Author: yunckrunner

Trail Gulch and Long Gulch Lakes Loop – 08/25/2022

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date September 1, 2022
1 Comment on Trail Gulch and Long Gulch Lakes Loop – 08/25/2022

After our adventure with the flat tire Wednesday (post) we slept in a little since Valley Tire didn’t open until 8am. Not heading out first thing for a hike did give us a chance to walk from the motel to Grain Street Bakery where we had some delicious scones and half a breakfast sandwich (the other half wound up being Friday’s breakfast). After breakfast we drove into Fort Jones where Valley Tire got us in right away and pulled a small rock out of the tire which had blistered in several places meaning it needed to be replaced. They had a set on hand so we had them replace all four tires and were on our way by 8:45am. It was plenty early for us to still get our planned hike in so we stopped by our room, changed, and grabbed our packs before heading back up to Carter Meadows Summit. From the summit we continued driving downhill another 0.7 miles and turned left onto Carter Meadows Road (FR 39N08) at a sign for Carter Meadows Trailheads. We followed Carter Meadows Road for 1.8 miles to the Trail Gulch Trailhead.

Before getting into the hike please note that many maps have Trail Gulch Lake and Long Gulch Lake reversed including the map embedded on the Forest Service page linked above. Our GPS as well as the PCT paper map that we were carrying also showed the lakes reversed but the signage along the trails here are correct. This loop is also almost entirely within the fire scar of the 2021 Haypress Fire although portions of the forest did not burn too intensely.

From the trailhead the trail climbs steadily but not too steeply along a creek. It soon enters the Trinity Alps Wilderness and at the 0.9 mile mark crosses the creek.

An aster (or a fleabane, it’s so hard to tell).

Musk monkeyflower

Tiny green frog.

It was easy to spot where the creek was based on the green.

The wilderness boundary.

The creek crossing.

Paintbrush

A checker-mallow near the creek.

Shortly after crossing the creek the trail veered away from it and began a steeper climb to a junction with a 0.3 mile trail to Trail Gulch Lake.

A junco. We saw a large number of small birds flying around during our trip, mostly junco’s and chickadees but they rarely ever sat still where we could see them.

Pointer for Trail Gulch Lake 0.8 miles from the Creek Crossing.

We turned right on the 0.3 mile trail which climbed to Trail Gulch Lake.

The lake was very scenic but the combination of the position of the Sun and a hint of smoke in the sky made capturing it with the cameras difficult.

After a short break we returned to the Trail Gulch Trail and continued further up the gulch. The trail gained 700′ over the next mile to reach a pass above Trail Gulch Lake.

One of several deer seen running uphill as we made our way up the trail.

View back down Trail Gulch.

Paintbrush

Peaks in the Russian Wilderness.

Arriving at the pass.

Trail Gulch Lake from the pass.

Clark’s nutcracker

Just over the pass was a trail junction with a mix of signed and unsigned trails. We took a hard right on the unsigned Trail Gulch Tie Trail which was just slightly above a trail with sign pointing to Steveale Meadows.

The sign for Steveale Meadows where we went uphill on the trail to the right.

The tie trail gained 400′ as it traversed a severely burnt hillside before arriving at a pass above Long Gulch Lake 1.1 miles from the junction.

View south from the tie trail.

Approaching the pass.

Sullivan mentions that it is possible to scramble 0.2 miles to the right along this ridge to get a view of Mt. Shasta and the heart of the Trinity Alps but with the smoke on the horizon we didn’t feel it was worth the effort and skipped that option.

Looking down into Long Gulch from the pass.

After pausing at the pass we started downhill and began getting occasional views of Long Gulch Lake.

To the north we could see much of the route we’d taken the day before on the way to Siphon and Russian Lakes.

Chipmunk with a snack.

A slightly frustrating feature of the trail down was a long switchback along a ridge which led past and away from the lake before turning back toward it. That big swing made the 1.4 miles down to the lake seem to take forever.

The outlet creek.

Long Gulch Trail passed to the north of Long Gulch Lake for a quarter mile.

The pass that the trail came down is along the ridge to the left here.

The trail continued west beyond the lake another third of a mile before arriving at a junction.

Parnassian on mountain coyote mint.

Skipper on mountain coyote mint.

At the junction we turned right beginning a 2.7 mile gradual descent to the Long Gulch Trailhead.

Meadow with a number of big trees that survived the fire.

Common buckeye

A copper or blue

Lorquin’s admiral

Leaving the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

The trail briefly followed the Long Gulch Creek.

Checker-mallow

The trail crossed the creek just under 2 miles from the junction.

Arriving at the Long Gulch Trailhead.

The only other person we saw all day was a backpacker who had just hiked out of Long Gulch Lake and was packing up his truck at the trailhead. He offered us a lift to our car but we wanted to finish hiking Sullivan’s loop so we declined. Sullivan described following horse trails for 0.9 miles back to the Trail Gulch Trailhead rather than following the road for 0.8 miles.

We crossed the road at a post and began to follow the horse trail.

