Mondays with Matt.... Echo Basin 6/1

[pdxgene]

Matt and I took off for the area down near Tombstone Pass today to check out the flowers in Echo Basin and the big trees on the Hackleman Old Growth Trail. Under steady rain for most of the drive both ways the time in between spent out of the car was almost completely dry. Yay!
We did make a quick stop at Niagara County Park along Highway 22 to check out the views of the North Santiam River..






Followed by another quick stop for munchies at Rosie's in Mill City and then the drive on to the Echo Basin trailhead about 5 miles past the 20/126 split. Lots of old tall Alaska yellow cedars line the lower parts of the trail..


A 'sucker hole' of blue sky as we entered the meadow area..


The flowers of the Echo Basin meadow.. Mountain bluebell..


Candyflower and bleeding heart..


A hidden trillium..


Trillium in a line..


The leaf patterns of false hellebore.. with bonus bugs on the leaf..


Elephants head lousewort..


Lots of shooting star..




Near the top of the meadow about 4,750'...


Salmonberry..


Vanilla leaf..


Paintbrush..


Larkspur..




Stonecrop..


Echo Basin Trail trailhead sign..


Hackleman Old Growth Grove Trail trailhead signage..


Wandering thru the forest..


Lotsa big trees..


Waist high skunk cabbage..


Five to six foot tall devil's club..


Thru the woods we go...


Where the trees get pretty big..


And tall..




Really tall..


From a distance..


Or up close.. they're just big..


We were very pleasantly surprised to stay dry pretty much the entire hike. A few brief spits of a rainshower was as bad as it ever got.
Slide show from a great day in the woods here... http://picasaweb.google.com/pdxgene/EchoBasin
We saw a car in the lot at Hackleman when some jerk stopped to drop off his fast food garbage in the bathroom. (some people just suck...) but aside from that not another soul on the trails.. Yay.. A quick stop at the little restaurant at Marion Forks for more goodies on the way home. I have a piece of marionberry pie topped with whipped cream calling my name so I'm done with this..

[ewbadz]

Echo Basin is a great hike, especially since it receives almost no attention. Great pictures.

[greglief]

Hello Gene,

Thank you very much for the report and beautiful photos! But I must admit that I am in a state of shock. Based upon your photos (and comparing them to my photos from many trips over the past decade), Echo Basin appears to be nearly a MONTH ahead of schedule.

Also, I love the graceful vantage point of the North Santiam in your third photo. I have been visiting that spot for years, and try to stop whenever I pass through.

Last but not least, how was the marionberry pie? Would you recommend it? (yes, I am serious )

[justpeachy]

Thanks for sharing. I love Echo Basin. I think that it doesn't get many visitors and I feel like it's a little-known gem in the Willamette National Forest.

With everything so dry and stuff blooming a whole month early, I can't help but feel a sense of dread for what August will bring.

[pdxgene]

Echo Basin is a great hike, especially since it receives almost no attention. Great pictures.

Thanx! I'm glad we got a nice dry day yesterday. The parts of the meadow without the boardwalk were a bit muddy..

[pdxgene]

Hello Gene,

Thank you very much for the report and beautiful photos! But I must admit that I am in a state of shock. Based upon your photos (and comparing them to my photos from many trips over the past decade), Echo Basin appears to be nearly a MONTH ahead of schedule.

Also, I love the graceful vantage point of the North Santiam in your third photo. I have been visiting that spot for years, and try to stop whenever I pass through.

Last but not least, how was the marionberry pie? Would you recommend it? (yes, I am serious )

Hey, thanx Greg.. The important stuff first...
The marionberry pie (with added whipped cream of course ) was really good. She said they make them all fresh there. And they had a nice looking food menu too. They do need a milkshake machine though...

I think timing on meadows is going to be really tough this year. Especially since they aren't always the most convenient places to get to. Though this one has surprisingly easy access.

[mattisnotfrench]

It was indeed an excellent day. I haven't had a chance to look at my photos but I'll post some later.

Echo Basin is awesome. I love basins below rocky headwalls and this was one of my favorites in the Central Cascades.

My marionberry scone from the Marion Forks Restaurant was excellent. I'm looking forward to going back a lot this summer, as I will be in the area a great deal.

Gene, you forgot to mention that we also stopped at Detroit Dam. That was kind of cool as I hadn't actually walked out on the dam since I was a kid.

[pdxgene]

Gene, you forgot to mention that we also stopped at Detroit Dam. That was kind of cool as I hadn't actually walked out on the dam since I was a kid.

Oh yeah, we stopped at Detroit Dam. It was raining. I got wet...

Actually there's some neat looking historical photos on the wall in what looked to be a former visitor center. But apparently they don't want visitors anymore. The doors are bolted locked and you can't go in...

The cloud patterns were pretty cool there. I think Matt got those pictures..

[-Q-]

Echo Basin... long drive for a 1.5 mile hike, but wow, it looks nice
Gotta work this in somehow

[kelkev]

Very nice! I've never been to either place, but will have to check them out.

Marion Forks Restaurant is under new management, with a MUCH better menu and the food is awesome. Big emphasis on fresh, not frozen. Salads, burgers, and much more. We stopped a couple of weeks ago and had a great lunch while watching the 25+ hummingbirds working the feeders outside along the deck.