Stacker Butte, Columbia Hills, WA 5 May 2013

I undertook this hike along a service road early on a Sunday morning.  It is quite a distance from home, about 2.5 hours, directly across from The Dalles.  The hike would be unremarkable at any time of year but now.  Now the lupine and balsamroot are blooming and yellow dotted with purple and red Indian Paintbrush dot the many hills.  The hike is about 2.5 miles to the top of the Butte where the view is of satellite dish towers and Mt Adams, Mt Rainier, the Tatoosh Range to the north, and Mt Hood and Mt Jefferson to the south.  The day was clear, warm, and breezy.  I had the hills to myself until I journeyed down...then I ran into the hordes!

Looking back the road I just drove up

the Columbia Hills covered in Balsamroot

and lupine

and paintbrush

view of Mt Hood

at the top of Stacker Butte, view of Mt Adams and Mt Rainier, Tatoosh range

on my way out