Sullivan showed a junction after 0.3 miles just before arriving at a creek. As we neared the creek our GPS showed us having gone the 0.3 miles so we were looking for a trail to our right. We spotted what looked like it might be a trail complete with some flagging so we turned up hill following it.

Long story short we’d turned too early and wound up just below the road at a horseshoe turn. At that point it was easier to bushwack up to the road and follow it back to the trailhead instead of searching for the horse trail so we finished the loop on the road.

We did pass a sign for the horse trail along the road.

As I neared the trailhead a large bird flew into a nearby tree. I took a couple of pictures and it appears that it may have been an owl.
To the far right of the photo in between the green and orange branches is where it landed.

This was a 10.2 mile loop with 2280′ of elevation gain.

Our drive back to Etna was delightfully uneventful and after cleaning up we headed to Etna Brewing for a great meal and some beer. Despite the tire fiasco we were still on track to finish all five featured hikes before heading back to Salem. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Gulch Lakes Loop

Tags Butterfly, California, Carter Meadows, hiking, Long Gulch Lake, Long Gulch Trailhead, Trail Gulch Lake, Trail Gulch Trailhead, Trinity Alps Wilderness

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trip report

Russian Lake – 08/24/2022

Our third day in Northern California was set to be our longest. Our goal was Russian Lake which is Sullivan’s featured hike #90 in his “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” (edition 4.2) guidebook. Sullivan’s described hike is only 8.6 miles with 1300′ of elevation gain starting from the Deacon Lee Trailhead. Normally that is where we would have started our hike but his description of the drive to that trailhead is less than encouraging. He says “This narrow road is no place for drivers with a fear of heights. And because of sharp rocks, you must drive slowly to avoid blowouts.” Given our trouble earlier this year with low tire pressure (post) we were reluctant to attempt the drive. Another option was provided by Boots on the Trail using the PCT (post).

This approach only required 0.6 miles of driving on gravel roads as we parked at the second switchback of Forest Road 39N48 within sight of the Pacific Crest Trail.
PCT below FR 39N48.

We walked downhill to the PCT and turned right following it along the hillside.

Tail and Long Gulches in the Trinity Alps Wilderness (our next hike).

Lots of buckwheat along the ridge.

At the 0.7 mile mark we crossed an old roadbed.

For the next 3.8 miles the PCT alternated between forest and open hillside in a series of ups and downs before arriving at a junction with the Deacon Lee Trail.

Buckwheat

Trinity Alps Wilderness

Caesar and Thompson Peak

We would be passing below the peak in the distance later.

Small buck on the hillside above the PCT.

The Deacon Lee Trail was visible crossing the opening on the far hillside.

Checker-mallow

Crescent butterfly

Small spring along the PCT.

The junction with the Deacon Lee Trail.

We turned onto the Deacon Lee Trail following pointers for Syphon (Siphon on maps) and Waterdog Lakes.

The Deacon Lee Trail follows an old roadbed through a forest and across an open hillside that was full of buckwheats.

Dwarf lupine

Fritillary butterfly on spreading dogbane.

Nearing Siphon Lake.

Siphon Lake was just under a mile from the PCT.

We took a break at Siphon Lake to enjoy the scenery before continuing along the old roadbed.
Old pipe that used to bring water down to mines lower on the hillside.

A third of a mile from Siphon Lake the trail veered right leaving the old roadbed and becoming single track.

We were now heading NW and descending slightly.

We spotted a doe in the trail ahead stopped in its tracks staring at us.

She had a pair of fawns with her which we didn’t spot until they headed back down the trail. She stayed put though and as we slowly made our way downhill we were wondering if whether or not she was going to follow them. Soon one of the fawns reappeared and we all stood staring at one another for a few minutes before they finally retreated.

Zoomed in on the pair.

The curious fawn.

After the deer had moved on we continued downhill to a point where the ridge on our right came down near the trail. Here we spotted a cairn and what appeared to be a use trail that we hoped would lead down to Russian Lake.

We could have continued downhill on the Deacon Lee Trail another 0.3 miles to a junction where a right turn would have led us past Waterdog Lake to Russian Lake in half a mile but cutting over the ridge would save us around three quarters of a mile. We pretty easily found the use trail leading steeply downhill.

When we neared Russian Lake we went to the right to visit a small pond in the rocks above the lake.

The pond was full of tadpoles.

After taking a break overlooking the lake we made our way around its NW side and crossed the dry outlet creek.

Hooded ladies tresses

View from the outlet creek.

We explored the rocks on the NE side of the lake with views of Russian Peak and some other interesting rock formations.

Russian Peak

We both fell in love with this lake and wished we were staying there for a couple of days just to explore the area more but alas we weren’t so after a nice break we recrossed the outlet creek and picked up a trail heading toward Waterdog Lake.
Fireweed near the outlet.

Large boykinia

Saxifrage seed head

It was a pretty good drop down to Waterdog Lake.

Waterdog Lake.

Waterdog Lake was a nice lake but not nearly as dramatic as Russian Lake had been. As we made our way around the lake we spotted a large frog and several deer, one of which couldn’t stop sneezing.

