Ridgeline Solstice 25

Hiking Ridgeline Trail and Spencer Butte has become a Winter Solstice tradition over the last 3-4 years. This year, however, was the worst weather. Rained for the first 2 hours and then just foggy and misty with just very little sunlight reaching through clouds at times. Gortex top-to-bottom and an umbrella …

Once the rain stopped, the forest’s greens just seem to vibrate every time just a little when sunlight made it through. The number of different greens, nearly infinite…

Ferns seem able to grow out of anything that holds a bit of soil and water … every tree is a fern nursery.

Fungi are seldom far from the trails in Willamette Valley regardless of season or weather. How many greens can you count around the fungus?

Hiking in this type of OR weather usually one can find some of the most wonderful cloud landscape paintings. The earliest painting (morning) has 3 distinct layers: clouds above, fog rising over the hills, and fog socked in the valleys – magical.

The Route

Left Spring Blvd TH around 6:45 with umbrella and headlamp on. Went directly to Spencer summit and then down to N. Willamette TH and back to Spencer summit. Down to S. Willamette TH and back to summit and then back to car. From a Ridgeline trail perspective, the full trail except Willamette to Blanton – too many houses, roads and leaf blowers in that section.

I thought trail conditions were perfect – just enough mud to make all the dogs really dirty and the trail soft, but shoes not too dirty at the end. The recent wind storms had made small messes on the trail, but the crew had it cleaned up nicely.

Human traffic on the main Spencer summit trail was the heaviest I’ve seen since the last solstice or equinox. Again my favorite dog was on the trail but she looked less happy today in the rain and mud.

The downside, no animals larger than squirrel and the birds were very, very quiet.

Data Geek Cellar

• Shoes: Altra LP 5 WP Boots (near end of life)
• Pack: Gossamer Gear Grit (New Pack)
• Upper Layers: mid-weight Calpine and SkyGOAT waffle fleece
• Upper shell: Patagonia Torrentshell
• Trekking Poles: Gossamer Gear
• Approximate Times: 6:45 – 13:00
• Carbon ratio: 5.75 hours (1.5 hours driving: 5.75 hours hiking); YTD = 195 hours banked
• Miles hiked YTD: 1183
• Notes:
  • Photos: medium
  • Speed: moderate
  • Difficulty: moderate – elevation gain
  • Weather: rain and 40s