Took my first trip up the McKenzie since retiring from EWEB. My goal? Climb Horsepasture Mountain, an old lookout site south of McKenzie Bridge. Named by early forest rangers who grazed their beasts of burden enroute to lookout sites on Ollalie Ridge, the summit provides a stunning view of the Three Sisters (above) -- originally named Faith, Hope and Charity -- as well as Mt. Jefferson and Mt Washington.We used both horses and mules to pack gear and equipment when I worked on the gypsy crew clearing trails for the U.S. Forest Service. We came to call 'em "dogs" even though, in reality, they are much smarter and certainly more conniving critters than dogs. They had names like "Bud," "Pancake," "Jimmy" and "Destiny." Occasionally, they'd all take off for the trailhead after we'd unpack 'em at camp and we'd have to chase them down.
The upper meadows of Horsepasture Mountain (elevation 5,660) are rife with mountain wildflowers, including tiger lily (left), columbine, lupine, paintbrush, purple aster, goldenrod, coneflower, cats ears, bear grass and hellebore. I love the early season in the backcountry because of the wealth of flora. Unfortunately, this time of the year coincides with bug season in the highlands. Thank God for DEET.Only saw one other party out in the hills on this day, and they were kind enough to take a picture (below). They claimed they were from Eugene, but when push came to shove, they "admitted" they were from Cheshire.
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