Today's post will feature the beauty of Oregon's forests and mountains. This image is the trail to Lookout Creek in an old growth forest that is protected from logging. The forest canopy is so thick that it diminishes the light for sharp photography. Still, the verdant mosses and lichen create a luminescence on the forest floor.
Lookout Creek splashes its way through an old growth forest. This bridge is part of a six-mile looping trail that is rather primitive. The next time I crossed the creek, farther along the trail, I had to scoot across the chasm on a log on my bottom! (Note the huge log on which I'm standing that is used for the bridge!)
In the background are the "Three Sisters," all above 10,000 feet in elevation. The ridge I'm on is part of the "Old Cascades," which are 30 million years old. They were as high as the Sisters, but the erosion of time has worn them into foothills. Millions of years ago, they were where the Sisters are now; notice how far the tectonic plate has moved west!
In the background is Mt. Washington, 7,794 feet in elevation. Accompanied by our younger son, I climbed to the part where the peak becomes dramatically steeper. Without ropes and pitons with us for climbing protection, I decided not to ascend the remaining height. The more vertical section has claimed the lives of hapless climbers.
After a day of trekking, on the way home I decided to climb Castle Rock, 3,308 feet in elevation. A fire lookout, long abandoned, used to occupy this promontory. The peak is southwest of McKenzie Bridge, Oregon and looks down on a portion of the Tokatee golf course, rated one of the most beautiful in the state.