Wildcat Mountain Dayhike, 10-27-2010

Here are a few photos from a recent trip up Wildcat Mountain, east of Portland.  I had hoped to have some fine light, but partly cloudy turned to completely cloudy by the end of the afternoon.  By the end, I was soaking wet from snow melting on me, and freezing in a stiff wind.  

The hike starts in an old gravel pit.  In the absence of any clear management from the Forest Service, the seedier side of Oregon has claimed the pit as a playground.  People shoot guns, light firecrackers, drink copious amounts of alcohol (if the litter is to be believed), and drive high clearance vehicles anywhere they think is possible.  It's a mess.  

As far as the shooting is concerned, if the Forest Service would recognize the need for a place to shoot guns, they could maybe designate a specific area, put up some trash cans, have the NRA adopt it and keep it clean. . .  it would be safer and the damage would be contained.  As it is, there are numerous roads and gravel pits in the region that look as shot up as a village in a warzone.   

Here shooters have destroyed a trailhead sign.  I'm not sure, but I bet that the people who do this are not necessarily big fans of federal taxation.  And it gets my goat when I think about the cost to the taxpayer when hooligans destroy property we all paid for!

 Beyond the trailhead disaster, the hike turns into a cruise along a ridge for a little bit.

Not too far in, the dusting of snow at the trailhead turned into several inches along the trail.

I thought my brother Doug might like the name of this trail:

Snow!

A rhododendron thicket along the short spur up to the top of Wildcat Mtn.

Along Wildcat Ridge there's a very fine view of Mt Hood in all its glory.

Looking at this post, I think the post is about as underwhelming as the hike was!  Oh well, they can't all be great I guess!