We took a hike on Saturday up Mary's Peak, the highest mountain the coastal range, with our friend Erik and his buddy Dan. Just 20 minutes west of Corvallis, we parked at a trailhead at around 2500 feet in elevation, and hiked up to about 4000 feet, just below the summit, over the next few hours.We'd been hearing all week about a "temperature inversion", where the temperatures in the valley have been much cooler than those at elevation, due to a high pressure system directly overhead. The foggy, cool morning made us layer up a bit in preparation for the hike. But not a half-mile into our hike, we had to stop and take off layers, as waves of warmer air started greeting us up the mountain.
Here is a native woman we encountered on our hike, sporting a traditional lichen hat.
A view east, across the foggy valley, to the Cascades.
We encountered some patches of snow in the cooler, north-facing slopes, and in the fields just below the summit. Glorious panoramic views greeted us at the top. It was a clear day, so we could see across the fog-filled valley over to the Cascades and as far north as Mt. Rainier, more than 150 miles away in Washington. And with binoculars, we could watch the surf crashing on the coast, about 40 miles to our west. Erik's dog, Olive, enjoyed the views, too.
