Allison (awildman) and I took off from the parking lot a little after 9am, heading up towards the campground and Little Beacon Rock. That's definitely a worthwhile detour on the way up; one I haven't taken in quite awhile. We then took off cross-country just past the powerlines, to the old abandoned cabin, and then gently uphill for about a half-mile. Much of the "bushwhack" was actually along an old roadway, and then some game trails. Lots of prickly Oregon Grape, and some spindly Vine Maples, to deal with. Might not be all that comfortable in shorts. Pretty easy passage this time of year, though!
We hit the Hardy Ridge trail just below where it forks on either side of the ridge, and took the western route up. Some nice work done along there by Ryan and his group! It's not quite as nasty as it used to be.
As we approached Phlox Point, we saw a huge group ahead of us! First time I've ever encountered anyone up there. We went ahead, and tagged the point which was very cold and windy, so we decided to descend a bit to a nice sunny meadow for a lunch stop. As we enjoyed the views, the meet-up group came down, and turned out to be Jeff (aircooled) and crew! They'd come up from the Horse Camp, and were heading back down there. Had a nice visit. After our little break, we went down the east side of Hardy Ridge to the Equestrian Trail, crossed over Hardy Creek, and climbed back up the backside of Hamilton ridge. Wandered south until we hit the saddle, where we again found beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Couldn't resist taking a second break, and just soaking it all up! The ravens were just having fun, soaring above us. The sinking sun was casting a golden glow on Table Mountain. It was spectacular. Eventually, we had to move on, so we went and tagged Hamilton, then descended the "More Difficult" trail and got back to the jeep not too very long after sunset.
Opening shot: Unknown solo hiker making his way up the Hardy Ridge behind us.
Wonderful view of Beacon Rock from Little Beacon Rock.
Little Beacon Rock in the early morning sunshine.
Looking down Hardy Ridge, with Hamilton beyond, at the Phlox Point junction.
Remembering (re-enacting?) the Couger Sighting thread!
Whoa! Traffic jam on Phlox Point!
The fluorescent greens were just electric! Looking back down Hardy Ridge.
Simply can't beat a ridge hike on a day like this! First time I ever saw Mount Rainier from here, too.
HUH?! Mount Rainier from Phlox Point?! There's a first for every thing! Wow...
The bigger-brained birds were having a ball, soaring on the winds whipping over the ridge, like this red-tail hawk.
The high winds encouraged us to drop back down for lunch and a bit more solitude.
I actually toned down the colors on that ground cover - honest!
Mount Adams and our lovely power distribution infrastructure.
Our next destination and (just beyond) Bonneville Dam. Can't remember the spillways with that little flow in January!
Lunch Spot #1
Sheltered (from the wind) lunch spot with sun and spectacular winter view!
Someone got all New Age Artsy-Fartsy with Boot Rock.
(You didn't think I was gonna pull the "football dog" joke, right?)
Not sure I ever saw this column along the Equestrian Trail before, when everything was leafed out.
Lunch Spot #2
Perfection! No wind, just blue skies, sunshine and soaring ravens for company.
Tanner Butte is as good as throwing a bigass dare our way! "Lookit me, no snow!"
Not sure what this raven had, but all the other ravens were extremely jealous!
Leaving was hard, but had to happen sooner or later. The sun was sinking fast.
Looking west, we note that Portland-Vancouver never left the fog all day! It was clear east of Camas, though!
First sunset of 2014.
Table Mountain was just on fire right about now! (Hiya, Pablo! <wave>)
The ravens wouldn't hold still long enough for me to compose this with all of Mount Adams in it, too.
From the Hamilton Summit. Not a favorite spot, directly, but this angle's often worth it.
Spectacular ending to one of the best first days of the year I remember.
And it just kept getting better...
Even coming down through the woods, the golden rays just sliced right through, igniting the trees behind me in light.
This entire loop was all bassackwards from the getgo for both of us. Never did Hardy clockwise. Never came down the "More Difficult" trail. And so on. I guess it could be that offered a new perspective on the entire park. Crazy fun day!
<mumble> ... something about a ham sandwich... </mumble>
The hike ended up being about 14 miles and a bit over 4000' of EG. I'd say this needs to be an official loop, but perhaps they can't build a trail across that privately held parcel? I dunno, last time I tagged both Ham (twice) and Hardy in the same day, it was well over 20 miles. This one was ideal for the shorter days around winter solstice.
http://gpsfly.org/gps_map.php?gps_id=2955&w=645&h=440
Couldn't have asked for a better start to 2014, myself. Saying, as I generally do, "another great day in the woods!", would be a huge understatement. One of the best.
Happy New Year, everyone!
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