June 4, 2007: Iron Mountain, Linn County, OR: The weather forecast was for rain, possibly thunderstorms, and early in the morning I heard a distant roll of thunder. When Marvin arrived he said he had driven through a pretty good shower of rain. We were determined to try the Iron Mountain/Cone Peak loop trail so we headed that direction using the Clackamas River route to Detroit for passage.
The gravel road leading to the trailhead was blocked by a fallen tree so we parked and walked the last quarter mile. There were clouds overhead and it was a bit windy but we persevered. The trail hasn’t been conditioned from winter ravages and snow banks remain in the shadows but the wildflowers are blooming and butterflies abound. We didn’t see any evidence that anyone had hiked the trail yet and we were alone in our effort.
As the day progressed the clouds lowered until at times we were walking in the swirling mists. We were back at our vehicle about six in the evening… just in the nick of time as it started to rain as we approached the truck. We drove home in the rain thinking it had been a wonderful day in the woods and we had the pictures to prove we had been there.
byLarry
