Author: derwoodynck

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Hiking Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains Oregon Trip report

Hanging Rock -Panther Ridge Trail

The second day of vacation we left Gold Beach and headed toward Agness of Jerry’s Flat Road aka NF-33. Our plan for the day was to visit Hanging Rock in the Wild Rogue Wilderness and to revisit Elk Creek Falls to retake the pictures we’d lost when I threw the camera into the Coquille River the day before. When we drove past the Coquille River Falls Trailhead on our way out Road 3348 I gave one last goodbye to the camera.

We began our hike at the Buck Point Trailhead.

The trail climbed for a mile around Buck Point to a spring at the head of Buck Creek.
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Early spring flowers included fairy slippers, fawn lilies and trillium.
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Just over half a mile from the spring the unsigned Hanging Rock Trail split off to the left. We were planning on continuing along the Panther Ridge Trail to make it a longer hike than the 4 mile round trip out to Hanging Rock and back so we decided to save the side trip until later when the sun would be more overhead and not interfering with the view east from the rock. The Panther Ridge Trail followed the rim of Panther Ridge up and down through a variety of scenery.
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Approximately 2.7 miles north of the Hanging Rock Trail we reached the signed cutoff for Panther Camp.
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We continued on passing through a beargrass meadow and a dry section of trail lined with manzanita.
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Two miles from Panther Camp we came to a junction with the Clay Hill Trail which led down into the Rogue River Valley.
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Our guidebook indicated that another .9 miles would bring us to the rentable Bald Knob Lookout so we kept going.

After about a mile we arrived at a grassy turnaround at the end of an abandoned road. There was no lookout to be seen but the trail continued north below a small hill along the ridge. We kept following the trail for another mile and a half where we came to another abandoned road bed. The Garmin showed this road heading up to the top of the hill we’d just skirted around so we followed it up to the top where there was no lookout and just a minimal view to the west.

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While we took a break I did some looking at the map on the Garmin and decided that the actual lookout was likely still to the north but we’d already gone further than we’d planned and were still confused by the description in the guidebook. We returned the way we’d come checking around the grassy turnaround to see if we’d somehow missed the lookout.

On the way back the views to the east had improved and now we were able to make out a snowy Mt. McLoughlin on the horizon.
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We turned onto the .4 mile trail out to Hanging Rock which still had some lingering snow of its own.
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It was quite windy on the exposed rocks but the views were good with Hanging Rock towering over the Rogue River Valley.
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Having slipped on the wet rocks the day before I chose not to make my way out onto Hanging Rock itself although it is possible.
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After a nice long break we returned to our car stopping at Elk Creek Falls before returning to Gold Beach. We hadn’t seen much in the way of wildlife on the hike but on the drive back we spotted a couple of deer and a young black bear along Jerry’s Flat Road. A check of the Garmin back at the motel showed we’d gone 19.5 miles on the day, nearly 5 miles more than we’d planned. We were also able to determine that the Bald Knob Lookout had been another 1.5 miles north of the road we took up the hill where we turned around. It was a good example of what can happen when you don’t take the time to fully research your hikes. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Panther Ridge Trail

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Hiking Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains Oregon Trip report

Elk Creek & Coquille River Falls and Azalea Lake

We just got back from a week of hiking near Gold Beach, Oregon and Crescent City, California. This was the second year in a row that we spent part of our May vacation in Gold Beach due to our original plan of visiting the SE Oregon desert being derailed by the chance of rain. Over 7 days we visited 17 trailheads (1 twice) and had plenty of adventures, some good, some not so much.

We headed down to Gold Beach on Saturday morning planning on stopping at four trailheads along the way. All four were located on or near NF-33 (Powers South Road) between Powers and Agness. Our first stop was the Elk Creek Falls & Big Tree Park trailhead located at a pullout along NF-33 between mileposts 57 & 58.
Elk Creek Falls Trailhead

The pullout was next to Elk Creek.
Elk Creek

The trail quickly split with the left fork arriving at the impressive Elk Creek Falls in just a tenth of a mile.
Elk Creek Falls trailsign

Elk Creek Falls

After visiting the falls we returned to the fork and headed uphill on the Big Tree Trail. Due to a camera issue which will be explained a little later we have no pictures from the 1.2 mile trail to a huge Port Orford cedar tree measuring 239′ tall and 12′ thick. A few other large trees were near this behemoth including another Port Orford cedar and a Douglas Fir.

After admiring these huge trees we returned down the trail to our car and continued south on NF-33 another 4.9 miles to the China Hat Recreation area. We were planning on hiking the Barkow Mountain Trail into the Copper-Salmon Wilderness which would give us one more check mark on our Oregon Wilderness areas visited list. Unfortunately winter storm damage had closed Road 3353 just 3 miles into an 11 mile drive to the trailhead. We would have to save this wilderness for another trip as the only other possible trailhead needed to be accessed from the west near Port Orford.

We drove back to NF-33 and headed south another 5.2 miles and turned left onto Rd 3348. A mile and half on this steep windy one lane road brought us to the Coquille Falls Trailhead.
Coquille River Falls Trailhead

A half mile trail descends to a very scenic fall on the Coquille River.
Coquille River Falls

Coquille River Falls

Coquille River

The camera issue occurred while admiring the falls. As I was taking pictures I shifted my weight and slipped on the wet rocks. As I was falling into the mud the camera flew out of my hand (I hadn’t used the wrist strap) and I heard it hit the ground. I recovered just in time to watch it plummet over the side of the cliff and disappear into the river below.
Spot where my camera fell into the river.

It was an awful feeling, the first day of vacation and the camera was gone. We typically bring out old Sony Cybershot as a backup but hadn’t done so this time. At least I wasn’t hurt but we were left wondering what we were going to do for pictures during the trip. We thought about ordering another camera from Amazon and having it overnighted to the motel but it was the weekend so it would still be several days. There weren’t really any options in town camera shopping so we decided we’d just use our phones for better or worse and get a new camera after vacation.

The loss of the camera is the reason for not having any pictures from the Big Tree Trail. The photos of Elk Creek Falls were taken the next day since we were in the same area and it was such a short hike to the falls.

