Silver Star Mountain Wildflower Extravaganza

My friend John is an avid hiker and mountain climber.  He organizes hikes almost every week.  I'm always included in his mass email invitations (which I appreciate!) but this year it seemed I was always busy every time he planned a weekend outing.

Then John sent an e-vite to join him hiking Silver Star Mtn by way of Ed's trail.  I've hiked to Silver Star Mtn. a couple of times, but never on this trail.  I'd heard reports that the wildflowers were now out in force here.  One of the best wildflower displays I've ever seen (besides McNeil Pt) was a couple of years ago on Silver Star Mtn.  To John's invitation I emailed back a resounding yes!!

John at the trailhead

John and I were joined by his friend Chuck.  With my dog Bear, we were ready to roll on Saturday morning.  The road to the trailhead is not long distance-wise, but the last few miles are on terrible Forest Service roads, slowing travel to a crawl.  But with Chuck's expert driving (thanks Chuck!) we made it to the trailhead.  After stuffing our backpacks and syncing our gps we hit the trail!

Beautiful wild iris

From the very beginning, there were tons of flowers blooming.  I didn't get very far before my camera came out.  The star of this flower show was the lovely purple iris.  These flowers were blooming everywhere.  One hillside was covered with them.

John and Chuck smile for the camera

The other cool thing at the start of the hike was a thick cloud/fog layer that hovered below the mountain tops.  It was very picturesque.

Chuck photographing the flowers

It didn't take very long for the mountains to pop out of the fog.  Mt. St. Helens was visible practically from the parking lot.   Soon, Rainier and Adams followed suit.

Climbing a bearagrass-covered hillside

We kept climbing on a trail that wound through wonderful fields of flowers, with stellar mountain views behind us.  The fog bank kept hanging in the valleys, which provided great photo ops.

The beargrass was plentiful

There were LOTS of beargrass blooms everywhere.  I was my usual self, lagging behind, trying to photograph everything.

Fog hanging in the valley

The three mountains and the foggy valley dominated our views as we climbed towards Silver Star.

We arrive at the rock arch

I'd heard this trail went through a natural rock arch.  It was described in Sullivan's book and on the Portland Hikers website.  Now I got to see it live and in person!  And I got the opportunity to hike right through it.

Chuck is our "arch-model"

After I snapped about a zillion photos of the arch (way cool!) we continued on.  Shortly after the arch, we had to do some scrambling up a rock face.  Wasn't too bad - about 15 feet or so up.  I wasn't sure if  Bear would be able to handle it, but he did!  He hopped right up the rocks, and only fell once.  What a trooper!

More wonderful flowery meadows

Soon we reached a trail junction with an old road.  We were close to Silver Star's summit.  After a trudge along a rocky road that was partially in the sun, we arrived at the top.

Summit views

Silver Star Mountain has two summits.  We opted to head for the north summit.  There were a lot of people on top when we arrived.  We found places to sit within the rocks, and enjoyed a well-earned lunch.  It was nice to take a break and enjoy the views.  We'd worked hard this morning and the scenery was our reward.

Paintbrush and Mt. Hood

After lunch, John wanted to continue our hike a little bit further.  He suggested we hike over to the Indian pits, about a mile away.  The day was still young, so I thought, why not?

Approaching the Indian pits

The Indian pits are rock-lined depressions created for vision quests by the ancient Native Americans.  Supposedly the young men fasted until they saw a guiding spirit.  There are several of these pits along a ridge not far from Silver Star Mtn.

John tries out a pit

As we approached the pits, we saw a dog sitting next to one of them.  There was a young man sitting in this pit.  The guy looked like he was deep in thought, so we tried to be quiet as not to disturb him.  John was a good sport, and got into one of the pits for to pose for some photos.

Awesome view of St. Helens

The flowers along this part of the trail were the best I'd seen so far.  Add to it more mountain views - we could now see Mt. Hood, the tip of Jefferson, and a killer view of St. Helens.  I was glad John suggested we come this way.

I'm in my happy place!

I had to get at least one photo of myself surrounded by all this beauty!

