[stevefromdodge]

I hiked a loop on Cone peak and around Iron Mountain on Saturday. The area was mostly a riot of wildflowers and butterflies, but there were some good views, as well. (If I have time I'll come back and ID all of the flowers.) I started at the Tombstone Pass Trailhead and after a false start, I found the trail. There's a short "Nature Loop" around a pretty meadow south of the highway. I really enjoyed this little loop and I think it's a worthwhile hike for little ones. On the other hand, the niche environment is duplicated at other places above the highway, so you really wouldn't miss anything if you skipped this while hiking the bigger loop.

The trail then crosses the highway and switches up through the forest. The open flower areas start near the crest of the ridge. This area had surprisingly little grass, just flowers, butterflies and sandy, rocky soil.

The trail drops into a saddle between Cone Peak and Iron Mountain, then works its way through the forest around the north and west sides of Iron Mountain. The forest has a whole new variety of flora.

Next I climbed to the summit of Iron Mountain. The lower area was still nice, but the upper shadeless reaches became a bit of a grueling climb in the shadeless heat. These smaller butterflies continuously chased the larger butterflies away. At one point two of them chased a hummingbird away from a particularly tasty flower.

There's a new viewing platform about half finished at the top.

Then it was a mile down to the loop trail, another mile down to the road and a third mile along the Santiam Wagon Road back to the car. It was hot and I was tired, but it was easily conquered by a Gatorade and a couple old time radio detective episodes. Turns out the young hero was actually a serial killer. '