Category: Old Cascades

Throwback Thursday – Odds and Ends

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date June 7, 2018
4 Comments on Throwback Thursday – Odds and Ends

With this Throwback Thursday post we will have covered all the trails that we hiked prior to starting this blog and have not been part of a subsequent hike that was featured here. We are combining several hikes in one for a couple of reasons. The remaining hikes were all relatively short, some we have few if any pictures, and one was done on the same day that we did another hike that we did again after we started the blog.

Many of our earliest hikes were centered around Bend, OR and were part of vacations prior to 2010 when we first started to be serious about hiking. These were hikes of opportunity more than conscious efforts to go on a hike.

One such was the 3 mile loop around Suttle Lake. We were staying at one of the cabins at the Suttle Lake Resort and decided to take the trail around the lake. The level hike offered views of the lake and of bald eagles and osprey as they soared over the lake watching for fish. On that hike we didn’t even carry a camera.

Another camera-less but worthwhile hike was the Lava River Cave. This mile long lava tube south of Bend is a great stop for kids and adults and can easily be combined with a visit to nearby Lava Lands or the High Desert Museum.

In 2007, while in Bend on vacation in July, we hiked up Pilot Butte. A mile long trail in the middle of town leads up to the top of the 4148′ summit which offers view on a clear day north to Mt. Adams in Washington.
Mountain locator on Pilot Butte

It was a bit hazy during this visit but the snowy peaks of the Cascades from Mt. Bachelor to the Three Sisters were still visible.
Mt. Bachelor, Tumalo Mt., Ball Butte, Broken Top, and the Three Sisters

On that same trip we took a stroll along the Deschutes River Trail from the Mt. Bachelor Village upriver to a footbridge and returned on a loop via Reed Market Road.

Geese on the Deschutes River

Scarlet gilia

Deer along the Deschutes River Trail in Bend, OR

Deschutes River

Grand Collomia

The hikes weren’t all in Central Oregon. On 7/27/2009 we completed the 1.8 mile round trip to Henline Falls from the Henline Falls Trailhead. The trail is approximately 45 minutes east of Salem and features an old mine shaft near the waterfall.

Abandoned mine shaft

Abandonded mine shaft

We also started up the nearby Henline Mountain Trail (trailhead) that day but were not in decent enough shape to make it very far.

The final short hike along Lava Canyon near Mt. St. Helens was done after our first hike to Ape Canyon on 9/17/2012. We went back to Ape Canyon in 2015 (post) but that time we did Ape Cave for the other hike.

After finishing our Ape Canyon hike in 2012 we walked from the Ape Canyon Trailhead .25 miles to the Lava Canyon Trailhead.
Trail map near Lava Canyon

A .4 mile trail leads down to the start of a short half mile loop.
Lava Canyon Trail sign

We stayed left at the start of the loop staying on the west side of the Muddy River. A footbridge led across the river above Lava Canyon Falls which was below the trail but mostly obscured.
Lava Canyon Trail sign at the start of the loop

Lava Canyon Falls

Just .2 miles from the first bridge the loop crosses the river on a suspension bridge.
Suspension Bridge over Lava Canyon

Suspension Bridge over Lava Canyon

Upstream from the suspension bridge the Muddy River careens down Triple Falls.

A .3 mile trail returns to the footbridge along the river along the eastern bank.
Muddy River

Muddy River

Upper Lava Canyon Falls

Henline Falls, Henline Mountain, and Lava Canyon are all in our future plans and reliving these and all our other Throwback Thursday hikes has been a lot of fun. Even though the information is dated hopefully they have provided some additional ideas for places to visit here in the Pacific Northwest. As always check with the managing agencies for current trail conditions before heading out. Happy Trails!

Tags Bend, deschutes river trail, Henline Falls, Henline Mountain, hiking, Lava Canyon, Lava River Cave, Mt. St. Helens, Oregon, Pilot Butte, Suttle lake, Washington

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

Throwback Thursday – Little North Santiam River

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 31, 2018
2 Comments on Throwback Thursday – Little North Santiam River

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

Our Throwback Thursday hike this week was the first time that we experienced snowfall while on a trail. In early April of 2012 we headed to the Little North Santiam, West Trailhead for what we hoped would be a 9 mile out-and-back hike along the Little North Santiam River.
Little North Santiam Trail sign

The area has become so popular on summer weekends that in June 2017 the Forest Service put several restrictions in place (information). Most of the issues have been north bank of the river which is easily accessed by car. Even in 2012 we knew to avoid the warm days of summer so we were there on a cold, wet Spring morning ready to go.
Little North Santiam Trail sign

Little North Santaim Trail

The Little North Santiam Trail led through a green forest along the Little North Santiam River.
Winter Creek

Little North Santaim River

Several side paths led down to the clear water.
Little North Santaim River

Little North Santaim River

Low clouds provided a light drizzle but we could see high enough up the hillside to see that snow level wasn’t all that much more above us.
Snowy trees not too much higher up

After crossing Winter Creek the trail climbed away from the river as it passed through a narrow canyon.
Little North Santaim Trail

Little North Santaim River

After passing the canyon the trail descended back down to the river through a mossy green forest.
Little North Santaim Trail

Forest along the Little North Santaim Trail

Little North Santaim River

At the 3.3 mile mark we passed above the Three Pools which are emerald pools in the river separated by small falls.
Little North Santaim River

Little North Santaim River

A little beyond the Three Pools the trail crosses Little Cedar Creek on a footbridge only the footbridge had been washed out over the winter and the creek was flowing high enough and fast enough to make the thought of fording unattractive. We were only about half a mile from the eastern trailhead but had to turn back.

