WALLOWAS

The Wallowa National Forest is in eastern Oregon and nearly a six hour drive from Portland. Since it's not easy to get to I've not been there in several years. There's awesome backcountry there and good day hiking, too.

The plan was for five nights camping, three day hikes, and browsing the artsy town of Joseph. The day hike along Hurricane Creek was nice though the flowers were done. Without flowers there were no bugs either. Below is a shot of Slick Rock Gorge.

The day hike to Maxwell Lake was cancelled. The sprinkles that began as we headed out of the campground turned to a steady, cold rain at the trailhead. The sky was gray and the clouds were covering the tops of the trees, no chance for clearing anytime soon. We drove to Joseph and rented a room. We had found our camping experience at the state park campground to be less than comfortable and the cold rain sealed the deal to get a room and decide what to do the next day.

Dinner at a local pub and the best microbrew I've ever had (ESG for 'Extra Special Good' from a local brewery) and a few videos helped to ease the disappointment I had for not being able to do the hiking I had looked forward to for weeks. My severely leaky tent didn't help.

The next day the mountains were snow capped and the rain had stopped for awhile. The sky was partly cloudy and the air had a bit of a chill. I decided not to hike since there was snow up there and a bank of gray clouds in the distance led me to believe the weather wasn't done changing everyone's summer plans. I returned to Portland hoping to do some hiking on my additional days off. Yikes, rain in Portland, too. Where has summer gone??

WINDY RIDGE TO LOOWIT FALLS

I finally made it to the Windy Ridge area of Mt St Helens. I found a Forest Service campground that looked good, inquired with a reliable friend and he had no info, so I went for it to see if it's a good place to camp and explore that area of the mountain.

I arrived on Friday early afternoon and found that all but three of the 98 sites were already reserved. My internet research didn't indicate a reservation was needed, yikes. A nice site was chosen of the three and that was home for the weekend. The campground is heavily forested with a tall canopy that proved advantageous as we are having a short heat wave right now. The campsite stayed shaded the entire day, very nice!

On Saturday we hiked the Windy Ridge trail to Loowit Falls. There isn't a fragment of shade anywhere, not the parking area, not the trail, nowhere. It was warm and very sunny and yes, windy. In fact, it was quite windy. If not for the wind the total exposure all day to the hot sun may have made the day less enjoyable.

The views were expansive and vast. Mt St Helens was closer than ever. Everywhere I turned I saw earthtones and a harsh and barren landscape. But don't think that harsh and barren is bad, it's not. The landscape is gorgeous. The view of Spirit Lake is beyond description. Mt Rainier and Mt Adams follow you the entire route to Loowit Falls.

Neither Spirit Lake or Loowit Falls existed before the eruption 30 years ago. I'm intrigued by the beauty that nature creates so readily. This volcano is active and it's not far from my mind as I hike it's terrain and I smell the subtle sulfur in the wind. I know this mountain caused massive destruction when it erupted yet the changes in the landscape are remarkable. I feel privileged to be on this mountain and so close to all its mysteries.

After reaching Loowit Falls, having lunch, and more sunscreen we returned the way we came. There's something about out and back routes that allow you to see everything you saw from a completely different vantage point. The views are never tiring and the path is gradual though dusty with pumice the consistency of sand.

My cooler provided a cold drink and my feet were eager to hang out in my sandals. The drive back to camp was only 30 mins and dinner was soon after. A highlight was seeing the meteor shower at 3am from my beach chair in the road in the campground. Three swifts meteors delighted me before I returned to my slumber.