The view behind me heading back

Heading back from the Indian pits, the light was perfect behind me, and the views jaw-dropping.  Flowers crowded the side of the trail, and Mt. Hood was always behind my right shoulder.  Too bad I couldn't of walked backwards to better enjoy the sights.

St. Helens and Rainier look over a wildflower meadow

We ended up back on the rocky road.  John said the road would be our return path back to the car.

Our views on the return trail

This road had the best wildflowers yet.  My photos didn't come close to capturing how wonderful it all was.  There were numerous varieties of flowers blooming along the road.  And as we hiked, there was a continual view of Mt. St. Helens in front of us.

Cheerful flowers line the trail

At that point, I REALLY began to lag behind the guys.  I was stopping everywhere to capture the flowery show.  But there were other people hiking this road with cameras, and they too were snapping along with me.  Sadly, when I got home and looked over my photos, I didn't feel I  had adequately captured how wonderful it all was.

Mt. Hood rises behind a wildflower meadow

Close to the end of the trail, Mt. Hood appeared in between two hills.  The light illuminated the mountain and it gleamed brightly.  A meadow full of wildflowers added to the beauty.  This was my parting view, and it was a beautiful way to end an awesome hike and wonderful day. 

Thanks John for taking me to such a great place! 

Memaloose Lake Hike

Two weeks ago, I had a flex Friday off from work.  I'm not one to waste a weekday off in the summer, and decided to use my time wisely for hiking.  Out came the Sullivan book.  What trail haven't I hiked yet?  After narrowing down my choices, I decided Memaloose Lake was my destination.

Rhodies!

The trail to this lake is only 20 miles from Estacada.  It winds through a small area of old-growth forest to a high alpine lake.  There is an option to continue up to a former lookout site atop adjacent South Fork Mountain.  The hike is short (only about 5 miles round trip) but I figured it would be a good one because I could get my hike in and be back before evening rush hour.

Rhodies blooming by the lake

After driving a long, winding, poor quality asphalt Forest Service road I finally arrived at the trailhead.  Bear and I set out through a beautiful forest of large ancient trees.

Memaloose Lake reflections

About halfway to the lake, I began to see blooming rhododendrons.  These lovely pink flowers really brightened up some already-nice scenery.

Bear takes a dip in the lake

The closer I got to the lake, the more numerous the rhodie blooms.  Then I came upon the shore of Memaloose Lake.  There were rhodie bushes everywhere, all of them sporting wonderful pink blossoms.

On to South Fork Mountain!

Bear and I hiked around the lake for a little bit, but then I decided to continue on to the top of South Fork Mountain.  After a little wandering about, I found the sign that pointed the way to the trail.  The sign warned that the trail was not maintained.  However, the trail was fine, with only a couple of sketchy areas.  At one of the confusing junctions, a nice person had erected a rock cairn to aid our navigation.

Rhodies on the top of South Fork Mtn.

There was a little bit of climbing, but soon Bear and I crested a ridge and followed it to the summit.  Rhodies and iris flowers were blooming here, and there was a panorama of mountain views.  After a little bit of searching, I found the foundations to the former lookout tower.

Mt. Hood view from the summit

I chose a spot that had a great view of Mt. Hood and ate my lunch. 

Parade of peaks

From my perch, I could see four Cascade peaks - Hood, Adams, Rainer, and St. Helens.  They were lined up against a brilliant blue sky.  In this photo, you can see three of the peaks, and Mt. St. Helens is just behind the tree on the left of this photo.  A short walk to the other side of the summit revealed views of Mt. Jefferson, and distant views of Three-Fingered Jack and the Three Sisters.

Lots of iris blooming near the summit

After a nice lunch and lots of photo ops, it was time to head back down.  There were many white iris flowers blooming along the trail near the top, and I tried to capture their beauty with my camera lens.

Lakeside rhodie bushes

Back at the lake, I explored a path that led around the lake in another direction.  It ended at a nice lakeside campsite.  This would be a nice place for a quick backpacking overnight.  However, I think it is almost too close - I found a few beer cans and other trash along the lakeshore.

