Mary's Peak Hike

 Tuesday was a gorgeous fall day.  We took advantage of it by leaving early for the almost two hour drive to Mary's Peak.  We chose a new trailhead at the 2,500 ft. level and hiked to the top at 4,098 feet.  Although that doesn't sound too high, Mary's Peak is the highest peak in Oregon's Coast Range.

The drive along the Alsea River from Waldport to Alsea was a highlight of the day.  The fall colors, blue sky, and the fallen big leaf maple leaves were special.  We stopped at this wayside park named Missouri Bend.

                                                         Missouri Bend picnic site.

On the trail up Mary's Peak, we saw the end of this hollow log that shows nicely where "river teeth" come from.  Those fangs are dense with resin like sap, and when they dislodge, they can last much longer than the surrounding wood.  They often end up in rivers where they sink to the bottom.

There were dense areas of Oregon grape, a member of the Berberidaceae family.  Native Americans have many medicinal uses for the root of the plant.  The berries reportedly don't taste good, but are high in vitamin C.

This is what the top of too many mountains look like these days.  On a clear day from this peak, you can see many of the Cascade peaks to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.  On this day, however, the Cascades were obscured by smoke haze, and the coast by fog.  It was still a good place for lunch.

We hiked through forests of Douglas fir, and stands of noble fir.

The base of this dead tree trunk had fungus like we have never seen before.  The color was lobster orange.  Excuse the number of photos I've included, but the colors of the fungi, the light, and the surrounding vegetation was striking in person - not quite so much with cell phone photography.

I forgot to mention that just before we  came to Alsea, a herd of elk crossed the highway right in front of us - that got Daisy's attention!  We were too caught up in the moment to reach for our iPhone cameras.  Sometimes it's better that way.