Catherine Creek Jan. 31 - the first flower!

[romann]

Today we (me, my mother and my dog Pepper) went to Catherine Creek in the pursuit of sun and tic.. er - flowers. It was really great day, around 50-55 degrees and mostly sunny. Many cars were parked at the trailhead, but this area is so large and contains so many trails that we rarely met any other hikers except for near the arch. We hiked to the Arch, then up Tracy Hill, then west until the trail made a steep descent to Catherine Creek. We turned back at this point and hiked same way back.

The highlight of the day was this little guy. I expected to see the flowers after so warm weather, but it's still surprisisng to find wild flowers in January.

This flower was in area just above the trailhead parking; we didn't check the area below the road so I think more flowers can be there too. Many green shoots sprouting up there, though I guess any significant bloom is still about 3 weeks away.

Ticks - Pepper have found about a dozen of them. Me and my mom didn't find any.

This area really stands out in terms of open views, sunny weather, sparse pine and oak forests, and interesting rock formations. The trail options are unnumerous, but I still have to see if it's possible to cross Catherine Creek from Tracy Hill to make a loop with Labyrinth area to the west. Waterproof boots are a must now as many areas were soaking wet.

[AlexanderSupertramp]

Beautiful report and pics romann! I can't believe that there are flowers on the horizon already.

Adam

[pdxflowergirl]

The highlight of the day was this little guy. I expected to see the flowers after so warm weather, but it's still surprisisng to find wild flowers in January.
Attachment:
DSC_5688.JPG

That's a grass widow! Here's a picture of one from the last week of MARCH last year. I can't believe that they are already starting to bloom! Thanks for the report as now I have a better idea of when they might peak. And, it's good to know that Pepper only picked up a dozen ticks. Last time I was at Catherine Creek, I couldn't pick off the ticks fast enough from my Max. Fortunately none of them latched in.

[jamesthehiker]

Nice pictures; I was at Coyote Wall yesterday and fortunately only one tick was spotted on my two dogs. I attemtped to do a loop with the Labyrinth but got a bit lost. Just past a vineyard I came accross private property signs at a gravel road. They were pretty funny; it said to turn around unless you are bringing the owner cheese and wine; are deydrated and in need of help; and a couple other messages. I ended up backtracking; anyone know what I did wrong?

[drm]

Nice pictures; I was at Coyote Wall yesterday and fortunately only one tick was spotted on my two dogs. I attemtped to do a loop with the Labyrinth but got a bit lost. Just past a vineyard I came accross private property signs at a gravel road. They were pretty funny; it said to turn around unless you are bringing the owner cheese and wine; are deydrated and in need of help; and a couple other messages. I ended up backtracking; anyone know what I did wrong?

It sounds like you went too high. The entire region from Hospital Hill though to Coyote / Labyrinth is bounded on the north by private property. Atwood Road is the dirt road that marks the most common boundary and hikers generally want to stay south of it.

From Coyote Wall (on top of it), if you want to turn right to get to the Labyrinth, you need to turn right fairly early as there are some homes in a draw that are fairly well hidden, but nonetheless force you to do the traverse fairly low on the slope. About half-way up along the Coyote Wall, where a fence remnant forces you to jog right if you are continuing up, there is a well-worn trail/road that angles right. It will take you just below the homes and angles up to a creek with a ladder crossing. That hooks into the Labyrinth trails. If you're coming from the Labyrinth towards Coyote and you find the ladder crossing, you need to stay left/south at a junction 100 yards after the crossing, before turning west again, to avoid the private property.

[ErinL]

The first wildflower in January. That's pretty crazy. I have recently noticed bulbs popping up in people's yards.

[Grannyhiker]

I'm not surprised; I've read that this has been one of the warmest Januarys (Januaries?) on record, with no temps below freezing. El Nino is really here! On the way to Seattle a week ago last Friday, I noticed catkins blooming on some trees along the Columbia. I was talking to a tree surgeon my son and daughter-in-law in Seattle hired, and he was really worried about getting their fruit trees pruned right away before they come out of dormancy (they're getting close!).

Either we're going to be making our Dog Mountain wildflower pilgrimages in mid-April or a lot of plants are going to get their little buds nipped!

There have been other years (I remember one time in the early 90's) when Gorge trilliums popped up by late February.

[J_W_Speed]

Romann, your killing me with these beautiful pictures! Man what beautiful weather you were blessed with as I got rained on for six hours just the day before.

[jamesthehiker]

Thanks for the directions Drm. With your description I'm pretty sure now where I should have gone. It was beautiful up there yesterday!

[pdxflowergirl]

I've read that this has been one of the warmest Januarys (Januaries?) on record, with no temps below freezing.

Guess it's a new use of the recently coined term "Juneuary". Last year we had that super cold June and this year we're having a super warm January!