A bit deflated we returned to the car and headed for our final stop – the Azalea Lake Trailhead.

A quarter mile south of Road 3348 we turned right onto Road 3347 for a mile to the trailhead.
Azalea Lake Trailhead

An old road led uphill to the start of a loop around the lake.
Azalea Lake Trail

Azalea Lake

The lake is named for the Azaleas that bloom around it but we were too early for those by a week or two. We settled for a decent display of fawn lilies.
Fawn lilies

Fawn lilies

There was also a lot of wildlife, albeit small, along this 2 mile trail.
Rough skinned newt

Slug

Snail

Rough skinned newts

It was certainly an eventful start to our vacation. The waterfalls had been wonderful but the loss of the camera and not being able to visit the Copper-Salmon Wilderness were disappointments. It had been a bit of a mixed bag but we had 6 more days for things to improve. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Elk Creek & Coquille River Falls and Azalea Lake

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Hiking Northern Coast Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Angora Peak and Cape Falcon

We are blessed to live in a State where one weekend we can hike amid sagebrush and wildflowers in the High Desert and the next weekend hike along the Pacific Ocean.

For our latest outing we headed to the Oregon Coast to check out one new destination and one familiar one. Our original plan was to break the day up into two hikes, first up Angora Peak from a gated logging road, then to Cape Falcon after driving back south on Highway 101 for 2 miles to the Short Sands Trail South Trailhead.  We had hiked to Cape Falcon from that same trailhead in 2012 which would mean we’d be duplicating that hike (which we try and avoid).

An alternative presented itself while researching the Angora Peak hike. The Oregon Coast Trail passes Cape Falcon and then crosses Cape Falcon Road to the north on it’s way to Arch Cape. Cape Falcon Road is just a tenth of a mile north of the gated logging road for the Angora Peak hike so by parking on the shoulder of Cape Falcon Road at the OCT we could hike up to Angora Peak and back then take the Oregon Coast Trail out to Cape Falcon and back. This would allow us to not have to drive to a second trailhead and we wouldn’t be duplicating our 2012 hike to Cape Falcon.

With the plan settled we dove north of Nehalem on Highway 101 for 8 miles and turned left onto Cape Falcon Road where we parked at a small pullout by a trail sign.
Oregon Coast Trail at Cape Falcon Road

We walked back to the highway which was less than 100 yards away, crossed to the east shoulder, and followed it south for .1 miles to the gated road. The lumber company has a sign posted regarding rules for the area which should always be followed in order to ensure they are not forced to close access.
Logging road to Angora Peak

The road passes through a landscape of clear cuts with Angora Peak in the distance.
Logging road to Angora Peak

We stuck to what was obviously the main road and in about a mile passes a quarry.
Quarry on the way to Angora Peak

Beyond the quarry we forked left after passing a 1 mile marker (blue spray painted 1 on a concrete slab). This road ended in tenth of a mile at a T-shaped junction with Arch Cape Mill Road.
Sign at the junction with Arch Cape Mill Road

We turned right on Arch Cape Mill Road passing another gate.
Gate on Arch Cape Mill Road

As we climbed higher up the road views back to the Pacific Ocean improved.
Pacific Ocean from Arch Cape Mill Road

Looking north past the clearcuts to Tillamook Head Tillamook Head

Tillamook Rock and Tillamook HeadTillamook Rock and Tillamook Head

There weren’t a lot of flowers blooming yet but here a few were in bloom.
Wood violets Violets

TrilliumTrillium

PaintbrushPaintbrush

SalmonberrySalmonberry

ColtsfootColtsfoot

Bleeding heartBleeding heart

Arch Cape Mill Road wound up along a cliff face to a viewpoint in about 3/4 of a mile.
Arch Cape Mill Road

Arch Cape Mill Road

Viewpoint along Arch Cape Mill Road

We followed the road another half a mile before veering right onto a brushy trail at a small rock cairn.
User trail off of Arch Cape Mill Road

User Trail

After a couple of hundred yards we came to a grassy opening a where we headed uphill on another old road bed.
Heading to the stone shelter

A short distance up the old road bed we came to an old stone shelter which showed signs of recent use including a fire pit. Just the kind of activity that could prompt the lumber company to close access.
Stone shelter

A short trail to the right from the shelter led to a viewpoint where we could see Neahkahnie Mountain and Cape Falcon in Oswald West State Park.
Neahkahnie Mountain and Cape Falcon

Up to this point we had been following Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Oregon Coast & Coast Range” 4th edition which ended the hike at the viewpoint near the shelter. We decided to press on for Angora Peak following descriptions on Summitpost.org and in trip reports on Oregonhikers.org. We returned to Arch Cape Road and continued on. The road became very overgrown about 150 yards from the rock cairn so we followed another user trail for three tenths of a mile to a saddle where the conditions improved and views opened up.
Arch Cape Mill Road

To the south the green farmland along the Nehalem River stood out in stark contrast to the surrounding hills.
Nehalem to the south

Following the Nehalem River west it emptied into the Pacific beyond Neahkahnie Mountain.
Looking south

To the west was more ocean beyond the western end of Angora Peaks ridge.
West end of Angora Peak

To the east Arch Cape Mill Road could be seen passing between the rock pinnacles of Revenge of Angora and Angora Pinnacle.
Revenge of Angora and Little Angora rock pinnacles

We followed the road to a saddle between the two rock pinnacle where we turned sharply north onto another abandoned logging road. The road here was so overgrown it looked more like a trail now.
Arch Cape Mill Road

Gaps in the trees offered views north to Onion Peak (and Saddle Mountain beyond).
Onion Peak and Saddle Mountain

Onion Peak and Saddle Mountain

To the NE we could just make out Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier. The lighting and the clouds did their best to camouflage them but with a little effort they were visible.
Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Rainier in the distance

Mt. St. HelensMt. St. Helens

Slides are common in the coast range which we were reminded of along this stretch. A section of road was all but gone leaving a faint use trail as the only option. It is still passable for now but caution is warranted and a fear of heights would likely end the hike at this point.
Arch Cape Mill Road (what's left of it)

