Silver Star 7.7.17 via Ed's Trail

[weathercrazy]

This was my 13th hike up Silver Star, soI figured I would pick a lucky day to do it (7.7)

Although the clouds didn't fully depart at the summit, the hike was one of my favorite up the mountain. The wildflowers were the best I can remember and the play of the clouds was awesome to watch!

A couple notes on the road, 4109 is worse than ever. I drove my Rav 4 up there and scraped down the side with brush and scraped bottom a few times! However, if you can make it passed the first 0.7 miles, the rest is fine!

Flowers...notable lack of bear grass this year and a very notable increase in Indian paintbrush IMO.

Full gallery here:

http://www.naturespixpdx.com/Landscapes ... Star-7717/

There was no snow on the trail, just a patch near the summit. Very few bugs except right in the forested sections.

Anyway, onto pics!

Opening shot:



Flowers started right away:





The clouds were banking and moving constantly, closing and opening up different views within seconds:



Finally the sun broke through:





But the clouds were never far...



Flowers:







Flowers and fog...it was amazing!



Getting above the clouds, so I thought:



These clouds (no not contrails) were dancing in the wind, it was so awesome to watch!



A ghostly image of the summit of Silver Star through the mist...



Sturgeon Rock came out for about 30 seconds:



Mt. Rainier, St. Helens and Adams all became visible for just seconds at a time, one time all at once...

Rainier



In this photo, they are all barely visible:



Not sure what these pink flowers are, but they were in abundance, don't remember seeing them before.



Bear grass!



Lots of tiger lilies too!

https://photos.smugmug.com/Landscapes/S ... 3787-L.jpg

All in all, a very memorable trip up Silver Star!

[Webfoot]

That looks amazing. I almost went there yesterday but I decided to try something new. I wouldn't have had the dramatic fog and clouds however if I had.

[justpeachy]

Beautiful photos!

We went up there on Sunday and I was blown away by the wildflowers. I've now done this hike seven times and I think the abundance of flowers this year seemed to be higher than normal. It was pretty spectacular.

We took our brand new Outback on Road 4109 on Sunday and decided that's the last time we're doing that road. It's just gotten way too bad. There's that one ditch that's long and pretty deep (we call it the "Ditch of Doom"). I got a video on the way down:

https://twitter.com/justpeachy/status/8 ... 3103185921


Scratched up the passenger side paint:

[Chip Down]

Love cloudy days like that. I don't understand why people want a clear blue dome.

Been up there many times, but I've never seen a flower. As much as I love that area, it must be even better when it's in bloom.

Cheryl, so sorry about the Outback! The first new car I bought was an Outback, and I was distraught when it got its first dent. Older and wiser now, I realize such things are inevitable, and it is "just a car" after all. Hope you're not too upset about it.

[Webfoot]

"Ditch of Doom" looks like fun, the pin-striping not so much!

I think I'll take that road and bring along a pair of loppers. How many places are brushy? How much work will it be to cut back anything scratchy?

[weathercrazy]

Here's a short video I made from that day. Excuse the dirty lens! Best watched in HD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xp9OKF3CM0

There is a lot of brush that would need cut back, but mainly where the road forces you off of it

[justpeachy]

I think I'll take that road and bring along a pair of loppers. How many places are brushy? How much work will it be to cut back anything scratchy?

Actually, there aren't many places where the road is overgrown. It's just that some of the ditches and potholes force you to hug one side of the road or the other and therefore get cozy with the brush there. There may be plenty of road space on the other side of your car, but that bit of road may have a huge trench you're trying to avoid.

Really the biggest problem is the roadbed. I'm not a road engineer, but it needs re-grading or re-graveling or something. There is one section where OHVs have "cut the switchback" so to speak and blazed a very rutted path straight up the hill. It's a mess. At the top of it the ruts are really cutting into the main roadbed. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a washout or landslide here one of these winters.

[adamschneider]

Not sure what these pink flowers are, but they were in abundance, don't remember seeing them before.

Western sweet-vetch.

[Arturo]

Looks like Silver Star was the place to be this weekend.
I passed Just Peachy on my way down .... she was probably like "who is this guy"?
This was my 2nd trip but the first one was a fog-fest. Lots of huckleberries though.
This time it was incredible.
So much so I'm going back this weekend and looping up to Sturgeon Rock.

[weathercrazy]

Thank you!!!

Not sure what these pink flowers are, but they were in abundance, don't remember seeing them before.

Western sweet-vetch.