ahead.

Bluehead gilia

We followed the Red Queen Trail for 1.6 miles to the Caterpillar Trail.
Madrones along the Red Queen Trail.

National Forest boundary.

Lupine

Clouding up.

Deer brush

A madrone and a ponderosa

Nearing the junction with Road 2060 and the Caterpillar Trail.

Sign for the Caterpillar Trail across the road.

After 0.4 miles on the Caterpillar Trail we came to a series of signs and junctions.

Iris

The first signed junction with more signs in the distance.

After consulting the maps we had and reading all the signs we headed uphill past a sign for the Queen of Hearts Trail which listed the Mike Uhtoff Trail as being 0.15 away.

The one mistake we made on our route came at the next signed junction which was just a short distance uphill. At this junction with a small bench the sign only listed the Queen of Hearts and pointed left and in the direction that we had come from. A third trail continued uphill which we mistook for the Mike Uhtoff Trail thinking that we had gone the 0.15 miles and it just wasn’t signed.

This path led uphill past some boulders and nice madrone trees before reaching a fence at some private land where it made a hard left and followed the fence line.

There were a lot of cool madrones along the trails.

The trail followed the fence line to a ridge with what looked like it would have been a decent viewpoint on a clearer day.

Madrone bark

The trail followed the ridge to the left away from the fence and after a gradual initial descent dove almost straight down the ridge end.

This design didn’t seem to fit with the other trails we’d seen and been on and we wondered why the Uhtoff Trail was different, then we came to a large junction near a bench where a sign on our left for the Mike Uhtoff Trail pointed to a different path.
Arriving at the junction with the Mike Uhtoff sign to the left.

That isn’t the trail we were on so where were we?

As I mentioned above we learned later that we should have stuck to the Queen of Hearts Loop a little longer instead of heading uphill on the unsigned trail that we’d taken. As far as we can tell the trail that we were on has no name but I was able to find at least one map showing it as a red dotted line. While we were thoroughly confused about how we’d missed the Mike Uhtoff Trail and had no idea what trail we’d just been on we quickly recognized where we were on the map at a junction with the White Rabbit Trail which we would be coming back up.

For now we stayed right on the Mike Uhtoff Trail (now it really was) and descended through more madrones.

Still no real rain but it was clouding up even more.

Grand collomia

Silverleaf phacelia

There were a number of connector trails running between the Uhtoff and White Rabbit Trails but they were fairly well signed allowing us to stick to the Uhtoff.

We did turn off the Uhtoff when it crossed the White Rabbit Trail above a junction with the Oredson-Todd Woods Trail.
We turned right onto this road bed which is the White Rabbit Trail.

We hiked downhill on the White Rabbit to a bench (just visible through the vegetation on the left) at the trail junction.

Trail to the Oredson-Todd Woods.

Sullivan showed a map as being located a little further down the White Rabbit Trail and we were hoping it was a full sized map so we continued downhill to see if maybe it could tell us where we’d gone wrong earlier. There were a lot of bachelor buttons, a non-native but pretty flower, along this stretch of the White Rabbit Trail.

We were losing a fair amount of elevation (and we’d already lost a lot) so when we saw what appeared to be just another small map on a sign post in the distance we decided to turn back onto the Uhtoff Trail and head back uphill.
We turned left here. There is a sign downhill on the left with what looked to be a small white map which we’d seen on other trail signs. These gave very limited information for bike routes.

We followed the Uhtoff Trail back up to the crossing of the White Rabbit Trail where we again turned onto it, now heading uphill.

One of the white maps at the White Rabbit/Cheshire Cat junction.

We followed the White Rabbit for 1.8 miles ignoring side trails. The trail gained over 500′ via a series of switchbacks before leveling out a bit and then descending to a trailhead on Ashland Loop Road.
A connector for the Uhtoff Trail at a switchback.

Large boulders near the Looking Glass Trail jct.

Passing the bench at the junction where we’d discovered that we had not in fact been on the Mike Uhtoff Trail.

This section was a little confusing. The trail dropped to a junction in a small basin. We ignored this sign which pointed to another road bed with a gate.

We also ignored the March Hare Trail which was a very short trail heading steeply uphill only to rejoin the White Rabbit Trail a short distance up.

Looking down the March Hare Trail (it took less than 2 minutes to get from the bottom to the top via the White Rabbit Trail).

Yet another side trail = Mad Hatter.

The Queen of Hearts Loop junction with the White Rabbit Trail.

Sign as we neared the trailhead.

Lots of cars here.

This was the map that we needed earlier.

From the trailhead we followed a sign for the Alice and Wonderland Trail.