From the northern end of the slide we could see evidence of slide below Angora Pinnacle which may have happened this last winter.
Little Angora and a slide below it

Slide below Little Angora

Beyond the washout, the road made another brief appearance before becoming overgrown with trees.
Arch Cape Mill Road

Arch Cape Mill Road

When the GPS showed we were NW of the summit near the end of the road we turned off the road and headed uphill cross-country through the forest.
Forest on Angora Peak

We gained a ridge line and began to work our way toward the summit. The summit itself is reportedly view less due to trees but just to the west of actual summit is a rock out crop which did have a view and made for a perfect spot to sit and have a snack.
Nehalem River from a viewpoint just below the Angora Peak summit

We could even make out our next destination, Cape Falcon, from the rocks.
Neahkahnie Mountain

Cape Falcon

We returned as we’d come, arriving back at the Oregon Coast Trail and heading toward Cape Falcon.
Oregon Coast Trail

The trail crossed several streams on 5 footbridges before beginning to climb up and over a ridge. Much of the trail was muddy and there were several trees down which required some interesting maneuvers to get past.
Oregon Coast Trail

Oregon Coast Trail

Tree that shattered over the Oregon Coast Trail

Other sections were dry and lined with green sourgrass.
Oregon Coast Trail

Oregon Coast Trail

Sour grass

After approximately 2.5 miles we came to a familiar viewpoint looking north to Tillamook Head.
Tillamook Head from the Oregon Coast Trail

This is where we had turned around in 2012 having followed the OCT north after visiting Cape Falcon. In another 3/4 of a mile we reached a better viewpoint where we could see Cape Falcon and a number of colorful sea caves in the rocks below.
Cape Falcon

Cape Falcon

Seagulls near the sea caves

We continued on to a washed out creek crossing. Heather smartly used a nearby log instead of following my slippy effort to use the trail.
Oregon Coast Trail

Another quarter mile brought us to the spur trail out to Cape Falcon. Up to that point we’d seen one gentleman on the way to Angora Peak with his dogs on the lower portion of the logging road and two girls on the Oregon Coast Trail as we went over the ridge. Cape Falcon was a different story. There were a number of hikers that had come from the south, a large group of which were attempting to navigate an extremely muddy section of the trail.

Beyond the mud pit the trail dried out nicely as it passed through a tall hedge of salal and fern.
Trail out Cape Falcon

As we made our way out this .2 mile trail the brush got lower eventually opening up views to the south of Neahkahnie Mountain.
Cape Falcon

Neahkahnie Mountain

The trail extended out the cape to viewpoints along its rocky end.
Cape Falcon

Seabirds occupied the furthest reaches.
Birds on Cape Falcon

Birds on Cape Falcon

After a short break we headed back. On our way back up the ridge we may have spotted a northern flying squirrel. Something crossed my line of vision through the air from the left to the right appearing to land on a tree near a dark opening. At first I couldn’t see anything but then something moved on the tree so I quickly zoomed in and took a picture. It immediately darted into the opening without my being able to make our what it was but I thought it might have been a woodpecker. I was surprised when I uploaded the picture later to see a squirrel.
Possibly a norther flying squirrel

The picture quality makes an id nearly impossible and it may be that this squirrel came out of the opening in response to whatever I had seen but at this point there is still a possibility that it was a flying squirrel.

The rest of the hike back was uneventful as we passed back through the forest to Cape Falcon Road. We ended the day with 17 miles showing on the GPS, 8.9 during the Angora Peak portion and 8.1 to Cape Falcon and back. As we were changing out of our muddy clothes at the car a light rain started. We’d somehow timed it perfectly. Happy Trails!

Flickr:Angora Peak & Cape Falcon

Categories
Bend/Redmond Central Oregon Hiking Oregon Trip report

Otter Bench Trail System

We are going to take a break from our Throwback Thursday posts now that we are hiking regularly again. Have no fear though Throwback Thursday hikes will return in the Fall.

The day after our visit to the Clarno area we headed to Crooked River Ranch and the BLM managed Otter Bench Trail System.

Otter Bench Trailhead

Three trails begin at the trailhead at the end of Horny Hollow Dr. The .9 mile Lone Pine Trail, the 1.5 mile Horny Hollow Trail, and the 1.7 mile Otter Bench Trail.

Otter Bench Trail

The Otter Bench and Horny Hollow Trail form a loop but from February 1 – August 31 the Horny Hollow Trail is closed. The Lone Pine Trail heads in the opposite direction eventually dropping down to the river. Our plan was to take the Otter Bench Trail a junction at it’s end where we would take the short Pink Trail down to the river then the Opal Loop Trail further out along the bench.

As we set off through the sagebrush and junipers the sun was rising over the rim of the gorge.

Otter Bench

Sunrise over the Crooked River Gorge

There weren’t many flowers along the first portion of the trail, but as we continued on more and more flowers started popping up amid the sagebrush.

BiscuitrootBiscuitroot

LarkspurLarkspur

western stoneseedWestern stoneseed

BalsamrootBalsamroot

PhloxPhlox

At the end of the Otter Bench Trail we came to the 4 way intersection with the Horny Hollow, Pink, and Opal Loop Trails.

Junction along the Otter Bench Trail system

We turned onto the Pink Trail which offered dramatic views on its way down into the Crooked River Gorge.

Crooked River Gorge from the Pink Trail

Crooked River Gorge

Balsamroot along the Pink Trail

Crooked River Gorge

Crooked River Gorge

A short section of trail passed through some pinkish rock, possibly the inspiration for the trails name.

Pink Trail

The trail ended on the bank of the Crooked River which was swollen with spring runoff.

Crooked River

Crooked River

We climbed back up to the junction and turned right onto the Opal Loop Trail. For the first .5 mile this trail passed through a narrow section of the bench before arriving at the start of the trails namesake loop.

Opal Canyon Loop

Paintbrush along the Opal Loop Trail

Wildflowers were plentiful below the columnar basalt cliffs along the trail.

