My hiking buddy & I went out today despite cloudy skies and threats of thunderstorms in the east Columbia River Gorge. We simply hiked closer in at Cape Horn, about 24 miles east of Vancouver, Washington. We did an out & back vs. normal loop due to a portion of the trail that was closed. (Which we didn’t figure on until we got to a trail-side notice about 2.5 miles in, having missed the clearly stated information on the trail head sign board. Note to self: read all signs.)

But all was not lost. In fact it was a glorious day. We saw a small flock of western tangers early in the morning and the nesting peregrine falcons (from above their closed nesting area) chasing off crows & turkey vultures. We saw two small garter snakes (one of which I caught to take a closer look, and set down shortly after, my hands stinky with their chemical warfare). We saw tons of wildflowers in great abundance: bleeding heart, fairy bells, fringecup, larkspur, chocolate lily, wood violets and more! We also saw, for my first time having hiked here for 17 years, the gorgeous camas lily. Here are a few photos. (Click through for larger pictures, if you would like to see greater detail.)