What a difference a week makes.. The meadows were bursting with colors today.. Peak would probably be the next 7-10 days max. The lower meadows are already at their best or just past.. Some of the late flowers are just starting to bloom there. Lupine is about at peak. Corn lily is turning brown.. The upper meadows are anywhere from just starting (the path that continues up past the Loop Trail junction for example) to full glory.. It's very dry and dusty up there right now. Black flies are very, very annoying. Don't forget to bring whatever you use for insect repellent. You'll at least want to have it with you.. Most of the days pics are at...
http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxgene/ParadisePark02
Here's a few that I like best.. First a sample of the trailside flowers..
And the meadows looking up at Mt Hood from a few different spots on the trail...
In the early afternoon there was a small white plane circling really close to the mountain top. I can't imagine they let a private plane get that close and I didn't hear about any searches so I'd guess it was some kind of training.. Although other thann aerial search I can't think of what a plane would be for..
And finally a look at a little spot I'd meaning to get down to but never had yet.. A nice little waterfall just tucked off the trail amongst a ton of wildflowers..
So over 2 days , i covered just under 30 miles (and drove about 240 more -- the worst part) and more or less 6,000' of elevation gain (and back down again of course). Away from the car about 16 hours or so, I saw 3 single people and 2 groups of 2 for maybe a toal of 10 minutes of those hours.. And one work crew.
As someone noted in another thread, summer is almost over already... Get out there!!! it's not like it's crowded or anything... | 