Sullivan mentioned that the trail might not be open due to it crossing some private land which the map at the trailhead also showed but there was nothing stating that the trail was not open and I’d read some recent trip reports from people who had hiked/biked it so we decided to give it a try. We ran into several other trail users and no signs to indicate the trail was not open for use.

Madrone circle.

A couple of short spurs went up and over small hills, we stuck to the more level road bed.

When we reached the Bandersnatch Trail we turned right. While the Alice in Wonderland Trail continues it is only open to bikes beyond the Bandersnatch.

We left the Bandersnatch Trail when we reached a sign for the Jubjub Trail where we turned left.

The Jubjub Trail crossed the Alice in Wonderland, BTI, and Red Queen Trails before ending at the Bandersnatch.

Rain to the north over Grizzly Peak (post).

Approaching the BTI crossing.

Red Queen crossing.

Descending to the Bandersnatch junction.

We turned right on the Bandersnatch Trail and climbed back up to the picnic table we had passed earlier and retraced our steps to the Witzend Trailhead.

Marty the Pacific Fisher from the other side.

The Waterline Trail 0.1 mile from the Witzend Trailhead.

We wound up with a 9.5 mile hike with over 2000′ of elevation gain which was a surprising amount for a hike so close to town but there were a lot of ups and downs. Despite the abundance of poison oak it’s a fun area to hike in. The Lewis Carroll themed trail names add to the fun and the madrone trees with their twists and bends seem to belong in Alice in Wonderland. The trails are wide enough that the poison oak was never a concern and for the most part are well signed. There are just so many that criss-cross and intersect that even with decent signage it’s easy to get confused.

We managed to stay pretty dry as it only sprinkled a couple of times while we were hiking. That changed in the afternoon as it was pouring when we ventured out for a meal at Xeres Mediterranean Grill. The food was great there and they had a nice little market as well. We packed up as much as we could that night so that we could get a nice early start in the morning for our final hike of the trip before heading home. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Bandersnatch and White Rabbit Trails

Tags Alice in Wonderland Trail, ashland, Ashland Trail System, Ashland Trails, Bandersnatch Trail, Caterpillar Trail, hiking, Jubjub Trail, Mike Uhtoff Trail, Oredson-Todd Woods, Oregon, Queen of Hearts Loop, Red Queen Trail, Snark Trail, Waterline Trail, White Rabbit Trail, wildflowers, Witzend Trailhad

Hiking Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains Medford/Ashland Area Oregon Trip report

Siskiyou Peak & Gap – 06/16/2022

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 24, 2022
6 Comments on Siskiyou Peak & Gap – 06/16/2022

Much like our first day in the Ashland area (post) we spent our second day hiking on the PCT in the Siskiyou Mountains. Just as we had the day before we had planned to head both north and south from our trailhead which was supposed to be at Siskiyou Gap. The driving directions given by the Forest Service say to take FR 20 -Mt. Ashland Road, but we opted to take FR 22 – Wagner Creek Road per Sullivan’s driving directions. This road was in good shape but about halfway to the trailhead our “Low Tire Pressure” light came on. Those have become my most dreaded three words while on vacation as it seems to happen every 2 or 3 trips we make. FR 22 ends at FR 20 about three quarters of a mile from the trailhead so we turned right onto FR 20 which was filled with two large pools of water. The first hole wasn’t bad but the second was deceptively deep and the Outback had a momentary struggle getting through. Just beyond this puddle we passed through a 5-way junction staying on FR 20 which was full of potholes. With the tire light on I decided enough was enough and turned the car around. We drove back through the water filled hole and parked at the FR 22/20 junction.
The deepest hole, it doesn’t look too bad here.

Potholes on FR 20. These turned out to be the worst of the stretch between the junction and Siskiyou Gap but we didn’t know that until we’d walked this road later in the day.

While not an official trailhead the PCT passes through the 5-way junction that we’d parked near so we easily hopped onto the trail.
The PCT was just a few yards into the forest from the FR 20/22 junction.

Today we headed north (left) on the PCT first hoping to reach the summit of Siskiyou Peak before clouds started moving in. Heading into vacation the forecast for the day had been for mostly sunny skies with rains showers moving in the next afternoon (Friday) but by Wednesday night things had shifted and now the showers were arriving Thursday with rain Friday and showers Saturday.

Jessica sticktight?

There were occasional glimpses of Mt. Shasta to the south along this stretch of trail.

Mt. Shasta and Black Butte (post). The layer of smoke from the day before seemed to have blown out overnight.

Paintbrush

We followed the PCT north approximately two and a quarter miles to a ridge on the north side of Siskiyou Peak where a clear path led uphill towards the summit.

Siskiyou Peak from the PCT.

Lupine and pussypaws

The PCT heading toward Mt. Ashland from the ridge where we left it.

Towers on Mt. Ashland.

The trail up Siskiyou Peak.

