Note: 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. For those that hike an old dirt road uphill to access Sevenmile Hill, be aware that the road passes into county lands below a small quarry, and this is now posted as "No Trespassing". Supposedly, law enforcement (and locals?) use the quarry for target shooting, and there was one incident in 2015 where an off-duty officer kicked would-be hikers out of the area. Proceed with caution here, and carry a map and know where you are going to avoid private property!
Watch for rattlesnakes along the rockier routes up the hill from spring through fall.
Weather: Hazy sunshine with some clouds passing overhead. Temperatures to the 40s. Winds 10-20 mph from the WNW, strong enough to require an extra layer of clothing during lunch or during an easy ramble along the summit ridge.
Click here for a more comprehensive Sevenmile Hill plant list for the entire season.
Grey-cushioned Grimmia: Grimmia pulvinata
Haircap Juniper Moss: Polytrichum juniperinum
Fragile Fern: Cystopteris fragilis
Lace Lipfern: Myriopteris gracillima
Medusahead: Taenitherum caput-medusae - Last year's heads.
Bigleaf Maple: Acer macrophyllum
Oregon White Oak: Quercus garryana var. garryana
Ponderosa Pine: Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa - Only at the ridgetop.
Douglas Fir: Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii - Only at the ridgetop.
* Grass Widows: Olsynium douglasii var. douglasii - A few plants beginning to bloom.
Heartleaf Buckwheat: Eriogonum compositum var. compositum
Tall Buckwheat: Eriogonum elatum
Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata
Red Miner's Lettuce: Claytonia rubra ssp. depressa
Chickweed: Stellaria media
* Smooth Prairie Star: Lithophragma glabrum - Beginning to bloom. This is the non-bulbil-forming variety.
Brittle-leaved Saxifrage: Micranthes fragosa - In bud.
Columbia Gorge Broad-leaf Lupine: Lupinus latifolius var. latifolius (formerly var. thompsonianus) - Leaves emerging from the ground.
Filaree: Erodium cicutarium
Poison Oak: Toxicodendron diversilobum
* Columbia Desert Parsley: Lomatium columbianum - Beginning to bloom on the lowest slopes.
Largeseed Biscuitroot: Lomatium macrocarpum (yellow-flowered form) - Leaves emerging from the ground.
Bare-stem Desert Parsley: Lomatium nudicaule - Leaves emerging from the ground.
* Gorman's Salt and Pepper: Lomatium gormanii - Plants without a stem leaf.
* Piper's Salt and Pepper: Lomatium piperi - Plants with a stem leaf.
Nine Leaf Desert Parsley: Lomatium tridentatum var. triternatum - Leaves emerging from the ground.
Silverleaf Phacelia: Phacelia hastata var. hastata
Fiddleneck: Amsinckia retrorsa - Leaves emerging from the ground.
Yarrow: Achillea millefolium - Leaves emerging from the ground.
Carey's Balsamroot: Balsamhoriza careyana (or a hybrid with B. deltoidea ?) - A number of planst with inflorescence buds on lower slopes.
Bachelor's Buttons: Centaurea cyanus - Leaves emerging from the ground.
Elk - Numerous tracks and spoor
Mule Deer - Tracks
Bald Eagle surfing the ridgetop.
Red-tailed Hawk
Common Ravens
Western Bluebirds
Horned Larks
Western Meadowlarks