Coyote Wall Loop

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Note: Watch for ticks and poison oak if you hike here.

Greg and I headed out to Coyote Wall to do a loop hike there. We hit the trail at 9:15 under chilly overcast skies. If you hike here, please note that dogs must be on-leash:

Coyote Wall Hike

We saw this group at the beginning of the hike and later on as well. The dog was never on a leash:

Coyote Wall Hike

We trekked down old Highway 14:

Coyote Wall Hike

The desert parsley was going gangbusters. We saw lots of it.

Coyote Wall Hike

Coyote Wall Hike

At 0.4mi we passed the trail where we would come out later:

Coyote Wall Hike

Further along at 0.7mi we picked up our trail and started climbing up.

Coyote Wall Hike

Coyote Wall Hike

Coyote Wall Hike

Columbia Desert Parsley:

Coyote Wall Hike

Despite the clouds we managed to get a view of Mt. Hood:

Coyote Wall Hike

The river was glassy calm:

Coyote Wall Hike

There was popcorn flower EVERYWHERE:

Coyote Wall Hike

Coyote Wall Hike

Coyote Wall Hike

Avalanche Lilies:

Coyote Wall Hike

Yellow bells:

Coyote Wall Hike

Coyote Wall Hike

First balsamroot sighting of the season!

Coyote Wall Hike

The sun started to break through a bit as we hiked down:

Coyote Wall Hike

By this time we were encountering huge numbers of people. And we were witnessing plenty of bad hiker behavior: picked wildflowers left on the trail, off-leash dogs, dog poop bags left behind, and adults, kids, and dogs wandering through the meadows, trampling the wildflowers. It was discouraging, and we were glad to get back to the trailhead. Still, despite all that, it was a great hike. Here are all the wildflowers Greg noted seeing on this loop. 6 miles, 1100′ elevation gain.

Coyote Wall Track

First Catherine Creek Visit of 2018

March 17, 2018

Note: Watch for ticks and poison oak if you hike here.

Greg and I made our first Catherine Creek trek of the year today. It didn’t rain, but it was partly cloudy and pretty windy! I didn’t take a ton of photos, but I have a video at the end of this post.

Catherine Creek Hike

We started off behind these two women who walked right past the “dogs must be on leash” sign with their dog off-leash. We saw them later in the hike and the dog was still off-leash.

Catherine Creek Hike

Things are starting to green up!

Catherine Creek Hike

Catherine Creek Hike

Once we got up on top with the big sloping meadow we were pummeled by the wind:

Catherine Creek Hike

Catherine Creek Hike

We started getting a little bit more blue sky:

Catherine Creek Hike

It was a relief when we picked up the old road and started descending. We were out of the open and now protected from the relentless wind:

Catherine Creek Hike

We crossed Catherine Creek then picked up another old road going up past the old corral:

Catherine Creek Hike

We looped around over the top near the arch where we were back in the wind:

Catherine Creek Hike

We dropped down to the road and walked back to the car. Great loop today! Could have done without the wind, but that’s the Gorge for you. 5 miles, 1400′ elevation gain.

CatCreek

Tracy Hill

Saturday, March 11, 2018

What a gorgeous day! Greg was out of town so I did a solo hike at Tracy Hill, which is in the Catherine Creek area in the Columbia River Gorge. My start point was just a short distance east down the road from the main Catherine Creek trailhead.

The trail starts out on an old jeep track. On this crystal clear day I started getting views of Mt. Hood right away:

Tracy Hill Hike

There were still a few grass widows around:

Tracy Hill Hike

I also saw plenty of gold stars:

Tracy Hill Hike

I love the ponderosa pines here:

Tracy Hill Hike

Tracy Hill Hike

At 0.8 mile there is a junction where I went straight. The jeep track from the left would bring me back here at the end of the hike. I continued hiking uphill, then the track turned into a trail and emerged into a huge sloping meadow:

Tracy Hill Hike

As I got higher, the views got better. The snowy bump at center is Lookout Mountain:

Tracy Hill Hike

And Mt. Hood was glorious!

Tracy Hill Hike

1.9 miles into the hike I reached the top of the meadow where someone has made a makeshift bench. It’s a great spot to stop and enjoy the views, which is exactly what I did.

Tracy Hill Hike

Tracy Hill Hike

I loved the gnarled branches on this old oak tree:

Tracy Hill Hike

I spotted a lizard in this hole. See him?

Tracy Hill Hike

How about now?

Tracy Hill Hike

The trail passes through an oak forest:

Tracy Hill Hike

And emerges into another meadow with yet another view of Mt. Hood:

Tracy Hill Hike

I passed an old cattle pond that is fed by a spring:

Tracy Hill Hike

I wanted to get further up the hill and pick up another old jeep track so I left the trail and cut up through the meadow, although it turns out if I had stayed on the trail a bit further I would have intersected a path that headed uphill. I found said path as I got higher:

Tracy Hill Hike

The trail connected with another old jeep track:

Tracy Hill Hike

Which entered a very pleasant forest:

Tracy Hill Hike

At the three-mile mark I came to a more developed-looking road:

Tracy Hill Hike

This spot was also the site of some logging:

Tracy Hill Hike

I made this my turnaround point. Back out in the open meadows I put down my sit pad on the trail and sat down to enjoy the view for awhile:

Tracy Hill Hike

Tracy Hill Hike

I had a good view of the Columbia Hills to the east. Great place to see balsamroot in about six weeks!

Tracy Hill Hike

After soaking up the sunshine for awhile I continued on. The trail descended down into the canyon of Catherine Creek:

Tracy Hill Hike

Tracy Hill Hike

A peek at the Columbia River as the trail descends:

Tracy Hill Hike

I picked up another jeep track:

Tracy Hill Hike

Which connected me back to the original trail where I returned to my car. It was a 6.5 mile loop with 1,700′ elevation gain. Great hike!

Here is my track:

TracyHillTrack

And here is the video: