Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: Portland/Vancouver. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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The popular path up Saddle Mountain starts at the east side of the parking lot and climbs gently through a thick forest of red alder and bigleaf maple. Head-high salmonberry bushes crowd the edges of the trail, giving it something of a tunnel-like feeling. After 0.2 mile a side trail leaves the main route to your right. Take the time to do this very worthwhile side trip, as it climbs to a small knoll with terrific views of Saddle Mountain from an angle that really shows how the mountain got its name.

Back on the main trail, you climb a series of irregularly spaced switchbacks through attractive woods of mixed conifers and deciduous trees. In several places you’ll notice where other hikers have cut switchbacks, causing erosion and needlessly trampled vegetation. Please stick to the official route and don’t add to the problem. Geology buffs will be fascinated by a prominent basalt dike a little west of the trail at about the 1-mile point.

Continuing uphill, mostly in the shade of evergreens, you reach the wonderful meadows that cloak the upper slopes of the mountain. From March to September you can always enjoy at least some flowers here. The peak blooming season comes in early June, when a whole array of colors are there to enjoy, including blue larkspur and iris, red paintbrush, yellow buckwheat, and white chickweed.