A hiker's path: Spying an osprey on Oregon's Pacific Crest Trail
Last week in my column, I wrote about the beginning of my recent hike in Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail.This week I will take up where I left off. Still on the trail in the mountains.
The Cascade Mountains, are a major mountain range in western North America extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon, to northern California. The Cascades include both non-volcanic mountains and notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades.
The northern half of the Pacific Crest Trail follows the range. So, we were pretty much walking in the mountains. After the rain we endured the first day on the trail, the next morning was full of early morning sunshine. A mist hung heavily in the air all over the forest. The tall Douglas fir trees, covered in moss, with the mist all around the branches, gave a ethereal feel to the landscape.
We broke camp after a quick meal of oatmeal and coffee and took off.
Our journey that morning consisted of hiking up and down small hills that traversed beautiful pine forests. Along the way, we passed by several alpine meadows that displayed a variety of colorful wild flowers. We also were afforded gorgeous mountain views as we hiked the mountain trail, backpacks on our backs.
We soon came to an area with signage called “Pilot Rock.” This was a habitat for peregrine falcons. These birds of prey had just come off the endangered list in Oregon. These falcons mate for life and tend to use the same nesting area each year. We did not see any of these elusive birds, but it made for good discussion along the trail.
Our day continued pretty much the same way. We hiked, stopped in a meadow to eat a small lunch, and filtered water from creeks and streams when needed.
Our goal was to make it to Hyatt Lake Resort, a small resort with a restaurant and store, plus a few small cabins on a beautiful lake. It is 1.5 miles off the PCT, but is a favorite stop for hikers on the trail. We eventually reached our destination at dinner time.
We decided to get a cabin for the night. We had run into some hiker friends who were staying as well. It was a joyful dinner that night of trading tales with other hikers while eating cheeseburgers and fries, (standard hiker fare).
We all got a good night's sleep and more importantly, showers!
We were well over 20 miles into the trail since our starting point. The next morning, we were back out trudging north once again.
I had read that ospreys nested in the area. How fortunate we were to look up and see an osprey nest, high up on the top of an old tree. There were babies in the nest and both parents were flying around. Our presence set off an alarm and a chorus of chirping began. We tried our best to hurry through, but not before we snapped a few photos!
Ospreys make their homes and build their nests near lakes and rivers. They are migratory birds and like other falcons, usually return to the same nesting area each year. Their diets consist mostly of fish and they can sometimes be seen diving into the water to catch their prey.
It was the highlight of our morning, seeing the ospreys, and is something I will remember for a long time.
It was a beautiful hike through the forest. We went over a lot of “blowdowns,” trees that had fallen over on the trails from previous winter storms. It slowed our progress having to walk around or climb over them. The blowdowns would become part of our daily routine for the rest of our journey. The forest service sends out volunteer crews every summer to clear the trail, but it is a time consuming process.
We were sure ready for sleep each night when we set up camp.
We would soon be entering some different types of terrain: a beautiful national forest, lava beds, and more gorgeous mountain views. But that’s a story for next time.
To be continued!
A quote for your week: ”It was like hiking into a Hemingway story; everything was sepia toned and bristling with subtext.” — Leslie What, writer
Until the next trail,Susan
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: A hiker's path: Spying an osprey on Oregon's Pacific Crest Trail
