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Skycaptain

@Muledeer, lucky you, we don't have anything like marmots here.

 

I did see a pair bluetits with initiative yesterday. They've built their best in a gap in the stonework of our club, so it's totally inaccessible for predators. 

 

I'm surprised to see 10 year warranties, most vehicles here are just about ready for the scrapyard by then 

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On 5/21/2019 at 6:26 PM, faraday☘ said:

Me too!!  We had lots of fun.  Portland was great!  I also had fun with @pickles mcgee.  Portland has the best hiking. 

I agree!  My favorite bit was when we tried to go up some damn-near-vertical hillsides to the top of a waterfall.  We made it up a lot of them but not all, but it was sure fun to try.  My kind of day!

 

On 5/21/2019 at 6:42 PM, daveb said:

Yeah, the hike up the butte was a beaut! :D 

It was beautiful--the forested hike on the way up, and the lupine explosion at the top.  I'll be going again tomorrow to see what the flowers and bugs are up to now.  I like to keep track of "my places."

 

On 5/23/2019 at 11:11 PM, cdrdash said:

It is a 2 waterfall hike in my guide book for 5.4 miles total.  The other fall is Wahkeena.

It is a very beautiful hike (and it has more waterfalls than two), but sadly it has been closed since the Eagle Creek fire.  Most trails between Wahkeena Falls and the city of Cascade Locks (13 miles away) have been closed since September 2017.  Even a few that had reopened have been shut down again this spring due to heavy rains and rock slides; dead trees don't soak up rain. 😢  I hate to be a downer, and of course there's a chance that some hikes could reopen by the time of your trip, but to be honest the outlook has not been good.

 

The Washington side might be a better bet for the length of hike you want, as that side was not impacted by the fire.  The geology on that side is different--less stable basalt formations from the get-go; more landslides thousands of years ago; fewer cliffs; fewer, shorter waterfalls; less mist and shade--but I still think it absolutely marvelous.  Once I started exploring the Washington side, I preferred it.  It is gorgeous in its own way, and there were far fewer people on the trails back then (there are a lot more now, due to there not being as many choices).  But I have one caveat: the longer hikes on the Washington side I would not want to do on a hot day--too much exposure, no waterfalls after a certain point (or no waterfalls at all).  I do love the 3 1/2 mile hike to Falls Creek Falls that @faraday☘ and I did--a bit short, but a lovely spot on a hot day.  If your heart is set on a longer hike, I love Dog Mountain.  As mentioned, I wouldn't do it on a hot day, but plenty of people do.

 

If you're not set on a longer hike, one idea would be to patch together various sites and hikes on both the Oregon and Washington sides: Falls Creek Falls (as already mentioned); Beacon Rock (the core of an ancient volcano with a one-mile hike to the top); Horsetail Falls--visible from the Historic Columbia River Highway, with a half hour hike to Ponytail Falls (the trail above Ponytail is closed); Multnomah Falls (trail above it is closed, but the falls is iconic); Latourell Falls (trail above is closed, but you can still walk behind the falls and enjoy the coolness and mist on a hot day), etc., etc.  There is an almost 5-mile hike still open on the Oregon side--the hike to Angel's Rest.  But, again, it would be quite hot on a summer day--once you pass Upper Coopey Falls the trail is hot, dry, and exposed.  But it's the best spot to view the Columbia River that I've been to--could be worth it if you start early enough in the day.  (I also did it on a sunset/full moon hike one August; it was spectacular.)

 

Sorry this post is so rambly!  I'm typing things as I think of them.  (Also, I'm a bit of a crazed gorge fanatic; I think I must have talked @faraday☘'s ear off the day we went.)

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AllThisTime
9 hours ago, Muledeer said:

A resident marmot has taken up people watching.

I can see him with his little marmot binoculars!  I'm sure that the fox was happy to discover all those furry little rodents in the area .. I remember finding a fox den tucked into a hillside some years ago.  The kits are amazingly adorable and rolly polly little things.

 

I'm off for at trip to a friend's son's cottage until Wednesday at a place called Lakefield, near Curve Lake.  Don't both of those names sound appealing? I think so! 

 

My deal in exchange for this kindness is that I am going to figure out 'the garden'.  People have this strange idea that you can just stick something in the ground and presto, you have instant garden. It should be interesting .. I love to dig in the dirt regardless so I'll be happy regardless.   Maybe I can find something at the local garden centre that will be drought tolerant enough to survive the stretch of time between watering ... 

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Gentle Giant

The other day I looked out the window and saw a humming bird going to the blossoms on our tree.

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17 minutes ago, pickles mcgee said:

Perched?  I thought they just liked to hover.

They're tired. She  just flew in from Mexico (or wherever they spend the other half of their lifetimes). 

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18 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

They're tired. She just flew in from Mexico (or wherever they spend the other half of their lifetimes). 

😂  Good point!

 

Hummingbird is all one word, in case anyone was wondering.

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7 hours ago, pickles mcgee said:

Hummingbird is all one word, in case anyone was wondering.

Unless, of course, there was a bird humming to itself. Then it would, indeed, be a humming bird. :P😆

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Our feeders have a little perch at each opening. I think sometimes the hover for a couple of seconds and then leave. last week we saw one feed for quite a long time, so I'm thinking it was using the perch.

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58 minutes ago, Tja said:

Unless, of course, there was a bird humming to itself. Then it would, indeed, be a humming bird. :P😆

They have at least two kinds of hums.   When they are hovering at the feeder or a flower, it is a low pitched buzz.  I look forward to being woken up by this sound.  They also make a skreetching or whistling sound with their wings when they are leaving in  a hurry or diving during a mating ritual.

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Custard Cream
4 hours ago, Muledeer said:

They have at least two kinds of hums.   When they are hovering at the feeder or a flower, it is a low pitched buzz.  I look forward to being woken up by this sound.  They also make a skreetching or whistling sound with their wings when they are leaving in  a hurry or diving during a mating ritual.

I'd love to see a hummingbird.

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The nearest I have seen in the UK is a quite different beast, the hummingbird hawk moth.  I saw them in a friend's garden.  They were visiting the abelia shrub and fascinating to see.

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Custard Cream
35 minutes ago, Mz Terry said:

The nearest I have seen in the UK is a quite different beast, the hummingbird hawk moth.  I saw them in a friend's garden.  They were visiting the abelia shrub and fascinating to see.

Aww I'd love to see one of those.

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Skycaptain

@CustardCream, there's a good chance you will do. They're not uncommon in your neck of the woods 

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Gentle Giant

Looking it up online after reading about it here, I think I have seen a hummingbird moth. I remember it startling me because it looked strange and bigger than a bee.

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I didn't look it up yet, but one time I saw an enormous moth, with spots on its wings, gathering nectar from the petunias.  It had an incredibly long proboscis and it acted just like a hummingbird.

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Skycaptain

@Muledeer, it could be hyles lineata , or Hummingbird moth, a large species of Hawk Moth 

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I just googled the hummingbird moth.  Yep, that is the creature I saw gathering nectar.  That long, curly tongue seems unique to their species.

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BobRossRules

I love hiking, pretty much my favorite activity.:D  Had the best time in Portland.  The Bay Area has some spectacular places too!  

 

This coming week, I have an out-of-town visitor, and we are going on a National Park adventure.  We plan on going to Yellowstone, Grand Targhee, and Craters of the Moon.  Idaho also has lots of hot springs.  So we may try to find a cool one, off-the-beaten path.  I have been trying to see if there are any near me, but most of what I find are public resorts.  I had 2 people mention one called Goldbug.  It's about a 5 mile hike, so we may try that.  It's about a 2 or 3 hour drive though.  No guarantee we can find it, if the water run off will reduce the temperature of the hot springs, or if there won't be a ton of people there.  

 

I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day.  

