Trail and Wildflower Diary for 2007

- HIKING TRAILS AND WILDFLOWERS by Keith and Barbro McCree -

We have moved to Eugene, Oregon.

Our beautiful home in Oakridge is for sale

Our Trail and Wildflower Diary for 2007

Our 12th. (and final) year of this online diary

Trail Conditions
For the latest information on trail conditions, visit the Middle Fork District Ranger Station on Highway 58, west of Oakridge. Some recreation information is available online.

The Willamette National Forest relies heavily on volunteers to keep the trails open. Only the most popular trails are cleared every year. The best wildflower trails are generally not in this category. We do our best to keep the trails that we visit clear of brush and debris.

Fees
Instead of initiating the Recreational Fee Demonstration program in 1996, the U.S. Congress should simply have appropriated a little more money for trail maintenance and other recreational needs. We're not talking large amounts of money here. Trail construction and maintenance make up less than 1% of the U.S. Forest Service's annual budget of more than $5,000 million. The net revenue from the Fee Program, about $40 million per year, will not make much of a dent in the maintenance backlog for recreation facilities and trails, which the agency estimated to be $1,000 million in 1998.

The fees were made permanent in the Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004. The U.S. Forest Service has an explanation of its fee structure and a list of sites on the Willamette National Forest where a recreation pass is required.

Safety
The fact that a trail is described on this Web site is not a representation that it will be safe for you to travel on. Some trails are more difficult than others and need more preparation. Conditions on a trail may have deteriorated since these pages were prepared. Weather conditions can change rapidly in mountainous areas : a trip that is safe in good weather may be unsafe in bad weather. You should always be aware of your own limitations, and on the lookout for changes in weather.

Weather
Except for the occasional thunderstorm, the summer months (June - September) are normally dry and sunny in this part of Oregon. Historically, maximum daily temperatures in summer have ranged from 25 to 30°C (77 to 86°F), but global warming has raised temperatures considerably in recent years. The forests are becoming drier and more susceptible to fire.

Flowering Times
There is no 'best time' to see wildflowers in bloom in this area. Flowering begins in March at the lower elevations, and continues through August as the snow melts in the high country. Of course, the distribution of plants depends on climate and habitat: some species grow only at low elevations, and others are found only at high elevations. Entries in this diary provide an indication of which plants are flowering along a given trail at a given time. Also, the date on which our flower photographs were taken is shown at the foot of each trail page.

Early Wildflowers
During the early part of the year (January - March), we confine ourselves to low altitude trails, which are generally free of snow. A favorite place for early wildflowers is the Larison Creek Trail, which runs along the sunny side of Larison Cove (off Hills Creek Reservoir). The Flat Creek Trail is another good low-altitude trail close to Oakridge.

The Middle Fork Trail follows the Middle Fork Willamette River from Hills Creek Reservoir to the source of the river at Timpanogas Lake, a distance of about 50 km (30 miles).The section near Indian Creek, is suitable for early hikes. The river gorge near Chuckle Springs is well worth a visit during the summer. There is a fine grove of ancient trees in the Big Swamp, in the eastern section between Road 2153 and Timpanogas Lake.

On these trails we find Synthyris reniformis (Spring Queen) flowering in February, and Trillium ovatum (Western Trillium) flowering in March, along with yellow violets (Viola glabella andViola sempervirens), Romanzoffia californica (Mist Maiden), Cardamine angulata (Angled Bittercress) and Cardamine pulcherrima (Beautiful Bittercress).

April and May bring Erythronium oregonum (Oregon Fawn Lily),Calypso bulbosa (Fairy Slipper Orchid) and Cynoglossum grande (Hounds-tongue) into flower on these trails, along with many other spring-flowering wildflowers. The common ground covers are Oxalis oregana (Wood Sorrel), Montia perfoliata (Miner's Lettuce) and Montia sibirica (Siberian Candyflower). Phlox adsurgens (Woodland Phlox) is also quite common at this time of year.

Summer Wildflower Trips, 2007

10 May. We sauntered up the Alpine Trail from Road 687 to the rock outcrop on Buckhead Mountain, where we found Romanzoffia californica (Mist Maiden), Delphinium menziesii (Larkspur), Orobanche uniflora (Broomrape) and Mimulus guttatus (Yellow Monkeyflower) in bloom.

15 May. The wildflowers are also near their peak along the trails to Tire Mountain, starting from Alpine Trail trailhead on Road 1911. We were especially impressed with the Trillium ovatum (Western Trillium) and yellow violets (Viola glabella and Viola sempervirens) blooming together.

17 May The North Fork Trail follows the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, which is on the national list of Wild and Scenic Rivers. The trailhead is in a blackberry patch upstream of the historic covered bridge at Westfir. Today on the first section, which runs close to the river, we enjoyed early summer flowers, notably Aquilegia formosa (Western Columbine), Heracleum lanatum (Cow Parsnip) and Trientalis latifolia (Pacific Starflower). The trail continues several kilometers beyond Road 1910, climbing high above the river at times to cross streams.

22 May. We saw a lot of white flowers today on the Larison Creek Trail, includingCalochortus tolmiei (Tolmie's Cat's Ear), Anemone deltoidea (Columbia Windflower, Western White Anemone), and Iris chrysophylla (Long-tubed Iris). Trientalis latifolia (Pacific Starflower) was at its best.

