Wednesday, June 19, 2024
For the second summer in a row I did the short hike to Illahee Rock.
I did this hike on July 15 last year. Because I was back in the area I decided to do it again and see how things look in mid-June. I’m glad I did, because I saw a lot more wildflowers this time:
There was so much arnica!
A wide variety of other flowers were blooming:
I was delightfully surprised to see fawn lilies in bloom:
There were carpets of blue-eyed mary:
So much bluehead gilia:
The trail was in good shape. I don’t think it sees much use:
I reached the summit where the old 1925 cupola lookout and newer 1956 tower stand unused:
Last year the trapdoor to the catwalk was locked (albeit with a small hole cut out of it that I wasn’t going to try and squeeze through). This year I found the door completely removed and resting on the catwalk:
Harding Butte and Spring Mountain to the northeast, with Diamond Peak in the background:
Mt. Thielsen and Mt. Bailey to the southeast:
View to the south with Twin Lakes Mountain at far left. The distant triangular peak almost right below the cloud is Red Butte, which has an old abandoned lookout on it that I haven’t been to yet:
View to the north:
Distant Mt. Jefferson to the northeast:
I lifted up various shutters to try and get photos of the inside. The firefinder has been removed, but the woodstove and propane cookstove are still there (although there’s no longer a propane tank outside):
I found a few mariposa lilies on the summit before heading back down:
Gaia stats: 1.6 miles, 520′ elevation gain
