Though my second edition Sullivan hiking book mentions parking at the Cone Peak trailhead pullout along highway 20, we found a sign there that says no parking, so we opted to drive back a bit to intercept the loop at the Tombstone Pass snow-park. In comparison to the hot weather earlier this week, the mid-morning temperature was great!
We enjoyed the trail’s gradual ascent in the forest. It’s a great trail with even and soft stepping and nicely shaded. We soon arrived at the first rock garden with a showcase of flowers basking in the sun. I was excited to see cat’s ear blossoms which I’d only seen a few times before. After getting a bit gaga on the few specimens there we turned the corner and were overwhelmed with a whole small meadow of them. Such a distinctive flower, they’re quite interesting to look at and a fun photo subject.
Larkspur
Cat's Ear
Cone Peak’s slopes, though largely cinder and rock, was awash with early summer flowers. I was especially taken by random swaths of dense, tiny yellow flowers throwing patches of color on the hillsides. I’m not sure what they were.
Cone Peak Meadow
The mystery yellow swath
To the west awaited Iron Mountain with an old knobby stack protruding off its south slope. The area made for a lovely lunch spot. These are the days that seem so very distant when those gray drenching days of January dominate our forecasts.
Come on slow pokes!
Lunch!
Iron Mountain awaits
Kodi with his thicker coat enjoyed any patch of shade he could find.
Gimme some shade!!
The connecting trail from the Cone Peak meadows to Iron Mountain follows along a saddle with a slight dip. As we hiked we heard a noise just off trail to the right. I figured it must have been a snake, but Andrea kept looking and spotted the little fella. His old skin was right nearby. Neat find!
Nothing like some fresh skin!
We finished rounding the base of Iron Mountain and started up the three-quarters mile to the summit, an evenly keeled and switched back approach with great views to the south and plenty of flowers including some new ones not seen earlier on the loop.
Top tier view
The view up top revealed Mt Jefferson, as well as Mt Washington, Three Sisters and a few others. With all the hard work it was time for second lunch.
Andrea points out the loop we've traversed
With our drive back still to be done we made our way the final two miles to complete the loop and return to the car. A great day out in the Oregon Cascades. If you haven’t done this one I’d definitely recommend getting to this part of the state to do it!
Descent
-Fettster
