Since we were both spending the evening with our fathers we got an early start and were out the door by 7:15. When we got to the trailhead at 8:45 there were 11 cars there. (And boy was I glad to see that parking lot. The curvy access road between Highway 26 and the trailhead made me so carsick that I almost threw up. It was even worse on the way out that afternoon.)
The forest is incredibly green and lush. The Coast Range gets LOTS AND LOTS of rain.
And then began a parade of wildflowers which we followed all the way to the summit.
Columbine:
The first of MANY rosy plectritis (which sounds like a disease, not a wildflower!
):
Paintbrush:
Goatsbeard:
False lily of the valley:
Checkermallow:
Monkey flower:
Oregon iris:
Fairy lanterns:
Phlox:
MORE rosy plectritis:
The further up we went, the closer we got to the clouds.
We occasionally got views of the forest below us, which would have been a nice scene if it hadn't been marred by ugly clearcuts.
That last steep push to the summit is grueling!
Finally we reached the large flat summit area where the old lookout used to be. One of the more unusual-looking lookouts, if you ask me.
Of course the clouds had thinned enough to allow us views of all the clearcuts, old and new, but they hadn't dissipated enough to afford views of the various Cascade peaks. Drat!!
After a snack break we turned and headed back down around noon. We passed LOTS of hikers heading up as we were heading down, and were very glad we had gotten an early start!
I was pretty disappointed about the lack of views, but the wildflowers were awfully nice. We had perfect timing for the blooms.
They work exactly as well as rabbit's feet and knocking on wood.