Dave Goes Outside: Hardy Ridge round 2, Wildflower Boogaloo

I've done Hardy Ridge before, but this time I wasn't flying solo, got Keeley to come along on this one. There are a bunch of hikes that I've never done before that I would have preferred to do and that we will be doing soon, but she hadn't been up here before and this was wildflower season. It's also a little over 8 miles and 2200 feet, so it would be a great "back to business" hike after 3 weeks of less climbing and shorter mileage. Not too long, not too high, but still a workout.

This time for the sake of my own variety I took the counter-clockwise path, going up the east flank and down the west flank. This is probably the better option for out of shape people. The east path is longer and gentler, the west path features a hefty section of switchbacks near the final climb. The east path is more wooded with few views, but it's less overgrown than the west path.

It was a good day to hike. Warm but not oppressively sunny. With the hot weather we've been having it was welcome to have a high cloud overcast day. Clouds covering the sun, but high in the sky. Keeps things cooler without sacrificing the view, and gives the sky a nice textured look that pure blue days don't have.

Hardy Ridge still seems pretty much undiscovered by the masses, which is good news for me and the rest of us who know about this beautiful spot. Crowds lined up at Beacon Rock and I saw tons of people on Hamilton, but we crossed paths with maybe 4 people, all flying solo with that "I'm a local and I like it quiet" look to them. The views here still trump anything on Hamilton Mountain, even if the trail remains rather overgrown at the top due to lack of traffic. The wildflower display is still light years ahead of most gorge hikes in the area, It has the variety of Silver Star with the sheer numbers of Dog. The only thing that makes it lesser than those two is that the flower meadows aren't as big or open as SS or Dog. But it's still grand. Walking through shoulder high fields of flowers on top the ridge is still a beautiful experience. This year I was treated to a slightly better show of flowers.

The hike from the eastern side offered us a lot of time to chat about whatever, since there wasn't anything to look at, the road is wide enough to walk side by side, and the climb gentle enough to lets us not huff and puff. It's only past the end of the horse trail when it becomes a regular single track hiking path. After climbing through the final ascent the view from the junction rock spine is still out of this world. You get almost a full 360 view, only the ridge itself right behind you prevents the full expanse. The view from the actual summit (called Phlox Point, named for the flowers that grow there) is almost just as great and is a full 360, but the ridge in front of you kind of muddies it up a bit. However you can see downtown Portland and Mt. Rainier from the top, so it's still all good.