The deer were across the lake in those trees.

Looking back along the lake.

The trail climbed away from the lake offering a brief glimpse of Lower Russian Lake.

After cresting a saddle the trail dropped to a junction with the Deacon Lee Trail near the boundary of the Russian Wilderness.

We turned left following pointers for the PCT and Siphon Lake.

It was a pretty steady 0.3 mile climb back to where we had left the trail earlier and then another good climb back up to the old roadbed.
Paintbrush

There were dozens of lizards scurrying across the trails all day but not many stopped long enough for photos.

Haven’t been able to identify this one yet.

We paused again briefly at Siphon Lake before continuing on and then retraced our steps to the car. The only other person we saw all day was a lone bow hunter.

Butterfly on mountain coyote mint

Another butterfly on mountain coyote mint.

Grasshopper that became obsessed with Heather’s glove.

Cricket

Our hike came in at 14.8 miles with approximately 2900′ cumulative elevation gain.

Our adventure for the day was only beginning though. Ironically shortly after passing Carter Meadows Summit our “low tire pressure” light once again came on. We made it back down to Callahan but less than a mile later I could feel the car begin to pull right so we pulled off Highway 3 into some gravel. The front passenger side tire was flat. I got the jack and spare tire out but was struggling to get the tire off due to the lug nuts being quite tight. Heather was on the phone trying to secure roadside service but the call center on the other end couldn’t even figure out where we were. (Seriously it was a State Highway a mile outside of a town shown on every map but I digress.) I finally managed to get the flat off but hadn’t raised the car quite far enough to get the spare on and of course as I tried to lift the car a bit more it rolled forward off the jack. I managed to get the jack back under and the car up a bit when a pair of ladies in a Forest Service Truck turned around to check on us. We cannot thank Megan and Malia enough, they were able to get their jack under the car to shore it up and used a shovel to create a little more room under the car in order for us to get it high enough to get the spare on. It was over 90 degrees and nearing 5pm and who knows how long we’d have been out there because Heather was still trying to get the road side assistance to understand where we were (she even gave GPS coordinates).

By the time we got back to Etna it was too late to find a tire place so we returned to our motel and put a plan together for the following day. We would get up and drive to Valley Tire & Tackle in Fort Jones when they opened at 8am in hopes that they could either repair the tire or had a set of replacements (we’d already had both driver side tires patched up this year) and then depending on how long that took we would either hike later in the day or extend our stay in order to get all our planned hikes in. After all we didn’t want to leave one featured hike undone that far from home. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Russian Lake

Tags California, Callahan, Carter Meadows Summit, Deacon Lee Trail, Etna, hiking, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Russian Lake, Russian Wildernss, Siphon Lake, Syphon Lake, Waterdog Lake

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trinity Alps

Boulder Lakes Loop (Trinity Alps) – 08/23/2022

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date August 30, 2022
1 Comment on Boulder Lakes Loop (Trinity Alps) – 08/23/2022

By spending the night in Etna, CA we were only 30 to 45 minutes from the trailheads for the four remaining hikes we had planned for the week. As mentioned in the previous post we chose to do East Boulder Lake first due to it being the closest to the recently started Callahan Fire and thus the most likely to be affected if that fire were to escape containment. From Etna we drove south on Highway 3 to Callahan then made our way to the East Boulder Trailhead.

The road to the trailhead passes through forest burned in the 2021 Haypress Fire but the trailhead and trails for our hike escaped damage.

Sullivan describes three options for his featured hike; a 4 mile out-and-back to East Boulder Lake, a 6.4 mile out-and-back to a pass beyond the lake, and a 9.8 mile lollipop loop past Middle Boulder Lake at the edge of the fire scar which was the option we were planning on. The East Boulder Trail climbed gradually at first through the forest and a couple of small meadows before steepening and climbing past a small waterfall on East Boulder Creek.
Entering the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

First view of the small waterfall.

Bigelow’s sneezeweed

Marsh grass-of-Parnassus

Not sure what these little guys are.

Checker-mallow

Western snakeroot

Passing the waterfall.

Above the falls the trail leveled out some and made a final short climb to East Boulder Lake, just over 1.8 miles from the trailhead.
Peaks in the Russian Wilderness to the NE.

Dam near East Boulder Lake.

The trail crosses the dam here but there were better views this time of the morning in the other direction so we detoured to the left admiring the reflections in the lake.

We took a nice break along the lake shore listening to cow bells coming from the trees on the far shore.
There were cows out there somewhere but we couldn’t see them.

After the break we crossed the dam and continued around the lake.
View from the dam. We had to watch out for frogs here.

We lost the trail briefly in a meadow on the southern end of the lake but picked it up again after crossing the inlet creek.

We should have stuck closer to the lake.

Buckwheat

Back on the trail where the cows were just leaving.

The trail then passed two smaller unnamed lakes and Upper Boulder Lake where there were several cows and some ducks.