As we headed back it began to snow.
Snow falling on the Little North Santaim River

Snow falling on the Little North Santaim River

It was coming down steadily and beginning to stick.
Snow along the Little North Santiam Trail

Snow falling on the Little North Santaim River

Things looked quite a bit different at the high point of the trail when we passed over on the way back.
Little North Santaim Trail

Fresh snow on the Little North Santiam Trail

As we descended the amount of snow lessened but it still made for some beautiful scenery.
Snow on the Little North Santaim River

There was even a bit of snow at the trailhead when we got back.
Fresh snow at the Little North Santiam Trailhead

The snow had surprised us and we were a little nervous at first about being able to see the trail, which was unfounded but we hadn’t hiked in snow like that before. It wound up being an exceptionally beautiful hike though and so much nicer than it would have been with hundreds of people swimming in the river. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Little North Santiam River

Tags hiking, Little Cedar Creek, Little North Santiam River, Little North Santiam Trail, Oregon, Snow, Three Pools, Winter Creek

Hiking Oregon Rogue-Umpqua Divide

Muir Creek Loop – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 31, 2018
8 Comments on Muir Creek Loop – Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

We had planned our most adventurous hike of Memorial Day weekend for Sunday. The goal was a long loop into the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, one of the wilderness areas we had yet to visit in our outings. Our intended route was to begin at the Muir Creek Trailhead and complete a 15.5 mile loop described by William Sullivan in his Southern Oregon & Northern California guidebook (Hike #37 in the 2017 4th edition). We were pushing the envelope a bit by attempting the loop this early in the year given that the route would take us to an elevation just over 6000′. A May 8, 2015 variation of the loop by fellow hiker Van Marmot appeared to have been snow free (trip report). That was an extremely low snow year and although this years snow pack was well below normal it isn’t nearly as bad as it was in 2015. We hoped the extra two weeks in timing would at least make what snow might be left passable. We figured the worst case scenario would be that we would hike up the creek as far as possible and make it an out-and-back if necessary.

With plans A & B at the ready we left Bend a bit before 5am and were ready to set off on the Muir Creek Trail by 6:45.

It was a crisp 35 degrees as we set off through the forest. We were soon climbing over and around a good deal of blowdown.

It wasn’t long before we began getting our first views of the meadows along Muir Creek.

We were on the lookout for wildlife in the meadows as well as any sign of where the abandoned portion of the Meadow Creek Trail might drop us back onto the Muir Creek Trail if we were indeed able to complete the loop. We expected that junction to be somewhere near the one mile mark but never noticed anything that looked like it might be the old trail. Beyond the one mile mark we encountered what appeared to be a somewhat recently eroded section of trail.

Just under a mile and a half from the trailhead we came to a beautiful view of Muir Creek as it flowed through a meadow.

Just beyond the viewpoint we passed a nice patch of white lupine along the trail.

Then we came to Alkali Creek which proved to be a little challenging to get across dry footed but we managed to find a fairly dry route.

The trail spent most if its time in the forest but occasional openings in the trees provided meadow views and at one point we spotted a pair of deer nibbling on some bushes.

Roughly two and three quarter miles from the trailhead we spotted East Fork Muir Creek Falls. Here we also saw the only other people we would see along the trail all day, a couple of backpackers who had set up camp near the falls.

Beyond the falls the trail continued up along West Fork Muir Creek briefly joining OHV Trail 27.

We left the OHV Trail at a bridge over the creek after a couple tenths of a mile.

We were now on the Buck Canyon Trail which began at road 6560/190 on the other side of the bridge at the Buck Canyon Trailhead.

Approximately a quarter mile from the bridge we came to the first of two bridgeless crossings of the creek. We searched to no avail for a place where we could cross without getting wet and eventually decided to ford the creek which was only calf deep but it was cold.

A quarter mile later we were faced with a similar situation and plunged through the icy water again.

In a small meadow we found some tall mountain bluebells beginning to bloom and a butterfly who appeared to be waiting for the flowers.

The meadows increased as we officially entered the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness.

We soon entered Hummingbird Meadows which had a nice display of yellow glacier lilies.

We also spotted a coyote here and watched it run off into the forest and disappear. A total of 5.3 miles from the Muir Creek Trailhead we passed the signed Hummingbird Meadows Trail.

The trail continued to the large and scenic Hummingbird Meadows as it climbed gradually up Buck Canyon.

The meadows continued for a mile and a half from the Hummingbird Meadows Trail to a junction with the Wiley Camp Trail which the Forest Service Website currently lists as “area is unavailable”.

Near the upper end of the meadows we began seeing some decent amounts of snow.

We also spotted a dreaded mylar balloon which we packed out.

At the junction there was no sign for the Wiley Camp Trail but there was one for the Buck Canyon Trail pointing toward the Meadow Creek Trail (which was still quite a ways away).

Shortly after passing the Wiley Camp Trail we came to Devils Slide, a half mile long rock-slide.

We stopped to visit a small waterfall next to the rocks.

After passing Devils Slide the trail entered an upper meadow.

Here we found some large patches of marsh marigolds.

A brief stint in the trees led us to more blowdown and another small waterfall.

Then we were back in a meadow but this time there was quite a bit more snow.

A few phlox and avalanche lilies bloomed here.

We lost the trail in the snow as we left the meadow and entered the trees.

For the next couple of miles we played find the trail due to the lingering snow. There was enough left that it made things challenging but not impassable. We did a bit of postholing, especially Heather, as we zig zaged through the forest looking for signs of the trail. Sometimes old tree blazes led the way and other times it was downed logs that had been cut for the trail. Occasionally the trail itself would appear for a bit only to be swallowed again by a snow drift. Having the GPS also helped as we were able to tell where the trail was in relation to our position.

blaze in the tree

After passing over a saddle at 6000′ we descended to Alkali Meadows. From the meadows we spotted Union Peak and some of the rim of Crater Lake.
Union Peak

Hillman Peak and The Watchman

After a brief stint in the upper portion of the meadows the trail turned back into the trees for a couple of creek crossings.

Soon we were back in Alkali Meadows and staring straight at Mt. Thielsen. (post)

A little further down the meadow Mt. Bailey (post) joined the view.

We left the snow behind after Alkali Meadows where the trail turned south traversing through a drier area for a mile to Bear Camp where we found the Meadow Creek Trail.

The rim of Crater Lake

We turned left onto the Meadow Creek Trail and quickly began a steep mile long descent.

We passed through more meadows with more views.

Just before reaching road 6540-700 we left the wilderness behind.

We turned left onto this road and followed it just over a quarter of a mile to where we turned right and followed signs for OHV Trail 27.

OHV Trail 27 left the wide road in favor of a rougher, narrow track.

There had obviously been some recent maintenance done to this trail, unlike our earlier trails.

We passed a nice view of Mt. Bailey and then saw the source of some of the maintenance.

The little dozer was Forest Service but it alone couldn’t have created all the debris we’d been seeing along the trail. Broken trees and brush had lined the entire track. After passing another viewpoint, this time of Crater Lake’s rim and Union Peak we discovered what had been chewing up the vegetation.

After roughly 1.5 miles descending on the OHV Trail we arrived Road 6540-900.

As nice as it was to have an actual trail to follow from Road 6540-700 down to the next road crossing it would have been much nicer if it had been the Meadow Creek Trail which had originally continued all the way down to the Muir Creek Trail. All of that trail save the mile between Bear Camp and Road 6540-700 has been abandoned by the Forest Service and from the map OHV Trail 27 appears to have obliterated some of the original trail. Road 6540-900 is where Van Marmot had started his hike and his trip report noted that the lower portion of the Meadow Creek Trial between this road and the Muir Creek Trail was still usable.

We turned right on Road 6450-700 looking for signs of the trail. Luckily someone had placed some pink flagging at the old trail otherwise we would have probably walked right past it even though the GPS showed we were right near it.
Faded pink flagging in the tree marking the abandoned Meadow Creek Trail

The trail was approximately 100 yards from where OHV Trial 27 popped out on the road and just a short distance before a cattle guard.
Cattle guard on Road 6540-700

The old trail was faint but easy to follow, in fact it was easier to follow this trail than the Buck Canyon Trail had been in the snow.

There was pink flagging along most of the half mile route but we did finally lose track of the tread just above the Muir Creek Trail. There was enough blowdown along the hillside that we had to make the final descent up on our own. This explained why we had been unable to spot any sign of the trail on our way by in the morning. We wound up just about a mile away from the trailhead so we headed back along the Muir Creek Trail maneuvering around the downed trees along the way. The 15.5 mile loop wound up being 16.2 according to our GPS, much of difference can be attributed to the back and forth hiking we did searching for the Buck Canyon Trail in the snow.

It was a beautiful hike even with the OHV Trail thrown in and we were amazed that on a holiday weekend we had only seen the one other couple all day. It was everything we’d hoped for in our first visit to the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Muir Creek Loop

Tags Alkali Meadows, Bear Camp, Buck Canyon, Buck Canyon Trail, coyote, Devils Slide, East Fork Muir Creek Falls, hiking, Hummingbird Meadows, Meadow Creek Trail, Muir Creek, Muir Creek Trail, OHV Trail 27, Oregon, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, West Fork Muir Creek, Wiley Camp Trail

Hiking McKenzie River Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Lookout Creek & Carpenter Mountain

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 21, 2018
2 Comments on Lookout Creek & Carpenter Mountain

**Note portions of these hikes burned in the 2023 Lookout Fire.**

We found ourselves doing some last minute schedule rearranging due to an ever changing weather forecast. After deciding against a possibly wet overnight trip along the Salmon River we chose a pair of hikes we had originally planned on doing in early June. We picked these because they gave us options. The Lookout Creek Old-Growth Trail wasn’t view dependent so it didn’t matter if it was raining or partly sunny. We did however want at least partly sunny skies for the shorter hike to the lookout tower atop Carpenter Mountain so our plan was to decide on our way to Blue River, OR which hike to start with. Worst case scenario was that it showered all day in which case we would just hike the Lookout Creek Trail and save Carpenter Mountain for another time.

It was a misty drive south to Eugene and more of the same as we drove east from there on Highway 126 to Blue River so we headed to the Lookout Creek West Trailhead. The trail passes through the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, a 16,000 acre portion of the Willamette National Forest supported by Oregon State University and the U.S. Forest Service. The trail begins and ends on Forest Road 1506 making a car shuttle possible.

From the west trailhead the trail descended quickly down to Lookout Creek.

A small footbridge crossed a marshy area just prior to reaching a much longer bridge spanning Lookout Creek.

The trail then climbed steeply away from the creek up a ridge for about a mile then began traversing the hillside several hundred feet above the creek. The old-growth forest was the star of the hike.

Several types of wildflowers were either blooming or preparing to bloom along the way.
Red flowering currant

Large solomonseal

Oregon grape

Vanilla leaf

Violets

Trillium and bleeding heart

Bunchberry

Beargrass

Wildlife was confined to the smaller varieties.

Crab spider on trillium

Rough-skinned newt

A mile and a half from the west trailhead was the only real viewpoint along the trail. A rock outcrop there looked out over the Lookout Creek Valley.

From the viewpoint we could see that the clouds seemed to be breaking up which gave us some hope that by the time we were finished with this hike it might be clear enough to warrant the visit to Carpenter Mountain.

Beyond the viewpoint the trail crossed several small seasonal streams. Only one of these crossing was a little tricky. The log over the stream was angled down which made it a little awkward to cross.

The trail dropped back down to a second crossing of Lookout Creek before climbing back up to Road 1506 at the eastern trailhead. The bridge and the creek where much smaller at this end.

Our guidebook had described the trail in part as “A woodsy 6.3-mi trail….” (since corrected in subsequent printings) so we had been thinking that hiking the entire trail out-and-back would be 12.6 miles but a sign at this trailhead indicated that the trail was only 3.5 miles one way.

We returned the way we’d come passing a handful of hikers on the way back to our car. Since the hike wound up only being 7 miles instead of 12.6 we made it back to the car at a quarter after eleven. The sky above seemed clear enough to give Carpenter Mountain a try. The trailhead for Carpenter Mountain is located on Forest Road 350 which we had passed on Road 1506 less than a quarter mile from the Lookout Creek West Trailhead. We drove back to Road 350 and turned onto it heading uphill (north) for approximately 5 miles to a pullout at a saddle. Even though the snow pack is below normal this year, we weren’t entirely certain that we would make to the trailhead which was at an elevation just over 4400′. We knew from our Patterson Mountain outing just two weeks prior that there was still some snow present in areas starting around 4000′ feet and we had even seen one very small patch of snow along the Lookout Creek Trail around 3400′.
Snow in the bushes along the Lookout Creek Trail

The road was in pretty good shape, it appeared that the Forest Service had taken care of the trees that had fallen over the winter and aside from a few rocks here and there the drive was fine. Near the trailhead there was some snow present along the shoulder of the road but that was it. We parked at the saddle which had a decent view east to several mountains.

A short walk up the road brought us to the signed trail.

The trail climbed up through huckleberry bushes just beginning to get their leaves.

It wasn’t long before we hit the first section of snow covered trail.

For a short while the trail occasionally popped out from under the melting snow.

We had micro spikes with us but never needed them. The trail actually became snow free after about four tenths of a mile and at the half mile mark passed through a hillside meadow with a few yellow glacier lilies.

The meadow allowed for views SSW to Diamond Peak.

Beyond the meadow the trail wound its way up Carpenter Mountain through a forest that had lots of debris down from the winter.

A little under a mile from the car the trail passed an opening where we could see the basalt cliffs of Carpenter Mountain’s summit and the lookout tower atop them.

The trail took us around to the east side of the mountain where we climbed up the rocks to the lookout tower.

Looking back down at the route up

The tower wasn’t staffed yet for the season so we had the summit to ourselves. There were still some clouds in the sky but overall the views were pretty darn good. Mt. Jefferson was a little obscured and Mt. Hood was completely hidden but the rest of the Cascades from Three Fingered Jack to Diamond Peak were on full display.
Mt. Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack and Mt. Washington

Belknap & Black Craters, The Three Sisters & The Husband, and Mt. Bachelor

Diamond Peak

View from the Carpenter Mountain Lookout Panorama

One of the most interesting sights from the lookout is Wolf Rock, a monolith just to the north.

We took a nice long break at the tower and tried to identify as many of the visible peaks as possible. Starting to the north:
Iron Mountain and Cone Peak (post) with Battle Ax Mountain (post) between in the distance.

Browder Ridge (post)

Mt. Jefferson

Maxwell Butte (post) and Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Washington

Belknap Crater (post) and Black Crater (post)

The Three Sisters and The Husband

Mt. Bachelor

Fuji Mountain (post) and Diamond Peak

Tidbits Mountain

The thought of an actual meal finally tore us away and we headed back down. It was a great reward for a relatively easy two mile hike. Even though the trail gained over 900′ of elevation over the course of the mile it was a fairly gradual climb. The old-growth trail had also been very nice, it was a pretty forest with lots of bird song. All in all not a bad way to spend a day. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Lookout Creek & Carpenter Mountain

Tags Carpenter Mountain, Carpenter Mountain Lookout, Carpenter Mountain Trail, Crab spider, H.J. Andrews Expirimental Forest, hiking, Lookout Creek, Lookout Creek Old-Growth Trail, old growth, Oregon, Willamette National Forest, Wolf rock

Hiking Oakridge Area Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Lawler Trail to Patterson Mountain

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 7, 2018
2 Comments on Lawler Trail to Patterson Mountain

For our first hike in May we headed east of Eugene, OR on Highway 58 to the Lawler Trail. The 5.5 mile trail gains over 2700′ to the Lone Wolf/Patterson Mountain Trail. Our plan was to start at the Lawler Trailhead.

The forest service website mentioned a slide about .75 miles from the trailhead and that turning around was difficult for passenger cars so we were expecting some interesting driving conditions. We turned off of Highway 58 onto Patterson Mountain Road (Forest Service Road 5840) and then left onto FS Road 531 after a short climb uphill. Not long after turning onto this road we passed a trail and hiker sign on the right. As we passed a second signed trail just east of Duval Creek, there was also space for a couple of vehicles. These were part of the Lawler Extension Trail that extends between the Lawler Trailhead and the Eula Ridge Trailhead. None of these possible starting points were options for us since they would have required over 20 miles of hiking (nearly 25 round trip from the Eula Ridge TH).

Just beyond the trail at Duval Creek we came upon a small tree across Road 531. We carry a small saw and ax with us just in case we need to do some clearing and I thought I was finally going to get to us them, but it turned out that the tree was not stuck in the ground and it was small enough that I was able to drag it off to the side so we could continue. After a little over 2 miles on Road 531 we veered uphill to the right on Road 535. This was the road with the slide and it was narrow. We were driving slowly looking for the slide when we arrived at a small turnaround and a hiker sign.

We still aren’t sure if the slide had been cleared or if the note about the slide was old and this spot was actually the site of it. It clearly wasn’t the original trailhead because we had to walk up the old road bed to reach the start of the actual trail. We came upon some wood that had been laid across the road marking the location of the Lawler Extension Trail coming up from below.

Instead of being .75 miles from the trailhead we arrived at then end of the old road bed and the start of the trail in just over .25 miles.

We turned onto the trail which quickly began to climb into the forest.

A first series of switchbacks passed beneath some large rock outcroppings.

After getting past the rocks the trail swung back around climbing above them to another series of switchbacks. Along the way the forest was dotted with white trillium.

We also spotted a green frog.

After approximately 1.75 miles we gained a ridge. Soon we came to a grassy viewpoint amid manzanita bushes and fawn lilies.

20180505_081215

The trail followed the ridge through shifting forests and past more early wildflowers.

20180505_082924

A quarter mile from the viewpoint the trail dropped to a saddle before climbing back up to another viewpoint .7 miles from the first. The view from the previous viewpoint was to the NE while this one looked west.

Patterson Mountain in the upper left hand corner and Hardesty Mountain on the right.

Lookout Point Reservoir

There was a nice madrone tree at the western end of the grassy opening.

After taking in the view we continued along the ridge passing a cool rock pinnacle.

Beyond the pinnacle the trail dropped to another saddle and the first of three road crossings.

Road 213 was clearly no longer in use but there was a nice red flowering current at the junction.

20180505_085554

The Lawler Trail climbed from the saddle into a small section of forest that had experienced a burn at some point. It was either a small forest fire or possibly from a burnout operation during the Deception Fire of 2014.

