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.