2013/3/24. Sunday, Cloudy.Lead by Don Hardin of the Native Plant Society of Oregon and a couple from Klickitat Conservative and Friends of the Gorge, about 25 people walked along a small creek, to look for the rare Dalles Mountain Buttercup. We saw maybe 3, only one close enough to take a photo. It's just like any other buttercup.
Our hike starts from Harms Road Trailhead, ~10 miles NE of Lyle, WA, on Centerville Hwy. Elevation 1570'. Trail is flat, small rocks, mostly dry. Most of group is at least 20 years my senior, and knowledgeable of flowers and the area. Slow walk, so I had enough time to take close-up photos of flowers and ask questions. Not too many flowers to speak of now, but a good variety. Maybe 2 weeks later would be better. ~2 miles into the trail, the canyon looks more like a canyon. Lots of pungent desert parsley and the endemic Columbia desert parsley dot the dry slope on both ends. Others are: midget phlox, prairie star, gold star, yellow bell (taste good with a hint of sweetness), salt and pepper, whitlow grass (invasive?). Don, the lead, walked here 3 days before to scout the trail and flowers, when it rained. That, I call responsibility! We were warned about ticks and rattlesnakes. Today, it was a bit chilly, so no chance of snake coming out. But we are in the tick season (I saw one on one of the ladies' pants). At the start of the hike, Don passed his tick repellent around.
As suggested by Don and some fellow participants, Mary and her friend, whom I carpooled with, agreed to make a detour to Catherine Creek to see carpets of Grass Widows. But we were ~2 weeks late. There're still quite a lot left, but no carpet to speak of. 
This is a prime spot for flowers in the area. From March to June, different waves of flowers grace the slope and along the tiny creek. There's even a paved path for wheelchair south of the road. View of the Gorge is also superb (too cloudy Today to see Mt. Hood). Without any information, we headed on the West Loop, but did a out and back, got higher for better view. We saw some early blue eyed Mary, shooting star, chickweed monkey flower, death camas. Will have to come back here again for different trails and flowers.Direction: Hwy 14 in WA, ~4.5 miles east of Hood River - White Salmon Bridge, or ~3.5 miles west of Lyle, on Old Highway 8.