Beyond the burn area we began to encounter some minor blowdown which was all manageable.

An eighth of a mile after crossing Road 213 we arrived at another decommissioned road, FS 542.

Another .3 miles of climbing brought us to the third road crossing, FS 543, which appeared to still be in use.

Between these two crossing we passed one of the oddest looking trees we’ve seen. As we approached it looked as if its trunk was shaped in a loop.

Looking at if from the other side showed that it wasn’t quite a loop but it had grown in some interesting directions.

The trail continued climbing beyond FS 543 and we began running into small patches of snow and more blowdown.

A little over a half mile beyond the road we gained another ridge and headed up it. The ridge provided some views of several Cascade snow peaks.

North & Middle Sister

South Sister

Broken Top

Mt. Bachelor

Diamond Peak

We continued along the ridge which became broader, more forested, and snowy to the signed junction of the Lawler and Lone Wolf/Patterson Mountain Trails.

We turned right at the junction passing between a large snow patch and the skunk cabbage filled southern end of the Lone Wolf Meadow.

This trail took us along the Lone Wolf Meadow for half a mile to another junction. The hellebore was just beginning to come up in the meadow which was apparently full of frogs. We never saw any but boy could we hear them.

At the junction we turned right to visit the Lone Wolf Shelter.

We took a break at the shelter listening to the chorus of frogs mix with the sounds of stream flowing from the meadow and the various birds calling from the trees.

After our relaxing rest at the shelter we continued on toward the summit of Patterson Mountain. The trail passed above another meadow that was full of more yellow skunk cabbage.

After passing the forested summit of Patterson Mountain the trail dropped slightly to a saddle with a small meadow.

Here a few yellow glacier lilies mixed with purple snow queen and some small white flowers.

20180505_112239

A final quarter mile of hiking brought us to the end of the trail and a bench at a rocky viewpoint.

From here views extended west past Hardesty Mountain and Lookout Point Reservoir to the Willamette Valley.

The Three Sisters and Broken Top could be seen to the NE.

We sat on the bench for a bit. The only sounds were of the occasional bird and it was wonderfully peaceful. We pulled ourselves away at 11:45 and started back. We had only seen a couple of mountain bikers up to that point but as we made our way back to the shelter we began to see a few more people. We passed a couple of families who had started from the Lone Wolf/Patterson Trailhead which allowed for a kid friendly 5 mile round trip to the bench viewpoint.

Once we were back on the Lawler Trail we passed some equestrians on their way up and were passed by a handful of mountain bikers on their way down. Some of the wildflowers had opened up as the day moved on adding some sights to the decent that we had not seen earlier. 20180505_114836

Toothwort

Sour grass

The insects were a little more active as well.

As we were finishing our hike along the old road bed I spotted a little garter snake curled up by the trail.

We were still the only car parked on Road 535 which was good because we had been slightly concerned about getting penned in if more people parked there. As we drove out it appeared that the equestrians had parked at Duval Creek and the Mountain Bikers had likely either parked at the Eula or Hardesty Trailheads.

The hike was on the longer side coming in a little over 16 miles and had a cumulative elevation gain over 3000′ putting it squarely in the difficult category, but it had been worth the effort. The various viewpoints helped provide breaks along the way and in the end we encountered less than 20 other people. While the shorter option of starting at the Lone Wolf/Patterson Trailhead is surely the choice of most hikers this longer option would be a great training hike for those seeking one. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Patterson Mountain

Tags Eugue, Eula Ridge Trailhead, hardesty mountain, hiking, Lawler Extension, Lawler Trail, Lawler Trailhead, Lone Wolf Meadow, Lone Wolf Shelter, Lone Wolf/Patterson Mountain Trail, Lone Wolf/Patterson Mountain Trailhead, Oregon, Patterson Mountain

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

Throwback Thursday – Dome Rock

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date April 5, 2018
3 Comments on Throwback Thursday – Dome Rock

**Note the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire burned a portion of this hike.**

In July of 2010 we made our first attempt to hike to Phantom Bridge (we finally made it in 2011 on our third try). A washout had closed access to the most popular trailheads and the trailheads shown in our guidebook, the Phantom Bridge Trailhead and the French Creek Trailhead – West. This left us looking for an alternate route to the natural arch and while I was doing some research on the Willamette National Forest website I came across the French Creek Trailhead – East. I was able to find a photo at the time online of a sign at this trailhead along Forest Road 458.

It was going to make the hike quite a bit longer than necessary but we were obsessed with seeing the Phantom Bridge. From Detroit, OR we followed the directions from the Forest Service website to FR 480. The road was narrow and exposed with steep drop-offs which made it one of the more nerve wracking drives to date. The road conditions weren’t as bad as some we’ve driven but the scare factor was high. We watched the odometer but when we had gone the correct distance we saw no sign of the trailhead. After finding a place where we could turn around (the road was blocked by a small rockslide beyond) we slowly backtracked looking for any signs of a trail.

Instead of continuing to search for a trailhead that we now weren’t even sure existed anymore we decided to get down off the scary road and try something else. When we were back down to safer roads we consulted our guidebook and discovered that just 2.3 miles west of Detroit along Highway 22 was the Tumble Creek South Trailhead. A 10.3 mile hike from this trailhead would take us to the former lookout site atop Dome Rock and back.

The thought of a trailhead that didn’t require any more driving on Forest Roads was too tempting to pass up so we drove west of Detroit on Highway 22 and parked on the north shoulder at a gated road bed nest to Tumble Creek. The actual trail started .4 miles up the closed road at a small trail sign.
Tumble Ridge Trail

The trail climbed steeply uphill making several switchbacks. Occasional views could be of Detroit Lake and several Cascade peaks.
Mt. Jefferson

Detroit Lake

Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters

Park Ridge and Mt. Jefferson Mt. Jefferson

The trail passed through a brushy area at an old road bed near the Margie Dunham Spring approximately 3 1/4 miles from the old road bed along Tumble Creek.
Tumble Ridge Trail

From there the climb became more gradual as it passed a couple of interesting rock formation including one dubbed “Toilet Rock”.