We detoured to the right to get a view of Upper Boulder Lake then returned to the trail and began to climb out of the basin to the pass.
Upper Boulder Lake

Upper Boulder Lake in the background.

One of the cows on the far side of the lake to the left.

Toothed owl’s clover

Ducks on Upper Boulder Lake.

The climb was fairly steep at times.

All four lakes in view.

Almost to the pass.

At the pass.

Looking south further into the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

Beyond the pass the trail descended 150 yards to the Pacific Crest Trail where we turned right.

We turned right onto that trail following it for 2 miles to another pass. The scenery along this section was great, particularly the colorful rocks.

Balloon-pod milk vetch

Golden-mantled ground squirrel taking in the views.

Mt. Shasta over Mt. Eddy through the haze. I believe the lake below to the right is Big Marshy Lake.

Fireweed in the rocks.

Paintbrush

A bit of water from a spring along the PCT.

The water was coming from somewhere up there.

Looking back along the PCT.

Snack time.

Caesar and Thompson Peak

This northern flicker looks like its head is on backwards.

A little bit of burned forest near the pass.

More peaks in the heart of the Trinity Alps.

Caribou Mountain (post) on the right with Sawtooth Mountain over its shoulder.

The pass above Middle Boulder Lake.

Middle Boulder Lake is just visible beyond two smaller unnamed lakes.

There was no sign at the pass but a small cairn marked a trail to the right that led down past the lakes.
Middle Boulder Lake Trail at the pass.

The Middle Boulder Lake Trail traversing down the hillside.

A sulphur butterfly.

The trail stayed above the two unnamed lakes.

The trail grew faint as it passed through a series of meadows where little frogs were abundant.
The trees on the far hillside were burned in the 2021 fire.

Approximately 0.6 miles from the pass we came to a cairn near a downed tree. A trail sign had been attached to the end of the tree marking the Boulder Tie Trail.
The cairn to the right of the downed tree.

It took us a minute to identify the actual start of this trail which was in a wet meadow. There were a few small cairns that helped guide the way and we soon found ourselves on clear tread again.
This may be Autumn dwarf gentian

One of the more obvious cairns.

Butterfly on a seed head.

The tread getting clearer.

Middle Boulder Lake

Back on good tread.

As we were traversing a sagebrush hillside Heather started repeating something behind me. She was saying “buck” but that isn’t what I heard and thought something bad had happened to her.

The vegetation was tall enough that he was hard to pick out but when he raised up we got some decent views.

Orange agoseris

After a mile and a half on this trail we climbed to a saddle overlooking East Boulder Lake.
Passing through a bit of forest before climbing to the saddle.

From the saddle we spotted a hiker making his way along the lake. He spotted us as we were descending and waited for us to come down. We lost the trail again as we descended and simply hiked cross country through the sagebrush to the East Boulder Trail. The waiting hiker asked us about the loop and how hard it was to follow. He was a local that had been to the lake and the pass above several times but had never attempted the loop. After getting some information from us and taking photos of our paper map he was considering giving the loop a go. We went our separate ways, recrossed the dam, and returned to the trailhead.
Approaching the dam.

Fish in East Boulder Creek.

Descending near the waterfall.

An aster or fleabane.

Butterfly

Woodpecker

While Sullivan listed the hike as 9.8 miles our GPS only registered 9.6 miles with a total elevation gain just under 2000′.

We returned to Etna, showered, and then headed to Paystreak Brewing for dinner. We turned in fairly early in anticipation of our longest hike of the week the next day when we would be taking the PCT north from Carter Meadows Summit and heading into the Russian Wilderness. Happy Trails!

Flickr: East Boulder Lake

Tags Big Marshy Lake, Boulder Tie Trail, California, East Boulder Lake, East Boulder Lake Trail, East Boulder Lake Trailhead, Etna, hiking, Middle Boulder Lake, Middle Boulder Lake Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Paystreak Brewing, PCT, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Upper Boulder Lake

California Hiking Mt. Shasta Area Trip report

Mount Shasta Meadows – 08/22/2022

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date August 29, 2022
2 Comments on Mount Shasta Meadows – 08/22/2022

We had planned a five day backpacking trip in the Wallowas but then a red flag warning for the possibility of abundant lightning the first day followed by more chances of thunderstorms over then next two derailed those plans. That trip would have checked three more featured hikes from the remaining twenty one hikes on our to-do list from the Eastern Oregon area. With all twenty one of the those hikes being located in the NE corner of Oregon (15 in the Wallowas and 6 along Hells Canyon) there were no alternate plans we could look to in that area to continue making progress toward or 500 featured hikes goal (post) so we turned to the Southern Oregon & Northern California book instead. For that area we still had thirty one featured hikes left including five hikes in Northern California, one at Mt. Shasta and four near Carter Meadows Summit west of Callahan, CA. A clear forecast and no wildfire closures provided a green light so we booked a last minute room at the Etna Motel in Etna, CA and once again headed south this year.

When we reached Yreka, CA instead of taking Highway 3 to Etna we stayed on Interstate 5 and continued south to Mt. Shasta and made our way to the Upper Panther Meadows Trailhead. We had tried to do the hike here in late July 2017 but a late snow melt that year had kept the gate to this trailhead closed so we had hiked from Bunny Flat instead (post).

