High Prairie is moving into shades of yellow, now that lupine and asters are winding down -- the mountain is in this photo, hiding behind trees and clouds:
The only bugs (happily) were the kind that feed on pollen, not blood..! (one of my reasons for heading east this weekend).
Here's the vision quest pit, right where I left it last year:
On this trip, I wanted to take in a bit more of the surroundings, and try to figure out why somebody had mortared these stones into more of a crows nest than traditional vision quest pit. One possibility is perspective -- there's an excellent view of Horsethief Meadows from this spot:
Another aspect I hadn't noticed last year (due to forest fire haze) is a nice pocket view of Mount Jefferson, framed between Gunsight and Badger buttes (nearly lost to haze this time, too - thus the weird photo):
I got somewhat distracted by three -- possibly four -- pikas calling out from the steep scree slope below the viewpoint, and while photographing one of them, happened upon the SAWED end of the long, white log in this photo:
Scoping around a bit, I spotted a SAWED stump, camouflaged with a rock sitting on top -- those aren't pika tooth marks, folks - these trees were cleared! Here's the sawed stump:
After more searching, I found other sawed stumps in the area -- decades old, bleached and nearly petrified.
By line of sight, this big rock outcrop to the east (below), and the upper slopes of Lookout Mountain, are in the view the sawed trees were blocking. Were the trees cleared in order to gain line-of-sight to either of these nearby landmarks?
A bit of scrambling took me up slope to the rock outcrop, and another fine view of Mount Hood from the top of this huge, rocky bluff -- the "vision quest" spot is on top of the rock in the distance, and to right, just peeking through the trees:
No sign of human activity left on this little bluff, though it makes for a VERY nice viewpoint -- if rather exposed. Tread carefully if you explore the area, as the downhill side drops about 100 feet in a sheer face.
The most notable thing about the rocky bluff is the venerable lodgepole pine sprawling over the summit. Many of its limbs have died recently, but it's quite alive and health, with a bunch of cones along the green, living, lower branches:
The old tree was surrounded by a low apron of what I believe are stunted currant - covered in berries:
A parting shot of the summit of Hood, with weird clouds creeping around the north face like a giant hand with fingers:
So this trip confirms that there's been some sort of modern use of the rock circle, perhaps as a temporary lookout or survey point. But I still have the feeling that it started as a vision quest sites, given the locale.
I'm also even more convinced that these places need to remain obscure, and off the beaten path. They're too fragile (and potentially to dangerous) for regular visitors.
Tom