About a mile from the Margie Dunham Spring we came to the junction with the trail up to Dome Rock. Here we turned right climbing a final .5 miles to the old lookout site. The view was great from the summit and included the top of Mt. Hood to the north and Tumble Lake below to the NW. It was also our first good look at the distinctively flat topped Coffin Mountain (post).
View from Dome Rock Coffin and Bachelor Mountains in front of Three Fingered Jack, Mt. Washington, and The Three Sisters

Tumble Lake

Mt. Hood

Close up of Mt. Jefferson

After admiring the view we returned to the Tumble Lake Trail. We briefly considered continuing to Tumble Lake but it was another 1.7 miles just to get to the lake meaning 3.4 additional miles in all plus we would lose around 800′ of elevation going down to the lake and we had already climbed over 3250′. Maybe next time. Instead we retraced our steps down to Highway 22 and headed back to Salem. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Dome Rock

Tags Coffin Mountain, Detroit, Detroit Lake, Dome Rock, Dome Rock Trail, French Creek Trailhead East, hiking, Margie Dunham Spring, Oregon, phantom bridge, Toilet Rock, Tumble Creek, Tumble Lake, Tumble Lake Trail, Tumble Lake Trailhead South

Hiking McKenzie River Middle Santiam Old Cascades Oregon Throwback Thursday Trip report

Throwback Thursday – Browder Ridge and Sahalie & Koosah Falls

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date March 8, 2018
4 Comments on Throwback Thursday – Browder Ridge and Sahalie & Koosah Falls

This week we are revisiting a pair of hikes we took on 9/8/12. A pair of Heather’s running buddies were going to be running the McKenzie River 50k that day and we wanted to be a the finish line to greet them so we found a hike in the area that we thought would make that possible. The 8.5 mile up Browder Ridge seemed to be a perfect fit.

We started at the Gate Creek Trailhead just 4.5 miles off of Highway 20 via Hackleman Creek Road and Road 1598.
Gate Creek Trail sign at the trailhead

The trail never really got close to Gate Creek as it climbed through forest and fern filled meadows.
Gate Creek Trail

Meadow along the Gate Creek Trail

Just over a mile and a half from the trailhead we arrived at a viewpoint which provided views of the Cascade Mountains from Mt. Jefferson south to the Three Sisters. It was an unfortunately hazy view due to the sun still rising in the east and the presence of smoke from the Pole Creek Fire.
Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Washington, Black Crater, Belknap Crater and the Three Sisters Mt. Washington and the Three Sisters

We continued on climbing gradually for another 1.5 miles to a junction. White pearly everlasting and pink fireweed could be seen along the trail. More hazy mountain views greeted us along the way with Diamond Peak joining the line of Cascade peaks.

Gate Creek Trail

View from the Gate Creek Trail

We also had a nice view of our ultimate goal – Browder Ridge.

At the junction we turned right onto the Heart Lake Trail.
Sign for the Heart Lake Trail

This trail passed below the rocky cliffs of Browder Ridge passing through the remains of an early summer wildflower meadow before reentering the forest.
Rock outcrop on Browder Ridge

Paintbrush

Aster

Heart Lake Trail

As the trail reentered the trees we left the Heart Lake Trail turning uphill along the rocky ridge.
Browder Ridge

A .2 mile scramble along the ridge brought us to the 5760′ summit of Browder Ridge.
Black Butte, Mt. Washington, Black Crater, and Belknap Crater from Browder Ridge

Despite the haze from the Pole Creek Fire the views were pretty good.
View from Browder Ridge

View from Browder Ridge

Mt. Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack

Mt. Jefferson

Black Crater, Belknap Crater, the Three Sisters, Mt. Bachelor and The Husband

View from Browder Ridge

After enjoying the view we headed back down to the trailhead. Butterflies had begun to come out as we made our way back.
Some sort of Skipper butterfly

Pine white butterfly on pearly everlasting

Orange sulpher butterfly on Pearly Everlasting

We got back to the car with time to spare before the end of the race so we made a second stop on the way to the finish line. We drove east on Highway 20 to its junction with Highway 126 where we turned right for 5.2 miles to the Sahalie Falls Trailhead.

A half mile segment of the Waterfalls Loop Trail runs between Sahalie and Koosah Falls along the McKenzie River here. It’s possible to complete a 2.6 mile loop incorporating the McKenzie River Trail, but we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss the end of the race so we did an out and back past Sahalie Falls to Koosah Falls.

Sahalie Falls was not far at all from the parking area.

Sahalie Falls

We headed downstream following the beautifully blue McKenzie River to Koosah Falls.

McKenzie River

Koosah Falls

We returned the way we’d come but instead of returning to the car we had just enough time to visit the top of Sahalie Falls.

These are two really nice and easily accessed waterfalls. We returned to Koosah Falls in 2013 along the McKenzie River Trail but have yet to be back to Sahalie Falls.

We made it to the finish line of the race in plenty of time to see Heather’s friends finish their 50k making it a successful day.

We are planning on heading back to Browder Ridge this year to see what the meadows look like earlier in the Summer. If all goes well we will be coming from the other end of the Browder Ridge Trail and may even make an attempt to reach Heart Lake along an unmaintained portion of the Heart Lake Trail. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Browder Ridge and Sahalie & Koosah Falls

Tags Browder Ridge, Gate Creek Trailhead, Heart Lake Trail, hiking, Koosah Falls, McKenzie River, McKenzie River Trail, Oregon, Sahalie Falls, Waterfalls Loop Trail

Bull of the Woods/Opal Creek Hiking Old Cascades Oregon

Throwback Thursday – Elkhorn Ridge Trail

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 22, 2018
1 Comment on Throwback Thursday – Elkhorn Ridge Trail

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

Today’s Throwback Thursday hike is the last of the hikes we did prior to starting this blog that are currently not on our schedule of future hikes. On July 10, 2011 we made our second attempt to visit Phanton Bridge (post).

