Tag: California

Castle Crags Wilderness

More potential thunderstorms were forecast for the fourth day of our stay in Mount Shasta City, but then it looked like the threat would be past so we decided to stick close by and spend a day hiking in the Castle Crags Wilderness.

We had three hikes lined up for the wilderness starting with a climb to the base of Castle Dome. For that hike we started at the Vista Point Trailhead in Castle Crags State Park. There was an $8 day use fee for the park which turned into a bit of a fiasco because we only had a twenty, a five, and a one on us and there was no one manning the booth yet to make change. I had hoped that there would be a debit/credit card option but there wasn’t so we had to drive back to Dunsmire to break the twenty.

After obtaining the day use permit we drove the narrow, winding 2.1 mile road to the Vista Point parking area.

A short walk on the Vista Point Trail brought us to a viewpoint where Mt. Shasta, Gray Rocks, and of course the Castle Crags were visible.

For the first time during the week Mt. Shasta was sporting a bit of a lenticular cloud.

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After checking out the view from Vista Point we returned to the parking area and crossed the road to a sign for the Crags and Root Creek Trails.

The trail passed through a forest with a bit of poison oak here and there.

We stuck to the Crag Trail when the Root Creek Trail split off to the right and crossed the Pacific Crest Trail after .4 miles.

Another .4 miles brought us to a junction with the Bob’s Hat Trail.

A mile later we passed the .2 mile side trail to Indian Springs.

The forest began to thin not long after we’d passed the Indian Springs Trail and we soon entered the Castle Crags Wilderness.

From there it didn’t take long to reach the base of the granite spires of the Castle Crags and climb up the rock.

The views really opened towards the end of the official trail. Castle Dome and Mt. Shasta lined up nicely as we passed the base of rounded spire.

It was possible to continue beyond the end of the trail sign a bit and explore the area a little more. The rock formations were spectacular, it was hard to process everything we were seeing.

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A viewpoint below Castle Dome provided a nice view of Mt. Shasta as well as a look up the granite tower.

Although it’s possible to climb Castle Dome, knowing our limitations, neither of us had any intention of attempting to do so. After a long rest in the cool breeze that provided some nice relief after what had been a warm climb up we headed back down. On the way down we noticed that the cloud above Mt. Shasta had morphed.

After a mile we turned toward Indian Springs to check them out.

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There were quite a few mosquitoes near the springs so we didn’t stick around long before heading back and returning to our car.

The trailhead for our second hike was a mere 3 miles from the park entrance so after exiting the park we turned right on Castle Creek Road and pulled into a large parking area on the right. The goal for this hike was Burstarse Falls which we hoped might still have a little water flowing over it. We followed the hike described here on Hike Mount Shasta.

The trail was marked by a metal post with an arrow for the PCT.

The Dog Trail, so named because dogs are not allowed on the PCT in the Castle Crag State Park so hikers on that trail must go around the park and rejoin the PCT on the other side, climbed for just over a half mile to the PCT.

We turned left on the PCT and followed it for approximately 1.7 miles to Burstarse Creek where a hungry tree was devouring a sign for the creek.

There had been some poison oak along the trail so we kept our eyes open as we turned onto the use trail on the south side of the creek. The creek did have some flowing water but it wasn’t much.

The use trail was easy enough to follow especially in conjunction with the information from Hike Mt. Shasta. We arrived at the lower falls to find just a trickle of water running down it. We knew that coming this late in the summer would probably mean little to no water but as long as we were in the area it was worth checking out.

Heather remained at the lower falls while I continued on scrambling above the falls on the right then crossing and recrossing the creek bed before arriving at the upper falls.

The sight of the basalt amphitheater gave me a decent idea of how nice the falls must be when the water is freely flowing. I settled for a small spray of water cascading over the lip of the rocks.

I headed back down to the lower falls to rejoin Heather.

We headed back to the car once again and were soon on our way to the third and final hike of the day.

For our last hike we returned to I-5 and drove north back almost to Mount Shasta City before turning west and heading for Castle Lake.

