Serendipity Ridge aka the hike we hiked instead of Silver Star Mountain 12 July 2013

We had planned to hike Silver Star Mountain.  We had a long drive ahead of us and we left early.  No real problems until we made the fatal error at the spot where road 1100 turned into 4109.  I failed to look behind me for the sharp right turn as the directions said to turn right and seeing the fork in the road and the 4109 sign I veered right.  Then we started making facts fit the circumstances instead of turning around when we did not reach the trail head in exactly 2.5 miles.  We went off in a different direction, ended up on the rutted road for a good 6 miles more and wound up at a parking lot that looked pretty close to what had been described to Jean.  We set out on one road not paying attention that the guide book said "flat trail straight ahead" and hiked 2 miles before turning around.  We headed out the only other option seeing that it did go in the exact direction we wanted to go, south, but was not a trail and was not flat.  Tried to call Jean's daughter and from her message, we decided we had messed up somewhere on the way in.  But we enjoyed the scenery and it was beautiful, though Hood would not give it up so we could have a view.  On the way back we saw the problem easily, from that direction (the way the book said to go, not the way the updated website directions said to go) it was plain that the turn was steeply uphill and unseen from the other direction unless you were looking for it!  Oh well!  We made it home okay and no flat tires so far.  :-)

(I figured out where we were:  McKinnley Ridge due east of Silver Star Mtn).  We probably hiked about 6 mi all told, along the ridge line.)

Bear grass was mostly finishing up the bloom

Lots of paintbrush

Mt Adams is in the distance

Tiger Lily

our lunch spot