Wildflowers below columnar basalt

Prairie stars

Prairie stars

Fiddleneck

Fiddleneck

Threadleaf phacelia

Threadleaf phacelia

The bench had widened again where the Opal Loop began.

Opal Loop Trail

We went counter-clockwise arriving at a viewpoint above the gorge at the far end of the loop.

Crooked River Gorge

Crooked River Gorge

Beyond the viewpoint the trail veered away from the river for the remainder of the loop.

Opal Loop Trail

We headed back to the Otter Bench Trail and followed it back to the trailhead. We were planning on meeting our son and my parents at Bogeys Burgers in Redmond for lunch a little after 11am but it was only 9:50 as we arrived back at the car. Realizing we were a good hour early we decided to check out the Lone Pine Trail.

We set off on a use path heading directly for the gorge from the parking area intending to pick up the Lone Pine Trail when we intersected it.

Crooked River Gorge

We misjudged the distance though and passed over the actual trail without noticing it. The path we were on was very clear though and it brought us to a rim above the river. Not realizing we had already passed the Lone Pine Trail we were still looking for it when we noticed a path to our left heading down toward the river. We headed down this path thinking it might be the trail. It was pretty steep as it headed down toward a rock pillar.

Rock pillar

The path continued to the left of the rock pillar. Here there were steps in the rocks and old wooden stairs. This made us think that we might be on the right trail after all.

Steps leading away from the Crooked River

On the far side of the river were some caves and cool rock formations.

Cave across the Crooked River

Crooked River Gorge

Near the river the trail became faint. A barely visible path to the right led through the grass between the river and canyon wall.

Crooked River Gorge

The trail eventually ran out in thick brush.

Crooked River Gorge

We hadn’t seen any pine trees and were now back to thinking this wasn’t the Lone Pine Trail after all. It had taken us almost 30 minutes to get to the thicket though so we had killed enough time and headed back the way we’d come. This time as we followed the same use path back to the parking lot we spotted the Lone Pine Trail. We figured that just left us an excuse to come back again someday, for now it was time for some food. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Otter Bench

Categories
Central Oregon Hiking John Day Oregon Trip report

Clarno Unit – John Day Fossil Beds and Spring Basin Wilderness

We officially kicked off our 2017 hiking season on 4/22 with a pair of hikes near Clarno, OR. The first was a 1.4 mile at the Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. We parked at the day use picnic area 3.4 miles east of the John Day River bridge at Clarno.

Clarno Unit Trailhead

From the parking area we took the .3 mile Geologic Time Trail west toward the dramatic rock formations called The Palisades.

Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

The trail was lined with golden fiddleneck blossoms and passed several interpretive signs describing the history of the area that created the amazing features.

Fiddleneck along the trail at Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

The Geologic Time Trail ended at a junction with the .2 mile Trail of Fossils loop. Here we turned uphill to the right passing more interpretive signs. These helped identify fossils in the nearby rocks.

Interpretive sign Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

Leaf fossil at Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

Leaf fossils Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

Interpretive sign Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

The loop descended to a second possible trailhead where another trail, the .2 mile Arch Trail, split to the right (west) near a large signboard.

The Palisades Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

This short trail led uphill to the base of a rock arch along The Palisades.

Rock Arch Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

The views along the trail were amazing both across the highway and up close to the rocks.

Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

Looking south toward the Spring Basin Wilderness

Rock pillar Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

Rock wall along the Palisades - Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

Just before the rock arch was a sign describing a pair of fossilized logs 40 feet above the trail. For some reason neither of us could see them despite spending a few minutes searching. After visiting the rock arch, we paused again to look for the logs. This time they were easily spotted up in the wall of rocks above the sign.

Looking up at the rock arch

Petrified tree trunks in the rock walls of the Clarno Unit - John Day Fossil Beds

We returned to the Trail of Fossils loop and completed it then took the Geologic Time Trail back to the picnic area where another car was just pulling in. These were really interesting hikes and a great warm-up for our next stop, the nearby Spring Basin Wilderness.

Designated a wilderness in 2009 the 6,404 acre Spring Basin Wilderness has no official trails but similar to nearby Sutton Mountain old jeep tracks and open terrain make exploring the area fairly easy.  The wilderness is located south of Highway 218 across from the Clarno Unit.

For our visit we were planning on following the route described in the Third Edition of William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” (Hike #18). From the Clarno Unit we drove back toward Clarno 1.9 miles and turned left onto gravel Clarno Rd. After 3.2 miles we parked on the left at a pullout near a lone juniper tree. An outdated wilderness sign declaring a wilderness study area indicated that we were at the correct spot.

Wilderness signpost at the Spring Basin Wilderness

A faint but clear path led into the wilderness toward a draw on the horizon.

Spring Basin Wilderness

The views were dramatic from the start with jagged rock formation and green rolling hills.

Sun and shadows as seen from the Spring Basin Wilderness

View from the Spring Basin Wilderness

Spring Basin Wilderness

The path led us up into the draw passing a number of different types of wildflowers.

Biscuitroot

Biscuitroot

Balsamroot

Balsamroot

Prairie stars

Prairie stars

Balloon pod milkvetch

Balloon pod milkvetch

milkvetch

Another type of milkvetch

paintbrush

Paintbrush

Phlox

Phlox

There was one flower that had not yet started to bloom that we had never seen before and we still aren’t sure what it was.

Wildflower getting ready to bloom in the Spring Basin Wilderness

After 1.3 miles the path reached a ridge top junction with an old jeep track marked by a rock cairn.

Spring Basin Wilderness

Near the junction we spotted the first of many hedgehog cactus.

Hedgehog cactus

None of the blossoms were open and we mistakenly thought we were a week or so too early to see them in full bloom. As we would discover later the blossoms would open to the Sun later in the day.

Hedgehog cactus

We turned left onto the jeep track and headed toward a knoll on the horizon.

Spring Basin Wilderness

We followed the track around the side of the knoll then turned uphill and went cross country to the summit marked by another cairn.

Spring Basin Wilderness

John Day River from the Spring Basin Wilderness

Our goal, Horse Mountain, was slightly southeast of the knoll.