This hike wasn’t included in any of our guide books (we would discover why) and only came to our attention as I was researching possible routes to reach Phantom Bridge. On the Willamette National Forest website I noticed that it appeared possible to follow the Elkhorn Ridge Trail east to the natural bridge. The route appeared a bit longer than the others I knew of but the road to the trailhead was open unlike Forest Service Road 2223 which was closed by a washout at the time.

The shot up remains of a trail sign marked the beginning of the trail as it set off along a forested ridge line with views of Rocky Top and Henline Mountain.
Elkhorn Ridge Trailhead

Rocky Top

Henline Mountain

The trail was a bit faint with occasional patches of snow remaining from an unusually late melting snowpak that year.
Elkhorn Ridge Trail

Snow along the Elkhorn Ridge Trail

As we continued to make our way along the ridge we spotted Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson through the trees.
Mt. Hood

Mt. Jefferson

The further along we went the fainter the trail got and we found ourselves relying on pink flagging to mark the way. We had a map but it wasn’t an adequate map and even if we’d had a proper topographic map we were not yet experienced enough to have been able to use it properly. We also didn’t have a GPS unit yet. Shortly after the trail emerged from the trees and began to drop along the north side of the ridge we wound up losing it.
Elkhorn Ridge Trail

After a couple of minutes searching from the next flagging we decided to call it and turned around. This was one of several outings in 2011 that really helped hammer home just how important having the proper tools and knowledge of how to use them was going to be if we were serious about this hiking thing.

We estimate that we only went a little over a mile of the approximate 3 miles to Phantom Bridge before turning back. I have no doubt that if we were to attempt this hike with the experience we have now we’d have no trouble reaching Phantom Bridge, but turning around that day was the right call. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Elkhorn Ridge Trail

Tags Elkhorn Ridge Trail, Helnine Mountain, hiking, Oregon, Phanton Bridge, Rocky Top

Clackamas Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Throwback Thursday Trip report

Throwback Thursday – Clackamas River Trail

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date February 1, 2018
2 Comments on Throwback Thursday – Clackamas River Trail

**Note the 2020 Riverside Fire burned a most of this hike.**

It’s time for another throwback Thursday hike. This week we’re covering our 6/30/2012 visit to the Clackamas River Trail. This was a strange hike for us. For some reason we were really dragging on this hike. Of the hikes where we’ve had our GPS with us our average moving speed for this one was our 9th slowest. All eight of the slower hikes had extenuating circumstance such as snow or extended off-trail stretches which contributed to the slower pace but this hike had none of that.

We began our hike at the Fish Creek Trailhead. The steep hillsides in the Clackamas River Canyon are prone to slides and rockfall which close the trail from time to time so as always it pays to double check the trail status before heading out.

The trail contoured along the hillside above the Clackamas River often within sight of Highway 224 on the opposite side. A half mile from the trailhead the trail spent some time near the riverbank before climbing away through a 2003 fire zone.

Foggy forest along the Clackamas River Trail

Clackamas River

June flowers bloomed along the way including orange tiger lilies, purple penstemon, and red columbine.

The trail left the 2003 fire zone after 2 miles and entered a lush green forest passing several small side streams.
Stream along the Clackamas River Trail

Waterfall back in the trees

Skunk cabbage

Creek along the Clackamas River Trail

Rhododendrons were blooming along this section.

There was also a unique feature on a tree trunk, what appeared to us to be a face coming out of the wood.
Face in a tree

Just over 3.5 miles from the Fish Creek Trailhead we arrived at Pup Creek where a pointer to the right led us on side trail to 100′ Pup Creek Falls.

Pup Creek Falls

We had lunch by the falls before continuing. Our original plan had been to hike to Indian Henry Campground and back for a 15.6 mile round trip but the bridge at Pup Creek was out. We contemplated fording the creek but we had both felt pretty lethargic and knew we were dragging so we turned around and headed back leaving the other section for another time. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Clackamas River

Tags Clackamas River, clackamas river trail, fish creek trailhead, hiking, Oregon, Pup Creek Falls

Hiking Oakridge Area Old Cascades Oregon Trip report

Deception Butte and Dead Mountain Trails

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date October 15, 2017
1 Comment on Deception Butte and Dead Mountain Trails

Our latest outing was a microcosm of our year so far. Several days of rain and snow coupled with overnight temperatures in the mid 20’s had our plans in flux until the night before our hike. In the end we wound up having a great time but the planning and process were anything but smooth.

In the end we decided to try the Deception Butte Trail . The trailhead elevation was low enough that we didn’t need to worry about icy roads in the morning which was our biggest concern in determining our destination.

We weren’t sure what to expect from the Deception Butte Trail. In 2014 the Deception Fire had closed and burned some of the trail. The trail description on the Forest Service page didn’t say anything about the trail still being closed, but it did contain a map from 2014 showing the closure. The map description states “This map shows the open and closed sections of the trail resulting from damage from the Deception Fire in 2014.” It was unclear whether that was just to let the reader know that the map was old and that was why there were red and green sections of the trail or if it was to inform the reader that the trail remained closed. Spoiler alert it was the latter.

We started our morning at the Lower Deception Butte Trailhead which is located 3 miles west of Oakridge, OR one hundred yards up Deception Creek Road.

We were encouraged by the lack of any signage to indicate that part of the trail remained closed as we set off into the forest.
Deception Butte Trail

We followed the Deception Butte Trail sign.

The trail passed through a lush forest as it bent around a hill where it began to follow along Deception Creek.
Deception Butte Trail

Mushrooms on a log

Forest along the Deception Butte Trail

Deception Creek from the Deception Butte Trail

The trail dropped a bit to the creek which was flowing fairly well due to all the recent precipitation.
Deception Creek

Deception Butte Trail

Signs of the 2014 fire could be seen on the hillside above the trail.
Burned forst above the Deception Butte Trail

At the 1.75 mile mark we came to a footbridge over Deception Creek.
Footbridge along the Deception Butte Trail

Deception Creek

There still had been no signs warning of a trail closure so we crossed the bridge and continued on. Not even a tenth of a mile beyond the bridge we came to a rocky ridge and entered the burn area.
Deception Butte Trail

Vine maple

We began to encounter blowdown almost immediately. The first couple of obstacles were navigable but then we came to this.
Blowdown over the Deception Butte Trail

The steepness of the hillside made going around the jumble of debris impossible so we turned back. Even though there had been no notices of the trail being closed it clearly wasn’t being maintained. We had made it 1.8 miles before heading back making this a 3.6 mile round trip. The forest along Deception Creek was nice and so was the creek so the trail is still good for a quick leg stretcher or easy day hike.