Cheerful pink blossoms

Finally, after snapping more photos of the rhodies, Bear and I headed back down the trail.  We ran into a group of three people and a dog - the only people I saw all day on the trail.

The trail passes through a cut out in this tree

Finally Bear and I reached the car.  We piled in and hit the road.  Even though I left well before evening rush hour, I still got stuck in traffic on the way home.  That's Fridays in Portland, I guess, one big rush hour all afternoon.

It was nice to get out - the weather was perfect, and I'm happy I timed this hike when the rhodies were in full bloom.  Another great place in Oregon!

Roger's B-Day

Roger's birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  Our celebration was a day late, as Denise had to work on the actual birthday date.  Denise wanted to be on hand to assist in decorating her dad's cake.  She has a special talent for candle placement!

Denise decided her dad's cake needed a candle for every year - not a couple of "symbolic" candles.  And she even found enough candles to do the job (we have a large stock of leftover birthday candles in my kitchen cupboard).  No, I won't divulge Roger's age - except to say that he is over 40!

Once every candle was placed (how she found room for them I don't know) the challenge was to get them all lit.  That in itself was good entertainment.  Roger and Denise each had a lighter and were maneuvering quickly around each other.  We didn't want the candles to burn too long and get wax all over the cake!

I had time to snap a couple of quick photos before Roger blew out the candles.  We didn't want the heat from all those candles to set off our smoke detector!  Roger took a deep breath and let 'er rip.  I don't recall if he blew them all out in one shot.  If he didn't, it was close.

Before we could eat, Roger and Denise had to take out all the candles, and pick the wax drippings off the cake.  We then had a cake with lots of holes in it.  But it still tasted good!

Mmmm......mighty tasty!  Bear sure would like a bite!

Happy 39th (again?) Roger!

Observation Peak Hike

Ahh - my first weekend back from South Dakota and I was hankering to go hiking.  I pulled out my Sullivan book.  It was time to try a new trail.  Observation Peak in the Trapper Creek Wilderness of Washington State.  I'd looked at that hike in my book many times.  It was time to go there.

This way to the top!

I had my choice of three trails to the top of Observation Peak; a long 13-mile 3200' elevation gain quad-buster, a reasonable 8-9 mile and 2000' elevation gain trail, or a relatively easy 6 miles with 1400' elevation gain.  I took my time getting ready that morning, trying to make up my mind.  I puttered around long enough that when I finally left the house it was 9 am.  I realized after driving to the trailhead, I'd only have enough time for the shortest hike.  So my decision was made!

The trail began in this beautiful old-growth forest

After first stopping by Freddy's for some 'skeeter repellent (I'd heard rumors they were out) I headed my car towards Carson, WA.  It was paved roads to the trailhead, except for the final 4 miles, which seemed to take forever (there was a few potholes to dodge!)

Avalanche lilies

I was only the second car at the trailhead.  Good!  I'd have the place mostly to myself!  I heard another vehicle pull up just as Bear and I began walking away.  I'd run into this person later on the summit.

My cute doggie

The trail began in this beautiful old-growth forest.  After a half mile or so we crossed a boggy area where the ground was covered with avalanche lilies.  As I stopped to take some photos, the 'skeeters decided to attack.  Time to break out that bug repellent.  I was so glad I thought to bring some!

Mt. Adams

After a mile, I reached a nice viewpoint.  I could see Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.  The weather was great - clear and sunny - so the mountains stood out like gleaming white mounds of snow against the blue sky.

Bright pink flowers on the rocks

I stopped at a couple of viewpoints on the way to the top, to see the mountain vistas.  I could see Mt. Adams, Rainier and St. Helens on the horizon.  I spent lots of time taking photos of the fabulous views.

Mt. St. Helens rises over the surrounding hills

Just as I was making my final climb to the summit, I began hearing gunshots in the distance.  Someone was out in the woods target shooting.  Bear doesn't like loud booms, so the gunshots began to freak him out.  I coaxed him to the top and got out my lunch, thinking food would distract him.

Mt. Hood view from the top of Observation Peak

But poor Bear was not interested.  He heard some more rounds, and ran off into the woods.  I called and called for him, but he didn't come back.  I sat and ate my lunch for awhile, thinking maybe he'd return.  Then I began to get worried.  What if Bear had ran off and was lost?