It was an unusually late time for us to start a hike (1:30pm) and it was a hot day. When we arrived at Castle Lake at the end of paved Castle Lake Road we found a whole lot of cars. We parked in the first spot we saw and walked past the mass of cars to the trail.

We bypassed Castle Lake settling for views along the trail which we were following to Heart Lake.

After a .7 mile climb we found ourselves at a pass above Castle Lake. A confusion of trails appeared to head in every direction.

Heart Lake lay to our right so we just picked a path and headed in that direction.

Mt. Shasta emerged from behind a peak to the east over our shoulders as we made our way to Heart Lake.

After cresting the lip of a glacially carved cirque we spied the lake.

There is a spectacular view of Mt. Shasta beyond Heart Lake which can be seen here. We did not get this iconic image due to a group of young bikini clad girls taking turns posing for Instagram photos at the edge of the lake in the gap where Mt. Shasta was visible. They were oblivious to everyone else hoping to get an unobstructed picture of the scene.

We continued on past Heart Lake (and the Instagrammers) planning on following another route recommended by Bubba Suess at Hike Mt. Shasta. His recommendation was to continue west from the lake and follow a ridge up and around to Castle Peak then return down the far side to complete a small loop with some big views. We continued west past a small tarn then headed up hill on a faint but visible use trail.

An initial steep climb brought us to the top of the ridge where we were rewarded with a great view.

We still had a ways to go to reach Castle Peak though.

The route was pretty brushy and at times we weren’t sure if we were following the correct path, but we kept making our way up the ridge.

When we arrived at the summit of Castle Peak we found one other gentleman who had seen us coming up behind him. The 360 degree view was impressive with the Castle Crags jutting up to the south.

Further away through the haze we had our best view of the trip of Mt. Lassen.

To the north the size disparity between Black Butte and Mt. Shasta was striking.

When it was time to continue on we headed east down the the other side of Castle Peak. Again the brush made it difficult to tell what was in fact supposed to be the trail and we found ourselves just lumbering through whatever route looked easiest.

I had been attempting to match our GPS track to the one shown on Hike Mt. Shasta but we wound up turning downhill earlier than we should have which caused us to have an unnecessarily steep descent back to the trail to Heart Lake. Once we were back on that trail we turned right and kept right making our way to the trail down to Little Castle Lake.

This trail dropped down from the pass to a meadow with quite a few wildflowers.

A short distance from the far end of the meadow was Little Castle Lake.

After visiting this final lake we headed back down to Castle Lake. On the way we passed a group of naked hikers which was not something we had expected to see. They were a friendly group that was on their way up to Heart Lake. It made for an unexpected end to an interesting day in the Castle Crags Wilderness. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Castle Crags Wilderness

Tags Burstarse Falls, California, Caslte Lake, Castle Crags, Castle Crags State Park, Castle Crags Wilderness, Castle Dome, Castle Peak, Crags Trail, Heart Lake, hiking, Little Castle Lake, Mt. Shasta Area, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Vista Point

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Trinity Divide Trip report

Mount Eddy and the Deadfall Lakes

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

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

We headed south on the PCT toward the Deadfall Lakes.

We could see our goal as we hiked the PCT.

Further to the south were the snowy Trinity Alps.

Below were meadows surrounding Deadfall Creek.

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

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

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

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

The trail steepened as it climbed toward Upper Deadfall Lake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We followed the outlet creek down to the lower lake.

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

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

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

Flickr: Mount Eddy

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

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Salmon Mountains Trip report

Paynes Lake – Russian Wilderness

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date August 2, 2017
2 Comments on Paynes Lake – Russian Wilderness

We were watching the weather closely during our stay in Mount Shasta City. Scattered thunderstorms were being forecasted for the first half of the week and we didn’t want to be up on some peak during a lightning storm. We’d also added an extra day at the last minute in hopes that the Everitt Memorial Highway would be opened by the end of our stay so we could make it to Panther Meadows on Mt. Shasta. To fill the extra day we chose the hike to Paynes Lake in the Russian Wilderness based in part on a recent trip report posted on vanmarmot.org. While his hike didn’t take him to Paynes Lake it was in the same area and provided some good information on a side trip we could take from the Pacific Crest Trail down to Taylor Lake.

