From Sevenmile Road, this route climbs along a narrow strip of USFS lands to the ridgeline of Sevenmile Hill. Know your route before going to avoid trespassing on neighboring private lands. Pull completely off Sevenmile Road as vehicles travel fairly fast down this road. Watch for rattlesnakes along the route up the hill.
Weather: Sunny skies early turning to hazy in the afternoon. Temperatures to 69 degrees. Winds very light. A very comfortable day!
Cowpie Lichen: Diploschistes muscorum ?
Antlered Perfume: Evernia prunastri
Navel Lichen: Umbilicaria phaea
Haircap Juniper Moss: Polytrichum juniperinum
Common Horsetail: Equisetum arvense
Fragile Fern: Cystopteris fragilis
* Lemmon's Needlegrass: Achnatherum lemmonii var. lemmonii - Beginning to bloom.
* Cheatgrass: Bromus tectorum
Bottlebrush Squirreltail: Elymus elymoides
Idaho Fescue: Festuca idahoensis - Very common along the summit ridge.
Fescue: Festuca sp. - Greenish. In bud under the oaks at the summit ridge.
* Bulbous Bluegrass: Poa bulbosa - Inflorescence opening up and bulbils visible.
* Sandberg's Bluegrass: Poa secunda ssp. secunda
* Leiberg's Bluegrass: Poa leibergii
Bluebunch Wheatgrass: Pseudoroegneria spicata
Medusahead: Taenitherum caput-medusae - Last year's heads.
* Bigleaf Maple: Acer macrophyllum
* Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana var. garryana - Beginning to bloom & leaf out.
Ponderosa Pine: Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa - Only at the ridgetop.
Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii - Only at the ridgetop.
Arroyo Willow: Salix lasiolepis - Past bloom and leafing out.
Sagebrush Mariposa: Calochortus macrocarpus var. macrocarpus - Basal leaves.
Ball-headed Cluster Lily: Dichelostemma congestum
* Chocolate Lily: Fritillaria affinis - In bloom under the oaks at the top of the ridge.
Yellow Bells: Fritillaria pudica - Pods maturing. Fairly common on upper slopes.
* Bicolored Cluster Lily: Triteleia grandiflora var. howellii - Beginning to bloom.
Hyacinth Cluster Lily: Triteleia hyacinthina - In bud.
Common Bastard Toadflax: Comandra umbellata var. californica
* Pale-anther Glacier Lily: Erythronium grandiflorum var. pallidum - In bloom under shrubbery just below the north side of the summit ridge.
Heartleaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum - In bud on lower, south-facing slopes.
Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum
Curly Dock: Rumex crispus
* Winter Purslane: Claytonia perfoliata ssp. intermontana
* Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata
* Red Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia rubra ssp. depressa
* Water Chickweed: Montia fontana
* Line-leaf Montia: Montia linearis - Fading out of bloom.
* Sticky Chickweed: Cerastium glomeratum
* Jagged Chickweed: Holosteum umbellatum
* Chickweed: Stellaria media
* Upland Larkspur: Delphinium nuttallianum
* Western Buttercup: Ranunculus occidentalis var. occidentalis - Fairly common on upper slopes where wet.
* Shining Oregon Grape: Berberis aquifolium
* California Poppy: Escscholzia californica - Beginning to bloom where protected along Sevenmile Road.
* Oaks Toothwort: Cardamiine nuttallii - Blooming only on north-facing slopes at the ridgetop.
* Little Western Bittercress: Cardamine oligosperma - Fading out of bloom except atop the ridge.
* Spring Whitlow-grass: Draba verna - Only blooming on the ridgetop.
Scale Pod: Idahoa scapigera - Pods.
* Fringe Pod: Thysanocarpus curvipes - Still in bloom with lots of ripe seed pods.
* Bulblet Prairie Star: Lithophragma glabrum (the Lithophragma bulbifera form) - In bloom at higher elevations.
* Small-flowerd Prairie Star: Lithophragma parviflorum
* Northwestern Saxifrage: Micranthes integrifolia - Fading out of bloom.
Mock Orange: Philadelphus lewisii - Beginning to leaf out.
Serviceberry: Amelanchier alnifolia (var. cusickii ?) - Beginning to bloom.
Ocean Spray: Holodiscus discolor - Beginning to leaf out.
Sticky Cinquefoil: Potentilla glandulosa (ssp. ?)
Pearhip Rose: Rosa woodsii var. ultramontana - Leafing out.
Himalayan Blackberry: Rubus (armeniacus ?) - Disturbed areas along Sevenmile Road and some ravines on lowerslopes.
Birchleaf Spiraea: Spiraea lucida - Leafing out on the north side of the ridge.
* Hood River Milk-vetch: Astragalus hoodianus
* Few-flowered Pea: Lathyrus pauciflorus var. pauciflorus
* Small-flowered Lupine: Lupinus micranthus
* Columbia Gorge Broad-leaf Lupine: Lupinus latifolius X sericeus Lupinus latifolius var. latifolius)
Alfalfa: Medicago sativa
* Big-head Clover: Trifolium macrocephalum
* Common Vetch: Vicia sativa
* Annual Cow Vetch: Vicia villosa
* Filaree: Erodium cicutarium
Poison Oak: Toxicodendron diversilobum
Deer Brush: Ceanothus integerrimus
Buck Brush: Ceanothus sanguineus - In bud.
Slender Godetia: Clarkia gracilis ? - Last year's stems.
Tall Annual Willowherb: Epilobium brachycarpum
Ciliate Willowherb: Epilobium ciliatum (var. ciliatum ?) - Weedy ?
* Burr Chervil: Anthriscus caucalis
* Columbia Desert Parsley: Lomatium columbianum - A few in bloom at the highest elevations of the ridge. Mostly going to seed.
