We’re continually looking for hikes that are new to us which led us to a pair of such hikes in the Tillamook State Forest. William L. Sullivan includes the 1.6-mile round trip to a former lookout site in Cedar Butte as an additional, non-featured hike in his “100 Hikes Oregon Coast” guidebook. A hike that short didn’t warrant the 2hr drive from Salem, so I took a look at the Oregonhikers.org field guide for other nearby hikes. That research revealed the Triangulation Point Loop. The field guide entry mentioned that the loop could be started from a saddle on the north side of Cedar Butte which was just over a mile from the Cedar Butte Trailhead.
We decided to start with the long loop first. We drove up the steep, narrow Cedar Butte Road past the Cedar Butte Trailhead and parked at the saddle overlooking a clearcut.
From the saddle South Triangulation Point, the highpoint of the loop, is to the right.
We would be doing the loop clockwise to avoid ending the loop with a climb back up to up to the saddle. We headed down Kilchis Forest Road which wound down through the clearcut before entering the forest.
The roadside was lined with wildflowers which we focused on over the missing trees.
Bleeding heart
Fairy lanterns
Solomonseal
Inside-out flower
Paintbrush
Lupine
Starflower
Salmonberry
Cardwell’s penstemon
Beargrass
Wallflower
Little-leaf montia
Fringecup
Salal
Rosy bird’s-foot trefoil
Band-tailed pigeons
Looking back at the saddle before heading into the trees.
Vetch
Leaving the clearcut.
The road leveled out in the forest making for a pleasant walk. Two miles from the saddle we arrived at 100′ Kilchis Falls.
Rock cliffs marking the location of Kilchis Falls.
Located on a tributary of the North Fork Kilchis River the falls reportedly seldom have much flow, but there was enough water today to make for a pretty sight.
The small pool below the falls.
Avens
Spider hiding on a columbine.
Scouler’s corydalis
Youth-on-age
Valerian
After a relaxing break at the falls, we continued along Kilchis Forest Road which approached the North Fork Kichis River and then followed it NW.
Hedgenettle
Waterfall on an unnamed creek. It was quite a way back in thick vegetation.
The above waterfall sans zoom.
Buttercup
Fick Creek joining the river.
Potholes on the North Fork Kilchis River.
Triangulation Creek flowing into the river.
Approximately two miles from Kilchis Falls we crossed the river on a bridge.
We continued to follow the river for another 0.6-miles where Middle Road joined steeply from the right.
Snail shadow on a iris.
Middle Road coming downhill on the right. This is the Middle Road Trailhead mentioned in the Oregonhikers.org field guide.
We made a sharp right turn here and began the difficult climb to South Triangulation Point.
Middle Road isn’t really a road anymore and is only suitable for high clearance 4wd vehicles or OHVs. We huffed and puffed up this track passing a road on the left after 1.3 miles and arriving at a saddle in another 0.3 miles.
A very blurry picture of a doe that was way down the hillside in the forest.
Large rock and log in the middle of Middle Road.
Monkeyflower surrounded by candyflower
Paintbrush on some cliffs above Middle Road.
Thistle
The road at the 1.3-mile mark along Middle Road.
The saddle at the 1.6-mile mark.
Memorial at the saddle.
We took a break at the saddle before continuing the climb. We passed another road on the left approximately half a mile from the saddle then came to 4-way junction 0.6 miles later.
Middle Road continuing on from the saddle.
Beargrass
The road on the left at the 2.1-mile mark.
Iris
Stream flowing down the road.
Coming up to the 4-way junction.
From the junction we took the righthand fork signed “FB3”.
Middle Road from the 4-way junction.
The two lefthand forks at the 4-way junction.
FB3
The elevation at the 4-way junction is about 2600′ and the Middle Road Trailhead is just over 800′ so we’d gained over 1800′ on Middle Road. South Triangulation Point tops out at 3255′ meaning we were still over 650′ below its summit so neither of us were pleased when FB3 proceeded to lose approximately 100′ of elevation in the first 0.6 miles.
Monkeyflower
Beargrass, paintbrush and penstemon
More flowers on a rocky outcrop along FB3.
A bunch of monkeyflowers.
When the road finally started climbing again it was more gradual than Middle Road had been. In 3/4 of a mile, we gained 350′ before coming to a fork.
Springs along the road.
Snake cooling off in the mud.
The snake didn’t budge as we passed around it.
This fork is approximately 4.2 miles from the Middle Road Trailhead.
At the fork we veered uphill to the left. This road gained nearly another 300′ in half a mile where it arrived at a saddle between Triangulation Point and South Triangulation Point.