We started our hike at the Etna Summit Trailhead by taking the Pacific Crest Trail south.

The PCT passed through a couple of nice meadows with wildflowers and great views in the first 1.7 miles.

At the 1.7 mile mark we arrived at a 4-way junction where the PCT crossed a on old roadbed now acting as a trail to Ruffey Lake.

Beyond the junction the trail traversed a sagebrush covered hillside with a good view of the peaks rising from the Russian Wilderness.

Behind us the Marble Mountains were visible despite a couple of wildfires burning in that wilderness.

The trail followed a ridge toward a peak where we could see a large snow drift that we appeared to be heading straight for.

We spotted a group of hikers just finishing their crossing of the snow so we waited for them to finish taking the opportunity to admire Mt. Shasta looming to the east.

From below the snow we couldn’t tell just how far we were going to travel on it so we decided to use it as an excuse to finally try out our Kahtoola MICROspikes. After putting them on we stepped out on the snow and fell in love. Unfortunately (or not) our need for them was short lived. After just a few steps up we discovered a clear path in the snow covered with debris to assist with traction.

Off came the spikes and onward we went. The PCT traversed a hillside above Smith Lake passing through a section of granite rocks.

A total of 3.5 miles from the trailhead we passed Smith Lake and began a fairly substantial descent to a saddle above Taylor Lake. The open rocky hillside was sporting a good variety of blooming flowers.

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We arrived at the saddle .3 miles after passing Smith Lake where we took note of the user path from Vanmarmot’s trip report.

Our plan was to take the path down to Taylor Lake on our way back using the old roadbed to Ruffey Lake to return to the PCT. For the time being though Paynes Lake was our goal so we continued on the PCT which continued to traverse the hillside below some impressive rock formations.

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We made a 90 degree turn around a ridge end and reentered the trees.

Shortly after making the turn we entered the Russian Wilderness. One of the things that I try and do is get pictures of wilderness signs from the the wilderness areas we visit. We hadn’t noticed a sign by the time we reached an unnamed creak that we knew to be well within the wilderness boundary.

We’d keep a watch for a sign on the way back and would also be crossing the wilderness boundary near Taylor Lake giving us another possible location for a sign.

Beyond the creek the PCT rounded another ridge end bringing into view the granite peak above Paynes Lake.

A total of 2.2 miles from the pass above Taylor Lake we arrived at a signed junction with the Paynes Lake Trail.

We turned right here and arrived at the lake after a hundred feet.

After admiring the lake for a few minutes we continued on a path along the north side of the lake. We were hoping to follow this path up to the Albert Lakes. We followed the trail to a meadow where we turned uphill a little too soon.

We were following what at times looked like a possible trail or several game trails through a boggy, brushy meadow.

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After several consultations with the GPS we managed to find the actual faint trail which was actually on the other side of the meadow. It climbed steeply uphill for about half a mile to a basin above Paynes Lake.

An amazing display of tiger lilies greeted us to the basin.

The visible trail ended at Lower Albert Lake.

In looking at the surrounding terrain the best route to Upper Albert Lake would likely be around the south side of the lower lake but the water level was high enough that crossing the outlet creek didn’t look particularly appealing nor did the climb up to the other lake. If we had been set on completing a loop to Taylor Lake via Big Blue and Hogan Lakes that would have been the way to go, but that was more than we were willing to take on so we returned to Paynes Lake and headed back along the PCT.

When we arrived back at the saddle above Taylor Lake we had a better view of Mt. Shasta than we’d had that morning.

We headed downhill on the steep user trail which switchbacked past some nice wildflowers.

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We arrived at Taylor Lake without incident and took another short snack break along the shore before hiking to the right around the lake to the Taylor Lake Trailhead.

My hopes for a Russian Wilderness sign ended when just before we arrived at the Taylor Lake Trailhead we finally spotted a small generic metal sign marking the wilderness boundary.

