Metolious River 22 May 2015

Carolyn and I hiked from the Fish Hatchery towards the gushing spring but we were on the wrong side of the river to see the spring.  The trail on that side goes up before the spring,  We followed for awhile, but it turned in to a road so after 2.5 miles total we turned around. We could not hike the other direction because there was a freshly downed tree blocking the path and the rangers advised us not to cross.  We were able to walk up close enough to see the spring and it was gushing.
Beautiful river - so many colors in the water.  The flowers on the islands may be about 2 weeks from blooming.
5 ish miles.
map

balsamroot

paintbrush

horsetail

Columbine

pond near the fish hatchery

babies!

Silver Falls State Park 21 May 2015

Carolyn and I hiked the trail on a foggy day - hoping that the 60% chance of rain prediction was wrong.  Turned out we did avoid the rain and only ran in to it on the way home. Beautiful day with lots of flowers.  7 miles
map

South Falls

Scouler's corydalis

Lower South Falls

larkspur

iris

Middle North Falls

Salmonberry

salamander

North Falls

lily

Henline Falls and Opal Creek 15 May 2015

I did not feel like battling Portland traffic for another weekend, so opted for Opal Creek - even though there was a chance of rain.  Turns out it was cloudy, foggy, and drizzly 90% of the day - but that didn't spoil the beauty of the old growth forest and crystal clear pools. Combining both hikes:  9.3 mi and 500 ft gain.
Henline Falls
Opal Creek

false solomon seal

vanilla leaf

bleeding heart

larkspur

chocolate lily

anemone

bunchberry

sawmill falls

pretty ferns

old cars at Jawbone Flats

new spring growth

foggy day

henline falls

henline falls

sawmill falls

natural slide