25 May. We enjoyed a quiet morning walk, accompanied by magnificent birdsong, through the forest on the west bank of the Middle Fork River south of the Road 2127 bridge.The flowers we noted at Larison Creek were blooming here too. We saw some nice specimens of Corallorhiza striata (Striped Coralroot) in the forest, and Montia parvifolia (Little-leaf Montia) on the riverbank. The summer wildflowers were at their best in a wet meadow near the river. A week later we started our walk at Sand Prairie campground. We detoured around a new bridge being constructed over Buck Creek, near the trailhead. On this section of trail we found two more species of coralroot in bloom, Corallorhiza maculata (Spotted Coralroot) and Corallorhiza mertensiana (Western Coralroot).

30 May. Between the snowdrifts we enjoyed masses of early spring flowers on the trail to Lone Wolf Shelter. Kalmia microphylla ssp. occidentalis (Western Swamp Laurel) was in full bloom in the meadow.

12 June. We drove to Holland Meadows (1520m, 5000 ft.). The meadows are located on the top of a ridge that overlooks the Larison Creek drainage. They can be reached on the paved roads 2102 and 1850. It's a great place to see wildflowers near Oakridge at this time of year. On today's visit we found masses of Delphinium menziesii (Larkspur), Polemonium carneum (Great Polemonium), Hydrophyllum fendleri (Fendler's Waterleaf) and Mertensia paniculata (Tall Bluebells) in bloom.

15 June. We drove up to the highest point on Road 23 (1580m, 5200 ft.) from which there is a great view of Diamond Peak. The snow had melted on the wet meadow there, at the foot of Hemlock Butte. It was filled with Dodecatheon jeffreyi (Mountain Shooting Star) and Caltha biflora (Caltha leptosepala) (Marsh Marigold).

21 June. Along the first part of the trail from Gold Lake campground to Upper Marilyn Lake (1460m, 4790 ft.) we found many early summer wildflowers in bloom, including Dodecatheon jeffreyi (Shooting Star), Caltha biflora (Caltha leptosepala) (Marsh Marigold), Mertensia paniculata (Tall Bluebells), Habenaria saccata (Slender Bog Orchid),Viola adunca (Early Blue Violet),Viola palustris (Marsh Violet) andViola glabella (Stream Violet).

25 June. On today's visit to Blair Meadow (1460m) we found masses of blue and purple flowers of Delphinium menziesii (Larkspur), and Sisyrinchium idahoense (Blue-eyed Grass). The white flowers of Polygonum bistortoides (Western Bistort) filled other parts of the meadow. We found Pedicularis bracteosa (Bracted Lousewort) and Pedicularis groenlandica (Elephants Head) in bloom.

7 July. The wildflowers are at their peak now in the meadow at Spirit Lake (1580m). Clintonia uniflora (Queen's Cup) and Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry) line the trail in to the lake. Sadly, the trail was in bad shape, and there was a pile of empty beer cans at the lakeside.

14 July. At the start of the trail to Grasshopper Meadow we saw a notice nailed to a tree that conifers deemed to be 'encroaching' on the meadow were to be cut down in the fall of 2006, and that the meadow was to be burned in the fall of 2007. Sure enough, we found the meadow littered with the carcasses of dead trees, a sad sight. We were too discouraged to continue. Most of the wildflowers had dried out and were being eaten by grasshoppers, but we found a few Penstemon procerus and Linum perenne in bloom on the lower parts of the the trail.

20 July. Lillian Falls on the Black Creek Trail is a popular destination in the Waldo Lake Wilderness. The trail follows Black Creek through magnificent old growth forest. Linnaea borealis (Twinflower), Tiarella trifoliata (Coolwort, Sugarscoop, Foamflower) and Campanula scoouli (Scouler's Harebell) lined the trail on this morning's walk. We also saw Nothochelone nemorosa (Woodland Beard-tongue), Pyrola asarifolia (Bog Wintergreen) and Pyrola picta (White Veined Pyrola).

24 July. The meadows on Bear Mountain (1860m, 6,100 ft.) are the best places for wildflowers in the Diamond Peak Wilderness. The spectacularGilia aggegata (Ipomosis aggregata) (Scarlet Gilia) grows especially well there. On today's trip, Orthocarpus imbricatus (Owl Clover), Calochortus subalpinus (Mountain Cat's Ear), and Eriogonum umbellatum (Sulfur Flower) were also in full bloom.

26 July. We applied plenty of mosquito repellent and sauntered to the south end of Waldo Lake, where we found a good display of wildflowers in the meadow in front of the shelter, including Mimulus guttatus (Yellow Monkeyflower), Mimulus moschatus (Musk Monkeyflower) and Mimulus primuloides (Primrose Monkeyflower) blooming together along the banks of the stream.

August 7. The 3 km. trail to Corrigan Lake is the best in the Diamond Peak Wilderness. It has a moderate grade and is well built and well maintained. The magnificent old trees are not disfigured by blazes. There is a nice view of the mountain reflected in the lake. On today's trip we found Allotropa virgata (Candystick, Sugarstick), Chimaphila menziesii (Little Prince's Pine), Chimaphila umbellata (Prince's Pine, Pipsissewa), and Pyrola picta (White-veined Wintergreen) in bloom.