From the trailhead parking area we followed a paved road uphill to the right which quickly turned to dirt.

The road was still open up to a green metal gate where it deteriorated to a wide trail.

There were a few views and some wildflowers along the 1.2 miles from Taylor Lake to the PCT.

From there it was just 1.7 miles back to the Etna Summit Trailhead where one of the thru-hikers we’d passed on the trail was in need of a ride into Etna, a hiker friendly town along Highway 3. We offered him a ride and had a nice talk during the 10.2 mile drive to town. He introduced himself as Octane from Oakland, CA. He, like many of the thru-hikers this year, had skipped the Sierras due to snow and was having to do sections out of order.

We dropped Octane off in Etna and returned to Mount Shasta City to check the weather forecast to see where we’d be going next. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Paynes Lake

Tags Albert Lakes, California, Etna, Etna Summit Trailhead, Lower Albert Lake, Pacific Crest Trail, Paynes Lake, PCT, Ruffey Lake, Russian Wilderness, Smith Lake, Taylor Lake

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Scott Mountains Trip report

Kangaroo Lake

We recently spent a week in Mount Shasta City to do some day hiking in Northern California. We drove down on 7/23/17 and on the way stopped at Kangaroo Lake.

We walked down to the picnic area to eat lunch and look at the lake before walking a short distance back up the entrance road to pick up the Fen Trail.

The Fen Trail climbed a hillside along a fen which was home to many wildflowers including Darlingtonia California, California pitcher plants.

In a half mile the trail came to a viewpoint overlooking Kangaroo Lake.

The trail continued for another .9 miles passing more wildflowers before ending at the Pacific Crest Trail.

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We turned left (south) on the PCT and headed for Bull Lake. The trail here passed through ponderosa pines with wide open views.

The ground along this stretch was covered with balloon pods.

We passed several thru-hikers including a couple resting at a damp hillside which housed more pitcher plants.

Beyond the pitcher plants the trail entered a drier meadow where we noticed a collapsed structure amid the wildflowers.

As we passed through this area I spotted the final few inches of a rattlesnake slowly leaving the trail and disappearing into a manzanita bush. It was the first we’d seen while hiking and just from the small portion we saw it was a lot bigger than the garter snakes and rubber boas we usually see. We made a wide arc around the bush and continued on, now on high alert.

Just under a mile after turning onto the PCT we stayed left at a fork in the trail which would have taken us down to Robbers Meadow. We did the same in another 1.7 miles when that trail returned to the PCT at a four-way junction at a pass.

From the pass we could see Bull Lake below and Mt. Shasta on the horizon.

We stayed on the PCT until we had nearly passed Bull Lake where we struck off downhill on a faint user trail to the lake shore.

After a relaxing break at the lake it was time to head back. For our return trip we chose to follow a route suggested by Bubba Suess from Hike Mt. Shasta. Our plan was to follow his directions from Bull Lake up and over Cory Peak and back down to the PCT. We returned to the PCT from the lake and when we spotted what appeared to be a fairly open route so we left the PCT and headed uphill.

The brush soon gave way to a rocky slope which made the cross country route fairly easy, just a bit steep.

Using the track provided on the website we were able to compare our route shown on our GPS to make sure we were staying on the right track. It’s always interesting to see what is hiding back off the trails. We came to a small green bowl were a doe was grazing.

She headed uphill on nearly the same route we were on so we saw here a couple more times before our route veered to the right at a saddle to climb up an even higher ridge.

We arrived at the ridge top just to the SE of a snow melt lake below Cory Peak.

To the SW the snowy Trinity Alps lined the horizon.

Mt. Shasta and Mt. Eddy rose to the east.

They were all locations we had plans to visit during the week. After catching our breath we followed the ridge along the lake and scrambled up to the top of some rocks which looked from the lake like the summit of Cory Peak. Once on top we could see that the summit of Cory Peak was actually further along a broad ridge.

We made our way along the ridge to another set of rocks with an old sign protruding from the top.

Here we found a geologic survey marker and a summit register.

After another short break we continued west dropping down to a saddle along the ridge where we had a nice view of Rock Fence Lake below to the north.

We followed the ridge down picking up a mylar balloon along the way. Our route passed a nice bunch of wildflowers and below some melting snow before we bailed off the ridge and hooked back up with the PCT about a quarter mile from the junction with the Fen Trail.

Looking back up at Cory Peak.

Mylar balloon.

Looking back along the ridge to Cory Peak.

More of the ridge we descended.

Final stretch down to the PCT.

Once we were back on the PCT we returned to Kangaroo Lake on the Fen Trail and headed for Mount Shasta City. It had been a good start to the vacation and getting to see many of the areas we were going to be visiting was a great motivator. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Kangaroo Lake

Tags Bull Lake, California, California darlingtonia, Cory Lake, Cory Peak, Fen Trail, hiking, Kangaroo Lake, Mount Shasta, mt. eddy, Pacific Crest Trail, PCT, Robbers Meadow, Rock Fence Lake

California Hiking Northern California Coast Trip report

Tall Trees & Lady Bird Johnson Groves and Hidden Beach

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 18, 2017
2 Comments on Tall Trees & Lady Bird Johnson Groves and Hidden Beach

The day after our most hiccup free hike of our vacation so far the rain arrived. We had picked up a permit for the entry road to the Tall Trees Grove Trailhead. details here

Covered benches at the trailhead allowed us to get our rain gear set while staying out of the rain.
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The trail to the Tall Trees descended 700′ in just under a mile and a half to the grove.
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A mile long loop explored the grove which was home to the tallest know redwood until a 1989 storm removed some of it’s 367.8′ height.
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We took a brief detour on the Redwood Creek Trail to visit Redwood Creek before finishing our counter-clockwise loop.
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We then climbed back up to the car and headed back. Before returning to Highway 101 we stopped along Bald Hill Road at the Lady Bird Johnson Grove.
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A 1.4 mile lollipop loop here visits a grove of redwoods dedicated to the wife of President Johnson who was a supporter of creating the Redwoods National Park.
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A footbridge led from the parking lot over Bald Hill Road to the start of the short loop.
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My foot had been holding up pretty well, my two sock system seemed to be working, but now my stomach was starting to give me problems. By the time we had reached our next stop, the Lagoon Creek picnic area, I really wasn’t feeling well.

The picnic area was located along Highway 101, 25.7 miles north of Bald Hills Road (13.5 miles south of Crescent City). We had originally planned on doing this hike before heading home on Friday but when my foot began acting up we changed our plans. We had been planning on starting the Tall Trees hike from the Dolason Prairie Trailhead which didn’t require the free permit but would have been over 15 miles round trip with around 3000′ of elevation gain. When we decided to go the free permit route it shortened that hike to 4 miles and 700′ of elevation gain freeing us up to add in the Lady Bird Johnson Grove and to move Hidden Beach up a day.

The hike to Hidden Beach was only 2.4 miles but the California Coastal Trail provided an opportunity to extend the hike to a Klamath River Overlook for a total of approximately 8 miles. Between my foot issues and now not feeling well we decided that we’d only be doing the 2.4 mile option this trip.

The trail began at a signboard at the northern end of the picnic area.
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After crossing a footbridge over the lagoon’s outlet creek a short walk brought us to the start of the Yurok Loop.
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We took the right hand fork which brought us through windswept meadows overlooking the ocean. The rain had ended and now the clouds were breaking up revealing pockets of blue sky.
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The meadows were home to several wildflowers and some ripe salmonberries.
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We stayed right on the Coastal Trail when it split from the Yurok Trail following it approximately a half mile to a sign for Hidden Beach.
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The short spur trail led down to the secluded little beach with a view north to False Klamath Rock.
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We didn’t stay long on the beach as I was not feeling well at all so we headed back to the Yurok Loop which we completed by following the trail on the back side of a small hill.
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It was too bad that we weren’t able to explore more of the Coastal Trail to the south as the weather was so much better and the meadows along that stretch were really nice. I just wanted to get back to the room and rest though. We were heading home the next day and just had a 3 mile hike at the Rough and Ready Botanical Wayside planned on the way. Happy Trails!

