Hyatt Lake (from Little Hyatt Lake)

Hello, old friend, it's so nice to see you again! The Pacific Crest Trail (heretofore affectionally referred to as the PCT) and I have been somewhat estranged not because we had an argument or anything like that, but because the PCT has been hiding under a heavy blanket of snow. She's been cold and inaccessible, like a beautiful Russian secret agent in either a spy novel or a U.S. presidential election. But summer is coming and we've been getting the sun and heat to prove it. At the lower elevations (presumably) there just has to be little or no snow on the trail, so it was time for the PCT and I to reconcile. 

So good to be back on the PCT!

The hiking club was going to hike on Soda Mountain on Saturday, so on Friday I drove up for an extra hike in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument before it gets decommissioned by an orange President who does not hike. I figure'd I'd camp near the Soda Mountain Trailhead and meet the group there the following morn. Turned out, they canceled the trip because of snow and I'm thinking "snow, what snow?" as I baked under a warm sun like a well marinated lamb chop.

Prairie smoke

I started at Little Hyatt Lake, and headed north, simply because I'd never been on this part of the PCT. The trailhead was located in expansive Hyatt Meadows and I quickly got my meadow fix hiking uphill surrounded by several zip codes of green grass. Well, not all of the meadows were green, as large parts of the meadows were colored as pink as my cheeks (on my face!) due to dense patches of sea blush blooming in a green meadow under a deep blue sky. The rarely seen (by me, at least) and unusual prairie smoke flower was visited regularly by buzzing bees while small birds twittered in the nearby shrubbery. 

Happy happy joy joy!

At the start, it was a pretty good pull uphill away from the meadows but on the positive side, that was pretty much it for all the uphill I'd have to hike on this day. At least the slope was covered by shady forest and my heavy breathing was a secret kept between me and the trees. Once on the relatively level bench above Hyatt Lake, the trail popped in and out of forest and meadow. All this greenery under a blue sky and my heart was gladdened.

False advertising

About a mile and a half into the hike, the trail crossed the Hyatt Lake Road and there were a number of road signs directing traffic downhill to the lake. The area was heavily wooded so the lake was unseen, despite being in relatively close proximity to the PCT. There is supposed to be a PCT through-hiker camp nearby but I did not see it, just the signs pointing the way. There was also a prominently marked water stop and since my water was on the lukewarm side, I took the short side-trip to the water stop, consisting of a trough and a spigot. Unfortunately, there was more stop than water as the life-giving liquid was not yet hooked up, so lukewarm water it was.

Balsamroot was common in the meadows

What a yellow-staining collomia looks like

From Hyatt Lake, the PCT does a long contour around and well above the lake. I was hiking nearly at 6,000 feet and the meadows were abloom with the usual suspects: balsamroot, miniature onion, waterleaf, Sitka valerian, and larkspur. Because I was on my hands and knees taking pictures (real photographers don't shoot with the LED screen, boys and girls), I found a tiny flower which I later identified as a yellow-staining collomia. Not sure why it's called that but I came home no more yellower than usual.

The only view I had of Hyatt Lake

Eventually, the forest cover thinned out on a rocky meadow and I finally caught a glimpse of Hyatt Lake below the trail. In the distance was Mount Ashland, its ski runs still covered with snow. Nearer and dearer was Soda Mountain, slightly flecked with maybe one or two specks of snow (hear that, hiking club?) on it. I was at 6,000 feet and surrounded by greenery with no snow. Mount Ashland tops out at around 7,500 feet so the line of demarcation for snow had to have been somewhere around 7,000 feet.

Miniature onion

On the way back, I stepped wrong on the uneven trail tread and slightly wrenched my lower back; I was fairly sore by the time I returned to the trailhead several miles later. The decision was made to return to Roseburg instead of camping near Soda Mountain and that is why I'm not bitter about being stiffed by the hiking club. But if I would have been bitter, it wouldn't have lasted long because that would have meant I would have had my old friend the PCT all to myself for one more day.

Lichen graces a tree trunk

For more pictures of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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Little Hyatt Lake

This Friends of the Umpqua hike was sparsely attended, probably because of the cold rain and/or baking hot sun in the forecast. Or more likely, the sparse attendance was due to the fact it was led by yours truly. Whatever the reason for staying at home, the weather was simply schizophrenic, changing every 10 minutes or so. I tried to keep up, putting on and taking off rain gear with the changing climes but eventually I gave up and just left the rain gear on, guaranteeing I'd be sensibly attired at least half the time.

Henderson's fawn lily

Leaving Greensprings Summit on Highway 66, the Pacific Crest Trail ambled through intermittent meadows and forest. Regardless of the terrain, the vegetation was always lush and green. Spring was in full song and wildflowers soon kept my camera busy and me lagging at the tail end of the hiking queue, but what else is new? The meadows were soggy, making the PCT a muddy and gooey mess in places. The general consensus of PCT thru-hikers is that this particular stretch of the venerable trail is boring and uninteresting but I beg to differ. I do love my meadows and am definitely a fan of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. 

What's a hike without an obstacle or two?

After crossing gravel Hyatt Lake Road for the second time, the trail perambulated around Greensprings Summit. In several places, a few chunks of snow were still hanging around from winter but we didn't need to break out the snowshoes and crampons just yet. Once the PCT got onto the western slopes of Greensprings Mountain, the really cool stuff started to happen. The slopes were bald and green, just like me, and provided limited but still pretty awesome views of Bear Creek Valley. 

View to Bear Creek Valley

Bear Creek Valley contains the towns of Ashland, Phoenix, and Talent with the I-5 freeway linking them all together. Sounds pretty urban but the valley is mostly rural and surrounded by mountains. On this day, the mountains were all hidden by clouds but the valley was enjoying a sunny morning as were we, and the views of the valley stretching north to Medford were impressive.

Hyatt Meadows blushes with sea blush

After enjoying just under a mile of meadows and views, the PCT ducked back into the forest and once again we crossed Hyatt Lake Road. The next item on our PCT sampler was Hyatt Meadows which is actually one incredibly large meadow. I think the entire principality of San Marino could fit in Hyatt Meadows, it's so big. The sun cooperated with us as we crossed and the meadows were tinted pink with thick patches of sea blush in bloom.

Little Hyatt Lake

A series of ups and downs brought us to Keene Creek, flowing fast and clear over the Little Hyatt Lake dam. We all plopped down for rest and relaxation next to the scenic little lake but not so fast duckies! Before we could get fully relaxed, ominous dark clouds scudded over, the wind picked up, and the temperature plummeted. Quickly, we packed up and headed back the way we came and of course 5 minutes later the sun came out again, baking us in our own rain gear like so many foil-wrapped potatoes on an oven rack.

Storm's a comin', Ma!

Despite the inermittent warm sun, the weather trend was toward the rainy and when we returned to the western slopes of Greensprings Mountain, Bear Creek Valley was barely visible in the doom and gloom. A steady rain over the last two miles made sure we were all wet. And of course, just before we arrived at the trailhead, the sun came out and the meadows steamed in the afternoon light. Darn weather was more psychotic than an ex-spouse.

Mission bell

For more pictures of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

Oregon grape

Striped coralroot