Lupine at the trailhead.

A line of smoke over the Castle Crags (post) and Mt. Eddy (post).

Castle Crags

From this trailhead we followed the Everitt Memorial Highway uphill a quarter mile to the South Gate Meadows Trailhead.
Green Butte and Mt. Shasta

Here we hopped onto a rock lined trail and climbed a half mile to a pass where we entered the Mt. Shasta Wilderness.

Common buckeye

Red Butte from the pass.

Mount Eddy from the pass.

Heather standing at the wilderness boundary.

From the pass the trail descended 0.6 miles to a signed trail junction at The Gate below Red Butte.
A dry spring along the trail. Ideally we would have been doing this hike (and trip) in late July for more wildflowers but sometimes the circumstances dictate when and where we wind up.

Approaching The Gate.

Shastarama Point and Thumb Rock

Gray Butte

The trail junction near The Gate. The trail to the right would be our return route to make a loop through Panther Meadows, but for now we went left following the pointer for South Gate Meadows.

We followed the trail downhill through boulders from Red Butte then into a forest that provided the first real shade of the hike.

A paintbrush and aster.

Penstemon

Some haze to the south but we could make out Lassen Peak which is one we rarely ever get to see.

Lassen Peak

Just under three quarters of a mile from The Gate we arrived at South Gate Meadows.

Primrose monkeyflower

From the meadows use trails head both up and downhill along South Gate Creek (aka Squaw Valley Creek). Sullivan showed a “monkeyflower spring” a half mile uphill and a “circular meadow” four tenths of a mile downhill. Not knowing when we might be back we decided to do both starting with the downhill first.
The use trail crossing the creek.

In sight of the circular meadow.

Marsh grass-of-Parnassus

Paintbrush

After a quick visit we headed back up to South Gate Meadows.

Back at the meadows.

We then took a use trail up along the eastern side of the creek which brought us to the spring.

A pair of common buckeyes.

Primrose monkeyflowers and paintbrush

Not the “monkeyflower” spring but a smaller one along the way up.

The “monkeyflower” spring.

A couple of monkeyflowers and a buckeye.

I climbed a bit above the spring to check out the view.

Heather arriving at the spring.

We took a break here and one at the little spring we’d passed on the way up and then headed back toward The Gate.
A Clark’s nutcracker also taking a break.

Two types of monkeyflower and bog St. John’s wort,

One last pass through South Gate Meadows.

Red Butte

Shasta knotweed

Back at The Gate.

From The Gate we followed the pointer for Panther Meadows. This trail brought us through a barren landscape before climbing over some glaciated rock and entering a forest.
Mt. Shasta from the trail.

Red Butte

Glaciated rock.

Mt. Shasta and Sargents Ridge.

Into the forest.

The trail left the wilderness along the way.

Just over three quarters of a mile from The Gate we arrived at a junction with the Gray Butte Trail. We had considered taking this 0.9 mile detour but it was already 2:20pm and it was also fairly warm so we decided to skip it this time around.
The junction with Gray Butte behind the trees.

From the junction the trail gradually descended a half mile to Panther Meadows.

Another Clark’s nutcracker. They are boisterous birds and other than first thing in the morning we get a kick out of listening to them.

Stream flowing through the meadows.

Gray Butte from Panther Meadows.

At a junction on the west side of the meadow near Panther Meadows Campground we followed a pointer for Upper Panther Meadow.

We followed this trail just over a third of a mile uphill to another junction where we turned right and followed a path across the creek.

We kept right for 0.2 miles to reach Panther Spring.

After visiting the spring we backtracked a tenth of a mile and turned right for a third of a mile back to the Panther Meadows Trailhead to complete the loop.

Picnic tables at the trailhead.

With the two side trips at South Gate Meadows and some other wandering the hike came to 7.4 miles with approximately 1900′ of elevation gain.

From the trailhead we drove to Etna and checked into our motel then made a quick run to Ray’s Food Place for some food for the week. It was a nice start to the vacation made even better when we saw that the Callahan Fire which had started on 20th just 6 miles east of Callahan had been fully contained at less than 10 acres. That one had the potential to do a lot of damage (and put a nix on the rest of our hikes). Our plan for the next day was to hike to East Boulder Lake as that was the closest to where the Callahan Fire was and therefore most likely to be closed if that fire were to spread but thankfully it sounded like that wasn’t going to happen. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mount Shasta Meadows

Tags California, gray butte, Green Butte, hiking, Mount Shasta, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Shasta Wilderness, Panther Meadows, Panther Spring, Red Butte, Shastrama Point, South Gate Meadows, The Gate, The Thumb, Upper Panther Meadows Trailhead

Blue Mountains - North Hiking Oregon Trip report

Buck Creek Trail – 06/15/2021

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date June 22, 2021
No Comments on Buck Creek Trail – 06/15/2021

For our third and final hike in the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness we had originally planned on a 13.9 mile loop using the Buck Creek, Lake Creek, and Buck Mountain Trails. That plan had been scrapped due to the damage caused by the February 2020 flooding in the area which left the roads and trails damaged. We parked as we had the two previous days at a gate along Bingham Springs Road (NF-32). Unlike the previous two days though it had rained overnight and the clouds were still breaking up as we set off on the 1.4 mile road walk to the Buck Creek Trailhead

There were no masses of swallowtails along the road this morning (post) but we did see a merganser across the Umatilla where some of the butterflies had been.

While the first two hikes in this wilderness had been featured hikes in Sullivan’s guidebook the Buck Creek/Buck Mountain Trails were back of the book entries. The Forest Service again had listed them both as open but the latest update (late May 2021) indicated that only the first 2 miles of the Buck Creek Trail had been cleared since the flooding and just the first 1/2 mile of the Buck Mountain Trail had received any maintenance. We were prepared to turn around when the maintenance petered out on both of these trails and we decided to start with the Buck Mountain Trail since it was said to be steep. We figured climbing first thing in the morning was better than later in the day.
Buck Creek Trailhead

Buck Creek Trail straight ahead with the Buck Mountain Trail to the right. Notice that the Buck Mountain Trail didn’t receive a nice new sign. (Not pictured is the Ninemile Ridge Trail to the left.)

Just a few hundred feet down the Buck Mountain Trail we arrived at Buck Creek where there was no bridge nor any way to cross dry footed.

It would have been an easy enough ford but starting the morning of with soaked feet didn’t sound appealing to either of us, especially to simply climb for 1/2 a mile and turn around assuming no further maintenance had been done on the trail. Since we weren’t willing to get wet we decided to return to the trail junction and head up the Buck Creek Trail.

It didn’t take long to realize that fording the creek or not we were not going to have dry feet today. The Buck Creek Trail had been maintained but not brushed out. The overnight rain transferred easily from the vegetation to our clothing and soon not only were our feet wet but so were our pants and at least the lower half of our shirts.

Nice new wilderness sign along the trail.

Signs of the flooding.

Blue sky

Washed out section of trail.

Recent trail repair here.

Slugs didn’t mind the damp conditions.

We made it a little over 1.75 miles before stopping at a deep washout.

There was no visible tread entering or leaving this deep ditch and we had spent the previous tenth of a mile or so pushing our way through the wet vegetation so we assumed the maintenance hadn’t gotten any further. We turned back and did our best to pick up any water that we’d missed on the first pass.

20210615_083538 Honeysuckle was everywhere in this wilderness, on all three hikes.

Squirrel!

We took a short detour when we reached NF-32 to check out some damage to the bridge over the South Fork Umatilla River.

There were no swallowtails today, and the merganser was no longer where we’d seen it but now there was a spotted sandpiper on the rocks where the swallowtails and merganser had been.

Apparently that is a popular spot for wildlife. We returned to car and drove back to Pendleton for the last time on this trip. For dinner we walked from the Rugged Country Lodge to Hal’s Hamburgers, in business since 1952. It was a nice ending to our stay in Pendleton. A brief but wet 6.5 mile hike with only a couple of hundred feet of elevation gain and a good old fashioned hamburger. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Buck Creek Trail

Tags Buck Creek, Buck Creek Trail, Buck Mountain Trail, Hal's Hamburgers, hiking, Ninemile Ridge Trail, North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, Oregon, South Fork Umatilla River

Blue Mountains - North Hiking Oregon Trip report

North Fork Umatilla Trail – 06/14/2021

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date June 21, 2021
No Comments on North Fork Umatilla Trail – 06/14/2021

For the second hike in the North Fork Umatilla Wilderness we chose the North Fork Umatilla River Trail (Hike #40 in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Eastern Oregon” 3rd edition). We began our hike as we had the prior days for Ninemile Ridge (post) by hiking up the closed portion of Bingham Springs Road but this time after 0.3 miles we noticed a sign post for what apparently is the Lick Creek Trail which connects to the North Fork Umatilla Trail in 0.6 miles near the North Fork Umatilla Trailhead located at the Umatilla Forks Day-Use Area.
Closed portion of Bingham Springs Road (NF 32).

We had completely missed this trail along NF-32 the day before having been distracted by the large number of butterflies in the area.

Slugs were everywhere on this trail and became a theme for the day.

The trail climbed up from the road and traversed the hillside above the Umatilla River before dropping down to the North Fork Umatilla Trail.

We stayed right at this junction to head down to the North Fork Umatilla Trail.

Spreading dogbane

Evidence of the February 2020 flooding covering the North Fork Umatilla Trail, also there is a squirrel on the base of the tree at center.

There was a warning on the trail sign regarding the flood damage. The Forest Service website had been updated in late May to say that the trail had been maintained as far as Coyote Creek (approx 2.7 miles from the trailhead) though so we figured that we would be able to get at least that far. The Ninemile Ridge Trail had received more maintenance than the Forest Service page had said so we thought there might be a chance that more of this trail had been cleared since the last update too.
Some signs of recent maintenance.

