Flowers, Deer, & Kestrels at Pisgah

Yesterday’s hike decision rubric came down to a) where will it rain least; b) where can miles with options be hiked, and c) where will wildlife, trees and / or wildflowers be? … Rain crossed off the cascade foothills and with threatened snow above 3500 ft – *pipe-dream*? With no intention of driving far to hike in rain, I landed at Mt Pisgah again … wildflowers and wildlife tipped the scales a 10 minute drive away.

Within the first hour, 7 deer showed up – a group of 3 and then 2 pair, all were females … 1 was so close to trail and didn’t move at first – it probably could have kicked me; then, it just walked away.

Early in the day the weather was best with some breaks in the clouds but within 2 hours, fog and clouds moved in to stay.

I ended up going to a new section between the river and Meadow Road. In those meadows, 3 kestrels were out hunting – 1 heard and 2 others seen – a perfect kestrel nursery. But for this trip, wildflowers stole the show – everything from ground flowers to flowering trees.

A slide show of flowers … the white camas is very unique – an albino variant – the only 1 seen.

Pisgah often amazes me with its wildlife. Birds were out on every part of the trails. Beyond kestrels, there were turkeys, vultures, pileated woodpeckers, and from the parking lot first thing, this list:

New coyote poo since Sunday was limited, and definitely from a smaller coyote than earlier. No sightings either. Cotton-tail rabbits were plentiful though. If the park killed the male coyote, and the female has pups, who is hunting?

The Route

Started at North TH around 6:45 and took Tr 3 around the hill and went up to summit at the first trail (way past #1). From there, it was up / down and around the hill and on the way back a trip to the Meadow Road area along the river. I tried to stay in the meadows and away from humans.

Trail conditions were perfect. No mud really, trails not too hard … goldilocks like. Human traffic was light except on Summit Trail, and most dogs were leashed, yahoo!

Gear Box

Still working on the insoles and pads … Boots, Currex Insoles and T-Form pads … feet were tired and a bit sore, but improvements noted.

Data Geek Cellar

• Shoes: Altra Lone Peak WP Boots – Currex Insole, T-Form insole pad
• Pack: Gossamer Gear GRIT (Full foothills day hike kit +umbrella)
• Upper Layers: Lightweight baselayer, SkyGOAT fleece
• Upper shell: none
• Trekking Poles: Gossamer Gear
• Approximate Times: 06:45 – 13:45
• Carbon ratio: 5.5 hours (1.5 hours driving: 7 hours hiking); YTD = 56.5 hours banked
• Miles hiked YTD: 279
• Notes:
  • Photos: high
  • Speed: moderate
  • Difficulty: moderate
  • Weather: 40-50 – grey, rain 1x (umbrella used for 5 min)