The Trail is Quieter Today.

 It is a heavy, somber day in my corner of the woods. My tail is low as I share some heartbreaking news with you all.

A few days ago, my dear hiking companion Sequoia suffered a neurological event. Despite his strength, it was a mountain he could not climb back from. The vet gently let us know it was time for his soul to find a new path.

Sequoia was the ultimate master of the trail. While I was carried in the backpack, he was always there—nose to the earth, cataloging every scent the wind carried.

 He knew the best spots for a long drink of icy creek water and never, ever missed the crinkle of a wrapper that signaled a shared snack of cheese.

The forest feels different now. The rhythm of his paws alongside mine is a melody I will miss every time I step onto the dirt.

Onward my friend. May your new trails be endless, the creeks always cold, and the cheese always plentiful.

LF

Two mice and a mountain

 Hiya Gang,
Cocoa and Navy here.  Little Fox is "resting" today after a long night of partying.  Us mice decided to go hiking ourselves.  A pretty amazing fall day on Mt. Hood. 

Water is flowing nicely in the waterfalls. 

Appreciate the sustainability feature of this sign, reusing the other side makes so much sense. 

Take it from here Navy.  
Ok Cocoa, found another waterfall along the trail.  Later on in the hike but maybe the same river?  Hopefully we can find a view of the mountain and a nice picnic spot. 

When the mention of food is involved Sequoia gets pretty serious about the hike. 

Great job team, found a nice spot with a view of the mountain. Some grass, a little sun and the roommates brought along cheese for us mice. 

It was hard to miss the mountain today - even from the ski lift areas it was out and in full show.

Finally, something to post about!

Navy and Cocoa here, and today Little Fox took us back out to the gorge and we went to Tracy Hill.  LF took us  there a while back when the flowers were blooming and the grass was greener. Navy found Mt. Hood but barely see it.

Sequoia wanted to be in this picture with Navy.

Navy found the old Corral.  Little fox says it's one of his favorite spots.

Little fox and Cocoa are hanging out in the backpack…Navy is the more adventurous stuffy today.

Eventually after lunch Cocoa decided to come out and switch spots with Navy.  After the hike, none of the animals could be found as it was snack time and they each got their own cookie to munch on.

Wildflowers Galore

 Hiya Gang,
Little Fox here with my pals Navy and Cocoa Beanie.  After our day of adventuring around the gorge we decided to finish our mini-get-away with another hike. It's prime wildflower season so this longer hike should be a shoe-in for many-a-flowers.

Navy looks good with Mt. Hood and Horsethief Butte in the background.  

Navy found some Balsamroot and a few early Lupine. Navy also found Mt. Hood in the background. 

This hike is on an old ranch and besides being a state park its also a right of way for high voltage power lines.  At times you can hear the buzzing of the lines but it doesn't distract us from the views or flowers. 

Navy and Cocoa switched spots and Cocoa did just as good of job as Navy finding flowers. 

It's hard to take a bad picture up here. 

Being that it was prime wildflower season in the Gorge it was busy but there were a few pockets of solitude while hiking.

Even Sequoia got in on the pictures. 

So the next question is easy:  Where to next gang? 

A spring hike!

 Hiya Gang.

Cocoa here doing the solo blog (LF and Navy are "resting" after a long night of partying) so it was the roommate, Sequoia and I.  We decided to head out to the gorge and waht a good idea itw as.

A few early wildflowers were out.  Desert parsley.

Just a little balsamroot....more to come for sure.

And this one.  Anyone know what type of flower it is? 

If you guessed grasswidow I think your right.   

The rock formations in this area are pretty cool.

Lot's of Oregon White Oak.  A beary important tree for animals and birds as a.  Interestingly there is a ton of it here (in Washington).   

The Oregon White Oak is super important habitat for the Western Gray Squirrel (endangered in Washington) and sensitive in Oregon.

According to Sequoia, Wild Turkeys used to roam this are (haven't seen any today) but the White Oak is important for the turkeys habitat as well.  Time to head back down the hill (before the rain picks up).

Clouds are coming in, Jerry and Ben do you see the train in the background?

Exploring the wildflowers

Hiya Gang,

Little Fox, Navy and Cocoa here getting ready for a nice Spring hike.  We are in the gorge and hoping to find some wildflowers.  Let's go!!

 

Our location is an old ranch.  Back in the day this was a cattle operation and this corral is one of the last remaining structures. 

A seasonal creek runs through this ranch.  

 
Lot's of old oak trees here.

Sequoia and Cocoa have become good friends.

The mountain (Mt. Hood) is out today. Cocoa is definitely curious about exploring the mountain soon.  

Navy found a few wildflowers.  Yeah Navy!

My guests definity need sustenance.  What do you feed mice?  Easy, cheese.  One cheese stick for each. 

Time to get one more picture in before we head back down.  Where are we off to next? 

Finally a hike with the mice

 The mice have started to wonder if all of my hiking posts have been generated by AI.  Nope, today I'm taking Navy and Cocoa off to Forest Park. 

Water, check.

Cheese, check.

10 essentials, check. 
This crew is ready to go. 

Sequoia is patiently waiting for the roommates to get going.  This trail isn't going to hike itself.

This trail looks great.

It had recently rained and the streams were flowing like crazy.

Little Fox needed to get some archeology credits so he wanted to explore this old foundation.  No-one seems to know what was there.  Was  it an old house?  Park Maintenance  building?  Abandoned ice cream shop?

Little Fox wanted to get a closer look at something, maybe an old well?

Onward....more exploring....oh yes this is the stream Cocoa fell into twice.   

As with any hike it's always good to know where you are.  Thankfully the trails are well posted. 

Time to get home for lunch, maybe the humans will cook up some salmon burgers for us hungry hikers.