Spring Basin Wilderness

To reach the summit of that mountain without having to lose and regain too much elevation Sullivan’s route called for a .9 mile cross country route due east through a juniper grove then up a draw to find the jeep track once again on the ridge line.

Spring Basin Wilderness

We surveyed the landscape and picked out the juniper grove before heading back down the knoll to the jeep track.

Juniper grove in the Spring Basin Wilderness

We followed the jeep track north a short distance to a low point then descended into a draw and headed for the grove. The initial descent was a little steeper than it had appeared from the knoll but it was not a problem and we made it to the junipers without any difficulty.

Juniper grove

Juniper grove in the Spring Basin Wilderness

From the grove we climbed up the draw we’d seen to the jeep track and turned right toward Horse Mountain.

Spring Basin Wilderness

On the ridge we found more hedgehog cactus amid other many other wildflowers.

Wildflowers in the Spring Basin Wilderness

Hedgehog cactus

We stuck to the jeep track for approximately 3/4 of a mile then veered off toward Horse Mountain when the track turned left amid more junipers.

Horse Mountain in the Spring Basin Wilderness

Our initial plan was to sidehill up to a saddle along Horse Mountain but we found it was actually easier to head directly uphill so we wound up gaining the ridge near it’s western end which was dotted with balsamroot.

Balsamroot

Balsamroot in the Spring Basin Wilderness

We then followed the ridge up to the summit of Horse Mountain.

Horse Mountain

Along the way we passed a lone daggerpod in bloom,some lupine plants that were just beginning to show buds, and more hedgehog cactus.

Horse Mountain

Lupine

Biscuitroot and hedghog cactus in the Spring Basin Wilderness

A small rock cairn marked the summit of Horse Mountain.

Horse Mountain summit in the Spring Basin Wilderness

The 360 degree view was spectacular. We sat on some rocks and examined the scenery.

View from the summit of Horse Mountain

View from the summit of Horse Mountain

View from the summit of Horse Mountain

Spring Basin Wilderness

To the far south the snowy Ochoco Mountains lined the horizon.

Lookout Mountain from Horse Mountain

It was amazingly peaceful on the summit. The only sounds were bird songs and the low hum of insects buzzing about. If the rocks had been a little softer we could have stayed for hours. As it was we eventually headed back down to the jeep track which we thought about following all the way back to the knoll. We had seen quite a few caterpillars on the ground all morning but now there seemed to be more and they were moving about.

Caterpillar

caterpiller

From the ridge The Palisades of the Clarno Unit were visible to the north.

The Clarno Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds from the Spring Basin Wilderness

Raven with the Palisades of the Clarno Unit in the distance

After looking more closely at the map we decided that the jeep track swung out a little more than we were willing to do so we instead took a slightly different off trail route to the knoll.

Spring Basin Wilderness

We wound up climbing up the same draw we’d descended earlier in the day and regained the jeep track below the knoll. We then returned to the rock cairn and descended the gully back to our car ending our hike at 7.4 miles. We had been on the alert for rattlesnakes all day but had not seen nor heard any. That changed on our drive back to the highway. We spotted at least 4 rattlers sunning themselves on Clarno Road. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Clarno Unit and Spring Basin Wilderness

Categories
High Cascades Hiking Mt. Washington Area Oregon Throwback Thursday Trip report

Throwback Thursday – Patjens Lakes

On 8/2/2012, a day after our mosquito filled visit to Miller & Maidu Lakes, we were heading home. I had injured my right knee running down the trail to Miller Lake in an attempt to thwart the mosquitoes and it was feeling a little off, but I wanted to give a hike a try on the way over Santiam Pass.

We decided to try Patjens Lakes due to it being relatively short, right around 6 miles, with only 400′ of cumulative elevation gain. The trailhead is located on the NW side of Big Lake off of Forest Road 2690 which is also the entrance road to the Hoodoo Ski Area.
Patjens Lake Trailhead

We stayed right at a fork near the trailhead planning on doing a counter-clockwise loop. A 2011 wildfire had burnt much of the forest along the loop but signs of life were already returning.
Patjens Lake Trail

Goldenrod, penstemon and aster

Pearly everlasting

Patjens Lake Trail

Mt. Washington and Big Lake were visible along the first portion of the trail.
Mt. Washington

The trail looped around a small butte passing a series of meadows and view to the NW of the Sand Mountain Lookout.
Meadow along the Patjens Lake Trail

Lupine

Sand Mountain Lookout

Shortly after passing a horse trail joining on the right the we entered the Mt. Washington Wilderness and began the only real significant climb of the hike.
Wt. Washington Wilderness sign

The trail climbed to a saddle between the butte and a small hill. At the saddle the Three Sisters were visible to the south.
Forest along the Patjens Lake Trail
Small hill from the saddle.

Patjens Lake Trail

The Three Sisters

As the trail descended from the saddle it entered forest that had been spared by the fire.
Patjens Lake Trail

We passed through a series of meadows full of ferns and scarlet gilia.
Patjens Lake Trail

Tall cascade lilies rose above the ferns.
Cascade Lilies

Cascade lilies

Cascade Lily

As we were passing through one of these meadows we encountered a foul reek. There was obviously some sort of rotting carcass out in the brush but we couldn’t see anything. We were a little concerned that it might have been a mountain lion kill or that a bear might be feeding on it so when we heard a ruckus off to our right we were on high alert. The noise turned out to be a pair of turkey vultures who had apparently located the dead animal.
Turkey Vulture

Turkey vulture

We left well enough alone and continued on our way paying extra attention for any large predators that might have been attracted by the smell. Around a mile from the saddle we came to a small body of water on the right side of the trail.
Patjens Lake #1

The first Patjens Lake was approximately .7 miles from the pond on our left.
A Patjens Lake

The trail then passed a large meadow reentering the burn area before reaching the second Patjens Lake.
Meadow along the Patjens Lake Trail

Patjens Lake #2

The third lake was just beyond the second and it looked like they were probably connected for a brief times during high water. We left the trail and began to loop around the third lake in a clockwise direction.
A Patjens Lake

