After several days of ‘Cat-in-the-Hat’ rain, a break for the solstice was just what the doctor ordered. Starting at the Ridgeline Tr Fox Hollow TH at first light with one of the Cascade Raptor Center‘s kestrels (Kirby or Parker) singing in the background, the hike went to the top of Spencer for sunrise pictures; then down to the Ridgeline junction and back up; then to the S. Willamette TH and back up; then to the N. Willamette TH and back up; then back to the car at Fox Hollow. Three TH and 4 ups.
The trail was in good condition after all the recent work and hardly muddy, though the seasonal streams were flowing after all the rain. A pileated woodpecker showed up again but only on the north-west side of the butte. This makes the third hike and fourth sighting in the last month. Today, the bird would not hold still for a picture and I was highly distracted listening to it fly from tree to tree – surprisingly loud wings.
The pictures were amazing (reminder that clicking on a pic opens 90% quality resolution – not poor quality thumbnail)
There were not too many other hikers and most were concentrated on the last leg to the top; however, when I returned to Fox Hollow TH, the parking lot was full.
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[…] hike on Ridgeline Tr and Spencer Butte this year was all about fog in valleys. Very similar to 2021, but not so 2022 – not surprisingly for OR winters, all 3 years were foggy, just the thick […]
[…] second year, Summer Solstice sunrise around Spence Butte was the start of summer. Last year’s pics were more remarkable given the unstable skies. This year, after several days of rain, the forest […]
Does anyone else comment about the pictures of the clouds looking so much like the ocean and waves? Will it get too icy to hike here?