Weather: Temperature - high 30s to low 40s. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy with moderate winds. Some occasional snow snifters were mixed in, but these were very brief! Generally, we were lucky and could see north to the snow-covered Simcoe Mts and even see much of the east face of Mt. Adams at times.
A Friends of the Columbia Gorge Hike
* Bottlebrush Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides
Idaho Fescue: Festuca idahoensis
* Bulbous Blue Grass: Poa bulbosa
* Sandberg's Blue Grass: Poa secunda var. secunda
Tapertip Onion: Allium accuminatum - In bud in spots high on the ridge.
* Pale-anthered Glacier Lily: Erythronium grandiflorum var. pallidum - Just beginning to bloom under the oak trees just below the north side of the summit ridge.
* Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica - Good bloom yet on the upper, north-facing slopes of the ridge. Fading to orange color or totally out of bloom on lower slopes. I haven't seen many seed pods, so this may be a poor year for seed set for this species.
Bicolored Cluster Lily: Triteleia grandiflora ssp. howellii - In bud.
Heart-leaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum
Scabland Wild Buckwheat: Eriogonum sphaerocephalum var. sublineare
Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum
Strict Buckwheat: Eriogonum strictum var. proliferum
* Lance-leaf Springbeauty: Claytonia lanceolata
* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata (formerly Montia perfoliata)
Bitterroot: Lewisia rediviva - No sign of flower buds at this time.
Pale Montia: Claytonia exigua
Franklin's Sandwort: Arenaria franklinii var. franklinii - No blooms yet.
* Upland Larkspur: Delphinium nuttallianum - Just beginning to bloom at lower elevations.
* The Dalles Mt. Buttercup: Ranunculus triternatus - A few still in bloom at the highest elevations and on the north-facing slopes.
* Sickle-pod Rock Cress: Boechera atrorubens - Beginning to bloom above the lowest microwave station.
* Oaks Toothwort: Cardamine nuttallii - Beginning to bloom under the oak trees.
* Douglas' Draba: Cusickiella doulgasii - Still in fairly good bloom.
* Spring Whitlow-grass: Draba verna - Only in bloom at the upper elevations.
Scale Pod: Idahoa scapigera -Pods only.
* Dagger Pod: Phoenicaulis cheiranthoides - Nice bloom at the lower and medium elevations. Plants vary from whitish to pink and lavender in color (flowers).
* Fringe Pod: Thysanocarpus curvipes - Still in bloom with lots of ripe seed pods.
* Bulblet prairie Star: Lithophragma bulbifera (Now included as part of Lithophragma glabrum.) - In bloom at lower elevations.
Small-flowerd Prairie Star: Lithophragma parviflora -In bud.
Northwestern Saxifrage: Micranthes integrifolia - Beginning to bloom.
Serviceberry: Amelanchier alnifolia - Beginning to bloom along the lower sections of the Dalles Mt. Road.
Ocean Spray: Holodiscus discolor
Little Wild Rose: Rosa gymnocarpa - Beginning to leaf out under the oaks.
* Hood River Milk-vetch: Astragalus hoodianus - Blooming along SR-14 near the intersection with the Dalles Mt. Road. Not blooming along the Dalles Mt. Road.
* Woolly-pod Milk-vetch: Astragalus purshii - A few plants seen in bloom. Generally fading out of bloom here.
* Yakima Milk-vetch: Astragalus reventiformis - A few plants in bud or beginning to bloom near the trailhead for the Columbia Hills NAP.
* Columbia Gorge Broad-leaf Lupine: Lupinus latifolius var. latifolius (formerly var. thompsonianus) - Beginning to bloom along the Dalles Mt. Road and at the trailhead for the Columbia Hills NAP. A dense bloom at the level of the Dalles Mt. Ranch is still a good week to two weeks away, dependent upon whether we get a lengthy period of warm weather or not.