A number of ducks could be seen in the reeds.
Ducks on a Patjens Lake

From the north end of the lake there was a nice view of Mt. Washington rising over the forest to the south.
Mt. Washington from a Patjens Lake

We took a break here watching the ducks and admiring the mountain then continued around the lake back to the trail. A mile and a half from the last lake we came to a junction near Big Lake where we turned left following the lake shore back toward the trailhead. Flat Hayrick Butte and round Hoodoo Butte rose above the blue waters of Big Lake.
Hoodoo and Hayrick Buttes from Big Lake

Hoodoo Butte
Hoodoo Ski Area

Looking back over our shoulders provided big views of Mt. Washington.
Mt. Washington and Big Lake

A mile from the junction at Big Lake we were back at the trailhead. Despite a little discomfort going downhill my knee had held up which was encouraging. The hike had been a good choice for it and it had been a really nice hike even with the burned forest. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Patjens Lakes

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High Cascades Hiking Mt. Theilsen/Mt. Bailey Area Oregon Throwback Thursday Trip report

Throwback Thursday – Miller and Maidu Lakes

This week’s throwback hike is an example of us being slow learners in our early hiking days. From 2011 to 2013 we took the first full week of August as vacation and headed over to Central Oregon for some hiking. We took that week because it that was the one week when we could be sure Dominique would not have any sports commitments. One of the drawbacks to taking the first week of August off, as we’d learned in 2011 at both Benson and Horse Lake, was the presence of mosquitoes in many areas.   So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that on 8/1/2012 when we picked Miller and Maidu Lakes for our hike that we would wind up losing another round to the little bloodsuckers.

They apparently knew we were coming as they were waiting eagerly for us when we arrived at the Miller Lake Trailhead near Chemult, OR.  We parked at the day-use area near the Digit Point Campground and set off along the large lake on the Miller Lake Trail.
Miller Lake Trailhead

Miller Lake

We were covered in Deet and wearing extra layers of clothes including gloves but nothing would keep the mosquitoes from their feast. The trail passed along the SW side of Miller Lake crossing Tipsoo Creek near the trailhead and Evening Creek at the .9 mile mark. Wildflowers including columbine and lupine bloomed along the trail while gray jays ate breakfast and a merganser floated on the water.
Tipsoo Creek

Lupine and columbine

Miller Lake

Gray jays

Merganser on Miller Lake

Sign for Evening Creek

Evening Creek

On the far side of Evening Creek was the Maidu Lake Trail which would lead us uphill for 2 miles to the Pacific Crest Trail.
Trail sign along the Maidu Lake Trail

We turned left onto the Maidu Lake Trail and soon entered the Mt. Thielsen Wilderness.
Mt. Thielsen Wilderness sign

The trail climbed approximately 550′ to the Cascade Crest where it crossed the Pacific Crest Trail and continued another three quarters of a mile to green Maidu Lake.
Maidu Lake

At the lake the trail split with the Maidu Lake Loop leaving to the left while the North Umpqua Trail was to the right.
Trail signs at Maidu Lake

We went left passing along the west side of Maidu Lake for a half mile before rejoining the North Umpqua Trail on the north end. The mosquito situation was better up on the crest and we decided to visit one more lake before heading back. We followed the North Umpqua Trail along the forested ridge for .7 miles to a viewpoint. To the NW the Diamond Peak rose between to lesser peaks. Sawtooth Mountain rose to the left and the spire of Cowhorn Mountain rose to the right of the larger snow covered peak.
Sawtooth Mountain, Diamond Peak and Cowhorn Mountain

Sawtooth Mountain, Diamond Peak, and Cowhorn Mountain

A half mile beyond the viewpoint we came to Lucille Lake which we hiked around on a .7 mile path.
Lake Lucile

Ducks on Lake Lucile

We returned to Maidu Lake and this time stuck to the North Umpqua Trail on the east side of the lake. The view was better on that end of the lake with Tipsoo Peak rising above the forest.
Tipsoo Peak from Maidu Lake

We made one side trip on the way back hiking north along the PCT for just under 3/4 of a mile to a viewpoint above Miller Lake’s glacial valley.
Miller Lake from the PCT

The mosquito situation had not gotten any better in this section and we hurried down from the PCT to the point of jogging. That turned out to be a poor choice. After running a 5k the prior Saturday, hiking 11.5 miles on Sunday, 5.8 on Monday, 12.4 on Tuesday the 10+ we’d done this day was just too much for my right leg. Something popped as I was running downhill and although it wasn’t too painful I knew something was wrong. For the next month my right knee/leg would stiffen up shortly after any running and it wasn’t too excited about going downhill for the better part of the next year. Although it didn’t stop us from hiking it did sideline my running after suffering through the Sunriver Half Marathon in September.

A little research revealed that driving can put additional strain on your IT Band which is what we believe I had irritated and I had done almost all the driving to and from the trailheads that week. We’ve since instituted a one-way driving rule where I get us to the trailheads and Heather drives us home.

One other rule that came as a result of this vacation was no more lake hikes in the middle of mosquito season. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Miller & Maidu Lake

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High Cascades Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Throwback Thursday Trip report

Throwback Thursday – Horse Lake

We are throwing back once again to our August 2011 vacation in Central Oregon.  On 8/4/11, the day after our mosquito infested attempted hike at Benson Lake, we were headed back out to another lake. We had originally planned on visiting the Green Lakes but after reading the snow report and our experience on the previous day we turned our attention to Horse Lake instead.  Although the elevation for the Horse Lake hike was only slightly lower than that of the Benson Lake Trail it’s location on the east side of the Cascade Crest meant less snow.