For us the hour and a half hike wasn’t going to be enough to justify the hour and forty five minute drive each way so we turned to our contingency plan, the Dead Mountain Trail.

Formerly the Flat Creek Trail, the trail and name were changed in 2015 when it was extended from 4.3 miles to 6.3 miles. Sections were added at both ends to connect the trail from the Salmon Creek Trail up to the summit of Dead Mountain. Our guidebook was written prior to the trail extension so instead of parking at the new lower trailhead 2 miles outside of Oakrdige on Forest Service Road 24 (Salmon Creek Road), the hike description we had said to start .7 miles along Forest Road 2404 (Flat Creek Road) which was only 1.75 miles outside of Oakridge.

Flat Creek Road was gated shut so we parked on the shoulder and began hiking up the road.

Flat Creek Road

As we were walking up the road we spotted a runner cross the road from the left to the right then recross the road a short time later. We were about a half mile from the gate when we came to the spot where the runner had crossed. A trail was visible on both sides of the road but it was unsigned and not shown on the GPS leaving us to wonder what it was and where it went. We continued on the road for another .2 miles where we came to the former Flat Creek Trailhead marked by a hiker symbol on a tree.
Dead Mountain Trail at Flat Creek Road

We had noticed other runners on a trail that was running parallel with the road which helped us realize that the trail we had crossed back on the road was an extension of the Flat Creek/Dead Mountain Trail. We began to suspect there was some sort of trail race happening since they were wearing numbered bibs. We joined that trail and turned right heading uphill.

Dead Mountain Trail

The trail is open to hikers, equestrians, mountain bikes and motorcycles and is heavily used so it was in really good shape as it climbed through a thinned forest full of fall colors.
Dead Mountain Trail

Dead Mountain Trail

There were also a few madorne trees along the trail.
Dead Mountain Trail

The forecast had been for sun but we had been stuck under low clouds or in fog on both trails. As the morning wore on signs pointed to clearing skies.
Clouds breaking up from the Dead Mountain Trail

About two miles from the gate as we neared the end of the thinned forest we finally broke out of the fog.
Dead Mountain Trail

The trail then promptly entered a denser forest.
Dead Mountain Trail

Dead Mountain Trail

The trail crossed an old road before arriving at another road junction a quarter of a mile later where an aid station was set up for the trail race. We asked the volunteers what race it was and they explained that it was the Oakridge Triple Summit Challenge, a three day event where runners make three different summit ascents.

Our guidebook would have had us turn uphill to the right on Dead Mountain Road at this junction but with the extension of the trail we crossed the road and continued on a path that had been clearly designed to be a mountain bike trail.
Dead Mountain Trail

Dead Mountain Trail

The trail had many ups and downs and hairpin corners as it climbed toward the summit.
Dead Mountain Trail

Just over 1.75 miles from the road junction the trail crossed Dead Mountain Road.
Dead Mountain Trail

After another tenth of a mile of climbing we arrived at the broad flat summit of Dead Mountain.
Dead Mountain Trail

Dead Mountain Trail

The trail wound around the summit to the Upper Dead Mountain Trailhead at the end of Dead Mountain Road.

Several radio and cell towers were located near the upper trailhead and it was in this area where we were finally able to get a mountain view.
Diamond Peak

Diamond Peak

We did a little exploring and headed downhill on a road track which led to a path that headed out onto a narrow ridge with even better views. It was a great view but definitely not a spot for anyone with a fear of heights.
Ridge on Dead Mountain

View from Dead Mountain Looking SW

View from Dead Mountain Hills Creek Reservoir (behind the tree)

Diamond Peak

Mount Yoran and Diamond Peak

Waldo Mountain

We decided to follow Dead Mountain Road down for a bit which was the route that the runners had followed.

There were some interesting white mushrooms along the road.
Mushrooms on Dead Mountain

We followed the road for approximately three quarters of a mile passing a “Road Work Ahead” sign along the way.
Road work sign on Dead Mountain Road

After the three quarters of a mile we forked right on another old road bed then took a short trail which had been marked for the race back to the Dead Mountain Trail.
Along the way we had an encounter with my old nemesis, the varied thrush. We see quite a few of these colorful birds on the trails but I am rarely able to get an even remotely decent photo. They move around a lot and they always seem to be in poorly lit areas. After a couple of attempts at this particular thrush it finally sat still long enough for a slightly blurry photo.
Varied thrush

The aid station had been packed up and removed by the time we arrived back at the road junction and the runners on the trail had been replaced by other hikers and mountain bikers (and one speedy newt) as we made our way down.
Rough skinned newt

With the fog gone the fall colors were on full display in the thinned area.
Fall colors along the Dead Mountain Trail

Vine maple

Dead Mountain Trail

Vine maple

We followed the Dead Mountain Trail past where we had joined it from Flat Creek Road earlier but didn’t take the portion between Flat Creek Road and Salmon Creek Road due to not knowing for sure how long it was nor how far it might leave us from our car.

Our route for this hike wound up being a total of 10.7 miles with over 2000′ of elevation gain. The trail made for a nice hike but given it’s design as a mountain bike trail and heavy use might not always be the most peaceful hike.

As our hiking season winds down we’ve done few of the hikes we’d planned on but those that have taken their places have turned out well and today was no different. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Deception Butte and Dead Mountain Trails

Tags Dead Mountain, Dead Mountain Road, Dead Mountain Trail, Deception Butte Trail, Deception Creek, Deception Fire, Diamond Peak, Flat Creek Road, Flat Creek Trail, hiking, Madrone, oakridge, Oregon, Salmon Creek Road, varied thrush, Waldo Mountain