Christine and I wanted to hike Horse Rock Ridge, for the incredible views. So, the day before Independence Day, we set off in the morning…
It has been a wet summer so far in Oregon, and today was a foggy one up in the mountains. We got to the trailhead to be greeted by fog and dew, and lots of it.
Christine’s dog didn’t mind. She was excited, running ahead of us and waiting impatiently!
Despite the poor visibility, there were TONS of wildflowers!
The dew was thick as well as the fog. The pup was drenched in no time, much to her joy!
Even where the terrain was steep and rocky, wildflowers are growing in abundance!
I couldn’t identify some of the flowers, but that’s okay. They’re still beautiful, and I’ll figure it out another time.
Christine’s dog almost seemed impatient at times, lying down to wait for us. That is one energetic dog! She runs without slowing down, for the entire hike. She’s amazing!
Christine and her dog wanted to show me something really neat… I’m almost there.
I had to stop for a picture of this sweet columbine though. My sister and I used to bite off the little round nubs and suck out the nectar when we were young. Columbines are pretty common in the coastal range.
Look at this tree! It’s going to grow, and it doesn’t care if there’s a mountain in the way. Okay Christine, you’re right: this is pretty cool.
I was very careful not to touch the poison oak. This stuff is a bane to so many people I know. It is sneaky and can be so awful. I’ve known people who got it on their clothes or in their sleeping bags, and then you can imagine how it spread all over their skin. UGH!
There was a tower up here, some sort of satellite. There’s also bunnies, according to Christine, but we didn’t see any on this day.
Here
We weren’t sure what the red stuff was on these leaves, but we hope to find out.
While the view was not what we were hoping for, we got to see so dang many wildflowers, that it was still a great hike! I do hope to go again sometime to see the incredible view.
Distance: 2.9 miles; Elevation gain: not quite sure. (My Apple watch said 847 feet, but I’m not sure that’s correct.)
The Happy Viking 