The trailhead is located across the Cascade Lakes Highway from the Elk Lake Resort just under 33 miles from Bend. On the drive that morning from Bend we spotted a number of deer in a meadow along the highway near Sparks Lake. Broken Top rose behind the trees completing an amazing scene.
Deer in a meadow below Broken Top

Deer in a meadow below Broken Top

Mule Deer

On the south side of the highway Mt. Bachelor loomed over the meadows around Sparks Lake where the heads of canada geese popped up out of the grasses.
Mt. Bachelor

Canada Geese

After enjoying the impromptu wildlife show we continued to the trailhead where we set off on the Horse Lake Trail.
Horse Lake Trail sign

Horse Lake Trail

The trail passed through a nice forest gaining 300′ in just under a mile and a half to a junction with the Pacific Crest Trail then lost 350′ over the next 2 miles to another trail junction near Horse Lake. We were not able to take many pictures along this first portion of the hike. Although there was much less snow along this trail there were just as many mosquitoes. Their high pitched whinny buzz was an ever present annoyance, and after Heather’s experience of having one fly into her eye neither of us wanted them anywhere near our heads. We hurried along and came upon a pair of Forest Service employees doing some trail maintenance decked out in mosquito netting. We paused for just a second and they asked us how we were able to deal with the bugs to which we answered that we were covered in Deet and moving as quickly as possible.
Snow on the Horse Lake Trail

Horse Lake Trail

At the junction near Horse Lake the lake was not readily visible. We turned right watching for the lake on our left following a boot path to the water after we spotted it.
Horse Lake

Thankfully the mosquitoes were not nearly as bad at the lake and we were able to take our time and enjoy it. Mt. Bachelor was visible from the NW side of the lake.
Mt. Bachelor from Horse Lake

We followed a fisherman’s path around the lake which brought us to a rocky peninsula with a view of the South Sister as well.
Horse Lake

We spent some time on the peninsula eating lunch and watching fish swim by.
Me. Bachelor form the Horse Lake peninsula

Island in Horse Lake

Horse Lake

Trout in Horse Lake

After lunch we finished going around the lake turning left on a good trail past some nice meadows.
Horse Creek

Meadow near Horse Lake

We quickly came to another trail junction and turned right following a sign for Dumbbell Lake. About a quarter mile later we came to yet another junction. This time we did not follow the pointer for Dumbbell Lake which was to our right but instead stayed straight following a pointer fro Sunset Lake. A short distance from this junction an unmarked path to the left led to little Colt Lake.
Colt Lake

We had found the mosquitoes again so we stopped at Colt Lake just long enough to get a picture then hurried on. Sunset Lake was off the trail to our right and once again we were not able to stop for long.
Sunset Lake

Beyond Sunset Lake the trail passed several (mosquito producing) ponds before joining the Pacific Crest Trail.
Unnamed snowmelt lake

We turned left on the PCT for just over a mile to a trail junction where we followed a point for the Elk Lake Trailhead. Just before the junction the PCT entered a burn area where the mosquitoes once again relented. We were able to enjoy the mountain views as we passed through the burn which took up the majority of the final mile of trail back to the trailhead.
Mt. Bachelor

Trail sign for the Elk Lake Trailhead

South Sister and Broken Top

Mt. Bachelor

Middle and South Sister

We made two stops on the way back to my parents house. The first was along the Cascade Lakes Highway near Devils Lake to look at its spectacularly green water
Devil's Lake

The second was at REI to by Heather a mosquito head net. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Horse Lake

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Bull of the Woods/Opal Creek Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Throwback Thursday Trip report

Throwback Thursday – Phantom Bridge & Opal Lake

**Note the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire burned the area covered by this hike.**

This week were covering a 8/14/2011 visit to Phantom Bridge and Opal Lake located at the southern end of the Opal Creek Wilderness. Our main focus on this hike was to finally make it to Phantom Bridge. We had tried twice before having failed first in 2010 to find an alternate trailhead due to washouts along the roads to the trailhead we would use on this hike. A month prior to this hike we attempted to come from the west along the Elkhorn Ridge Trail, a trip that will be covered in a later throwback post.

The third time was the charm though as Road 2207 had been reopened and we were able to drive from Detroit, OR to the French Creek Ridge Trailhead.
French Creek Ridge Trailhead

The French Creek Trail extended to both the east and west from the trailhead. Phantom Bridge lay to the west so we crossed Road 2207 and picked up the trail at a downed trail sign.
French Creek Ridge Trail sign

We followed the trail for 1.3 miles to small forest Cedar Lake passing Dog Tooth Rock and views of Opal Lake and the Opal Creek Wilderness.
Dog Tooth Rock

View from the French Creek Ridge Trail

Opal Lake

Cedar Lake

Near Cedar Lake a connector trail from Road 2207 near Opal Lake was marked by a trail sign.
Trail sign for Opal Lake

We decided that on the way back we’d take that trail down to visit Opal Lake before heading back to our car. For now though we continued west on what had become the Elkhorn Ridge Trail.
Elkhorn Ridge Trail

We came to a second possible trailhead .7 miles from Cedar Lake on Road 2223. This trailhead just a quarter mile from Phantom Bridge the road has a reputation for being a nasty drive so the 2 mile hike from the French Creek Ridge Trailhead was preferable to us. Along this stretch wildflowers lined the trail and views extended from Mt. Hood to the Three Sisters.
Elkhorn Ridge Trail

Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack and The Three Sisters

Phantom Bride spanned a 50′ wide chasm to the right (north) of the trail.
Phantom Bridge

A short side path led out to the rock arch (on the right hand side in the photo below).
Phantom Bridge

I walked out onto the arch and took a picture looking back toward the side path.
Phantom Bridge

After admiring this geologic feature we returned to Cedar Lake and headed steeply downhill toward Road 2207 at the trail sign we’d passed earlier. The steep trail was rather brushy and we decided not to return up it after visiting Opal Lake opting instead to walk Road 2207 up to the trailhead. From the road Phantom Bridge was visible high up on the hillside.
Phantom Bridge form road 2207 near Opal Lake

Phantom Bridge

Blank signboards marked the half mile trail down to Opal Lake.
Opal Lake Trail

The trail was basically a runoff stream bed which made it rather rocky and uneven.
Opal Lake Trail

Opal Lake Trail

The brush rimmed lake was very pretty and it teemed with activity.
Opal Lake

Opal Lake

Swallowtail butterfly on a bog orchid

Lorquin's admiral butterfly

Dragonfly

Rough skinned newt in Opal Lake

After watching the butterflies, dragonflies and newts at the lake we returned to the road and followed it uphill to our waiting car. It was a fairly steep walk but not as steep as it would have been going back up to Cedar Lake and the road was lined with wildflowers which made it a little nicer than some road walks.
Paintbrush and penstemon

Happy Trails!