North Fork Umatilla River

We were excited to see that there was an actual wilderness sign on this trail. We hadn’t seen one along the Ninemile Ridge Trail, just a small metal sign plate.

It was evident that a lot of work had been put into restoring the trail given the number of slides we crossed and cut trees we encountered.

Debris from the flood in what appeared to be a new route for the river.

This big slide was across the river.

Some of the trail side was also lost.

Lorquin’s admiral

A section of trail that survived intact.

Looking down another small slide.

Paintbrush

More maintenance along another washout.

Arnica

Queen’s cup

A number of slugs on the trail, Heather counted at least two dozen in just a few feet.

Clover

Monkeyflower

Alpine pennycress

Bog orchid

Stonecrop along an exposed section.

Ragged robin in the exposed area.

At one point this guy was hitching a ride on my pant leg.

View from the trail.

This section was a little overgrown.

I believe this is Sabin’s lupine.

Spur trail to a large campsite near Coyote Creek and the North Fork Umatilla River.

The footbridge at Coyote Creek was washed out in the flood and now lay broken on the far side of the creek. I crossed over on some nearby downed trees to scout out the trail ahead. Sullivan had shown a rough 0.9 mile scramble route leading up to the left on the far side of the creek while the North Fork Umatilla Trail continued 1.6 miles up river to more campsites before turning away and begin a climb up Coyote Ridge. In 1.2 miles the trail met the scramble route at a viewpoint then climbs another 1.6 miles to a fork at the tip of Coyote Ridge. Originally our plan had been to hike to that fork for an 11 mile out and back (from the Umatilla Forks Day-Use Area). Having to park at the gate would have made it closer to a 13 mile hike but after crossing the creek it was apparent that the Forest Service website was still up to date and the trail had only been cleared to Coyote Creek. Pink flagging marked both the scramble route and official trail but it appeared that was as far as anyone had gotten.
Missing a footbridge.

I crossed on that log.

Found the footbridge.

Flagging for the scramble route.

Flagging for the North Fork Umatilla Trail

We took a short break at Coyote Creek then explored the nearby campsites before heading back.
Butterfly on a cinquefoil?

Confluence of Coyote Creek and the North Fork Umatilla River.

Deep hole below the campsites along the North Fork Umatilla
River.

Campsite near Coyote Creek.

Heading back on the trail.

Checkerspot on honeysuckle

20210614_093532 Twisted stalk

20210614_093947 Spotted coralroot

20210614_094143 Phantom orchid

20210614_100104 Houndstongue

As we neared the junction with the tie trail to the Lick Creek Trail we met a three person trail crew heading for Coyote Creek. They were going to be working on the trail beyond and added that a larger crew was coming in to camp at Coyote Creek and continue restoring the trail. We thanked them for their efforts and briefly discussed the Ninemile Ridge Trail which they were happy to hear was passable to the cairn at the high point. Instead of taking the tie trail back we hiked out via the day-use area and followed NF-32 back to the car.
Signboard at the trailhead.

Sign for the Blues Crew at the trailhead. These volunteer organizations are so vital to keeping the trails open.

We were delayed twice along the way by swarms of swallowtail butterflies.
Not swallowtails but these lorquin’s admirals sure liked this scat.

The first mass of swallowtails was on the far side of the river along this stretch.

The second and larger group was at this wet spot along the road.

20210614_111743~2

In addition to all of them on the ground dozens more were swirling around our heads. It was one of those moments on the trail (even if it was a road) that we wont forget.

Our hike came in at a reasonable 8.5 miles round trip with a little under 500′ of elevation gain. A much more manageable day than the one before. While it was a bit disappointing not to reach Coyote Ridge it was probably for the best for our bodies in the long run. It helped that we had gotten plenty of views of the area on Ninemile Ridge too so we didn’t feel like we missed out much there.

We drove back to Pendleton and after cleaning up had dinner at Moe Pho before turning in for the night. Happy Trails!

Flickr: North Fork Umatilla Trail

Tags Blue Mountain, Blues Crew, Coyote Creek, hiking, Lick Creek Trail, Moe Pho, North Fork Umatilla River, North Fork Umatilla Wilderness, Oregon, Swallowtail butterfly, Swallowtails, Umatilla Forks Day-Use Area, Umatilla River

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trinity Divide Trip report

Mount Eddy and the Deadfall Lakes

Post author By yunckrunner
Post date August 2, 2017
5 Comments on Mount Eddy and the Deadfall Lakes

The chance of thunderstorms didn’t seem to be going away anytime soon so we decided to take a chance on our third day of vacation and try Mount Eddy, the highest point in the Klamath Mountains. We set off early in the morning and drove to the Parks Creek Trailhead located at the Pacific Crest Trail crossing of Forest Road 42N17.

We headed south on the PCT toward the Deadfall Lakes.

We could see our goal as we hiked the PCT.

Further to the south were the snowy Trinity Alps.

Below were meadows surrounding Deadfall Creek.