It was a little over a quarter mile to the summit.
Observation Peak to the left, where we had been the day before with Big Red Mountain on the right, where we were going later today.

Mt. Ashland to the right.

Mt. McLoughlin (post) dealing with a few clouds.

The final rocky climb to the summit.

Mt. Shasta from the summit.

The snowy Marble Mountains (post) with Observation Peak to the right.

Some of the Marble Mountains.

I believe these are peaks in the Russian Wilderness.

While this was a nice view, the view from Observation Peak had been just a bit better as from it you could see the Red Buttes which were now ironically hidden behind Observation Peak.
Observation Peak and Big Red Mountain with Dutchman Peak in a cloud behind Big Red.

Our shadows from the summit.

Dutchman Peak emerged from the clouds to make an appearance over Big Red Mountain.

After a nice break at the summit we headed back to the PCT and returned to the 5-way junction.
Wagner Butte (post) on the left with the PCT on the hillside below FR 20. Mt. McLoughlin is behind the ridge middle right.

Arriving at the junction.

From the junction we had the option of following the PCT almost two miles to Siskiyou Gap or walking FR 20 for 0.7 miles. Sullivan didn’t show anything of particular interest along that stretch of PCT and when we saw that the section of trail began by heading uphill we both opted for FR 20.

Trillium along FR 20.

California Jacob’s ladder

FR 20 looking a little better here.

Pretty face

Larkspur

Mariposa lily

FR 20 became a little rutted just before Siskiyou Gap.

Mt. Shasta from the gap.

Mt. Shasta

Siskiyou Gap

We headed uphill on the PCT from the gap and almost immediately spotted a doe who looked like she might be expecting.

From the gap the PCT climbed steadily for a mile to a spring on a hillside filled with white Drummond’s anemone and yellow buttercups.

Chocolate lily

Violets, larkspur and alpine pennycress.

Ballhead waterleaf

Bleeding heart

A trickle of water flowing down over the rocks along the trail.

Anemones and buttercups

It’s hard to tell just how many flowers there were from the photo but it was very impressive to the naked eye.

A cloud over Wagner Butte which stayed this way the rest of the day.

Beyond the spring the PCT reentered forest for a little over half a mile before trading the trees in for colorful rock cliffs.

A few small patches of snow were all that was left along the PCT.

Starting to leave the trees behind as the PCT passes below Big Red Mountain.

From the first set of big rocks which Sullivan refers to as “Crags” it was 1.3 miles to our turnaround point on a ridge above the Monogram Lakes.

Looking toward Medford to the NE.

Upper Table Rock (post)

You could see where this large chunk of rock used to be.

Something budding out.

Dummond’s anemone – the blueish/purplish hue on some was quite pretty.

Violets

There was a decent sized beargrass meadow along this section which appeared to have bloomed last year.

Anemones

A saxifrage

Siskiyou Peak from the trail.

Splithair Indian paintbrush and a lomatium.

Phlox

A small green pond and two of the Monogram Lakes.

The green pond.

Sullivan mentioned an old mine cart located between the PCT and the lakes and described how to find it so I decided to give that a try while Heather took a break on the ridge. I followed the PCT downhill a tenth of a mile and set off cross country along the ridge to a snag with cable wrapped around the bottom (this was visible from the PCT but it took a while to spot).
Looking down the ridge.

I continued down the ridge past the cable until I came to a pit where an old mining trail led back along the cliffs below the cable.
Heather sitting up on the PCT while I made my way down the ridge.

The pit with the mining trail on the far side.

Old mining trail.

The mining cart.

Cable running up to the snag.

I climbed back up to Heather and we headed back stopping along the way to admire the many wildflowers.

I spotted something moving down in the meadow here.

Had too use a lot of zoom to determine it was a deer.

Chocolate lily

Mt. Shasta and Black Butte from Siskiyou Gap on the way back.

Our final view of Mt. Shasta this trip.

Mt. Eddy (post)

We were happy to see that none of our tires were flat (or even appeared all that low). We drove back down to Ashland and stopped at the Les Schwab. They added some air to the tires which took care of the light by the time we’d gotten back to the motel. Since it hadn’t started raining yet we decided to walk back to Caldera Brewing to try some different beers, split an appetizer and get dessert. It had indeed clouded up but for the most part the clouds had been high enough not to adversely impact the views. As a bonus they kept the temperature down making for a comfortable 12.6 mile hike with approximately 2250′ of cumulative elevation gain.

Happy Trails!

Flickr: Siskiyou Peak & Gap

Tags ashland, Big Red Mountain, Drummon'd anemone, FR 20, hiking, mine cart, Monogram Lakes, Mt. Ashland, Mt. Shasta, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Siskiyou Gap, Siskiyou Peak, wagner butte, wildflowers