Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

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Sean Thomas
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Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by Sean Thomas » March 28th, 2014, 4:45 pm

What was meant to be an Eagle-Tanner Loop in the gorge turned out to be a great first trip up to Coyote Wall. It wont be long until the Balsamroot is in full swing :)


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Driving east out 84 this morning I quickly gave up on my original idea of the Eagle-Tanner loop due to the heavy rains. Call me a wuss :D My backup plan was to do what Karl Peder-Marmot does and drive until the wipers start squeaking. I was going to make the drive all the way out to Swale Creek and the Harms Road TH to hike the Klickitat Trail but a raging pickup hugging my tail had me pull into to what I thought was just a random road off 14. It turned out to be an empty Coyote Wall TH :)


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The wipers weren't squeaking yet but I was ready to hike and excited to explore something I hadn't explored before. I was shocked to see they were actually checking those toilet passes mentioned in another thread. These are done in the bathroom apparently :? :D


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I just thought it was funny that someone mentioned toilet passes recently and when I show up to drop a duece there is no teepee, even tho I had my handy honeybucket support pass on my person :D Was almost forced to use this guy instead :o :?


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Its always good to have some in the car or you might get stuck going up/down ruckel ridge... never mind. :D Ok on to the flowers and the less gross reasons why you clicked on the TR. I will do my best to properly identify things but if you are reading this(bobcat, payslee etc) and you see a mistake PLEASE please let me know. The highlight of the day was the Balsamroot coming into form:


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These were the best examples I saw this morning and they were beautiful:


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There was Grays Desert Parsley or Pungent Desert Parsley in bloom all over the place at the TH and on the approach to the wall:


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A closer look:


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There were Prairie Stars:


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Shooting Stars:


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I really like these little Popcorn Flowers:


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I think this is Brittle Leaved Saxifrage:


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It was a drippy day for the Lupine:


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Not sure what these are but they were pretty too:


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Yellow Bells were in bloom as I climbed higher:


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Another one I'm not sure on is this one, im thinking maybe Woolly-pod Milk-vetch?


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The Pine-Oak Woodlands of this area are really something and make for some of the best hiking in Oregon or Washington IMO:


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This gall on an Oak tree near the trail looked pretty massive!


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Despite the thick clouds and fog, I could see Oregon right in front of me:


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On the way up to the wall there was a nice look back to my cars gas tank :D


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On the way down I took a break and watched this old girl make her way upriver:


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Lots of beautiful Lichen covered rocks to admire:


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I will have to come back on a clear day to enjoy some of the views. This area really is a gem and makes for lots of great hiking options for all ages and abilities!


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BrianEdwards
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by BrianEdwards » March 28th, 2014, 5:03 pm

Predicting where Sean Thomas is gonna hike next is akin to picking a perfect March Madness bracket :lol:

Love when a sudden detour turns into something genial
Clackamas River Waterfall Project - 95 Documented, 18 to go.

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Helen
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by Helen » March 28th, 2014, 7:20 pm

Great, and funny, TR - thank you! I was wondering if anyone would be nuts enough to go hiking today. I walked about 9 miles around PDX this afternoon and it was wet!!!! It looks like you faired better at Coyote Wall.

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Eric Peterson
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by Eric Peterson » March 28th, 2014, 7:21 pm

:lol: Gave me a great idea for my poop pass!

Nice TR too, never been there myself...

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adamschneider
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by adamschneider » March 28th, 2014, 8:16 pm

Yup, the purple one is woolly-pod milkvetch (Astragalus purshii).

"Not sure what these are but they were pretty too" is Orobanche uniflora, which has a truly charming common name: naked broomrape. (No one believes me when I tell them that's really what it's called.)

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RobinB
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by RobinB » March 29th, 2014, 11:20 am

As usual, great report Sean.
Sean Thomas wrote:handy honeybucket support pass
:lol:

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Rustygoat
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by Rustygoat » March 29th, 2014, 11:30 am

Nice unexpected hike Sean. Thanks for the TR and the potty humor! :lol: :P
Tim

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CraigG
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by CraigG » March 31st, 2014, 10:26 am

Excellent TR - I need to get up there myself...

payslee

Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by payslee » March 31st, 2014, 11:49 am

Sean Thomas wrote:

On the way up to the wall there was a nice look back to my cars gas tank :D
Wow, they fancied-up that trailhead since the last time I was there! Just last spring it was just parking along the gravel shoulder of the road going up the hill.


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Congrats on accidentally winding up in an awesome place like coyote/catherine.

-payslee

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drm
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Re: Accidental first trip to Coyote Wall: 3-28-14

Post by drm » March 31st, 2014, 12:15 pm

payslee wrote:Wow, they fancied-up that trailhead since the last time I was there! Just last spring it was just parking along the gravel shoulder of the road going up the hill.
-payslee
Sombody isn't paying attention to trip report! :roll:

Construction on New Parking area at Coyote Wall Begins
http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... 14&t=16929

New trailhead for Coyote Wall
http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... =7&t=17259

http://www.portlandhikers.org/forum/vie ... =8&t=18144

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