Saddle Mountain

Bella and I drove west yesterday morning to hike Saddle Mountain. The drive is about an hour and and a half from our house beginning with prairie lands and ending with rich lush forest. Beautiful. It is hard to find an unappealing area in Oregon to drive once you get past the urban areas. Even then, we have a such beautiful city. Anyhow, so we loaded up Summer with the essential hiking gear; water, food, and camera and turned on the Retro 80's Country music and put the pedal to the metal. Once we arrived, the hike is a 5.5 mile loop, with a gain in elevation of 1603 feet where you peak at 3283 feet. The climate varies along the way, at first brisk and damp, rich in vegetation, and then once you near the top it is dry, open, and hot (because you elevate above the clouds). It was a quiet day on the trail, which was great, and when we got to the top, Bella and I were the only ones; it was completely silent, with the exception of the few birds and some pesky flies.

This is after the first mile before you fully make your way out of the forest:



Rocky area towards the top:



Trail near the dry and open part of the trail:



A little life amongst the rocks:



At the top, nothing but clouds: