Category: Trip report

Boulder Creek Wilderness – 09/07/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 13, 2020
4 Comments on Boulder Creek Wilderness – 09/07/2020

**Note the 2024 Pine Bench Fire burned over a portion of this hike.**

We woke up at Wiley Camp on Labor Day and got ready to head back to the Hummingbird Meadows Trailhead. Our plan for the day was to drive back to Salem via Highway 138 and stop at the Boulder Creek Wilderness, one of the five remaining Oregon wilderness areas we had yet to visit (post) and one of Sullivan’s featured hikes.

It was the least smokey morning of the weekend which made for a pleasant 2 mile hike back to our car.
Buck Canyon Trail

View from the Buck Canyon Trail

Hummingbird Meadows Trail

West Fork Muir Creek

We drove back to Diamond Lake (post) from the trailhead then took Highway 138 toward Roseburg to milepost 55. There we turned right onto Medicine Creek Road and made an immediate left onto Soda Springs Road following it for 1.3 miles to the Soda Springs Trailhead.

From the trailhead we took the Soda Springs Trail which ducked beneath a large steel pipe diverting water from the North Umpqua River to a nearby power station.

The trail began climbing immediately after passing under the pipe and quickly arrived at a signed junction where the North Umpqua Trail forked to the right.

The trail continued to climb through previously burned woods to another junction .4 miles from the trailhead.

This was the Bradley Trail onto which we turned left following pointers for Pine Bench.

This trail climbed over 650′ in the next mile before leveling out along the broad plateau of Pine Bench. There was an increasing presence of poison oak along the trail which we kept our eyes out for. It was especially bad along the hillside after we entered a more recent (2017) fire scar.

Bradley Trail passing below some cliffs.

A lot of the poison oak was turning color which made it easier to spot.

Entering the 2017 fire scar.

Lizard

Bradley Trail arriving at Pine Bench.

It was a hot climb in the exposed sun so reaching the forest atop Pine Bench was a nice reprise from both the heat and the vast majority of poison oak.

Rock formation visible from the Bradley Trail.

A little over a mile and a half from the Soda Springs/Bradley Trail junction we arrived at the Boulder Creek Trail.

We turned right here looking for a side trail to a spring near a campsite.

Common wood nymph

Illahee Rock Lookout

We passed the campsite after .4 miles but we didn’t take the unsigned spur trail down to the spring due to the GPS map showing the trail further off.

Spur trail to the left.

We quickly realized that the trail we had seen must have been the one we wanted but decided to continue on for now. From the campsite the trail continued to Boulder Creek after 1.7 miles. We were seeing very little poison oak and it was a nice day on the bench so we opted to do Sullivan’s longer described hike to the creek. The trail made a few unexpectedly steep up and downs and it grew fainter with a few downed snags but it was passable and there were signs of recent brushing/trail maintenance.

Just over half a mile from the campsite we passed the very faint Perry Butte Trail.

Trail maintenance and ripe blackberries.

Looking up the Boulder Creek Valley

Looking down at the trail across a side drainage.

Looking across the Boulder Creek valley.

Small fall on Boulder Creek

Final drop down to Boulder Creek.

Boulder Creek

We took a short break on the rocks along the creek before turning back.

The continuation of the Boulder Creek Trail on the far side of Boulder Creek which reportedly becomes even fainter and more wild.

After cooling off a bit we started the process of climbing back up to the campsite and the spur trail to the spring.

When we made it back to the spur trail we turned down it for 100 yards to a wide open area with madrone trees.

The spring was just below some rocks on the left but there wasn’t much water flowing this time of year.

After another short break we continued back to the Bradley Trail junction. We stayed straight here following the Boulder Creek Trail downhill through the 2017 fire scar. While there had been a good deal of poison oak along the Bradley Trail this trail put that one to shame. It was all avoidable but it was thick along the trail as it switchbacked downhill. There was also one switchback near the top where we were forced to walk down a large downed tree.
Fern tree along the Boulder Creek Trail.

This log was the trail.

Another switchback with poison oak on all sides of the trail.

The bright side of going down this way was there was a wilderness sign, or at least most of one (we hadn’t seen one on the other side).

After a approximately 1.5 miles we arrived at a junction with the North Umpqua Trail where we turned left on an old roadbed.

We followed the road another tenth of a mile or so to a gate blocking the road at the Boulder Creek Trailhead.

Not too far from the gate we came to a pair of boulders blocking the road meaning the actual trailhead is inaccessible via car although there was room to park at the boulders. We continued down the road which brought us close to the North Umpqua River near the power station.

We stopped at the far end of the Soda Springs Day Use Area to read the interpretive signs before returning to our car.

We headed back to Salem and when we were back in cell range began receiving alerts about a hazardous wind event. By the time we made it back to Salem strong dry winds from the east had pushed the Lionshead and Beachie Creek Fires into the valley. Later that evening/night those fires would explode along with numerous other new fires up and down the West Coast. A slightly smokey but wonderful Labor Day Weekend turned into a nightmare for thousands. The fires continue to be a huge danger to many but the winds have shifted and rain is in the forecast so hopefully some relief is coming. Happy Trails and stay safe.

Flickr: Boulder Creek Wilderness

Tags Boulder Creek, Boulder Creek Trail, Boulder Creek Wilderness, Bradley Trail, Buck Canyon Trail, hiking, Hummingbird Meadows Trail, Hummingbird Meadows Trailhead, Illahe Rock Lookout, Oregon, Perry Butte, Pine Bench, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Soda Springs Trail, Soda Springs Trailhead, Spring, Wiley Camp, Wiley Camp Trail

Hiking Old Cascades Oregon Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trip report

Rattlesnake Mountain – 09/06/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 12, 2020
4 Comments on Rattlesnake Mountain – 09/06/2020

After spending the night at Wiley Camp (post) we grabbed our day packs and crossed the West Fork Muir Creek on the Wiley Camp Trail.

Smokey skies turning the Sun red.

We followed the cairn and flagging that we had found the day before and picked up the trail on the far end of the meadow.

The Wiley Camp Trail entered the trees where we had to navigate around and over a number of downed trees.

Despite the numerous obstacles the trail was easy enough to follow and it passed a number of huge trees.

Little trees surrounding a giant.

A downed giant.

Three quarters of a mile from Wiley Camp the trail entered a large meadow where we finally lost the tread.

Madia

Paintbrush

We used the GPS to relocate the trail at the upper end of the meadow in a saddle.

The trail then dropped a tenth of a mile to the Wiley Camp Trailhead on Fish Creek Valley Road 870.

On the far side of the road was a pointer for the Whitehorse Meadows Trail.

This trail reentered the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness and dropped into another meadow following a small stream.

Goldenrod and other flowers.

Arnica?

Columbine

20200906_082143 St. John’s wort

Fleabane (or aster) and coneflower

Three quarters of a mile from the road we arrived at Fish Creek where the trail briefly disappeared.

Heather found the trail on the far side of the creek where we turned left along the edge of the meadow before turning right at a tree with another trail sign.

Just beyond the trees we came to the unsigned Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail.

Here we turned left following this trail a quarter of a mile where the Whitehorse Meadows Trail split off uphill to the right.

The trail sign on the left wasn’t particularly descriptive.

The Whitehorse Meadows Trail climbed steadily through meadows and forest for 1.2 miles to a four-way junction at Windy Gap. The highlight of this section was an owl that flew by and landed in a nearby tree.

The owl is in the center of the picture behind the branch with green needles.

Small stream crossing

Chipmunk

Windy Gap

We took a break on some logs at the gap before heading up the Rattlesnake Mountain Trail (which was on the right as we arrived).

The sometimes faint Rattlesnake Mountain Trail gained over 800′ in the next 1.2 miles as it climbed via a series of switchbacks, steeply at times to a large rock cairn. It had been a little smokier than the previous day but as we climbed we managed to get above the smoke.

Along the way we passed an impressive rock outcropping.

Near the upper end of the 1.2 mile section we entered a burn scar with views of Mt. Bailey, Mt. Thielsen and Crater Lake.

Mt. Thielsen

High points along the rim of Crater Lake above the smoke.

A bee photobomb with Mt. Bailey and Mt. Thielsen to it’s right.

Flagging in the burn scar.

Nuttall’s linanthus

20200906_100351 Owls clover

Golden-mantled ground squirrel.

The rock cairn.

The Rattlesnake Mountain Trail continued NE at a much smaller cairn at a switchback below the larger cairn. We missed this on the way up, it appears that it had not been maintained since the 2017 Rattlesnake Fire.

From the large cairn we simply headed uphill through the meadow to a viewpoint on the west side of the mountain.
Nearing the summit.

The air was okay where we were, but the smoke was impacting the views. We were able to make out the top of Mt. McLoughlin beyond Fish Mountain.

Mt. McLoughlin

Hillman Peak and The Watchman at Crater Lake

We tried taking a break amid the trees near the summit but we wound up attracting a number of yellow jackets (and I don’t do yellow jackets) so we decided to instead stroll around the fairly level top of Rattlesnake Mountain where we located the old lookout site.

Butterfly and bees.

We did a small loop around the forested top and dropped back down through the meadow to the cairn and returned to Windy Gap.
For some reason this cracked us up.

20200906_114812 Heather spotted this cricket on my shoulder (I always have some sort of insect on me for some reason).

At the 4-way junction at Windy Gap we went straight following a sign for the “Tie Trail to Castle Creek Trail No. 1576”. (Not a trail name that just flows off the tongue.)

Approximately .2 miles from Windy Gap we passed a sign for a faint unnamed trail leading uphill to the right.

The next .2 miles were interesting as the trail grew faint and then disappeared in a meadow.

This section of trail was not shown on the GPS so we couldn’t use that to stick to where the trail was supposed to be so we wound up crossing the meadow and then heading uphill to the Castle Creek Trail which was shown on the GPS.
We’d lost the trail here and were just heading for the Castle Creek Trail.

We came across this faint tread in the trees before reaching the Castle Creek Trail and started following it.

Apparently it was the actual trail as it popped us out at a trail sign along the Castle Creek Trail.

We turned left on the Castle Creek Trail, which followed an old roadbed downhill for 1.1 miles to the end of Fish Creek Valley Road 877 at the Happy Camp Trailhead

Rattlesnake Mountain

Happy Camp Trailhead

We followed the road to the left 100 yards to the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail.
Rattlesnake Mountain

Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail

The trail dropped into a meadow and crossed Fish Creek. We followed this trail three quarters of a mile to the junction with the Whitehorse Meadows Trail where we had turned uphill earlier in the day.

Snake in Fish Creek

Scarlet gilia

We then retraced our steps to the Wiley Camp Trail and the Fish Creek Crossing where we refilled our water supply.
Fish Creek

Fish in Fish Creek

Frog in Fish Creek

As we climbed past the meadow beyond Fish Creek we spotted several hawks and one deer who crashed off before we knew what had happened.

We recrossed Fish Creek Valley Road 870 and returned to camp on the Wiley Camp Trail.

No sooner had I sat down at camp when a bat flew by and landed on a nearby tree.

I’m not sure why it was out during the day but it stayed on the tree for a minute or two then flew off across the creek. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the creek (which was really cold).
Monkshood

This frog decided that under Heather’s pack was a nice spot to chill.

We didn’t see another person the entire day which was nice but in a way also a shame. The area is beautiful but it clearly sees little maintenance and appears to see most of it’s visitors during hunting season. The lack of visitors likely contributes to the lack of maintenance which in turn discourages visitors. It’s really a shame. We enjoyed the privacy though and had another nice evening alone with the critters. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Rattlesnake Mountain

Tags backpacking, Bat, Castle Creek Trail, Fish Creek, Fish Creek Valley Road, Happy Camp, Happy Camp Trailhead, hawk, hiking, Oregon, Rattlesnake Mountain, Rattlesnake Mountian Trail, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, West Fork Muir Creek, Wiley Camp, Wiley Camp Trail, Wiley Camp Trailhead, windy gap

High Cascades Hiking Mt. Theilsen/Mt. Bailey Area Old Cascades Oregon Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trip report

Diamond Lake and Wiley Camp – 09/05/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date September 12, 2020
8 Comments on Diamond Lake and Wiley Camp – 09/05/2020

As I write up this trip report the Diamond Lake Resort, like many other areas in Oregon, has been evacuated due to a wildfire. The tragic loss of homes and lives happening right now is truly heartbreaking. Right now the Thielsen Fire is moving away from the lake but a shift in the winds could change that in an instant.

We visited Diamond Lake to kick off our Labor Day Weekend hiking the full loop around the 3,015 acre lake. There are numerous possible starting points for the loop and we chose to park at Horse Lake where we could follow the Horse N Teal Trail to the Dellenback Trail which is the paved trail around Diamond Lake. There was quite a bit of smoke from wildfires in California in the air which limited visibility as we set off from Horse Lake on the trail.

Horse Lake

Lesser yellowlegs

We opted not to make the short loop around Horse Lake and turned right at a junction toward Forest Road 4795 and Teal Lake.

The trail crossed the road and then descended a short distance to Teal Lake.

There is also a loop around Teal Lake so we had the choice of going left or right. We had planned on hiking counter-clockwise around Diamond Lake so we went right here and passed around the east side of Teal Lake where there was a hazy view of Mt. Bailey (post).

At the north end of the lake a very short connector trail led to the paved Dellenback Trail where we again turned right.

Northern flicker

A large meadow separates the trail from the lake here.

We followed the path through the forest ignoring side trails for a mile where we arrived at the South Shore Picnic Area.

Mt. Bailey beyond the meadow.

Mt. Thielsen from the South Shore Picnic Area

Diamond Lake underneath the smoke.

Mt. Bailey

Mt. Thielsen from the boat dock.

We had expected the lake to be busy given it was Labor Day weekend and Diamond Lake is a very popular spot and we were right. We utilized our masks as we passed through the picnic area and continued past an RV park and into the Diamond Lake Campground which stretches along most of the eastern side of the lake.
Picnic tables in the picnic area.

Short Creek (it really is short)

Resort buildings between the RV park and campground.

Sign instructing users to follow painted bike symbols through the campground.

Despite passing through the busy campground there were a number of good views of Mt. Bailey across the lake. There were also quite a few ducks in the area.

Common merganser

Goldeneyes

The trail left the campground and then in a quarter mile arrived at the Diamond Lake Lodge area.

Mt. Bailey again.

Arriving at the lodge area.

Seagulls

We passed by the lodge along the grassy lake shore and then returned to the trail on the far side. We were now far enough around the lake that we could once again see Mt. Thielsen.

This section of trail was lined with larger and more diverse trees and is also the side closest to the Thielsen Fire as of this writing.

There were fewer people along this stretch but a steady stream of bicycle riders did pass by. More entertaining though were the birds.
Bald eagle

I’ve been spotted

Chickadee with a seed or nut.

Junco in some fireweed.

The junco with Mt. Bailey in the background.

Looking back at Mt. Thielsen

More goldeneyes

Mergansers

The trail joined FR 4795 again 1.7 miles from the lodge to avoid what appeared to be an old guard station or possibly just a private cabin near Lake Creek.

After crossing the creek the trail continued with the Rodley Butte Trail on the opposite side of the road.

The trail then passed a nice little sandy beach with a view of Mt. Thielsen.

Osprey

We were now heading south along the western side of the lake which provided good views of Mt. Thielsen and Howlock Mountain despite the smoke.

Cormorant

Howlock Mountain to the left and Mt. Thielsen

The mountain views would be interrupted just over a mile from Lake Creek when the Dellenback Trail veered away from the lake to avoid the Thielsen View Campground.

We again crossed FR 4795 and continued through the trees for nearly three miles before recrossing the road.

Back on the lake side of FR 4795.

We were now passing by the large meadow at the south end of the lake, only this time it was Mt. Thielsen not Mt. Bailey beyond the meadow.

Just under a mile after recrossing FR 4795 we arrived at a scenic footbridge over Silent Creek.

A quarter mile beyond Silent Creek we arrived back at the Horse N Teal Trail junction near Teal Lake.

We turned up this trail and passed by Teal Lake on the opposite side from that morning thus completing that loop.
Canada geese at Teal Lake.

We arrived back at Horse Lake after 11.6 miles of hiking. This managed to be a somewhat easy yet hard hike at the same time. The lack of elevation change and obstacles along the trail made for easy, quick hiking, but the paved surface is a lot harder on the feet than dirt. We hadn’t stopped much at all along the way either due to the number of other trail users and our attempting to do our best to stay properly socially distanced.

Our day wasn’t done after the lake loop though. We were planning on spending the weekend in the area with Sunday’s hike being to Rattlesnake Mountain in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. We left Diamond Lake and took Highway 230 toward Medford to the Hummingbird Meadows Trailhead which was devoid of other vehicles.

We had brought our backpacking gear with thoughts of setting up camp somewhere between the trailhead and Wiley Camp.

We had been to Hummingbrid Meadows before (post) but on that hike we had come in on the Buck Canyon Trail. On that trip we had also not visited Wiley Camp. For this trip we were planning on spending the night in our tent then using the Wiley Camp Trail to hike up to the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail and complete the Rattlesnake Mountain hike described in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Southern Oregon & Northern California” guidebook. The status of Wiley Camp and the Wiley Camp Trail was a little confusing. The Forest Service websites mention the trail but in almost every instance “area not available” followed the reference. A 2018 trip report from vanmarmot.org though showed that just two years before the trail was still there and passable.

We followed the Hummingbird Meadows Trail into the wilderness where we were quickly met with some downed trees.

The trail then passed through a meadow and dropped to a crossing of the West Fork Muir Creek where we thought we might find a campsite but there really wasn’t anything that caught our eye.

hedgenettle and aster.

Monkeyflower

The trail climbed away from the creek and in 100 yards arrived at the Buck Canyon Trail junction (approx .4 miles from the trailhead).

We turned right onto the Buck Canyon Trail which passed through Hummingbird Meadows before arriving at the Wiley Camp Trail junction in 1.6 miles. There were quite a few downed logs as trail maintenance in the area appears to be way down the Forest Service’s list of priorities but nothing was unmanageable. We had been watching for any campsites but nothing stood out so we decided to just go to Wiley Camp since it was only a little over 2 miles from the Hummingbird Meadows Trailhead.

Wiley Camp Trail on the right.

We turned down the Wiley Camp Trail which was in no worse/better shape than the Buck Canyon Trail arriving at Wiley Camp after a quarter of a mile.

Wiley Camp sign

Unlike the busy Diamond Lake area there was no one else to be seen in this area. We picked a tent site and set up camp on the hillside above the West Fork Muir Creek.

We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening down at the creek and doing a quick survey of the Wiley Camp Trail for the next day. Clear tread led up from the creek into the meadow on the far side where it quickly vanished. After heading too far left (west) into some trees we located a small cairn and some pink flagging leading the way out of the meadow.

Grass of parnassus

Frog

Trail leading up from the creek into the meadow.

Big cedar at the edge of the meadow.

Cairn and pink flagging (small tree to the right) marking the Wiley Camp Trail.

Elder berry

Twisted stalk

No one else ever showed up to Wiley Camp, at least no people. A bright Moon helped light the area where we could see many bats darting about.

Hopefully the forest and features in this trip report will look similar for years to come and this isn’t a memorial of what once was. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Diamond Lake Loop

Hiking Oregon Three Sisters Area Trip report Waldo Lake Area

Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail – 08/29/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 30, 2020
5 Comments on Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail – 08/29/2020

With our recent backpacking trip around Diamond Peak (post) leaving us with just one more featured hike yet to do from William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Central Oregon Cascades” (4th edition) the only logical thing to do the following weekend was that last remaining hike. That hike was to the Erma Bell Lakes and as luck would have it late August was a pretty good time to visit, the berries were ripening and the mosquitoes weren’t too much of a nuisance. With a drive time of almost three hours the loop around the 8.5-9 mile loop around the lakes wouldn’t take long enough for us not to break our self imposed rule of the driving time being longer than our time spent hiking so we added a second stop to the day at the Shale Ridge Trail.

We started the morning by driving to the Skookum Creek Campground where the Erma Bell Trail begins.

The trail crosses Skookum Creek on a footbridge.

Soon after crossing the creek the trail enters the Three Sisters Wilderness.

The trail traverses a forested hillside where we found a few ripe thimbleberries to snack on.

A little over half a mile from the trailhead the Irish Mountain Trail splits off to the left toward Otter Lake allowing for a loop past that and several other lakes.

We stayed right choosing to follow Sullivan’s suggestion to complete the loop counter-clockwise. The trail continued along the forested hillside for another mile before crossing a small stream on a bridge near Lower Erma Bell Lake.

Just beyond the bridge we took a short spur trail to the left to visit the lake.

The lake was a pretty blue color and quite deep.

Despite the beauty of the lake our attention had been diverted by the familiar “meep” of pikas, our favorite trail critters. We quickly spotted one of the little fur balls collecting greens along the rocky lake shore.

We watched the pika go back and forth with its greens several times before resuming our hike. We continued on the trail around the lake taking another detour after crossing the lake’s main outlet creek to check out a small cascade.

20200829_083744

Beyond the outlet the trail began a .4 mile climb up toward the Middle Erma Bell Lake.
Lower Erma Bell Lake from the climb.

A short but steep trail to the left just before the high point of the trail led to a viewpoint of a waterfall between the lower and middle lakes.

Above the falls.

After checking out the waterfall we continued up to Middle Erma Bell Lake.

Ouzel

Ducks

We continued beyond Middle Erma Bell Lake passing a small pond on the right before arriving at Upper Erma Bell Lake .7 miles from the waterfall, also on the right.
Pond along the trail.

Spur trail on the right to Upper Erma Bell Lakes.

Paintbrush and aster along the lake shore.

Upper Erma Bell Lake

Lupine and paintrbush

In addition to a few flowers there were lots of ripe berries near the lake which we sampled before continuing. The trail climbed gradually for half a mile to a junction with the Judy Lake Trail which passes Mud and Edna Lakes (but no Judy Lake) before ending at the Taylor Burn Guard Station.
Judy Lake Trail on the right.

We stayed left passing above Mud Lake which was barely visible through the trees below.

Just under a mile from the Judy Lake Trail junction we arrived at another junction, this time with the Williams Lake Trail.
Williams Lake Trail joining from the right.

Again we stayed left continuing for another .4 miles to Williams Lake. Before reaching the lake we encountered a grouse that was less than pleased with our presence.
Grouse giving us the what for from a tree.

Williams Lake

Dry creek bed near Williams Lake.

The trail began to descend beyond Williams Lake passing through some damper meadows where berries were plentiful and some flowers remained (and so did some mosquitoes).

Pearly everlasting

Fleabane

Prince’s pine

Mushroom

Aster

Coneflower

Paintbrush

A little over two and a quarter miles beyond Williams Lake we arrived at a junction with the Irish Mountain Trail which headed uphill to the right.

A short distance from the junction we came to Otter Lake.

Curious dragonfly

The trail descended for another half mile to the Erma Bell Lakes Trail completing the loop.

We turned right and returned the .6 miles to the now busy trailhead. Sullivan lists the hike at 8.4 miles but we both came up with a little over 9 miles, most likely due to the various side trips tp the waterfalls and along the lake shores. We left the trailhead and headed back toward Oakridge on Forest Road 19 stopping at the Shale Ridge Trailhead on the left (south) near milepost 30.

This trailhead serves as the start of the Shale Ridge Trail and the upper terminus of the North Fork Trail (segment 5). We had spent time on the North Fork Trail earlier in the year hiking segment 1 out of Westfir and another short section to Buffalo Rock in May (post).

We weren’t here for that trail today and instead headed south on the Shale Ridge Trail, which according to a note written on the signboard had been partially logged out in June.

The trail quickly entered the Waldo Lake Wilderness.

We followed the trail through old growth forest. The North Fork Middle Fork Willamette River could be heard at time off to our right but not seen.

Ghost Pipe aka Indian Pipe

We were below the ridge that we had been on during the Erma Bell Lakes hike and at the 1.8 mile mark we came to Skookum Creek which was flowing through multiple channels through the forest. This area was the highlight of the hike along the Shale Ridge Trail.
20200829_125709_HDR

We continued beyond Skookum Creek just over a mile to the North Fork Middle Fork River at Cedar Bog. This was as far as we had planned on going and as far as the trail had been cleared to. In theory the trail continues up to the Blair Lake Trail (post) on the far side of the river but the condition beyond Cedar Bog is mostly likely very rough.
Arriving at Cedar Bog.

One of a couple dry channels.

North Fork Middle Fork

Flagging on a downed tree marking the continuation of the Shale Ridge Trail.

North Fork Middle Fork at Cedar Bog

Orange flagging on the far side of the river.

20200829_132354 Monkeyflower at Cedar Bog

Candy flower

We turned back here and returned to our car completing a 5.8 mile out and back. While this hike was short on views there were some impressively large trees along the way and it was fairly level with only a 400′ cumulative elevation gain. The two hikes combined for nearly 15 miles of hiking which ensured that our hiking time was indeed longer than our driving time. More importantly we’d seen some nice lakes, all of which had their own distinct differences and had been gotten to watch a pika doing its thing. On top of it all we could finally say that we had done at least part of all 100 featured hikes in one of Sullivan’s guidebooks. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Erma Bell Lakes and the Shale Ridge Trail

Tags Cedar Bog, Erma Bell Lakes, grouse, hiking, Irish Mountain Trail, Judy Lake Trail, Lower Erma Bell Lake, Middle Erma Bell Lake, north Fork Trail, Oregon, Otter Lake, Pika, Shale Ridge Trail, Skookum Creek, Three Sisters Wilderness, Upper Erma Bell Lake, waldo lake wilderness, Waterfall, Williams Lake

Diamond Peak Area Hiking Trip report

Diamond Peak Loop Day 1 – 08/22/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 27, 2020
4 Comments on Diamond Peak Loop Day 1 – 08/22/2020

Four of the five remaining featured hikes from William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Central Cascades” (4th edition) were scattered around Diamond Peak in the Diamond Peak Wilderness. To check these off our to-do list we decided to hike a four day loop around the mountain visiting most of the highlights of those four hikes. We started our trip at the Trapper Creek Trailhead, a trailhead that we were familiar with having started our Yoran Lake hike there in 2014 (post). After crossing some railroad tracks we arrived at the actual trail and set off into the Diamond Peak Wilderness.

The writing on the sign made us chuckle, it says “If you need a map you should stay home”. All kidding aside you should always carry a map and refer to it as often as necessary.

20200822_073035

Two tenths of a mile from the railroad tracks we arrived at the Yoran Lake/Whitefish Trail junction where we had turned right in 2014. Posted on this sign (as well as before the railroad tracks and on the signboards at the start of the trail) was a notice that the Trapper Creek Bridge was closed due to damage. That was our return route for the final day but we knew there was an established ford so we weren’t too concerned about it.

We stayed left on the Whitefish Creek Trail which climbed gradually following Trapper Creek.

Breakfast time.

While several lakes including Yoran, Karen, and Diamond View drain into Trapper Creek they are seasonal flows yet Trapper Creek was flowing nicely. The main source of water for the creek is a spring between those lakes. As we continued up the Whitefish Trail the sound of running water faded and the forest shifted to dustier lodgepole pine.

Unnamed lake along the Whitefish Trail

Just under 5 miles from the trailhead we arrived at Diamond View Lake. It had been overcast when we began our hike but the clouds were burning off fast and as we sat at the lake taking a break the clouds lifted and gave us a full view of the east side of Diamond Peak.
Arriving at Diamond View Lake

Diamond Peak with Mt. Yoran to the right.

Sharing our break spot with a butterfly

Crossbill near Diamond View Lake

We continued past Diamond View Lake passing a couple small lakes and ponds before arriving at a 4-way junction with the Crater Butte Trail a total of 5.7 miles from the trailhead.

From the junction the Whitefish Trail continues for 3.9 miles to Crescent Lake. The 13.7 mile Crater Butte Trail starts at the Crater Butte Trailhead on the east side of Odell Lake and passes Fawn and Saddle Lake (post) prior to the junction and then continues on to the Pacific Crest Trail. That was where we were headed so we turned right on the Crater Butte Trail which promptly crossed a mostly dry bed of Whitefish Creek.

There were some markers along the trail, possibly mile markers and after two miles on this trail we passed the signed junction for the Snell Lake Trail.
Mile marker?

A lone lupine

Nice looking sign for the Snell Lake Trail.

It didn’t look like the Snell Lake Trail sees much use, at least at this end.

Beyond the Snell Lake Trail junction the scenery became a little greener with heather filled alpine meadows and Mountain View Lake with a great view of Diamond Peak.

The heather was all done blooming but there was a lot of dried blossoms.

The summit of Diamond Peak.

One and a quarter miles from the Snell Lake junction we crossed the small but pretty Mountain Creek before a short steep climb.

After the climb the trail returned to its gradual grade with a few ups and downs.

Just over 5 miles after turning onto the Crater Butte Trail we arrived at the PCT.

Our plan was to set up camp near the junction as we hoped to summit Diamond Peak the next morning from the PCT before continuing on our loop. With COVID-19 significantly lowering the number of thru hikers we weren’t too concerned about taking spots from them so we picked one a bit off the trail and set up our tent.

As it wasn’t quite 1:00 yet we could do some exploring after getting camp situated. We briefly contemplated attempting to summit that afternoon but decided against it due to heat and needing water so instead we headed for Rockpile and Marie Lakes by taking the Rockpile Trail which continued across the PCT from the Crater Butte Trail.

We would be going this way when we continued on our loop but both of the lakes are a bit off the trail and visiting them now gave us the opportunity to relax by the water before turning in for the night. A half mile down the Rockpile Trail on the left we found the signed .1 mile spur trail to Rockpile Lake.
Diamond Peak from the Rockpile Trail

Rockpile Lake

There were a few camps set up along the south side of the little lake. We decided not to stay long here as kids throwing rocks into the lake might be fun but it isn’t exactly relaxing so after checking it out we returned to the Rockpile Trail and turned left toward Marie Lake. After 110 yards we came to a junction with the Rockpile Trail continuing to the left while a spur trail continued .2 miles to Marie Lake.

We followed a trail along the south side of the lake to a view of Diamond Peak. While there were people camped here too the lake was bigger and we found a spot along the lake shore to sit and relax.

From our spot we could see the false summit of Diamond Peak and the route that we would be taking the next morning.

Hikers on the trail to the right coming down from the false summit.

As the afternoon turned to evening more people showed up including some bathers, some floaters and a couple of skinny dippers. We kept the photos to the non-humans at the lake though.

Dragon fly

We had dinner by the lake then pumped water before heading back to our tent. We spent a little time exploring the area around camp and picked some huckleberries before turning in for the night. We had planned on hiking somewhere in the area of 12 miles but we wound up showing 14.3 on our GPS units (they actually agreed this time). It had been a beautiful day, not too warm and pleasantly smokeless given the number of wildfires in California and Oregon. We were hoping that the rest of the trip would be equally nice and turned in looking forward to the next days adventures. Happy trails!

Flickr: Diamond Peak Loop Day 1

Tags backpacking, Crater Butte Trail, Diamond Peak, Diamond Peak Wilderness, Diamond View Lake, hiking, Marie Lake, Mountain Creek, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Rockpile Lake, Rockpile Trail, Trapper Creek, Trapper Creek Trailhead, Whitefish Trail

Hiking Mt. Adams Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Foggy Flat Backpack Day 2 – 08/02/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 6, 2020
No Comments on Foggy Flat Backpack Day 2 – 08/02/2020

Normally when we are just hiking back to a trailhead the same way we got to a campsite it wouldn’t warrant a separate trip report, but our hike from Foggy Flat back to the Killen Creek Trailhead did. After spending the night at Foggy Flat(post) we woke just after 5am to find clear skies and a nice sunrise.
Goat Rocks in the morning

Even before the Sun was up it was light enough to get a good look at Mt. Adams.
Mt. Adams

Morning had brought out the mosquitoes so we decided to pack up and stop for breakfast somewhere along the return hike hoping for a less buggy spot. After a mile we stopped at the Muddy Meadows Trail junction where a log made for a prefect bench to have breakfast on.
Looking down the Muddy Meadows Trail from the log.

After breakfast we continued on the Highline Trail which offered good views of Mt. Rainier and Goat Rocks in this direction. When we weren’t looking at the mountains or the flowers various birds caught our attention.
Small hawk

Gray jay

Going in this direction gave us some good looks ahead toward Mt. Rainier.
Mt. Rainier and some of the Goat Rocks.

Northern flicker

The unnamed lake near the Pacific Crest Trail had an excellent reflection of the forest and Mt. Adams.

Little bird near the PCT junction.

When we reached Killen Creek (.2 miles beyond the PCT junction) we crossed on the footbridge then removed our packs to take the steep use trail down below the waterfall as we’d planned the day before.

Killen Creek below the waterfall.

Mt. Adams from the waterfall.

After exploring the area below the falls we climbed back up and continued through Killen Creek Meadows, stopping to check on the pollywogs along the way.
IMG_3174_stitch

The blue sky made for a different look than we’d had the day before and we kept pausing along the way to marvel at the scenery.
Mt. Rainier and Goat Rocks from the PCT.

Breakfast time (possibly second breakfast)

Zooming in on Mt. Rainier

We were almost surprised when we arrived at the junction with the Killen Creek Trail. The miles go by pretty quick when you’re distracted. We turned down that trail putting Mt. Adams to our backs.

Killen Creek Trail heading away from Mt. Adams.

We turned to look back several times seeing less and less of the mountain before we lost sight of it for good.

It had been wonderful trip. The Mt. Adams Wilderness has yet to let us down and we’re already looking forward to our next visit down the road. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Foggy Flat Backpack Day 2

Tags Foggy Flat, Highline Trail, hiking, Killen Creek, Mt. Adams, Mt. Adams Wilderness, Pacific Crest Trail, Washington, Waterfall

Hiking Mt. Adams Trip report Washington Washington Cascades

Sleeping Beauty & Foggy Flat Backpack Day One- 08/01/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 6, 2020
5 Comments on Sleeping Beauty & Foggy Flat Backpack Day One- 08/01/2020

Our first backpacking trip of the year was over Memorial Day weekend (post) but since then we hadn’t had an opportunity to break out our tent. Sleeping Beauty, a 3 mile featured hike in Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington” (4th edition), gave us a reason to put the tent to use again.

It wasn’t because the hike to the top of Sleeping Beauty was backpackable, but rather the 2:45 drive time to the trailhead was too long for this to be a stand alone hike for us. To make the trip worth the drive we decided to continued to nearby Mt. Adams and do a hike to Foggy Flat from Matt Reeder’s “PDX Hiking 365” guidebook.

We began our trip by driving to Trout Lake, WA then continued on to the Sleeping Beauty Trailhead.

The trail climbed steeply up through a green forest for a mile to a forested saddle. Most of the flowers had passed but a few lingered and the pearly everlasting was getting started. Thimbleberries weren’t quite ripe but we did find a few strawberries to snack on.

Beardstongue

Pearly everlasting next to thimbleberry bushes.

Not quite ready yet.

Near the saddle we got our first look at the rock feature that is Sleeping Beauty from the trail (it is visible on the drive).

The trail bends to the right (ignore a fainter trail heading left) at the saddle continuing through the trees.

Another bit of climbing brought us beneath the rocks.

The trail switchbacked its way up amid the rocks up stonework ramps gaining views of the surrounding Cascade mountains along the way.
Mt. Adams

Goat Rocks (post) to the left beyond Mt. Adams

Looking down at some of the switchbacks.

Mt. St. Helens in the distance.

The top of Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Hood to the South.

IMG_2431_stitch Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, Goat Rocks and Mt. Adams.

Indian Heaven Wilderness

It was fairly windy up on the rocks, just windy enough to make us a little nervous when we got to the saddle near the top as we had to push back a bit against it. Luckily the top is fairly wide and there was a least one place behind a rock where the wind was non-existent.
Looking east over the top of Sleeping Beauty.

20200801_084405_HDR Looking west to the true summit where a lookout once stood.

We were hoping to see a mountain goat as they do live here but alas we only saw some fur on a rock and a couple of bushes. The views would have to do and they did just fine. I scrambled over to the former lookout site after deciding it looked safe enough while Heather waited at the saddle.

Mt. Hood from the foundation of the former lookout.

After a good long time exploring the area and enjoying the views we headed back down. We passed several groups of hikers heading up (just about everyone had a mask) so we were once again glad we’d gotten the early start to have the top to ourselves.

From the trailhead we drove back to Trout Lake and turned left onto Mount Adams Road aka Forest Road 23. (Google would have had us continue on the forest road we had been on to reach the Killen Creek Trailhead, but Google doesn’t always know the condition of the Forest Roads and I don’t either so we played it safe.)

We then followed Reeder’s direction to the Killen Creek Trailhead stopping along the way when Heather spotted a nice waterfall on Big Spring Creek.
Sign at a pullout along FR 23.

These were huge yellow monkeyflowers.

Big Spring Creek

After the brief stop we drove on. The final 9 miles on FR 23 was gravel but wide and not too bad. We turned off of the gravel onto the narrow, paved FR 2329 which was a nice break, but beyond the turn for Takhalakh Lake Campground this road also turned to gravel. It was not in the best condition and was fairly narrow and busy which made for a bit of a tedious final 6 miles to the Killen Creek Trailhead.

After attempting some gear repair (a hole in some clothing) we set off and quickly entered the Mt. Adams Wilderness.

This was only our third visit to the wilderness with our first having been a hike from the South Climb Trailhead to Iceberg Lake in 2014 (post) and the second an overnight stay at Horseshoe Meadows in 2017 (post). (Apparently this is an every three year thing.)

The Killen Creek Trail climbed through the forest where we were pleased to find quite a few flowers were blooming. Little did we know what was coming.
Lupine along the trail.

Arnica

Lousewort

More lupine along the trail.

Partridge foot and lupine.

Lupine, paintbrush and valerian.

Lupine along the trail which sees a good amount of equestrian use.

Mountain heather.

As we continued to climb the number and types of flowers we were seeing kept increasing.
Yellow buttercups mixed in with the lupine, paintbrush and valerian.

Beardstongue, arnica and lupine.

Beargrass

Approximately 2.5 miles up the trail the flowers really started to explode as the trail began to level out a bit.

Over the next mile we gained views of Mt. Adams and crossed a small alpine stream all while being mesmerized by the flowers.

Lousewort

Elephants head near the stream.

Elephants head and a shooting star.

20200801_125034 Mountain heather

Phlox

As we gained elevation we also began to get glimpses of Mt. Rainier to the NW.

The views and flowers just kept getting better as we went.

False hellebore amid the lupine.

20200801_130422

Paintbrush framed by trees.

Woolly pussytoes

After a little over 3.25 miles the Killen Creek Trail ended at the Pacific Crest Trail.

We had been to this junction in 2017 when we had hiked the PCT north from Horseshoe Meadows. We had continued a few hundred feet before realizing that Killen Creek was still almost a mile away. This time we would be hiking beyond Killen Creek and so we turned left on the PCT and continued on.

Where the Killen Creek Trail was heading for Mt. Adams the PCT was bending around the mountain. This made for more up and down hiking as opposed to steady climbing. Mt. Adams occasionally made an appearance over our right shoulders and the flowers continued to be amazing.

20200801_131817 Cinquefoil

White and pink mountain heather, paintbrush and lupine above the PCT.

Shooting star

Violets

Coming in for a landing on groundsel.

Aster

The Goat Rocks was soon fully visible between us and Mt. Rainier.

IMG_2746_stitch Goat Rocks

A little under a mile from the Killen Creek Trail junction the PCT began a descent to Killen Creek Meadows.

Aster and white seed heads

There were a couple of small ponds still holding water in the meadows and we noticed a lot of ripples in the water as we approached.

It turned out to be pollywogs, and a lot of them.

Spirea

The PCT crossed Killen Creek on a footbridge just above a waterfall.

Killen Creek and Mt. Adams.

There was a steep path down on this side of the falls but it looked like the PCT might have a good view of it on the other side of the creek so we opted not to head down. We figured the worst case scenario was that there wouldn’t be a view and we could just go down on the way back out.

As we started to cross the bridge we noticed something in the creek nearby, it was an ouzel.

There wasn’t a great view of the waterfall on the other side.
The waterfall from the PCT.

The PCT descended to a lower meadow where a trail led out to a campsite and another possible vantage point for the waterfall but the view was obscured so we put it on the to do list for the next day.

From Killen Creek it was .2 flower filled miles to a junction with the Highline Trail.
Highline Trail ahead.

Here we left the PCT as it continued on its way to Goat Rocks and beyond and turned up the Highline Trail. Not far from the junction we arrived at an unnamed lake with a reflection of Mt. Adams.

The wildflowers had been impressive thus far but the Highline Trail took it up a notch.

Yellow arnica along the trail.

Beargrass in full bloom.

Subalpine mariposa lily

After a total of 1.7 miles on this trail we arrived at another junction. This time it was the Muddy Meadows Trail.

Look more lupine that way.

We continued on the Highline Trail another mile before reaching Foggy Flat, a wet meadow near an unnamed creek.
Still tons of flowers.

Frog near Foggy Flat

Mt. Adams from Foggy Flat

Frog in a little stream at Foggy Flat.

Zoomed in

We walked along the meadow to the far end where the creek was located looking for tent sites. There was one occuppied site along the trail across from the meadow but that was about all we saw at first.

The Highline Trail crossed the creek on a footbridge but then launched steeply uphill so we turned around and decided to check around the meadow more thoroughly for a suitable site.

Gentian

Elephants Head

We are fairly picky about our campsites. We do not like to camp on any vegetation, especially in meadows and we do our best to maintain a proper distance from water and trails. Unfortunately we are in the minority and it was obvious from the fire rings and smashed grasses that many others aren’t as selective (not to mention the TP – come on people). We finally managed to find an acceptable spot tucked into some trees.

With camp established we took our daypacks out put our essentials plus dinner and the stove into them and set off across the creek on the Highline Trail. Reeder described the trail beyond Foggy Flat as having “incredible views” but also “difficult creek crossings”. Our plan was to go as far as the Muddy Fork crossing and unless it looked really easy turn back there.
Monkeyflower and willowherb along the creek.

The climb up from the creek was indeed steep and we were happy to just have our daypacks on.
Mt. Rainier behind us.

20200801_161001_HDR

The trail dropping steeply behind us on one of the steeper sections.

We passed several nice campsites as the terrain became more level at the edge of a lava flow. A couple of the sites were occupied. Despite the rockier conditions due to the lava flow the flower show continued.
Can you spot the yellow paintbrush?

Shortly after crossing another little creek we found ourselves in the lava field with an excellent view of Mt. Adams. We had been waiting for the clouds to break up all day and now they were starting to oblige.

Buckwheat

We continued to follow the Highline Trail through the lava and past snow fields.

The lava also provided great views of Mt. Rainier and Goat Rocks.

Goat Creek falling from Goat Lake.

IMG_2955_stitch Red Butte and Mt. Adams

Red Butte, a neat looking cinder cone.

Flower amid the rocks.

We did indeed stop at Muddy Fork. It was a little more of a crossing than we wanted to tackle at that point.

We backed track a bit to rise where we had seen a great looking spot for dinner (or a tent). We cooked our dinner there and then explored a bit on the ridge above the spot where we found a few flowers amid the rocks and more amazing views.
Paintbrush

Cutleaf daisy

Dwarf alpinegold

IMG_3003_stitch

20200801_175828

We eventually headed back to Foggy Flat under the watchful eyes of the locals.

We were momentarily distracted below one of the snow fields as we watched a stream forming in front of our eyes.
Water in the upper portions of the snowmelt stream.

The same stream 3 minutes later.

When the water reached a large hole that would take some time to fill we managed to pull ourselves away and continue back to our campsite. We stopped at the creek to get water for the next day and turned in fairly quickly. There were just enough mosquitoes about to be a nuisance making the confines of the tent that much more appealing.

Combining this hike with our previous two visits we’ve managed to cover quite a bit of the trails that wrap around the mountain. The east side of Mt. Adams is on part of the Yakima Indian Reservation and is largely trail less. Special permits are required to enter the Reservation with the exception of Bird Creek Meadows on the SE side of the mountain.
Mt. Adams Tracks

From every angle that we’ve seen it Mt. Adams continues to impress us. It’s truly a special place. Happy Trails!
20200801_191051_HDR

Tags backpacking, Foggy Flat, Goat Rocks, Killen Creek Meadows, Killen Creek Trail, Killen Creek Trailhead, lupine, Mt. Adams, Mt. Adams Wilderness, Mt. Rainier, Muddy Fork, Pacific Crest Trail, Red Butte, Round-the-Mountain Trail, sleeping beauty, sleeping beauty trail, wildflowers

Central Oregon Hiking Lakeview Oregon Trip report

Lake Abert and Summer Lake – 07/24/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 30, 2020
4 Comments on Lake Abert and Summer Lake – 07/24/2020

Our time in Lakeview had come to an end and we were ready to head home after a week of hot, challenging, but enjoyable hiking. Before we went home though we had planned two more stops on the way. The second stop was to do the final featured hike in William L. Sullivan’s “100 Hikes/Travel Guide Easter Oregon” 3rd edition in the Klamath Falls section. That hike was at the Summer Lake Wildlife Area but before that hike we had originally planned to hike to the top of Abert Rim.

The Abert Rim hike had been a featured hike in the 2nd edition of Sullivan’s book but was now relegated to an “additional” hike. The hike to Abert Rim entails a 1.6 mile, 2100′ elevation gain climb entirely off-trail. By this point of our trip we just weren’t up for another off-trail adventure let alone one that gained 2100′ in 1.6 miles. We decided that instead of climbing Abert Rim we would park at the wildlife viewing area where the hike would begin and walk down to Abert Lake. We parked at a signed pullout between mile posts 84 & 85 of Highway 395.

After reading the interpretive signs at the pullout we headed down a steep trail (we missed the dirt road that led down at a much gentler grade).

Once we were down the steep little hill we found the dirt road and followed it right along the lake watching the birds and the sunrise.

Gulls and avocets

American avocets

We walked down the shore until we reached a brushy area which was likely Juniper Creek. From here we had a good look across the highway at Juniper Gulch which would have been where we bushwacked up to the rim.

To get back to our car we followed the dirt road up from the lakeshore.

We wound up doing a short .7 mile loop which was perfect. From there we drove back south on Hwy 395 to Hwy 31 and turned right (NW). We turned into the wildlife area headquarters (near milepost 70) and followed a pointer fot a “Wildlife Viewing Loop”. After 1.6 miles at a junction we turned right and followed this road to its end at the Windbreak Campground (a $10 parking permit is required, we purchased ours online prior to our trip).

When planning the trip we had been worried about mosquitoes but for the most part they had been a non-issue. They were a bit of a nuisance along South Fork Crooked Creek (post) and behind Barnhardi Cabin (post) but that had been it. I had received one bite (I think) while Heather had not been quite as lucky, her shoulders were pretty bumpy with just a few on the legs. Our luck ran out at Summer Lake with it’s marshes and ponds it was the prefect recipe for the little buggers. Deet was applied quickly but not before Heather had a 20+ new bites.

Despite that the hike here was nice, it was flat following dikes for 2.3 miles which meant no elevation gain. Birds were almost as plentiful as mosquitoes but boy are they skittish. Most of the ducks flew off before we really got a chance to focus on them. The white faced ibis were more photogenic and we got to see another sandhill crane. We also spotted a coyote and two pups crossing the dike.

A white faced ibis and some ducks.

Swallow rave

Sandhill crane

Look more ducks!

White faced ibis coming in for a landing.

Looking out over Summer Lake

White faced ibis

Black-neck stilt

Killdeer

Great blue heron in flight.

After 2 miles the dike made a hard right and .3 miles later (at a tractor) we reached private land and turned back.

The dike also provided a good view of Winter Ridge where we had started our Lakeview area hikes (post).

We double timed it back to the car in an attempt to keep the bugs at bay. We could have done without those pests but c’est la vie. It had been a fun week but our feet were done and by the time we had gotten back to the car we were even happier with our decision to save Abert Rim for another time. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Lake Abert and Summer Lake

Tags coyote, duck, hiking, Lake Abert, Lakeview, Oregon, Sandhill Crane, Summer Lake, Summer Lake Wildlife Area, White Faced Ibis, Windbreak Campground

Central Oregon Hiking Lakeview Oregon Trip report

Gearhart Mountain – 07/23/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 30, 2020
3 Comments on Gearhart Mountain – 07/23/2020

**Note the 2021 Bootleg Fire burned the entire Gearhart Mountain Wilderness.**

Thursday marked our sixth straight day of hiking and promised to be one of the longer, if not longest hikes of our trip. The weather had cooperated and after a couple of afternoons with possible thunderstorms the forecast for Gearhart Mountain was for mostly sunny skies. We were hoping to reach the 8370′ summit of the mountain which is located in the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness, one of 6 Oregon wilderness areas we had yet to visit (we are trying to visit all 46 of the wilderness areas in Oregon open to people post).

