Serenity at Soapstone

With the weatherman’s promise of a beautiful sunny day, I drove to the Soapstone Lake Trailhead in the Clatsop State Forest in late May. It was a relatively easy hike – - – three miles roundtrip with 475 feet of elevation gain. The area lies on the west side of the Coastal Mountains about 13 miles from Seaside. It’s a fairly new trail in good shape with four footbridges.

There was some fresh sign of elk and deer along the trail, mostly near a grassy meadow that was once the site of old homesteader’s cabin. Upon reaching the far side of the Lake, I found a nice place to eat a snack while watching a bald eagle float in the thermals. After returning to the Trailhead, I drove to Saddle Mountain to continue my pleasant day.

Soapstone Lake

False Lily-of-the-valley

Beginning of the Soapstone Lake Trail

Youth-on-age

Fairy Lanterns (Lily family)

Sandstone Lake

Bucks and Munks

During the third week of May, I had an opportunity to visit the area around The Dalles on the east end of the Columbia River Gorge. The foothills were green with new shoots of grass. Soon they will turn to brown with the hot, dry summer sun. And, golden balsamroot, purple lupine and other colorful spring wildflowers were dancing in the ever-present Gorge winds.

Of course it wasn’t just tall bi-pedal predators like me that were enjoying the lush landscape, there were many birds, insects and animals too. Here are several of my favorite.

A Blacktail Buck in velvet heading for safety

Young Blacktail Buck in velvet

Blacktail Bucks in velvet

Colorful Chipmunk

Memorial Day Reflections

Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Some folks are born made to wave the  flag,

Ooo, they’re red, white and blue.

And when the band plays hail to the  chief,

Ooo, they point the cannon at you, y’all!

It ain’t me, it ain’t me,  I ain’t no senator’s son, Son.

It ain’t me, it ain’t me; I ain’t no fortunate one.

On a dreary, drizzly day I made one of my regular visits to the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial to pay tribute. Unlike John Fogarty, I always believed the truly fortunate ones were those that returned from wartime service safe and sound.

After surviving boot camp and six weeks of electronics school, I and 90 other U.S. Navy enlisted folks were sent to six months of radioman school. As a reward for finishing first in the class, I was sent to four weeks of intense SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) training with the Navy Seals before being shipped to Danang, Vietnam for a year. Every time I stand in front of the monument to the Oregon veterans who died in combat, I try to understand why them and not me. After all these years I still don’t have an answer, and probably never will.

On my 365th day in country I boarded a transport plane to Guam and ultimately to the United States. With a huge sigh of relief I realized there would be no more in-coming rocket attacks, no more nights in bunkers and no more armed-courier runs to downtown Danang. For me, unlike many others, life was returning to normal.

Now you understand why I regularly visit the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial to pay tribute and sometimes to shed a tear.

Tough, tough slog

The pathway to the top

Is tough and rough and long.

But I know where I wanna be

And I’ll keep a-struggling on. 

It’s a long hard climb.

Slogging through molasses, enervated and lethargic – - – all are good descriptions of Sunday’s hike. I’m not sure the cause, but it happens every once in a while. Like always though, I toughed it out and completed the hike. Or, I would have completed it if the deep, wet snow hadn’t stopped me about 200 yards short of North Lake.

The early morning began cool and overcast. I parked at the Wyeth Trailhead in the Columbia River Gorge about 46 airmiles from Portland. The first one-half mile of the hike was relatively flat, eventually crossing Harphan Creek. The next two miles stayed underneath a mature forest (mainly Douglas fir and various types of maple), gaining over 2,000 feet in a series of very steep switchbacks. Light rain had begun to fall and didn’t stop for the duration of the hike. After crossing a small stream the trail began an even steeper ascent of a relatively open ridge, gaining 800 feet in the next one-half mile. Now I was really sucking air and could not get my second wind. I even ate a power bar with little benefit. And, there was no respite. The next mile gained 1,000 feet in nine switchbacks to the rim of the Harphan Creek Headwall.