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On 5/26/2019 at 2:32 AM, pickles mcgee said:

 

It is a very beautiful hike (and it has more waterfalls than two), but sadly it has been closed since the Eagle Creek fire.  Most trails between Wahkeena Falls and the city of Cascade Locks (13 miles away) have been closed since September 2017.  Even a few that had reopened have been shut down again this spring due to heavy rains and rock slides; dead trees don't soak up rain. 😢  I hate to be a downer, and of course there's a chance that some hikes could reopen by the time of your trip, but to be honest the outlook has not been good.

 

The Washington side might be a better bet for the length of hike you want, as that side was not impacted by the fire.  The geology on that side is different--less stable basalt formations from the get-go; more landslides thousands of years ago; fewer cliffs; fewer, shorter waterfalls; less mist and shade--but I still think it absolutely marvelous.  Once I started exploring the Washington side, I preferred it.  It is gorgeous in its own way, and there were far fewer people on the trails back then (there are a lot more now, due to there not being as many choices).  But I have one caveat: the longer hikes on the Washington side I would not want to do on a hot day--too much exposure, no waterfalls after a certain point (or no waterfalls at all).  I do love the 3 1/2 mile hike to Falls Creek Falls that @faraday☘ and I did--a bit short, but a lovely spot on a hot day.  If your heart is set on a longer hike, I love Dog Mountain.  As mentioned, I wouldn't do it on a hot day, but plenty of people do.

 

If you're not set on a longer hike, one idea would be to patch together various sites and hikes on both the Oregon and Washington sides: Falls Creek Falls (as already mentioned); Beacon Rock (the core of an ancient volcano with a one-mile hike to the top); Horsetail Falls--visible from the Historic Columbia River Highway, with a half hour hike to Ponytail Falls (the trail above Ponytail is closed); Multnomah Falls (trail above it is closed, but the falls is iconic); Latourell Falls (trail above is closed, but you can still walk behind the falls and enjoy the coolness and mist on a hot day), etc., etc.  There is an almost 5-mile hike still open on the Oregon side--the hike to Angel's Rest.  But, again, it would be quite hot on a summer day--once you pass Upper Coopey Falls the trail is hot, dry, and exposed.  But it's the best spot to view the Columbia River that I've been to--could be worth it if you start early enough in the day.  (I also did it on a sunset/full moon hike one August; it was spectacular.)

 

Sorry this post is so rambly!  I'm typing things as I think of them.  (Also, I'm a bit of a crazed gorge fanatic; I think I must have talked @faraday☘'s ear off the day we went.)

Thanks for the info!!  I'll delve into my guidebook some more and look at the Washington side.   I'm looking to spend two to three hours hiking which usually works out to  5 or 6 miles at my pace.   I want to be on the road to Kalispel, Montana by noon so I'm thinking of a hike from 7 or 8 a.m. to 10 or 11 a.m.  Is it humid or dry heat?   I find humid heat a bit harder to deal with than dry heat.   I have done some hot hikes in Death Valley and if I am careful about drinking lots, smearing lots of sun screen on, and wearing a hat with a large brim, I do OK.

 

Cathy

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Two hikes and a walk this long three day weekend!

 

Saturday: Tennessee Valley in Marin County just north of San Francisco after you go across the Golden Gate bridge: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gkfYVUt5WHhRg6pQ6

Sunday: Coyote Hills Park in the south east part of San Francisco Bay: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xTTx65DpZuqGXnmQA

Monday (today): Walked at my local park, Shoreline.  Most of the flowers were on the Google campus grounds: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8Td36R6oyCLaftvU9

 

Cathy

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1 hour ago, cdrdash said:

Two hikes and a walk this long three day weekend!

Looks like plenty of wildflowers out.

 

Sunday and Monday hikes/walks have the same link. Are there photos of each in the one album?

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Skycaptain

@cdrdash, you're in a great area for hiking, brill pics 

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2 hours ago, cdrdash said:

Is it humid or dry heat?

Summers are usually hot and dry here, but we do get the occasional muggy day.  As you go further east in the gorge (towards The Dalles), it gets hotter and dryer.

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6 hours ago, daveb said:

Looks like plenty of wildflowers out.

 

Sunday and Monday hikes/walks have the same link. Are there photos of each in the one album?

Fixed it.  Should have been different links.

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