This visit would also check off another of William L. Sullivan’s featured hikes (we are trying to hike all of those as well post). The hike begins at the Lookout Rock Trailhead. Sullivan’s entry for this hike described the final half mile of the road to the trailhead as rough and steep. The Forest Service website linked above shows the trailhead before that final half mile of road listing it as closed. I had learned my lesson regarding trailhead roads the day before (post) so we parked at a pullout after about a mile on FR 012.

We set off up the road which aside from one short stretch with a pretty good runoff channel looked to be in pretty good shape and there was nothing to indicate that the road was actually closed (it continues beyond a gate at the trailhead to the Lookout Rock fire tower).

The gate on the right through the trees.

In hindsight the drive to this trailhead would have been much easier than the .5 miles to the DeGarmo Canyon Trailhead. Regardless we reached the start of the actual trail, filled out a wilderness questionnaire, and set off on the Gearhart Mountain Trail.

I was momentarily disappointed when we passed a post that looked like it used to sport a wilderness sign (I like to get photos of signs for each wilderness we enter) but a little further up the trail my spirits were lifted when we spotted one of the signs.

After .7 miles we came to The Palisades, a group of andesite formations of different shapes and sizes.

It took us quite a while to get through this section of the trail. I’m not sure what we had expected but The Palisades really blew us away and we could have spent quite a bit more time exploring the area. Beyond The Palisades the trail lost a bit of elevation as it began a forested stretch.

Approximately 2 miles in on the trail we came to a spring in a small meadow.

We began to see a few more flowers beyond the spring as the trail gradually climbed for .4 miles to a switchback that was not shown on our GPS maps.
Mountain coyote mint and paintbrush along the trail.

Starting the switchback.

Scarlet gilia

The switchback brought us beneath another interesting rock formation.

As we walked below the rocks we came to a small stream that was home to some other types of flowers and flowed past a good sized meadow.
Columbine

Monkshood and California corn lily

20200723_074949 Monkshood

20200723_075220 Orange agoseris

More rocks above the trail.

The trail continued to climb beyond the meadow along more open hillsides where pink mountain coyote mint and white Nuttall’s linanthus were abundant. Other flowers included paintbrush and a few balsamroot blossoms.

After 4.5 miles we arrived at a saddle where we faced a choice.
Just about to the saddle.

To reach the summit of Gearhart Mountain we would need to strike out cross-country to the east for approximately 1.5 miles. The trail headed NE from the saddle dropping down to a series of meadow before climbing steeply to “The Notch” below the summit and continuing to Blue Lake in 4 miles and it’s end at FR 015 in 6.8. We were hoping to reach the summit and then would decide if we felt up to continuing to the meadows and The Notch. Sullivan’s description of the hike to the summit mentions a “scramble to the left 0.2 mile to the mountain’s long Ridgecrest”. He also says to “look for a break in the cliffs”. From the saddle it was easy to see the cliffs he was referring to.

Gearhart Mountain from the saddle.

Gearhart Mountain, The Notch to the right, and meadows below.

Penstemon in the rocks at the saddle.

We took a brief break and studied the cliffs before setting off through the white bark pines to find a break in the cliffs.

We found a reasonable break where the manzanita was our biggest obstacle and climbed up through the rocks.

Above the rocks the terrain leveled out a bit.

We made a slight miscalculation here as we veered uphill thinking that we had gotten past the cliffs and were on the long Ridgecrest portion of the mountain.

A fire pit also made us think we were on the right course.

We were following a ridge but the ridge kept getting narrower and rockier and after .4 miles (from where we had come up through the cliffs) we found ourselves on top of more cliffs. Luckily we only had to backtrack 150′ to find a spot where we were able to scramble down the east side of the rocks to a much easier walk through open forest.

We began to notice a snowy mountain to the east which after some debate we determined to be Mt. McLoughlin (post).
You can’t make the mountain out in the picture but it was out there.

Now you can sort of see it.

A little blurry but there is Mt. McLoughlin

We startled a few grouse along the way (and they startled us right back) and our presence seemed to also be annoying a pair of raptors. They were noisily circling overhead and we assumed that they must have had a nest somewhere on the cliffs.

We did our best to stay as far away from the rocks as possible to lessen the disturbance.

The last couple hundred feet to the summit was very easy walking on a the fairly flat top of the mountain.

The final little uphill on the left.

Summit of Gearhart Mountain

Survey marker

Summit register

It was a nice day with blue skies overhead but smoke from fires in California and some remaining clouds and haze along the skyline limited the views of the surrounding area. On a clearer day we would have had a good view of Mt. Shatsa and been able to see all the way to Mt. Jefferson to the NW. As it was with the help of binoculars we could just make out some snowy features on the horizon but other than Mt. McLoughlin we couldn’t be sure which of the Cascade peaks we were seeing.
The Notch is below to the right hidden by the cliffs.

West toward Mt. McLoughlin which is still hard to make out.

If you squint really hard you can make out a couple of snowy peaks on the horizon.

NNE view.

South back along the ridge.

East down to the meadows below and a second survey marker.

After our summit break we headed back. This time we stayed below the rocky Ridgecrest remaining in the easier to navigate trees.

The key with this was not swinging out too wide and getting too far below where we had come up from the saddle. Numerous GPS checks kept us from getting to far astray and led us back to the spot where we had come up between the cliffs.
Getting ready to drop down toward the saddle.

Heading down

At the summit we had debated on whether or not to go to the meadows and on to The Notch. Heather was concerned about mosquitoes around the meadows and from the summit it didn’t appear that there was much in the way of flowers down there. Going all the way to the Notch would have added almost 2.5 miles to the days hike which was already going to be around 13 miles if we went straight back to the trailhead. By the time we reached the saddle though we decided to at least check out the meadows, Heather could stop and turn around if the bugs got bad and we didn’t know when we might find ourselves back here. It also helped that the trail shown on the GPS unit didn’t appear to lose much elevation remaining at the 7900′ elevation except for a slight dip to 7800′ near The Notch. We had talked ourselves into it and down the trail we went.

We quickly discovered that this was one of those cases where the actual trail was not really anywhere near where it was shown on the map and we had fairly quickly lost almost 200′. It appeared that perhaps most people stop at the saddle as there was noticeably more blowdown along this portion of the trail and it was faint at some points even when it wasn’t passing through the edge of a meadow.

The good news was that it wasn’t long before we encountered the first strip of lush green along the trail and there were in fact a good number of wildflowers (and not many mosquitoes).

Paintbrush, monkshood, lupine and California corn lily

20200723_113900 Swamp onion

20200723_113954 The remnants of a shooting star.

20200723_114157 Penstemon

Gearhart Mountain from the trail below.

We were pleased to find that even near the largest meadow where water was visible we didn’t have much of an issue with mosquitoes.

Bistort

Mountain heather next to the stream.

The last of an elephant’s head.

Bog orchids

California corn lilies below Gearhart Mountain.

We followed the trail to the end of the big meadow which was near the start of the climb to The Notch and sat on some rock beneath Gearhart Mountain.

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We decided that this would be as far as we would go. We didn’t see the point in climbing 200′ in the next tenth or two miles for a view that was simply lower than the one that we’d had at the summit. We had a snack and located a small patch of lingering snow beneath the cliffs before heading back.

The hike back up to the saddle wasn’t as bad as we’d feared and soon we were heading down the other side. Going in this direction we got a better look at The Dome, another rock feature roughly 1.75 miles from the saddle.

The Dome from the trail.

