Clark's Oregon Wildflower Blog: View From the Rim

Tam McArthur Rim in Central Oregon

Those of us who came along before the Internet age (called "the ancients" by some) still have a habit of reaching for a book on a shelf when looking for information. Not to say that we don't fully use and appreciate the search engines of today - they are incredibly useful for us amateur botanists and nature lovers in general. But if you've ever wanted to look up the name of a place here in Oregon and learn about how the name came about, then you probably reached for Oregon Geographic Names, by Lewis A. McArthur. First published in 1928, it is now in its 7th edition as of 2003. It has a wealth of fascinating geographical and historical information for just about any reader.

Lewis McArthur, a.k.a. Tam McArthur, was a notable Oregon luminary, serving on the Oregon Geographic Board for 35 years, until 1949. He was also president of the Oregon Historical Society for several years. So it was a highly meaningful nod to Mr. McArthur when the Board gave his name to this special spot in the Cascade Range.

On a recent trip to central Oregon, we hiked up to Tam McArthur Rim, a volcanic formation south of the town of Sisters, Oregon. It's a pleasant 2.5 mile journey through sub-alpine habitat, with spectacular views of area mountains and lakes. The trail is also a classic summer wildflower journey, with some snow remaining well into August in some years. This year we crossed only one small batch of snow near the end of the trail, so there were plenty of blooming flowers.

As a bonus to our hike, thousands of California Tortoiseshell butterflies were in the area, resting, drinking, and flying. In some spots they covered the trail and we had to tread carefully. In other spots they seemed to cluster on a particular rock or damp dirt. It was quite an amazing sight to see so many butterflies in one day!

On our way up to the rim, we noticed the nearby Three Creeks Lake would make for a nice post-hike swimming hole, but sadly our schedule did not allow us to partake; but we did make it to the Three Creeks Brewpub in Sisters for dinner.

We spotted many familiar faces along the way, such as Subalpine Lupine, Shrubby Penstemon, Pink Mountain Heather, Sticky Cinquefoil, and the resilient high desert Bitterbrush. For this post, we've included mostly new-to-us plants, but you can take a gander at all of them in the gallery link below.

The fascinating Cobwebby Paintbrush (Castilleja arachnoidea) is yellowish or reddish and was quite prevalent on the second mile of the hike:

You can't hike in the Cascades without getting dirty socks or thinking about a snack at some point. Here, we see Eriogonum pyrolifolium (Dirty Socks) on the left and Eriogonum marifolium (Marum-leaved Buckwheat) on the right.

It seems there is always a problem flower on every hike, and this time it's the mystery lupine. We think this might be a Dwarf Mountain Lupine (Lupinus lyallii) or possibly a Silvery Lupine (Lupinus argenteus). On the right, we're sure you are looking at the Pale Agoseris (Agoseris glauca), a native that resembles the dandelions in your yard!

We also admired the many misshapen trees, both living and not, along the way. Here we see a collection of deceased White Bark Pines along the rim, indicating the harsh conditions of this place. On the right, a mountain hemlock bonsai makes a go of it in an unlikely but more sheltered, lower elevation spot.