04-27-25
On
Saturday Gary and I headed north for a 12 mile hike to Pine &
Cedar Lakes. Sunday Kim joined for an easier hike on Cougar Mountain. I
saw a good flower display on Cougar earlier and I expected most would
still be in bloom. We arrived at Red Town at 8:35 am. The lot was a bit
more than half full. We headed out on the Wildside Trail. The bleeding
hearts started almost immediately. We crossed Coal Creek and then the
road by the Ford Slope. The Wildside Trail has ups and downs on the way
to the Meadow. We started seeing blooming trillium. Some were near peak
and others were already pink. We saw them on much of our hike. Most all
the leaves are now on the trees. The trail is surrounded by all shades
of green. We took the short detour across the creek to the ballpark
meadow. It was reclaimed from the brush some years ago and replanted
with native plants. One of which is the fawn lily. I know of one place
on Squak Mountain where I can see a few of them in season. Cougar is
the only other place I have seen them. We spent some time photographing
them.
After that we headed off on the Indian Trail. At the base of the Quarry Trail there was a big group. More of them were still coming down the trail. We headed up the trail. The flower display on this trail included more bleeding hearts, trillium, and some salmonberry flowers. We decided not to drop to Coal Creek Falls and continued up the Quarry Trail. At the top we turned left on Fred's Railroad. Kim was feeling good so at the East Fork Trail we headed uphill again. We started to see blooming skunk cabbage along here. Not many but a few. Jerry's Duck Pond was covered with green growth of some kind. The trail rose up a bit then descended to the grated airshaft for an old mine. Just beyond that, we reached the Clay Pit Road. We walked up to the Clay Pit and found a couple on the bench. A few minutes later they left and we sat down. We had a good view of Tiger Mountain but not much else. The bright sunshine of Saturday gave way to an overcast Sunday.
After a food and water break it was time to head on. The trail to Anti-Aircraft Peak goes down to Tibbetts Creek then climbs up to AA Peak. We saw more wildflowers on this segment including a nice display of trillium. We arrived at the top of AA Peak and sat at a picnic table outside instead of inside the picnic shelters. We almost had a little sunshine but it did not last long. I was comfortable with a windshirt on. It as not the mid 60s of the previous days. I was starting to get a little cold when we packed up to leave. We headed up to the top of AA Peak and then down the Lost Beagle Trail to the Klondike Swamp Trail. We did see some mushrooms and some spring beauty in bloom. At the bottom of the LBT we headed left on the Klondike Swamp Trail. Our next landmark was the Clay Pit Road. We crossed and took the Bypass Trail to the Cave Hole Road/Trail. There were some small groups out hiking but we did not see a lot of folks on our route. At the Nike Horse Trail we turned right and headed to the big meadow.
A trailer for some heavy equipment was in the big meadow. We used it for a bench. It was time for our last break. If it was warmer it might have been a long break. It was not. We were soon on our way again. At the Sky Country Trailhead we turned left and downhill. We had just one mile downhill back to Red Town. The wildflower display continued on the last leg. We reached the car at 3:03 pm. We spent almost 6.5 hours hiking 8 mile with 1200' of gain. There were many flower photos stops and breaks along the way. After a harder hike the day before, this pretty easy hike felt good. It is now time to start heading east of the Cascade Mountains to see the spring desert wildflowers. I have very much enjoyed the wildflowers on the west side the past month.
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After that we headed off on the Indian Trail. At the base of the Quarry Trail there was a big group. More of them were still coming down the trail. We headed up the trail. The flower display on this trail included more bleeding hearts, trillium, and some salmonberry flowers. We decided not to drop to Coal Creek Falls and continued up the Quarry Trail. At the top we turned left on Fred's Railroad. Kim was feeling good so at the East Fork Trail we headed uphill again. We started to see blooming skunk cabbage along here. Not many but a few. Jerry's Duck Pond was covered with green growth of some kind. The trail rose up a bit then descended to the grated airshaft for an old mine. Just beyond that, we reached the Clay Pit Road. We walked up to the Clay Pit and found a couple on the bench. A few minutes later they left and we sat down. We had a good view of Tiger Mountain but not much else. The bright sunshine of Saturday gave way to an overcast Sunday.
After a food and water break it was time to head on. The trail to Anti-Aircraft Peak goes down to Tibbetts Creek then climbs up to AA Peak. We saw more wildflowers on this segment including a nice display of trillium. We arrived at the top of AA Peak and sat at a picnic table outside instead of inside the picnic shelters. We almost had a little sunshine but it did not last long. I was comfortable with a windshirt on. It as not the mid 60s of the previous days. I was starting to get a little cold when we packed up to leave. We headed up to the top of AA Peak and then down the Lost Beagle Trail to the Klondike Swamp Trail. We did see some mushrooms and some spring beauty in bloom. At the bottom of the LBT we headed left on the Klondike Swamp Trail. Our next landmark was the Clay Pit Road. We crossed and took the Bypass Trail to the Cave Hole Road/Trail. There were some small groups out hiking but we did not see a lot of folks on our route. At the Nike Horse Trail we turned right and headed to the big meadow.
A trailer for some heavy equipment was in the big meadow. We used it for a bench. It was time for our last break. If it was warmer it might have been a long break. It was not. We were soon on our way again. At the Sky Country Trailhead we turned left and downhill. We had just one mile downhill back to Red Town. The wildflower display continued on the last leg. We reached the car at 3:03 pm. We spent almost 6.5 hours hiking 8 mile with 1200' of gain. There were many flower photos stops and breaks along the way. After a harder hike the day before, this pretty easy hike felt good. It is now time to start heading east of the Cascade Mountains to see the spring desert wildflowers. I have very much enjoyed the wildflowers on the west side the past month.
 First Bleeding Hearts |
 Tree Of Ferns |
 Coal Creek |
 Pink Trillium |
 Very Green Trail |
 Fawn Lily |
 Many Fawn Lilies |
 Wood Sorrel Flower |
 Bleeding Heart Overload |
 Kim On Quarry Trail |
 Salmonberry Flower |
 White Trillium |
 Red Trillium |
 Close Up Bleeding Hearts |
 False Lily Of The Valley |
 Yellow Violets |
 Kim & Mossy Arch |
 Horsetail |
 Kim On The Trail |
 Tibbetts Creek Bridge |
 Yet More Bleeding Hearts |
 Forget-Me_Nots |
 Spring Beauty |
 Mushrooms |
 Klondike Swamp Trail |
 Last Bleeding Hearts |
 Military Road |
 Violets |
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