Saturday, August 5, 2023
After wanting to visit here for years I finally got to see Bird Creek Meadows.
Bird Creek Meadows is one of those places I’ve been wanting to hike for a long time. At first I couldn’t get there because the road was too rough and I didn’t have a good enough car. Then five summers passed during which I owned an Outback and still didn’t manage to get up there. My chance seemed to vanish when the Cougar Creek Fire burned through the area in 2015. It was closed for about five years, but now reopens for a limited stretch of time every summer. The trail is on the Yakama Reservation and visitors must pay $20, but it’s well worth it.
Today was the only day we had available to hike here while the flowers were in bloom and unfortunately the weather forecast called for mostly cloudy skies, cool temperatures, and a 50% chance of precipitation. We went for it anyway. Various sources describe the road as rough, narrow, and rutted with rocks and potholes. It seems that road saw improvements after the fire, and it’s now pretty good. We stopped to pay at the fee box:
There’s another fee box at the at the Bird Lake Trailhead if you missed the first one:
Bird Lake:
The trail starts off surrounded by burned trees from the fire eight years ago. The tribe has done a good job of clearing downed trees and the trail is easy to follow:
The first of many wildflowers we would see:
The trail approaches a lovely little creek:
We crossed it via a footbridge:
Passing yet more wildflowers:
Another lovely creek:
We entered a section where some of the trees survived:
We reached Crooked Creek Falls:
We had yet another creek crossing. Wildflowers were everywhere:
So much moss!
We reached a junction with the Round the Mountain Trail:
Our loop went to the right, but we detoured left briefly to see the creek crossing here:
Heading east on the Round the Mountain Trail:
Mt. Adams is out there somewhere:
We reached the edge of the picnic area and turned left here to do the Trail of the Flowers loop:
While the trail was in great shape, the signs were all in need of some TLC:
We reached a south-facing viewpoint and took a break. We had been hiking through unburnt forest, and from here we could see both burned and unburnt trees below:
After the viewpoint is a left turn up to Hellroaring Viewpoint. We didn’t bother with that today since there was no view to be had:
As we approached the picnic area we saw several of these not-working water spigots:
The Trail of the Flowers loop ends at the picnic area, where we turned right onto the Round The Mountain Trail:
The picnic tables are a little worse for wear:
Then we turned left onto the Bluff Lake Trail:
A lovely unnamed waterfall:
We passed Bluff Lake:
And then we were back at Bird Lake:
Remnants from the campground that was here before the fire:
Gaia stats: 4.7 miles, 800′ elevation gain
