Saddle Mountain, Oregon

[Ed Alverson]

Over in the Lewisia topic, a question came up about Saddle Mountain, which is located about 50 miles NW of Portland, Oregon.  I offered to post a few photos from a May visit, so here they are.  I suspect that other forumists have made visits as well, so others should feel free to add their photos - it is the kind of site where you can see a completely different set of flowers blooming if you revisit at, say, monthly intervals.

Saddle Mountiain is formed by a large chunk of erosion resistant basalt, and it looks like a big rocky blob sticking up above the forested ridges of the Oregon Coast Range.  The first photo here was taken from Fort Clatsop on the Oregon coast, the site where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805-1806 during their epic transcontinental journey.  Saddle Mountain is the rounded knob in the distance.  The summit is only at an elevation of 3283 ft./1000 meters, but the climb looks intimidating when looking up from the parking lot at the trailhead.  However, the trail is mostly well graded so the hike to the summit, though strenuous, is very doable.

[Ed Alverson]

The first section of the trail is through forest, which is very lush and green due to the high rainfall in this region.  In fact, the weather is often very nasty here.  A few of the many forest understory plants include Tellima grandiflora and Erythronium revolutum.  Some of the large rocks that have fallen from the cliffs above (presumably in the geological past, not recently) are covered with long hanging strands of Selaginella oregana.  By the way, a plant list for the site can be found at http://users.reachone.com/columbiacoastplants/documents/Saddle%20Mtn8-04.pdf

[Ed Alverson]

About halfway up, the trail passes through a mix of forest and open rock outcrops or steep rocky meadows.  This is where the fun really begins. If you look closely you can see the great diversity of wildflowers, some in bloom but many others that will bloom later in the year.  In one spot there was a big patch of Fritillaria affinis just at the tail end of its blooming season, and another spot I photographed Dodecatheon austrofrigidum and Cardamine pattersonii, both of which are Coast Range endemics that are most easily seen at Saddle Mountain.

[Ed Alverson]

Eventually the trail climbs to the summit ridge, where the trail climbs up and down a bit, past thickets, along rocky meadows, and outcrops, bringing a variety of habitat close to the trail.  Then the last stretch to the summit is quite steep.  This is not a place for people with a fear of heights.  To me, the views of misty cliffs punctuated by patches of conifers is reminiscent of Chinese landscape paintings.

[Ed Alverson]

In areas along the summit ridge where some soil has been able to accumulate, there are "alpine-like" turf communites with species such as Geum triflorum, Viola adunca, and Thalictrum occidentale.  Later in the season, Lilum columbianum will come in to bloom here.  I say "alpine-like" because the summit is actually well below the upper elevation limit for tree growth, but trees are largely absent due to the harsh weather and soils.

[David Nicholson]

Ed, I was doing fine until I reached your penultimate sentence and that really put me off. I can get dizzy on a three tier step ladder

Thanks a lot for posting these, wonderful scenery and beautiful plants.

[Ed Alverson]

Ooops - here are the photos that go with that last description

[Ed Alverson]

David, you may be interested to see that at the very summit there is only a rather rickety looking railing that is all that separates you from the laws of gravity. 

While you can see the ocean from the summit, as well as adjacent parts of the Coast Range, most of the surrounding landscape is a mosaic of recent clearcuts and young forests, because most of this area is privately owned forest land  (fortunately Saddle Mountain proper is protected in a State Park).  So a botanist would say that the real attraction here is the plants, and the greatest diversity is found in the natural rock gardens near the summit, with Lewisia columbiana (here in bud), Castilleja (both hispida and miniata are here), Phlox diffusa, Douglasia laevigata, and Saxifraga cespitosa (in fact, there are 7 species of Saxifrage on the plant list, including another endemic, Saxifraga hitchcockiana).

Finally, this giant boulder, which looks like it may roll off the summit at any time, brings a sculpture garden flavor to Saddle Mountain, along with the natural alpine garden and the Chinese garden-like settings.  All in all, a great place to spend a day!

Ed

[Maggi Young]

What a marvelous place .... fear of heights notwithstanding

 So many great plants .... I must mention the Dodecatheon austrofrigidum which looks especially short and sturdy... very nice!


Thanks Ed!!

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks, Ed, for your wonderful introduction to Saddle Mountain Trail and the spectacular views and scenery there...what extraordinary formations the buns on the basalt create and your photos of the flowers on each section of the trail are beautiful.

[Luc Gilgemyn]

I enjoyed this very much Ed !!
Great pictures of and interesting information from an intrigueing area !!
Thanks very much for showing !

[cohan]

nice hike--if a bit vertiginous at places! i'm with maggi in appreciating the short stemmed dodecatheon--combined very smartly with the cardamine

[ranunculus]

Magnificent trip Ed ... many thanks for posting.
You say that this was a May visit, does this mean that this area is always free from snow cover as early as this in the year?
I am unfamiliar with this beautiful part of the world but hope to become much closer to it next year!   

[Ed Alverson]

Dodecatheon austrofrigidum was only formally described in 2006.  According to some DNA analysis, it is related to D. dentatum, and in particular the pink-flowered form called Dodecatheon dentatum var. utahense.  The description in the original publication gives the range of height of the flowering stems as 5.5 t0 45 cm tall, so clearly there is a great deal of variation depending upon habitat, elevation etc.  I suspect that the plants I found would have become taller later on in the flowering season as well.  So I am not sure how well the short stature would hold in cultivation, though it is possible that given good light and lean growing conditions it could be kept short.

Cliff, the snow situation in the Oregon Coast Ranges is very unpredictable, and varies greatly from one winter to the next.  In a mild winter (like this past one) there is very little snow, even at the summits, but in a snowy winter, like 2008-2009, there will be a continuous snow pack above 3000 ft. and frequent snow above 2000 ft.  My visit was on May 23rd, but I suspect that in most years flowering is getting started by mid April at the trailhead, and late April higher up, because much of the trail traverses south-facing slopes which can warm up nicely in teh spring.  Any time between mid-May and mid-July is probably the prime season in most years.  However, before mid-May the weather is much more unpredictable, and it is probably not a place you want to be during a storm.

Ed

[ranunculus]

Many thanks Ed.