As we neared the Deadfall Lakes Basin we began passing some good wildflower displays.

A little under 3 miles from the trailhead we arrived at a junction with the Deadfall Lakes Trail.

We turned left heading for Mount Eddy. The weather was looking good and we wanted to get up to the summit before any thunderstorms might develop. As we passed by we made a brief stop at Middle Deadfall Lake before continuing on.

The trail climbed gradually past a series of meadows where we spotted some California pitcher plants.

The trail steepened as it climbed toward Upper Deadfall Lake.

As we crested the rim of this upper portion of the basin we arrived at a small lake with a big view of Mount Eddy.

Due to the time the sun wasn’t in the best position to appreciate the view but as we passed by the lake it had a nice reflection.

Just a little further along the trail (and a mile from the junction) we came to Upper Deadfall Lake.

The trail then climbed .4 miles to a pass where the Mount Eddy Summit Trail forked to the left from the Siskiyou-Callahan Trail.

A quick glance at the map showed us that we had about a mile and a half left to the 9025′ summit and another 1000′ to climb. Up we went.

As we climbed the views of the Deadfall Lakes gradually improved.

2017-07-25 08.27.50_stitch

The views and the presence of a number of wildflowers helped keep our minds off the climb. So did the numerous golden-mantled ground squirrels scurrying about.

Rockfringe willowherb

Mt. Shasta greeted us as we crested the summit of Mount Eddy.

Looking north we could see that there was definitely some active weather happening but the sky was cloudless above us.

We explored the broad summit and took a seat overlooking the Deadfall Lakes where we enjoyed a much needed break.

We eventually pulled ourselves away and headed back down toward the lakes.

By the time we made it back down to the small lake a few clouds had moved in overhead.

We stopped at Middle Deadfall Lake and walked along its shore toward Lower Deadfall Lake.

We followed the outlet creek down to the lower lake.

The lower lake was lovely so we took another break here. As we ate another snack, Heather spotted a doe grazing along the shore.

She took a seat under a tree and we wondered how many times we’ve missed deer or other animals, if we hadn’t been watching her we probably would have never seen her sitting there.

We left the lake and returned to the junction with the PCT and followed it back to our car. Our GPS showed an 11.9 mile trip in all with a little over 2000′ of elevation gain. It had been another exceptional hike in the Klamath Mountains. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Mount Eddy

Tags California, Deadfall Lakes, Deadfall Lakes Trail, Deadfall Meadows, hiking, Klamath Mountains, Lower Deadfall Lake, Middle Deadfall Lake, Mount Eddy, Mount Shasta, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Upper Deadfall Lake

Hiking Oregon Roseburg Area Trip report Willamette Valley

North Bank Habitat

We recently headed down to Ashland, OR on vacation for a few hikes and to catch a play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. On our way down south we stopped at the BLM managed North Bank Habitat just north of Roseburg for a quick hike to break up the drive. The primary goal of the habitat is to provide secure habitat for the Columbia white-tailed deer and other special status species.

The 10-mile square area has several access points and trail possibilities, although some access points are only open during certain days/hours so check ahead. We started our hike at the West Access and headed up the Blacktail Ridge Road Trail.

The area which had been a farm/ranch? was very different than any of the places we have visited. Rolling hills of grass and oak trees along with valleys filled with forest.

There were also a lot of flowers, many that were unfamiliar to us. The only issue was having to watch out for the poison oak that seemed to be everywhere along the way.

Yellow Glandweed

Poison Oak lining the old road

Elegant Brodiaea

Blessed Milk Thistle

Despite it being a cloudy day there were views all along the ridge. We kept our eyes open for deer on the surrounding hillsides but weren’t having any luck. The only signs of wildlife so far were some blackbirds at the trailhead and lots of birdsong from the trees.

We followed the Blacktail Ridge Road Trail to a junction with Middle Ridge Trail to a second junction the Thistle Ridge Trail. Some of the best views were along the Middle Ridge Trail (which we were now on) just after the Thistle Ridge junction. It was here that we began spotting wildlife. First a hawk

Then a small blue bird

and finally some deer.

They were a ways off but there appeared to be a pair of black-tailed deer not the Columbian white-tailed but they were deer none the less. We continued to spot new flowers as well including several Henderson’s stars which were really unique.

Eventually we reached a junction with the Chasm Creek Road Trail. Here we turned left and headed steeply down the old muddy road.

The trail eventually leveled off and we strolled through mores open grassland to the border of the Jackson Ranch where we turned left on the Jackson Ranch access road. This area was filled with birds including this beautiful western bluebird.

Just before reaching North Bank Road at the gated Jackson Ranch access road we turned left again along a short path lined with daisies and purple self-heal to return to the West Access Parking area.

Granted it was a Monday morning but we didn’t see another person during the 6.2 mile loop. It was a perfect way to kick off a week of vacation. Happy Trails!

flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157653672903899

Tags blessed milk thistle, Elegant Brodiaea, hiking, north bank habitat, Oregon, poison oak, roseburg, self-heal, western bluebird. henderson's stars, yellow glandweed