* Whitish Lupine: Lupinus sulphureus var. bingenensis - One in bloom below the trailhead for the Columiba Hills NAP. Most are still small clusters of basal leaves.
* Stony-ground Lupine: Lupinus polyphyllus var. saxosus - Several plants now in bloom in rocky, shallow soil areas atop the ridge.
* Big-head Clover: Trifolium macrocephalum - Many plants in bloom, although bloom at the higher elevations is a week or two away.
Filaree, Stork's-bill: Erodium cicutarium - Beginning to bloom.
* Canby's Desert Parsley: Lomatium canbyi - A few still in bloom at the highest elevations. Mostly going to seed.
Salt and Pepper: Lomatium gormanii - A few plants in bloom at the highest elevations.
* Gray-leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium macrocarpum - White flowered form (with a few yellow-flowered forms), fairly common above 2000'.
* Bare-stem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule - Small plants, but numerous bloom.
* Butterfly-loving (Pungent) Desert Parsley: Lomatium papilioniferum - Abundant bloom (very pungent fragrance) at lower to middle elevations.
* Salt and Pepper: Lomatium piperi - A few plants still in bloom on the upper, north-facing slopes where snow lay late into the spring.
* Nine Leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium tridentatum var. triternatum - Fairly common.
* Watson's Desert Parsley: Lomatium watsonii - Very much in bloom.
Columbia Frasera: Frasera albicaulis var. nitida
* Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens - Fairly good bloom at the highest elevations.
* Midget Phlox: Microsteris gracilis - A few in bloom on middle and upper elevation slopes.
* Hood's Phlox: Phlox hoodii- Beginning bloom at all elevations.
* Showy Phlox: Phlox speciosa- Beginning to bloom at middle and upper elevations.
Little Bells Polemonium: Polemonium micranthum - Common at upper elevations.
Ball-head Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum var. thompsonii - In bud under the oak woods. Those that flowered seem to have suffered recent frost damage.
* Fiddleneck: Amsinckia retrorsa - Small plants, not common yet.
* Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus - Fairly common.
* Harsh Paintbrush: Castilleja hispida - A few dozen plants are now beginning to bloom in the moister soils along the road, above the parking area.
* Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora - Abundant at most elevations.
Hotrock Penstemon: Penstemon deustus var. variabilis
Common Snowberry: Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus - Beginning to leaf out under the oak trees.
* White Plectritis: Plectritis macrocera - Beginning to bloom.
* Big Root, Wild Cucumber: Marah oreganus - Fairly abundant along the Dalles Mt. Road.
Yarrow: Achillea millefolium
* Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha - Fairly common at all elevations.
* Carey's Balsamroot: Balsamhoriza careyana x deltoidea - Plants are small but numerous below, just beginning to bloom at middle elevations.
Tumble Knapweed: Centaurea diffusa - A few basal rosettes of leaves found along the access road to the microwave towers (all at medium to higher elevations).
Hoary False Yarrow: Chaenactis douglasii var. douglasii - Only basal rosettes of leaves seen.
Western Hawksbeard: Crepis occidentalis - Basal rosettes of leaves seen.
* Gold Stars: Crocidium multicaule - Abundant bloom only at the summit.
Columbia River Gumweed: Grindelia nana var. integrifolia ? - Leaves only, and old, withered stems from last year seen.
* False Agoseris: Nothocalais troximoides
Yellow Western Groundsel: Senecio integerrimus var. exaltus - Some with flower buds.
1. Carnivorous Ground Beetles (standing on their heads!)
2. Western Green Hairstreak
3. Very large bumblebees (Bombus sp.)
4. Ravens
5. Red-tailed Hawk
6. Harriers (Marsh Hawk)
7. Prairie Falcon
8. Kestrel
9. Horned Larks
10. Meadow Larks
11. American Robins
12. Yellow-rumped Warblers
13. Northern Flickers
14. Turkeys (heard under the oak woods)
15. Mule Deer