Oregon Hikers

We went to Catherine Creek today for hopes of snow and sun. We got both and very little wind and temperatures in the mid 30's at about our noon start time. The snow varied from bare patches of ground in sun visited areas or waterways (which there were many) to about 4" down low that increased to about a foot at the top of the arch. We were generally able to walk on top of the frozen crust, or on a well established foot path. The roads were clear from Vancouver to the trailhead. The parking area had about a foot high berm from the snow plows with the parking area itself unplowed. There were about 10 other cars but we saw very few people on the trail, except at the beginning where more people were milling about.

Darn, no grass widows yet. I was getting used to seeing the first ones in January. Does that mean that they will be better in March?

It's all cascade concrete out here in the eastern gorge once not in the driving lanes.

Last year the grass widows started in January and were slapped down by the mid-February ice storm. I thought that was going to be the end of them for 2021, but they came back nicely at the end of the month.

drm wrote: ↑

January 10th, 2022, 10:51 am

Darn, no grass widows yet. I was getting used to seeing the first ones in January. Does that mean that they will be better in March?

It's all cascade concrete out here in the eastern gorge once not in the driving lanes.

Expecting spring to start in January every year isn't ecologically sustainable.

Having grown up in an area where winter was the peak wildflower season (February), I don't really make that connection. In the mountains wildflowers peak in mid-summer. Where I live now they usually peak in the spring, but it's all a question of geography. Grass widows are a local flower but they are usually the first, so winter blooms are more typical than spring.