Snake number two on the day.
This one didn’t budge either.
Switchback below the saddle.
Approaching the saddle.
Gated road up Triangulation Point.
South Triangulation Point
The wildflower display at the saddle was impressive and we spent some time admiring the blooms.
Serviceberry, paintbrush, yarrow, and iris.
Paintbrush and Cardwell’s penstemon
Iris
Broadleaf arnica, paintbrush and penstemon
Columbine among others.
Broadleaf arnica
Aside from a vehicle that was just leaving the saddle below Cedar Butte when we’d arrived that morning we hadn’t seen anyone all day. That changed at South Triangulation Point as a group of dirt bikes had arrived while we were taking a break at the switchback below the saddle. We took a left fork in the road and made our way to the summit where we briefly spoke with them.
Final pitch to the summit.
We could see our car parked at the saddle below Cedar Butte from South Triangulation Point.
Motorcycle track heading down from the summit with Triangulation Point on the other side of the saddle.
Looking to the NW you can see out to the Pacific Ocean. The line of peaks furtherst back staring from left to right consists of Neahkahnie Mountain (post), Angora Peak (post), West Onion & Onion Peaks, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Kidders Butte.
Closer look at Surgarloaf Mountain and Kidder Butte.
Wildflowers on South Triangulation Point.
After a break we headed down the road to the fork where we turned left and quickly began a steep half mile descent to a 5-way junction.
Another nice clump of wild iris.
Lupine
Flowers lining the road.
More motorcycles at the 5-way junction.
We stayed straight at this junction and continued downhill sticking to the main road at all junctions.
Variable-leaf collomia
The road briefly followed a narrow ridge.
Anemones
Moth
Heather spotted this little one. Not sure if it’s a vole, pocket gopher, or something else.
A little over a mile from our car we passed a series of wet cliffs that were putting on a spectacular flower display.
Silverleaf phacelia and chickweed
A lomatium
Larkspur and monkeyflower
This pink larkspur really stood out on the cliffs.
Littleleaf miner’s-lettuce
Several types of yellow wildflowers.
The cliffs helped explain why the road had dipped so far below Kilchis Saddle where our car was. Shortly after passing them the road began a final climb to the saddle gaining close to 200′ in the final three quarters of a mile.
Still dropping a little after the cliffs.
Bleeding heart and candyflower
Climbing the road at the edge of the clearcut.
The saddle where our car was parked across the clearcut.
South Triangulation Point from Cedar Butte Road.
South Triangulation Point
Looking down the North Fork Kilchis River valley from the saddle.
For us this loop came in at 12.7 miles a little over 2700′ of elevation gain. Despite being on roads some of the elevation change was quite steep adding to the difficulty. That being said this was a good hike with a nice waterfall and lots of wildflowers. We encountered about a dozen motorbikes, all between South Triangulation Point and end of the hike and we didn’t hear them all that often either.
It had been a long hard loop, so Heather chose not to add another 780′ climb when we arrived at the Cedar Butte Trailhead.
I on the other hand am a glutton for punishment so I threw my pack back on and walked 250′ up a gravel road to a signboard marking the start of the Cedar Butte Trail.
The trail information lists the hike as “difficult” due to the amount of elevation gained over just three quarters of a mile to the summit.
The start of the Cedar Butte Trail.
The trail began fairly level passing through some heavy brush before breaking into a second growth forest.
Star-flowered false solomonseal
Black-headed grosbeak
False lily of the valley
The trail didn’t really begin to climb until the 0.3-mile mark where it made a series of short switchbacks then alternated between steep straightaways and more switchbacks.
The trail was in good shape with just one small tree down over it.
Blue-eyed Mary
Small saddle below the summit.
Beargrass
Phlox
Final pitch to the summit.
Wild onion
Benches at the former lookout site.
View from the summit.
Wildflowers at the summit.
On the way back down I took a short, steep spur trail to a viewpoint where I could see Kings Mountain (post) to the NE.
Kings Mountain is the high point to the right along the ridge.
After checking out the viewpoint I continued my descent and rejoined Heather at the trailhead.
Fairy bells and vanilla leaf
Almost back
This hike had been 1.6 miles and one heck of a climb. My legs were feeling all 3500′ on the day. Late Spring seems like a good time to visit this area as the wildflowers were the highlight. Kilchis Falls was nice but at different times of the year the flow would likely diminish the appeal quite a bit. Happy Trails!
Flickr: Kilchis Falls, South Triangulation Point, and Cedar Butte
wanderingyuncks 