Flickr: Phantom Bridge & Opal Lake

Categories
Bend/Redmond Central Oregon High Cascades Hiking Mt. Washington Area Oregon Throwback Thursday Trip report

Throwback Thursday – Alder Springs

**In 2025 the Alder Springs Fired burned over the Alder Springs Trail.**

This week we’re going to throwback to a hike that had a profound impact on how we hike. In 2011 the snow melt was unusually late and wound up impacting us on our vacation in Central Oregon during the first week of August. On 8/3/2011 we had planned on hiking the Benson Lake Loop. We took the McKenzie Highway (Hwy 242) from Sisters and headed for the trailhead.  It was a beautiful morning and we stopped at the Dee Wright Observatory to take in the spectacular views.

Dee Wright Observatory

Belknap Crater, Little Belknap Crater and Mt. Washington

Belknap Crater, Little Belknap Crater and Mt. Washington

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Jefferson

Black Butte

Black Butte

Black Crater

Black Crater

North & Middle Sister

North and Middle Sister with the Little Brother

We continued on to the trailhead near Scott Lake and set off on the Benson Lake Trail.

Benson Lake Trailhead

In the mile and a half to Benson Lake we encountered a few snow patches and lots of mosquitoes.
Snow along the Benson Lake Trail

From Benson Lake we could see our next planned stop,Scott Mountain which appeared relatively snow free.

Benson Lake

The trail conditions deteriorated quickly beyond Benson Lake as the mosquitoes were thick and relentless and the trail was covered in snow.

Snowmelt pond near Benson Lake

Snow along the Benson Lake Trail

We were still quite inexperienced hikers with raw map skills, no GPS, and we hadn’t learned to look for blazes yet so we were relegated to following a lone set of footprints which worked until they disappeared. While we struggled to locate the trail Heather had a mosquito fly directly into her eye where it stuck. It remains the most disgusting hiking moment ever for us.

After extracting the kamikaze mosquito we surrendered and turned back while we knew we could still find the trail back.

We had only hiked around 4 miles by the time we were driving back toward Sisters and began looking for another hike that we might be able to do. We landed on the Alder Springs trail which would be snow free being in the high desert and at an elevation of only 2600′. Even better the trailhead was less than 20 miles from Sisters.

From the trailhead parking area Mt. Washington and the North Sister were visible. It was odd to think we’d just been forced by snow to turn back from a hike on the other side of those two mountains and now we were standing amid the sagebrush and juniper in the high desert. Not only was it a drastic change in scenery but it was also a lot warmer.

Alder Springs Trailhead

Mt. Washington

Middle and North Sister

The view here also included a look down the Wychus Creek Canyon which is where the trail would be leading us.

Wychus Creek Canyon

The Alder Springs Trail descended .2 miles to a fork where the Old Bridge Trail split to the left.

Old Bridge Trail sign

We took this .4 mile path down to the site of a former bridge and then down to the bank of Wychus Creek.

Site of a former bridge over Wychus Creek

Whychus Creek

Wychus Creek

We then returned to the Alder Springs Trail and followed it 1.2 miles to Alder Springs. This section of trail provided some nice views of the canyon before descending to the creek.

Wychus Creek Canyon

Wychus Creek

Whychus Creek Canyon

Rock formations along the Whychus Creek Canyon

A short narrow slot in the canyon wall was a neat little detour along the way.

Whychus Creek Canyon

Dry waterfall

The scenery became a little greener as the trail dropped to creek level and neared Alder Springs.

Alder Springs Trail

Alder Springs Trail

Interpretive sign at Alder Springs

We faced a choice here, turn back or ford the creek and continue a little over a mile and a half to the Deschutes River at its confluence with Wychus Creek. It was too nice a day and the scenery was too good to turn back so we forded the shin deep creek. Downstream the creek seemed to flow right into the canyon wall.

Whychus Creek

Whychus Creek

Springs bubbled up in several spots joining the waters of Wychus Creek along the far bank.

Alder Springs

Alder Springs

Beyond the springs the trail stuck fairly close to the creek as it met the canyon wall and turned north.

Whychus Creek

Soon we were once again traversing the hillside a bit above the creek due to the thick vegetation along the creeks banks.

Whychus Creek Canyon

Whychus Creek

At one point the trail split with the right hand fork dropping down near to the creek in a thistle filled meadow. We took this path thinking it would be fun to be in the thistle and closer to the creek but as we made our way into the meadow the a distinctive sound of a rattle rose up.

Thistle meadow along the Alder Springs Trail

We slowed up and realized that there were at least two maybe three alarms being raised from different sides. We proceeded slowly making plenty of noise ourselves keeping our trekking poles ahead to give any snakes plenty of time to leave the area. We never saw any but they made plenty of noise. On the way back we skipped the meadow and stayed on the path that passed higher up the hillside.

We continued on, now on high alert, to the confluence of the river and creek. On the far side of the water rose a spectacular striped rock fin.

Rock fin near the Wychus Creek and Deschutes River confluence

Rock fin

A sign on a ponderosa announced the end of the maintained trail.

End of the Alder Springs Trail

A rock ledge along the Deschutes River provided a perfect lunch spot across from the fin where we could watch the river as it headed further down the canyon.

Deschutes River

Deschutes River

Rock fin from the Deschutes River

Having arrived at this spot from the Alder Springs Trailhead gave this spot a real feeling of remoteness. The fact that we hadn’t seen any other hikers since the parking area and having to ford the creek added to the sensation of solitude. In actuality the homes of Crooked River Ranch were not far away on the other side of the river and the Scout Camp Trail loops around the fin that seems so remote.

The Alder Springs Hike was a little over 6 miles round trip with about 650′ of elevation gain.

The experience at Benson Lake was a key motivating factor in our decision to make getting a GPS unit before the 2012 hiking season a top priority. It also reminded us that we needed to improve our map and navigational skills which we began to focus more on. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Benson Lake & Alder Springs