Silver Star

We've found a new favorite hike!  Silver Star is a loop hike with 5.6 miles of sweeping vistas and field after field of wildflowers.  Even in late summer when wildflower season is well over, there were still many to be spotted.  The trail is called "Ed's Trail" for Ed Robinson, a wildflower admirer who especially loved this area and was a founder of the Chinook Trail Association.  On a clear day, you can see Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.  There weren't many clouds on the day of our hike, but the horizon was pretty hazy, so we could only just make them out.  There is a cool rock arch to walk through, and two spots that require actual hand-over-hand climbing (although they aren't difficult).  A high clearance vehicle is a good choice for reaching the trailhead.  

When we returned to our car, the sun was setting.  On the way home, our headlights caught a strange critter waddling slowly across the logging road on stumpy legs.  Hardly any of its shape could be discerned- it looked rather like a very large, stiff rag mop.  As we gaped in astonishment, we realized we were facing its posterior, and it was pausing unconcernedly to poop before moving off noisily into the tall grass.  A porcupine!  They do not move quickly and have terrible eyesight, so it wasn't much bothered by us.  Jasper was astonished!  He simply had no idea there were porcupines around us.  I explained that there are, in fact, all sorts of mammals that live in our part of Oregon that we never see for the simple reason that they are nocturnal and we are not.  I know you'll be so sorry to learn that we didn't have a camera handy so that we could share the sight of a porcupine pooping.

Common harebell.

Ed's Trail dedication plaque.

Desert parsley.

Mountain dogbane.

A pika disappears headfirst under a rockpile.  It's carrying a plant to add to its winter food store.

This climb is part of the trail.

Western rattlesnake root.

Explorer's gentian.

Lupine.

Shining angelica.

Colorful lichen.

Fireweed.