* Bare-stem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule - Small plants, but numerous bloom.
* Nine Leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium triternatum var. anomalum
* Nine Leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium tridentatum var. triternatum
Yampah: Perideridia gairdneri (Perideridia montana)
Western Snake Root: Sanicula crassicaulis - In bud.
* Desert Shooting Star: Dodecatheon conjugens - Fading out of bloom at higher elevations.
Columbia Frasera: Frasera albicaulis var. nitida - In bud.
Large-flowered Collomia: Collomia grandiflora - In bud on the lower slopes.
* Babystars: Leptosiphon bicolor
* Midget Phlox: Microsteris gracilis - Blooming only among the oaks atop the ridge.
* Ball-head Waterleaf: Hydrophyllum capitatum var. thompsonii - Still blooming amongst the oaks at the ridgetop.
* Meadow Nemophila: Nemophila pedunculata - Blooming where moist on the upper half of the ridge.
Woods Nemophila: Nemophila parviflora var. austiniae - In bud under the oaks.
* Silverleaf Phacelia: Phacelia hastata var. hastata - Beginning to bloom.
* Fiddleneck: Amsinckia menziesii (formerly Amsinckia retrorsa)
* Weak-stemmed Cryptanth: Cryptantha flaccida
* Common Cryptanth: Cryptantha intermedia ?
* Little Pectocarya: Gruvelia pusilla
* Puccoon: Lithospermum ruderale
* Blue and Yellow Scorpionweed: Myosotis discolor
* Blue Scorpiongrass: Myosotis micrantha (Myosotis stricta)
* Rusty Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys nothofulvus
* Slender Popcorn Flower: Plagiobothrys tenellus
* Henbit: Lamium amplexicaule- Disturbed soils at all elevations.
* Narrowleaf Paintbrush: Castilleja attenuata
* Harsh Paintbrush: Castilleja hispida
* Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary: Collinsia parviflora - Still in bloom amongst the oaks at the ridgetop.
* Common Monkeyflower: Erythranthe guttata
Sticky-stem Penstemon: Penstemon glandulosus var. chelanensis - In bud.
* Small-flowered Tonella: Tonella tenella
Dwarf Owl-clover: Triphysaria pusilla - In bud.
Moth Mullein: Verbascum blatteria - Occasional on disturbed soils.
Common Mullein: Verbascum thapsus - On the lower slopes.
* Corn Speedwell: Veronica arvensis
* Naked Broomrape: Aphyllon purpureum (formerly var. occidentalis)
* Naked Broomrape: Aphyllon purpureum (formerly var. purpurea)
* Common Bedstraw: Galium aparine
Common Snowberry: Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus - Beginning to leaf out.
* Long-spurred Plectritis: Plectritis ciliosa
* White Plectritis: Plectritis macrocera
* Big Root, Wild Cucumber: Marah oreganus
* Yarrow: Achillea millefolium - Beginning to bloom.
* Annual Agoseris: Agoseris heterophylla
* Low Pussytoes: Antennaria dimorpha
Heartleaf Arnica: Arnica cordifolia
* Carey's Balsamroot: Balsamhoriza careyana (or a hybrid with B. deltoidea ?)
Bachelor's Buttons: Centaurea cyanus - In bud on the lower slopes.
Diffuse Knapweed: Centaurea diffusa - Fairly common on disturbed, lower slopes.
Rush Skeletonweed: Chondrilla juncea - Unfortunately, too common here.
Bull Thistle: Cirsium vulgare - Last year's stems. Only a few plants seen.
Hall's Goldenweed: Columbiadoria hallii
Smooth Hawksbeard: Crepis capillaris
Gray Hawksbeard: Crepis (intermedia ?)
Western Hawksbeard: Crepis occidentalis ? - Basal rosettes of leaves seen.
Oregon Sunshine: Eriophyllum lanatum var. lanatum - In bud. Blooming along I-84 adjacent to the Discovery Center.
Cudweed: Pseudognaphalium (thermale ?)
Scouler's Hawkweed: Hieracium scouleri (var. cynoglossoides ?)
Little Tarweed: Madia exigua ? - Common groundcover on the top of the ridge.
* Slender Tarweed: Madia gracilis ? - Blooming on lower slopes.
* Pineapple Weed: Matricaria discoidea - Blooming on roadsides on lower slopes.
* False Agoseris: Nothocalais troximoides - Blooming at high elevations.
Rayless Goldenweed: Pyrrocoma carthamoides var. carthamoides
* Yellow Western Groundsel: Senecio integerrimus var. exaltus - A few plants beginning to bloom under the oaks at higher elevations.
* Common Dandelion: Taraxacum officinale
* Salsify: Tragopogon dubius - Beginning to bloom near Sevenmile Road. Fairly common at all elevations.
California Ground Squirrels
Turkey Vultures
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawks
Harrier - Riding a thermal upward. Perhaps a migrant?
Cooper's Hawks
Kestrels
Gray Partridge
Turkeys - Gobbling
Killdeer - Heard from farms near Sevenmile Road
Northern Flickers
Lewis' Woodpeckers
Starling
Common Ravens
Stellers Jay
Brewer's Blackbirds
Western Meadowlarks
Spotted Towhee
American Robins
Says Phoebes
Kingbirds ?
Horned Larks
Yellow-rumped Warblers - Numerous, on trees and even on balsamroots and lupines.
Golden-crowned Sparrows
Savannah Sparrows
White-crowned Sparrows
Anna's Hummingbirds fighting over paintbrush blossoms!
Western Fence Lizards
Anise Swallowtails
Orange Sulphurs
Carnivorous Ground Beetles
Click Beetles
Two Spot Lady Beetles
Bumble Bees - Several species
Honey Bees
Mason Bees (small native bees)
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