We spent more time admiring the Palisades on the way back and met a couple of sagebrush lizards in the process.
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Despite a couple of tents set up along the road to the trailhead we saw no one all day on the trail. My Garmin put the hike at 15.7 miles. (Heather had less on hers but she also didn’t wander around like a fool while off trail like someone else may have.) It was a good hike to cap off our stay in Lakeview although we were planning on a couple of stops on the way home the next day so it wasn’t the last hike of our vacation. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Gearhart Mountain

Tags Fremont-Winema National Forest, gearhart mountain, Gearhart Mountain Trail, Gearhart Mountain Wildreness, hiking, Lookout Rock Trailhead, Oregon, The Dome, The Notch, The Palisades

Central Oregon Hiking Lakeview Oregon Trip report

Petroglyph Lake, Warner Valley Overlook, and DeGarmo Canyon – 07/22/2020

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 30, 2020
1 Comment on Petroglyph Lake, Warner Valley Overlook, and DeGarmo Canyon – 07/22/2020

**Note the 2024 Warner Peak Fire burned over the Warner Overlook.**

We took our second outing to the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in three short hikes. The temperatures were still expected to be high and Wednesday also provided the best chance for afternoon thunderstorms so we wanted to be done early for the day.

Our first hike for the day was Petroglyph Lake. As I mentioned in our previous post the Petroglyph Lake Road was closed so we had to decide how we wanted to get there. The easiest choice would have been to walk the closed road for 1.6 miles to visit the lake but Sullivan described a 5 mile off trail loop that not only visited the lake but also a viewpoint along Poker Jim Ridge. We picked the loop and parked along Hart Mountain Road near the signed Hill Top Reservoir Road.

Looking across Hart Mountain Road we could see the small juniper covered knoll along Poker Jim Ridge that we were going to be aiming for.
The knoll is the lower rise to the left.

There was a lone pronghorn grazing in the morning light.

We set off across through the sagebrush angling for the rim.

From left to right: Flagstaff Lake, Upper Campbell Lake, and Campbell Lake.

Hart Mountain Road climbing up to the plateau.

Campbell Lake

We followed the rim north toward the knoll.

An Orobanche

Petroglyph Lake was not visible at first but it lay to the east and we could make out the basin that it was in.

As we gained elevation the further north that we got we finally could see the lake in the basin.

We arrived at the knoll a little over 2 miles from where we’d parked.
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White pelicans and seagulls on Campbell Lake.

Looking south along Poker Jim Ridge

Looking north along Poker Jim Ridge

Junipers on the knoll

We made our way to the north end of the knoll to get a better view in that direction.
Bluejoint Lake below the ridge.

Stone Corral Lake

To reach Petroglyph Lake we had to backtrack to the south on the knoll to avoid a rocky descent.

When we found a suitable spot to descend we could see the lake clearly but we knew that we would lose sight of it again once we were down off the knoll so we picked out some other features to use as reference points. When we were able to see the lake again we aimed for the left side knowing that a rock ledge rimmed its right side.

Pronghorn above the lake.

As we neared the lake we got below the rim rock and turned right to explore along it as this is where the petroglyphs are.

It was approximately a half mile to Petroglyph Lake Road at the far end of the lake and most of that distance was along the cliffs looking at the petroglyphs.

Dragon fly

Western fence lizard

Yellow bellied marmot

When the cliffs began to fade we followed a clear path along the lake to the road where we encountered the first other hikers since the previous Saturday (we’d been passed by a single mountain biker the day before).

After a brief (6 foot) conversation with them we were ready to continue on but we faced a choice. Sullivan’s loop would have had us setting of cross country for 1.5 miles back to the hill top where our car was parked. We could also walk Petroglyph Lake Road to Hart Mountain Road and then walk up that road back to the car. This second option doubled the mileage but it also took us to within a mile of the refuge headquarters where we’d seen the bulk of the pronghorn the day before and it was road walking and not bushwhacking which we were both about done with for a while. The road it was.

The road walk was fine, there were several flowers, a plethora of butterflies, and we did see a few more pronghorn, albeit at a distance.

Some type of primrose I think.

Lupine

There were dozens of butterflies and other pollinators on this rabbitbrush.

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The gate at Petroglyph Lake Road

Hart Mountain Road

The juniper knoll along Poker Jim Ridge and yes there are a few pronghorn out there.

Pronghorn keeping their distance from us.

After making it back to our car we drove just under 2 miles back down Hart Mountain Road to a small pullout with a Warner Mountain Overlook sign and a short (.4 mile) loop trail. We weren’t aware of this little interpretive loop until we drove past it the day before but it looked interesting so we added it to this days itinerary.
Sign for the overlook.

View from the pullout back up toward Hart Mountain.

The start of the loop trail.

Since we had already been up to the juniper knoll which looked this same direction the views from the overlook were not much different from those, but the half dozen interpretive signs along the route were interesting and worth the quick stop.
We like interpretive signs like this where we can see with our own eyes what is being described.

This one helped with identifying the different lakes plus provided the history.

Another of our favorites are the ones that identify the various hills and peaks.

We worked really hard on spotting some big horn sheep on this trip to no avail. There was so much space that they could be in it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

After completing the loop we continued our drive back toward Lakeview on Hart Mountain Road. We turned off once more at a small pointer for DeGarmo Canyon (4.5 miles after pavement resumed in this direction or 9.4 miles from Plush). Sullivan described the half mile dirt road as very rough and requiring a high clearance vehicle, otherwise he suggested parking along Hart Mountain Road and walking to the trailhead. Typically we heed these warning from him but for some reason I decided to test the road with our Outback. It wasn’t pretty but we did make it to the parking area and I vowed not to make that mistake again.

Sullivan lists three possible hikes with with some additional optional side trips. He has a 1.4 mile out and back to a 35′ waterfall, a 2.6 mile loop, and a 9.4 mile hike to DeGarmo Notch. If you make it to DeGarmo Notch it’s only 2 more miles (4 round trip) to Warner Peak. When our vacation started my plan had been the 9.4 mile hike with the optional trek up Warner Peak. As the week progressed we wound up hiking to Warner Peak the day before from Barnhardi Basin (post) so we didn’t need to do that anymore. We had toyed with the idea of still hiking up to DeGarmo Notch but we had seen that feature the day before as well and we were hot, tired, and a little sick of bushwacking which the 9.4 mile hike had some more of. That left us with the 1.4 mile out and back or 2.6 mile loop, both of which visited the waterfall.

Before we decided which option we would be doing we needed to get across DeGarmo Creek. Sullivan had warned of a dangerous crossing just above a 10′ waterfall and recommended following a rock ledge 50′ upstream to an easier crossing. Given the time of year the creek wasn’t flowing very strongly and vegetation was crowding the rock ledge so we opted to cross above the 10′ waterfall despite the warning.
It’s not visible in this photo but there were dry rocks close enough on the far side to simply step over the water onto. The wet rock would have been very slippery and certainly dangerous.

We followed a path upstream and found the location of Sullivan’s recommended crossing.

A steep trail led up around the vegetation along the creek into a wider canyon that had some very interesting rock formations. It was also extremely warm as it was directly in the sun and there was no breeze.

We had our eyes out for snakes but only saw a couple of lizards.

The 35′ waterfall was just .7 miles up the canyon and it came into view well before we arrived at it.

The temperature at the falls was much more pleasant and was a popular spot with the local butterflies.

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We took a relaxing break at the falls surrounded by the butterflies. When it was time to continue our hike we both agreed that neither one of us was up for what it would take to do any of the options other than the 1.4 mile out and back. In order to do any of the longer hikes, even the 2.6 mile loop, we would have needed to follow a steep scramble route 200′ before the falls up around some cliffs. We had both spied the route on our way to the falls and both thought “not today”.
The scramble route is at the base of the cliff to the right.

Looking up from the trail at where the scramble route was heading.

We were happy with our choice and ready to get out of the heat so we retraced our steps back to the 10′ water fall.

The smaller waterfall had been invaded by butterflies too.

After carefully driving the wretched half mile to Hart Mountain Road we headed back to Lakeview to treat ourselves to burgers and milkshakes from the Burger Queen drive thru. It was our shortest day so far of the vaction at 8.7 miles (6.8 at Petroglyph Lake, 0.4 at the overlook, and 1.5 at DeGarmo Canyon) but that was plenty. Thursday’s hike had the potential of being the longest of our trip as we were set to visit one of the six remaining wilderness areas in Oregon that we had yet to hike in, the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Petroglyph Lake, Warner Valley Overlook, and DeGarmo Canyon

Tags Antelope, Burger Queen, DeGarmo Canyon, Hart Mountain, Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, hiking, Lakeview, Oregon, Petroglyph, Petroglyph Lake, Poker Jim Ridge, pronghorn, Warner Valley Overlook, Waterfall