July 10, 2024.
9.6 mi. | 3590′ ele. gain | 7:10 hr.
We woke up to decent weather, so we decided to tackle the Hope Point hike straight from the campground. Here are the various route descriptions I found:
“This family-friendly, 2.5-mile trail climbs 3,600 feet”
“If it were any more steep, you’d be Batman and Robin climbing up a building.”
“Think carefully about bringing a dog.”
So, ready to barrel up the side of a mountain, we set off. Fortunately, we learned that most of these descriptions were written before the trail was re-routed. The original path went straight up the spine of the mountain. But our trek today would carry us across several lazy switchbacks that crossed the most pristine and full wildflower meadows I’d ever seen. It was a real treat!
Certainly there were still some steep parts. It was easy to take a rest when you had a rainbow of blooms at your feet and vast ocean views up ahead. Plus, mountains all around. This hike packs a punch in all the best ways.
We were joined on the trail by a handful of songbirds and many thousands of bees. Whenever I stopped to photograph the flowers, I noticed the buzzing sounds of many happy bees collecting food. The meadows were alive with color, sound and motion.
Once the switchbacks dropped us on the mountain’s backbone, we passed through some stunted tree groves and then began the truly steep ascent up the rock. The trail tread was much better than I expected through this part. We put on our wind layers and battened down the hatches as the wind picked up for good. We chatted with one guy who was visiting from Chicago. Although he turned back before the top, he was so delighted to be there and in awe of all that was around us. We heartily agreed.
The steep hillsides were green and dense with flowers, albeit much different ones. Tall, lanky flowers filled the mid-elevation meadows: columbine, geranium, paintbrush. But up here we found tiny flowers clinging to every rock and crevasse: dwarf fireweed, primrose, moss campion, lousewort. We were in the alpine now.
As we reached the top, the clouds came in close as if they had been waiting for us. Soon, we were joined by several other people who seemingly came out of nowhere. As we ate our lunches, we waited patiently for the clouds to break and reveal a spectacular panorama around Hope Point. Alas, that time never came, so we took a moody summit shot and returned to the trail. Not far from the top, we saw a single mountain goat on an adjacent hilltop. We watched him for a bit before continuing. Later on, another hiker warned us of a black bear not too far up the trail, but we never saw it.
I searched for a good place to paint before we left the meadows for good, but no such flat and out-of-the-wind viewpoint existed. I found a “good enough” perch and dug my heels into the steep pitch as I painted. It’s the first page in my new sketchbook, and I feel like it’s off to a good start!
Once we got back into the forest, it felt like we time traveled to Western Oregon. Surrounded by Devil’s club, bunchberry and familiar trees of home, we could have easily been in the Oregon Coast Range or Silver Falls State Park. It was a relief to arrive at the van knowing we did not need to move it tonight. We changed into clean clothes and relaxed after a challenging but fulfilling day on the trail.