Table Rock has been on my list for a while and Sunday was the perfect day to make the trip down there. Its a mostly shady, moderate hike with sunny floral interludes: paintbrush, several penstemons, bugbane, columbines, alpine mariposas, bunchberries, tall bluebells, thimbleberry, arnica, goat's beard, beargrass, rhododendron and more to come. The towering basalt wall is magnificent, and the only gnarly part of the trail runs through the rockslide beneath it. (It appears that the BLM is discouraging use of the continuing trail to Rooster Rock.) The payoff at the top is huge on a clear day. Every peak from Mt. Rainier to the South Sister and beyond is visible in an unbroken panorama. Get there early for a space in the small parking area and the better light.
FYI: Right now, there are no facilities there. A new outhouse and its tanks are waiting to be installed.
Table Rock Sunday July 9
Table Rock Sunday July 9
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- The trail starts out on an old road that is easy walking and mostly shady.
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- The swallowtail butterflies wouldn't pose but they were everywhere. They like penstemon.
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- The trail starts up here.
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- First look at the rock.
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- Hood, only one sliver of the vast view.
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