Huck at Sisi Butte

 Huck,Tess (Sierra's dog sitting job this week, and a welcomed hiking pal), and I went down to an area just north of Mt Jefferson for a nice bird hike today.

Mt Jefferson was 15 miles south of our hike up Sisi Butte. 

Huck and Tess had lots of brush to explore.   I heard a large animal crashing through the brush, but no visual.  I assumed it was a bear, any deer or elk would have been tall enough to see.  Fortunately the dogs decided not to chase.

This fire tower was the turnaround point.  It sits at about 5600 feet, we climbed up about 1400 feet from our parking spot.

Tess found a nice rock to stand on, a pool of water on the rock was a welcomed water dish.

When we got back to the car we had lunch, after that we crossed the road and followed a dirt logging road down to a stream.

Another welcomed cool drink.

Running in water is always a blast.

A map of where we went, great time with the dogs.

Huck's Year so Far

 Huck has had a very busy year so far.  Most of his adventures have involved tagging along with me on birding trips.  Yesterday (June 4, 2016) was to be a hot day in Portland.  We went up to Bonney Butte in hopes of cooler temperatures and a nice bird hike.

Mt Hood from Bonney Butte.





In the haze is Mt Jefferson 42 miles to the south, to the left you can just see the white peaks of the Three Sister just above the hills. 

It was already getting warm up on the butte, Huck decided to take a stick to a shady spot.

We came down from the butte to Bonney Meadows, more water and cooler temps were a nice benefit along with the beautiful views.  Mt Adams to the north.

Huck is more sensitive to heat in his elder years, he always seeks out the shade on these warmer days.

 This was our second attempt in the area.  In late April we tried to hike in to the butte to look for Rosy-Finch. Snow turned us back. The road in April.

As the day warmed in April, the snow softened, I bagged the attempt here in fear I would have a wet slog back down in soft snow.  All the snow was gone yesterday except a few patches.

On that day, Huck had is pal Mabel along.  Note this was before Huck had his spring shave.

Two fun adventures in a beautiful area.

A few weeks ago we went up Tygh Creek.  The trail starts off along the creek in thick woods.

After a steep climb, the trail enters open Ponderosa Pine.

So many sticks to choose from.

Farther up the trail is an old fire.

I saw some signs of bear up here. Huck was sniffing the air, he smelled something but not sure what.

 Huck has had a great year.

Thanks for the visit.

Huck's trip to Sundial Island.

Huck ventured over to Sundial Island with me today via canoe from Camas, Washington.  For a bit of interesting history of this area, check out my blog from last week:  Sandy River Delta

Sundial Island was returned to an island a few years back when a rock dam was removed to help the local salmon population.

Here is Huck helping out with the canoe at 8:15 in the morning.  I had to wait for a day with no wind, I was a bit worried the current would be too strong, but not an issue.  

The Columbia River in the morning light, looking up toward the gorge from Camas, WA.

Looking downriver, if you read my blog I linked above, Lewis and Clark mention the rocks in the river, those power towers are sitting on them now.

Typical trail on the island.  Only access nowadays is by canoe.

Huck jumped down the bank to check out the Sandy River, this was about a 6 foot jump he did to get back up to me.  Made it look easy, not bad for a 9.5 to 10 yr old dog.

Huck found a dog toy on the Columbia River beach.

Huck decides when he is ready to give it up.

He chewed on it a bit, then left it for the next dog to find.

I wandered through the woods looking for birds, we popped out right where I left the canoe, it was not as near the water as it looks.  It is a 3200 foot paddle to get back to Washington in the background.

Our paddle home:

Our paddle back to the car was in a small rain shower, Huck was wet but happy to be back near land.  The current here was about one knot, with a rising tide.  Does not sound like a lot, but I had to keep paddling  to get across the river and avoid going downstream.

Thanks for the visit!