[kitya]

I mostly wanted to visit Angry Mountain because of the name. Yes, there really is a mountain officially named Angry Mountain in Goat Rocks, south west Cascades. The mountain is not very high, but since the summit is on top of very steep cliffs on a clear day it is supposed to have really good views to mount Adams and into Goat Rocks wilderness. Or you know it could be snowing. It was snowing and sticking and not at all angry, instead reminding me and Cookie that horrible PNW summer is not forever and winter will come back. It is so nice to feel cold flurries on my face and hear the sounds of fresh snow creaking under my feet. So, Angry Mountain is not at all angry! FR 2120 washout was cleared and it is possible to drive all the way to the trailhead, though the slope doesn't look very stable and there are many rocks sliding down to the road at the spot where it used to be washed out, the road is also very bumpy and rocky. The trail is mostly clear of blowdowns and is in very good condition, though some new blowdowns cross the trail in a few areas. It started snowing at about 4000 ft and i lost the trail a few times in old snow, but the forest is open enough there to make cross country travel easy too. Since I had extra time I also explored a couple of other bumps on the ridge on my way back. P 5240 is quite interesting with suddenly a pile of broken volcanic rocks in the middle of the forest. But the best thing happened late in the evening. Walking down I heard a sound of a large animal move right next to me, just a couple of feet down through the dense brush, and I noticed large brownish body between the trees. Me and Cookie already met a whole large herd of elks just before, so my first thought was that it was yet another loose elk. And than the very next thing I got to see through the trees was the butt with the incredibly long bushy tail ending with a dark tip. Just like that the cat pounced and disappeared, even though she was very close, yet somehow she managed to almost instantly vanish. I tried to follow the direction of the movement and called the kitty, but never got to see anything else. Still for a short moment seeing cougar's butt in the wild was magical.

[timberghost]

I always wanted to hike up Hungry Mountain. Perhaps this is the year.

[kitya]

[Mike Collins]

[texasbb]

Yep, might have to squeeze that one in this year too. Thanks for the report!

[kitya]

[Brushbuffalo]

Coming to this thread a bit late, but yes, these are contraction columns and they are quite common in volcanic rock, especially the less viscous lava types such as basalt and less commonly in andesite. They are related to shrinkage in volumn as a flow cools and contracts. Columns vary from a few centimeters in diameter to several meters, column diameter related to viscosity and cooling rate and being nearly constant in a specific flow. I agree with kitya in that the heap of separated columns is a bit curious. As often is the case it can be hard to give a good opinion based on one bit of evidence ( one photo).

[kitya]

[Brushbuffalo]