A nice sunny Sunday. 重阳节. Unfortunately the group I went with are mostly old ladies who don't want to hike high. Otherwise, I'd like to go to Observation Peak lookout. We followed a nice creek in the Trapper Creek wilderness area, lots of lichen and moss, plenty old growth trees. Some fall foliage. Vine maples are only yellow. The view along the drive (via Columbia Gorge, and for some moment I could see Mt Adams from the car) is nice too. But it's a long drive. The best of today's hike is chanterelle. I picked quite a few (a couple of white ones too), and one hedgehog. Lots of lobsters and coral too (I didn't pick those). Saw two couples coming with big grocery bags as we exit. They were here for the mushrooms only. Yes, along the first mile or two, all is picked clean. As with all Mary V's hike, we were slow, but learned something: Rosy Gomphidius, Violet Cortinarious, Milk Cap.
On the way out, we did a detour of ~200m, to visit the Government Mineral Spings. The guard station looks closed. There're some spacious camp sites. According to Mary, when she was here last Memorial Day weekend, only 2 out of 4 sites were occupied. The spring is no longer usable (pump is gone). There're also some homes (private cabins) very close to the trail.Direction: north of Carson on Wind River Road for about 10 miles. Right on Little Soda Spring road for ~1/4 miles.
