I decided to risk parts of the trail being flooded and went to the Chuckery Area of the Cascade Valley South Park , set my MapMyRun and off I went. The first thing I saw, once I got past the Signal Tree, was this guy:
Cute little bugger, isn't he?
One of the things I was amazed by the most was how iridescent everything seemed to be. The snow was mostly gone -- only spots along the river and some icy spots as well. I thought it was so neat and pretty -- and then I realized it was my sunglasses. Polarized sunglasses make things very shiny, apparently!
This is the start of the hill....according to MapMyRun I had a 259 foot ascent overall. This was the first half!
And the second half, looking back down:
To rest, or not to rest?
(Yes, I rested. Long enough to take that picture looking back!!)
It really was a beautiful day for a hike with lots of birds out and lots of squirrels! The neatest for me, though, was a pair of woodpeckers. Only got a picture of the one, though.
I wish I knew what these were -- I think there must have been some type of plant or mill years ago. There were three of these and what looks like an old flume:
Getting to the last leg and down the stairs we go!
They look a lot steeper from the bottom and I was very grateful for the handrailing!
The river was simply amazing. Moreso, I think, because I know that Native Americans and settlers originally would CANOE down this river! In the springtime, that had to been nerve-wracking!!
The last bit of the hike was past a couple of picnic areas and then just when I thought I could go no farther...I was back where I started: The Signal Tree.
The river used to run much closer to the tree than it does now and Native Americans and later, settlers, would use this tree as a marker to get out of the river and portage 8 miles to Summit Lake.
It was definitely a beautiful day and while I'm on a slow start to my 2,013 miles in 2013 (2.4 miles so far) - I'm on my way. I was very over-dressed in a long-sleeved tshirt, hoodie and jeans and definitely appreciated my water bottle back in the car! I miss the days when you could drink from a stream or river and not worry about what toxins or bacteria might make you sick. I remember, as a kid, drinking out of the stream in the field across from our house all the time as well as rivulets along the hike to Harney Peak. Now? Forget it. It's a sad commentary on modern life, I think.
As for my other goals - I haven't picked up my paintbrush yet, either. I do have 1 hat of my 12 done -- It is the Michelle Hat from Kate Jackson Knits. I LOVE the pattern and the yarn -- SpaceCadet Creations Astrid purchased at Knitting On the Square and then silk ribbon accent to make it scrunchy. I look forward to making several more of these.
I'm working on a modified pattern for my next hat. The basis of the pattern is Twisted Rib Hat -- but I'm using the cable pattern from 808th Fingerless Mittens pattern (listed as Fingerless Mittens on the page) for the rib and then, after doing the math for the decreases, will use the crown shaping from the Twisted Rib Hat at the end.
Here's to more lovely days!!
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