just a postcard-perfect Indian summer day to hike this little known gem. It's a rough road to the trailhead - I would not bring a regular car here - but well worth the trip. Because of the 100 year old burn here, the views start at the trailhead and don't stop. Within 1/2 mile you're staring at Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Mt Adams, and Mt Hood. The hillsides were simply ablaze in yellow and red. Four weeks ago there would have been plenty of ripe huckleberries.

Me and the kids (2 and 4 years old) and the dog hiked up a little over 1 mile, to the junction with Chinook Trail, before turning around. Lots of wonderful stopping places, rocks to play on, no exposed cliffs on the main trail though Ed's trail has a few steep-looking drop offs.

I cannot imagine a nicer 'easy' hike for a beautiful fall day!

Our daily dose of marine air west of the Cascades means that the wildflowers on Silver Star are receiving natural misting: the flowers are fresh, bright and abundant. On our hike, we identified 78 species!

The best driving approach is to use DNR's Road 1100 from Dole Valley Road for 6.5 miles to the junction with Road 4109 to the trailhead. Due to recent logging activity, the DNR road is graveled and graded. The final 2.6 miles on Road 4109 remain a driving challenge. Passenger cars can make it with careful maneuvering.

We did the standard loop hike, ascending via Ed's Trail and returning via the Silver Star Trail. Ed's Trail is snow free all the way to the junction with the Bluff Mountain Trail. It has been brushed and recently maintained by the Chinook Trail Association. The Silver Star Trail, a road-to-trail conversion, is revegetating nicely and losing that road look over long stretches.

Despite the foggy conditions on the lower part of the hike, many people were on the trail. The summit was just above the marine layer, providing a sunny lunch spot and views of the big volcanoes. It was crowded, unlike the trails, and people seemed reluctant to leave -- probably hoping for more rapid clearing before they headed down.

We started steeply up from the Grouse Vista trailhead on Bluff Mountain Trail #172. This is not my favorite approach to Silver Star, due to the rough, rocky old roadbed underfoot and a lot more walking in the woods, but it definitely is a shorter drive from the Vancouver-Portland area.

When we emerged from the forest, we could see clouds enveloping Silver Star and Sturgeon Rock. Down on the lower slopes, the wild flowers were in full summer bloom. This is a fabulous bear grass year in an area known for its bear grass displays.

When we reached the first junction, we turned right and traversed around on the east side of Pyramid Rock (incorrectly labeled on USGS maps, as is Sturgeon Rock). Cardwell's penstemon brightened the trailside.

We climbed the brushy route along the east side of the ridge, watching out for mountain beaver holes in the path or undermining it. At the junction with Silver Star Trail #180 at the top, we were inside the clouds and getting damp.

We proceeded northward for another half mile on Trail #180 to the junction with the trail (old road) coming up from Sturgeon Rock on the west and the trail to the Indian Pits on the right. At this point, both the roads-to-trails and the Indian Pits trail had pretty extensive and substantial snowbanks. The elevation is just over 4,000 feet.

Since there would not be a view if we continued upward, we decided to make this intersection the turnaround point and head back down out of the clouds. The forecast clearing was not as strong as the TV weathermen had promised. On our return, we stayed on Trail #172 on the west side of Pyramid Rock where we saw stunning displays of avalanche lilies, paintbrush and other wild flowers.
  

Visiting Portland, I joined the 4 J's, one of them a four-legged fuzzy faced friend, for a ramble up Silver Star Mountain. The meadows still feature blooming flowers, especially Indian paintbrush, as well as ripe huckleberries in the upper reaches, and the beginnings of autumn foliage color.

Deterred by the description of the north approach road (FR 4109) and seeking a route more direct from Portland, we drove to the trailhead at Grouse Creek Vista and hiked the south approach to Silver Star. From Washougal River Road, turn left on Hughes Rd. climbing steeply away from the river. At the Clark-Skamania County line turn north on Skamania Mine Rd. then veer left on DNR 1200 road at a Y climbing the circuitous road to the trailhead.

The lowest mile of the trail (180F) is very rocky and steep in places. Once the trail reaches the meadows the slope lessens and the footing improves. We alternated between thick overcast and occasional sun breaks during the ascent. Along the way we met a couple who had hiked from the north approach a week earlier and confirmed the reports of the horrendous road to reach that trailhead. A skillfully crafted rock cairn marks the trail junction where the north and south approaches meet and the summit trail climbs to the east. We soon reached the summit in thick clouds and found a sheltered area out of the wind to enjoy lunch.

A few minutes later the clouds mostly lifted revealing a surrounding landscape of meadows, peaks, deep gullies, and views to the Columbia River and east Portland. A number of other hiking parties arrived at the summit as we were starting down. I couldn't resist a thick patch of ripe huckleberries about a quarter mile below the summit. The sun came out in full force during the return hike making for a most pleasant afternoon following the chill of the ascent. Autumn color appears to be about two weeks earlier than previous Septembers. The lowest mile of trail 180F requires careful stepping due to the erosion and loose large rocks.