| Date: February 2, 2005 | | Location Marys Peak Hike | | Where: Marys Peak | Driving home from Sunday's hike at Silver Falls State Park, I had promised Ron Noble to take him hiking on Marys Peak this week. Based on my schedule and weather, today, Wednesday looked the best. Deciding to join us were John Stolting, Ken Ash, and Mary Coleman. From Salem we drove through dense fog through Corvallis and Philomath, but exiting the van at Conner's Camp we were greeted by warm sunshine. The thermometer on Ron's pack read ' 60.9 degrees!
|  | | Conner's Camp Trailhead We had a pleasant hike up the East Ridge trail, which as I think about it, is a perfect route with morning sun and afternoon shade. As we gained elevation and cleared the trees we were forced to stop and stare in awe at the jagged snow covered peaks of the Cascades that jutted out of a sea of fog which completely buried the Willamette Valley.
|  | | East Ridge Trail On the summit of Marys Peak at some 4000 feet we plopped down in warm sunshine to enjoy a long lunch. Ron's thermometer now read 76.0 degrees in the sun! As we enjoyed our lunch we identified and counted 13 peaks of the Cascades in the east, from Mt Rainer in the north to Mt Thielsen in the south. Turning to the west we could see the Pacific Ocean with the breakers on the beach south of Newport. After an hour and a half we reluctantly started our return, knowing we would have to return to our homes buried in fog.
|  | | lunch on the summit |  | | Mt Hood |  | | Three Sisters |
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