Hoorah! The tough climbing was over. Now it was only a one-mile descent to North Lake. But, I soon encountered snow drifts up to two-feet deep. It was clearly still winter at the 4,000-foot level. Interestingly, I spotted several fresh elk tracks. Shortly before reaching the Lake, I decided to turn back due to the wet snow. All in all the hike was 11.6 miles in length with 4,000 feet of elevation gain. A conditioning hike more than anything else.

Snow along the upper trail

Calypso Orchid

Spotted Coral Root Orchid

Wyeth & Green Point Trails’ intersection – - – still winter at 3,900 feet

Chocolate Lily

Vanilla Leaf

Springtime at the lower elevations

Hot time in the City

Hot town, summer in the city,

Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty.

Been down, isn’t it a pity,

Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city.

It was a very warm mid-May day. A good time to hike in the Tualatin Hills Nature Park a few miles west of home in the heart of the city of Beaverton. The 222-acre Park surrounds the confluence of Cedar Mill Creek and Beaverton Creek.

It is a remarkably diverse wildlife preserve with wetlands, forests, ponds and streams. The trails’ names tell the story – – – Oak, Creek, Old Wagon, Vine Maple, Big Fir, Cougar, Chickadee, Cedar Grove, Ash, Serviceberry, Big Pond, Trillium Loop and Ponderosa Loop. I did a 4.1 mile loop hike, working up a good sweat in the hot sun and beating off the skeets near the lily ponds, creeks and marshes.

The highlights of the hike were spotting several friendly squirrels and seeing a striped coral root orchid. What a nice place to visit.

Striped Coral Root Orchid

Wild Rose

Lupine

Picturesque pond along the trail

Star Flowers

Western Gray Squirrel (something has been gnawing on its ear)

I’m going down to Hillsdale

Down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride.

Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by.

And I’m going down to Rosedale take my rider by my side.

A mid-May sunny day was made for a hike to the Hillsdale area south of home. The first stop was Council Crest, the highest spot in Portland. Then down steep streets and public stairways to Albert Kelly Park. Along the way I followed trail markers indicating the directions for several SW Urban Trails. The Trails are a combination of existing public roads, sidewalks, stairs, trails and walkways. They were originally developed in response to neighbors wanting safe pedestrian routes throughout SW Portland for recreation.

By the time the Park was reached, I had encountered little-used side roads, trails through swales, stepping stones across creeks and various stairs. The warm sunshine prompted the early spring flowers to strut their stuff – - – poppies, irises, azaleas and rhododendrons. And, the little songbirds were happily singing their pretty lyrical compositions.

Heading west I soon came to 45th, turning north to cross Hamilton Street. I took a break at Hamilton Park before heading over the hill and back home. It was a fun outing – - -  7.6 miles and 1,300 feet of elevation gain.

Poppy

Song Sparrow

Poppy

Rock Garden

Delicate Maidenhair Fern

Wild Iris (Oregon Flag)

Beautiful orange-colored Rhododendron

Never fade away

It’s better to burn out,

Than to fade away.

My my, hey hey.

In mid-May we journeyed to Silver Falls State Park, about 44 crow-flying miles southeast of Portland. It was a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine. The Park is truly a gem, and a geological wonder too. In any other state in the continental U.S., the 14 square-miles would surely have been designated a National Park long ago. But, it has to compete with the world-class waterfalls residing in the Columbia River Gorge.

An eight-mile loop trail with 900 feet of elevation gain begins at an interesting lodge constructed originally by the CCC in the 1930′s. The Trail passes 10 waterfalls, five of them dropping over 100 feet.  After walking a short distance we reached the top of South Falls at 177 feet. The Trail then descended down the cliffs and passed behind the Falls. Over the ages Silver Creek and its tributaries have eroded through the basalt layers, forming natural pathways behind several of the waterfalls and creating spectacular canyons of classic rainforest. In the next five miles we followed the Creek and passed eight more waterfalls. The amount of wildflowers in bloom was astounding. Wild ginger, calypso orchids and many varieties of lilies were just the beginning of over 25 varieties that I could identify off the top of my head. And, the profusion of beautiful butterflies was amazing too. They were everywhere.

What a nice place to visit in the spring. A truly wonderful Park to visit, and close to home too.

Margined White Butterfly (?)

South Falls

Corydalis (bleeding heart family)

Your humble scribe and his favorite model

Fairy Lanterns (wild lily family)

Middle North Falls

My favorite model

Exploring the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness

An early May morning found me at the 2,000-foot Eagle Creek Trailhead about 30 miles southeast of Portland as the crow flies. It was 50° and sunshine – - – a shirt-sleeve day by any measure. In the first mile the Trail lost 500 feet of elevation following an old logging road before reaching the valley floor. All the signs of early spring were evident with yellow skunk cabbage, red salmonberry, white trillium and the small white blooms of wood sorrel scattered along the way.

In the next mile the Trail entered the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. What a change, from an old clear-cut to an old-growth rainforest. Some of the cedars and Douglas firs were six to eight feet across at their bases. Under the old-growth canopy it was akin to walking through a park with little underbrush save for the ferns. In three miles there was a nice camping area next to Eagle Creek. I had originally planned to hike three more miles to the end of the trail, but a stream near the camping area was too high to ford safely.

Walking down to Eagle Creek, I ate a light snack while deeply enjoying the solitude. All in all the hike was seven miles in length with 900 feet of elevation gain.

Insect art

Brown Moth

New signage

Wood Sorel with its distinctive shamrock-shaped leaf

Salmonberry in its prime

Deer at Tualatin River NWR

The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge is located a few miles southwest of town. It’s one of only a handful of urban wildlife refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Since 1992 the Federal government and volunteers have been working to turn the Refuge back to a more natural state within the floodplain of the Tualatin River Basin.

We took advantage of a cool and cloudy day on the first weekend of May to hike the Refuge’s three-mile perimeter trail (it opened for the season on May 1st) while enjoying the birds, several deer, wildflowers and the oak tree-dominated wetlands. It is always a nice place to visit.

Wetlands

Killdeer

Two deer bedded down for the day and well hidden

Great Blue Heron on the hunt

One of many Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillars having a snack

Redwing Blackbird

Bee looking for Camas Lily nectar

Naked Broomrapes on Stacker Butte?

Ascending Eightmile Creek Canyon, I soon left behind scattered oak trees and emerged into the wide open spaces of the east end of the Columbia River Gorge. Tiny naked broomrapes were in bloom near the small, spring-fed creek. Following game trails, I kept my eyes open for mule deer. Soon I spotted some movement above me. Sure enough it was ten deer feeding along the canyon rim. And, in another one-quarter mile, I spotted two more mule deer close by. They are always a treat to see. It brings back many memories of deer hunting in North-central Washington as I was growing up.

But let me return to the beginning. On the first Friday of May I drove to Columbia Hills State Park to visit the Dalles Mountain Ranch. The hillsides were ablaze with the golden flowers of arrow-leaf balsamroot and the purple flowers of desert lupine, augmented by cluster lilies, harsh paintbrush, waterleaf, larkspur and many other wildflowers. There are no established trails in the Park, so I took off cross country following canyons to the 3,300-foot summit of Stacker Ridge where an FAA tracking site was located. The 360° views were spectacular, including the Columbia River stretching far to the east and rimrock canyons to the north.

I would be remiss not to mention the wind though. It was gusting up to 30 mph and felt like it was coming off a snow bank. I got on the lee side of a building out of the wind and warmed up while eating a snack. Maybe I took a little snooze too. Later, I put the daypack back on and hiked back to the car on a scenic access road closed to public vehicles.

All in all the hike was six miles in length with 1,800 feet of elevation gain. I did find two bloodsucking, hitchhiking ticks on my pants. I think that makes five this spring. Notwithstanding the ticks and the cold wind, it made for a very enjoyable trek.

Arrow-leaf Balsamroot and Desert Lupine framing the view across the desert-steppe country

Beautiful blue of a Spring Azure

Mule Deer

Naked Broomrape

Big-head Clover

Western Kingbird

Sometimes Mule Deer don’t survive the winter

Could be early in the last century