Two summit view - Rainer and St. Helens

Just then a man and his dog appeared from the trail.  The man told me that Bear was lying in the bushes just below the summit.  I was relieved to know Bear was close by.  Bear then emerged from the bushes, curious about to meet the man's dog.  They sniffed each other for a moment, until another gunshot sent Bear running back to his hiding place.  I decided to let Bear stay where he felt safe, and began taking photos of the great mountain panoramas on the summit.

I am woman!

The views were wonderful.  I could see five Cascade peaks - St. Helens, Rainier, Adams, Hood and Jefferson.  It was a parade of blue sky and mountain peaks.

The man and I talked hiking for awhile, trading favorite hikes and me recommending gear and guidebooks (I tell everyone to buy Sullivan's book - I should get a commission!)  We then took photos of each other on the summit.  Through all of this Bear remained in hiding.  I finally decided it was time to leave and get my dog out of range of the gunshot sounds.

Roadside tiger lilies

The hike down was uneventful.  Even the 'skeeters weren't as bad.  I got back to my car and began the long drive home.  I remembered seeing a patch of beautiful tiger lilies on the side of the road on the way in.  Upon seeing them again, I decided to make a quick stop and take a few photos.  I was on a one-lane gravel road, but thought "no one's up here - what are the chances a car would drive by?"  Well - I had taken about three shots when two pickups came barrelling down the road.  They hit the brakes and I sheepishly ran to my car to move it out of the way.  After that, I took a few more quick shots and left!  But I did manage to get a couple of nice pictures of the flowers.

What a great way to spend a sunny Sunday.  There's nothing better than a trip in the woods to climb up a summit with awesome mountain views.  This is why I love hiking!

The Chubby Chipmunk Experience

I've discovered a candy store in Deadwood, South Dakota that has truffles to die for!  It's called the "Chubby Chipmunk."  And you know me, if it's chocolate, I'll be there with bells on!

Me and Chubby Chipmunk

When in was in SD in early June, Susan and I traveled to Deadwood to get our race packets.  Susan mentioned the Chubby Chipmunk and told me all about their wonderful truffles.  Susan is such a regular customer, she has her own punch card!  We decided to stop by after packet pick-up.  (Didn't have to twist my arm too hard!)

Sign inside the shop - this is my new motto!

But, alas, when we arrived at the shop, it was closed for the day.  Bummer!  However, I discovered that the Chubby Chipmunk provides a truffle vending machine outside the store.  This way their customers are able to purchase truffles 24/7.  I have seen many types of vending machines, but never one that dispenses truffles!

The "Chub-o-Matic" vending machine

The vending machine sold the truffles for $2 each, and would only accept one dollar bills.  So we dug through our purses, and came up with four ones.  Enough for two truffles.  Better than nothing at all!

Purchasing my truffle

My niece Alisha bought the first truffle.  Then I inserted my bills into the machine.  I punched the number that corresponded to my truffle of choice.  But when I pulled open the door to grab my purchase, there was no truffle.  The machine had apparently run out of that particular flavor.  I didn't even notice that the shelf was empty before I input its number.  Denied!

Success!

So I ended up going home without any Chubby Chipmunk chocolate.  However, during the 4th of July weekend, I traveled back to SD.  First on my "to-do" list was visting the Chubby Chipmunk.  I told my sis we needed to make a return trip.  And so we did.  This time the shop was open for business.

Denise geta a vending machine treat

Not only was I able to purchase a box of their delicious (and very beautiful) truffles, I also made a successful purchase from the Chub-o-Matic vending machine.  And I made doubly sure there was a truffle waiting on the shelf before I punched in its number!

Aren't these the most beautiful truffles?

Their truffles were almost too pretty to eat - well, almost!  Above is a photo I took of our box of truffles, before they got devoured. (Notice the half truffle - someone got a head start on one of them!)

So I have now experienced the candy shop that is the Chubby Chipmunk.  And I think it will become a regular stop whenever I visit my hometown.