May 19, 2019
Since the weather was forecasted to be cool with rain coming (and boy did it) in the afternoon, we took Katie and drove out past Shady Cove to the Yellow Rock TH of the Elk Creek Trail for a morning hike. This former paved-road-now-turned-trail, extends 5 miles from TH to TH, but today we only hiked out to the 4 mile marker and then took a side trail out to the Seven Mile Bend area along Elk Creek. Here we took a nice break enjoying the creek and the blue sky filled with big white clouds, while Katie took a few dips into the creek and then rolled in the sand and rocks. In all we covered 8.1 miles and thanks to the cooler temps, the paved trail was not hot. We did see some wildflowers for the first time this year like Stonecrop, Field Morning Glory, Bell-Shaped Catchfly, and Slender Clarkia.
Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol
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| At the trailhead parking area |
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| One of the large meadows along the trail with blue sky and white clouds. |
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| Seven Mile Bend where we took a break..... |
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| ....while Katie took a bath, chewed sticks, and rolled in the sand & rocks. |
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| As the day progressed the clouds increased. |
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Swallowtail Butterfly enjoying the flowers
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| Lupine |
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| Salsify with a bug photobombing. |
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| View of Elk Creek from first viewpoint off trail |
Looks like everyone - and Katie in particular - had a good time enjoying this brief break in the weather. "...rolled in the sand & rocks..." sounds so much better than "rolled in the dead fish." I did a short exercise hike on Roxy Ann where the trails were just this side of too muddy - ended-up coming back along the road (which has new culverts and gravel up near the summit).
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