I went back to Silver Star a second time last year in order to hike the entirety of the Bluff Mountain Trail. This experience was vastly different - clear, sunny, warm - and much less photogenic (at least in terms of the photos I prefer to make).
Bluff Mountain is a lovely trail - gorgeous and unique views as you come in the "back door" of Silver Star, and very sparsely traveled. The only negatives I have to report are that the trail is overgrown in areas and that there's a very good chance you'll scratch your car up getting to the trailhead. Don't ask me how I know.
Image made with my Nikon F100.
Tags: hike hiking hikes of 2023 silver star silver star mountain nikon F100 35mm analog film washington pnw pacific northwest landscape summer mountains mountain wildflowers flowers blossom bloom bokeh avalanche lilies bluff mountain trail
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The glow of sunset that strikes the side of the Grouse Vista Trail makes for some really, really good light.
Image made with my Hasselblad 500 C/M.
Tags: hikes hiking hikes of 2023 pnw pacific northwest washington landscape silver star silver star mountain film analog hasselblad hasselblad 500 C/M medium format square golden glow sunset magic hour wildflowers wildflower grouse vista grouse vista trail bokeh false lupine golden pea
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The last batch from my Rowena Crest hike last year.
Image made with my Nikon F100.
Tags: hikes of 2023 hike hiking columbia river gorge gorge spring pnw pacific northwest oregon lupine blossom bloom balsamroot magic hour sunrise morning golden film analog floralscape landscape wildflowers flowers nikon F100 35mm flare bokeh
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Image made with my Hasselblad 500 C/M.
Tags: film analog hikes of 2023 hike hiking gorge columbia river gorge oregon pnw pacific northwest spring blossom bloom sunrise morning wildflowers hasselblad hasselblad 500 C/M medium format square landscape flowers floralscape
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It was difficult to choose a favorite image from this hike - eventually I settled on this one, though I have a few pinholes that come in a close second.
Rowena Crest will always be one of my "seasonally favorite" places of all time. While the balsamroot shout their sunny little heads off, garnering accolades from many photographers, in my heart of hearts I will always side with the bumblebees in my preference for the fragrant, lovely lupine.
Oh, and another interesting thing about this hike - it was done at sunrise on Mother's Day, and the fam joined me in Mosier for a second hike that same day - but by then it was blazing hot, and three out of five Nelsons bailed about a half mile in. As for the other two... that's a story for another post.
Not-so-inside tip... at the end of this hike, you can find a little trail that dives off the top of Tom McCall Point, down a hill and through a stand of dead and smooth-trunked trees, and then heads steeply up another hill (in a south easternly direction). The trail follows the top of that hill, skirting a fence and private property, eventually reaching an access road, and then seems to disappear. But the take home message is that you only have to head a minute or two down that trail to find a peaceful, out-of-the-wind lunch spot, away from the gaggle of people that can linger at Tom McCall Point.
Image made with my Hasselblad 500 C/M.
Tags: hikes of 2023 hike hiking gorge columbia river gorge oregon pnw pacific northwest spring blossom bloom wildflowers flowers flora floral floralscape lupine sunrise rowena crest hasselblad hasselblad 500 C/M medium format film analog morning
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