Last weekend KP and I did the Indian Mary Peak hike above the Rogue River, just west of the town of Merlin. We paid the $2 day use fee at the
Indian Mary park and crossed the street to the trailhead. The sign at the trailhead said it was supposed to only be a mile one way to the summit (1200 feet climb) and I just can’t believe that. It might have been the two winery tours and two nights of limited sleep beforehand, but that hike up seemed really long.
Luckily it was one of the most primordial, awe inspiring hikes I’ve ever taken. The mandrone trees were thicker and more numerous than I’d ever seen before. I replaced my trusty hiking stick (broken trying to scare imaginary bears) with a nice straight mandrone stick and used it to hoist myself up the hill. The sparser, deciduous dominated forest looked different from anything I’d ever seen on the Coast Range so far.
I took pictures of amazing flowers I haven’t been able to identify. I think this one is a glacier lilly. No idea what the other was.
A large group of owls was making noise, like a thrumming, near the top of the peak. It was really cool. Sadly, that was the coolest thing about the top of Indian Mary Peak. There is no view. I repeat. No view. What you see below is at the halfway point in the trail.
3 comments:
The blue flower grows here too, I can't find it in the field guides. I think it may be some sort of herb or flower the pioneers brought. Maybe some sort of variety of comfrey?
Hi, my local Native Plant Society people id'd this as "Hound's Tongue", (the blue flower). I googled it and the pix don't match in the flower. I do think it is in the Borage family though(which Hound's Tongue is). Or maybe related to forget-me-not. Maybe it's called a Forget-Me-Never-Or-You'll-Really-Regret-It, since it's so big.
Hi, I appreciated your comments about the hike and natural area around. I also like your blog. Can you tell me more about the area and the campsite and Indian Mary. I'm considering a family camping trip in early June and not camped in this area before.
Post a Comment