A Very Pleasant Day at Catherine Creek 25-Apr-2013
Posted: April 25th, 2013, 7:11 pm
Every since I figured out how to cross high on Catherine Creek, a Catherine Ck TH - Coyote Wall loop has been inevitable. Galvenized by Karl & Jim's excellent TR (Catherine Ck), and guided (imperfectly) by the Green Trails Columbia River Gorge East map (#432S), which has the Coyote Wall insert, I left the Catherine Ck TH today under warm and sunny skies. I arrived early but still wasn't the first one there.
The poison oak was lush, shiny, bright, toxic, and just about everywhere on today's hike. If you leave the trail you may be in for a surprise (in 2 or 3 days).
I took the CA2 trail over to the CO7 (Labyrinth) trail, with its good view of Hood.
Along the CO7, there were a lot of flowers (heck, there were a lot of flowers EVERYWHERE!),
more views of Hood (note that every large plant in this shot is poison oak ),
the falls along the creek,
more Hood,
and finally, Coyote Wall.
I took the CO3, CO4, and CO1 trails up along the wall to intersect with the Atwood Rd Tr at about 1800'. Unforunately the map doesn't show all of the junctions along the Atwood and there are no signs after the CO1 ends, so some XC exploration ensued before I got back to the Atwood at the 1250' level. Curiously, there's a sign there - so if you do this loop counter-clockwise, it may be less confusing. A cruise along the Atwood brought me to those big, wide-open skies views that I love about this hike.
From the end of the Atwood, I took the old road up Catherine Ck, crossed it (ticks again! ) and climbed up and over Tracy Hill to the frog pond at 1500'. No more frog choruses, but there are a lot of small tadpoles in the pool.
Tracy Hill is now a giant meadow of foot high grasses that were rippling in the breeze like waves. Gave me a sense of what the Great Plains might have looked like back in the day before the plow. Little depressions in the meadow must collect flower seeds (at one point, a depression to the left of the trail had yellow flowers, while one to the right had white flowers).
The CA3 trail starts at the frog pond and descends toward the TH. I took it to the CA3, then that trail past the Arch and over the creek to the TH.
Excellent day! Loop accomplished (13 mi RT, 2700' EG)! Flowers galore! Now is the time to get out and experience the sublime wonders of Catherine Ck, Coyote Wall, and Tracy Hill. BUT, there are TICKS (some with Lyme Disease ) and A LOT OF POISON OAK - so please take proper precautions.
The poison oak was lush, shiny, bright, toxic, and just about everywhere on today's hike. If you leave the trail you may be in for a surprise (in 2 or 3 days).
I took the CA2 trail over to the CO7 (Labyrinth) trail, with its good view of Hood.
Along the CO7, there were a lot of flowers (heck, there were a lot of flowers EVERYWHERE!),
more views of Hood (note that every large plant in this shot is poison oak ),
the falls along the creek,
more Hood,
and finally, Coyote Wall.
I took the CO3, CO4, and CO1 trails up along the wall to intersect with the Atwood Rd Tr at about 1800'. Unforunately the map doesn't show all of the junctions along the Atwood and there are no signs after the CO1 ends, so some XC exploration ensued before I got back to the Atwood at the 1250' level. Curiously, there's a sign there - so if you do this loop counter-clockwise, it may be less confusing. A cruise along the Atwood brought me to those big, wide-open skies views that I love about this hike.
From the end of the Atwood, I took the old road up Catherine Ck, crossed it (ticks again! ) and climbed up and over Tracy Hill to the frog pond at 1500'. No more frog choruses, but there are a lot of small tadpoles in the pool.
Tracy Hill is now a giant meadow of foot high grasses that were rippling in the breeze like waves. Gave me a sense of what the Great Plains might have looked like back in the day before the plow. Little depressions in the meadow must collect flower seeds (at one point, a depression to the left of the trail had yellow flowers, while one to the right had white flowers).
The CA3 trail starts at the frog pond and descends toward the TH. I took it to the CA3, then that trail past the Arch and over the creek to the TH.
Excellent day! Loop accomplished (13 mi RT, 2700' EG)! Flowers galore! Now is the time to get out and experience the sublime wonders of Catherine Ck, Coyote Wall, and Tracy Hill. BUT, there are TICKS (some with Lyme Disease ) and A LOT OF POISON OAK - so please take proper precautions.