Flicker: Tall Trees & Lady Bird Johnson Grove and Hidden Beach

Tags California, California Coastal Trail, Hidden Beach, hiking, Lady Bird Johnson Grove, Lagoon Creek Picnic Area, pacific ocean, Redwoods National Park, Tall Trees Grove, Yurok Trail

California Hiking Northern California Coast Trip report

Fern Canyon – Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 18, 2017
1 Comment on Fern Canyon – Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park

My left foot was still pretty tender in the morning but we had more hikes planned so we came up with a plan for Heather to bring an extra pair of shoes in case I needed to try and use hers again. I was using my newer pair and hers were just small enough that using them on a longer hike would probably cause other issues.

As we were driving south of Crescent City to Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park I came up with another idea, wearing two socks on that foot. I pulled a sock from the extra pair I carry and slipped it on. When I put my shoe back on it did seem to have helped.

We parked at the visitors center which was across from a meadow where a few elk were lounging in the distance.
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Unfortunately one of the big differences between having to use our phones and the camera I lost, was the ability to zoom so the elk are just some dark dots up and to the right of the sign.
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Our plan here was to do a loop by taking the James Irvine Trail to Fern Canyon then hiking along the beach to the Beach Campground and returning via the Miners Ridge Trail which would be right around 13 miles.
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We followed pointers for the James Irvine Trail crossing Prairie Creek on a scenic footbridge.
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It was great to be back amid the redwoods again. Walking through the giant trees is simply awe inspiring.
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We kept right on the James Irvine Trail when the Miners Ridge Trail split off to the left.
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We stuck to the James Irvine Trail for approximately four and a half more miles as it descended through the lush green forest. Occasionally wildflowers made appearances along the way.
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We turned left at a sign for Fern Canyon.
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A short descent ending with a few stairs brought us to Home Creek.
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From the canyon floor it was roughly a half mile to the mouth of the canyon. During summer months planks are installed for the necessary creek crossings but they weren’t set up yet so we forded the creek a few times as we made our way through the 50 to 80 foot deep canyon lined with 5 different types of ferns.
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We met a couple at the entrance to the canyon who had just finished an out and back exploration. They informed us that Davison Road, which is the road to the parking lot near Fern Canyon, was closed at the Beach Campground and they were walking back via the beach. That had been our plan too so it didn’t affect us, but it helped explain the lack of hikers in the canyon.

We followed a path from the empty parking lot to the beach through an excellent display of lupine.
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After crossing Home Creek on a log we arrived at the ocean and turned south heading for the Beach Campground which was about a mile and a half away.
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The lack of zooming capabilities on our phones came into play twice as we walked along the beach. First when we spotted some elk in a gap in the trees.
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And again when we were trying to identify a shorebird.
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We took advantage of an empty site at the Beach Campground and Heather changed our of her wet shoes and put on the dry pair she had brought just in case I had needed them. We then located Davison Road and followed it back north a short distance to a sign for the Miners Ridge Trail.
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This trail began as an old roadbed but eventually returned to the mighty redwoods.
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It was 2 miles back to where we had split off on the James Irvine Trail earlier in the day and another 2.2 miles back to the Visitors Center. My foot had held up despite there still being some lingering irritation which was a win and the rest of the day had probably been the smoothest of the vacation so far. Things seemed to be looking up. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Fern Canyon

Tags Beach Campground, California, Davison Road, Fern Canyon, Fern Canyon Trail, hiking, Home Creek, James Irvine Trail, Miners Ridge Trail, Prairie Creek, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Redwoods

California Hiking Klamath/Siskiyou Mountains Northern California Coast Oregon Trip report

Shrader Old Growth, Myrtle Tree, Lower Rogue River, and Yontocket

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date May 17, 2017
5 Comments on Shrader Old Growth, Myrtle Tree, Lower Rogue River, and Yontocket

On the fourth day of our vacation we were changing our base of operations from Gold Beach, OR to Crescent City, CA. We planned on checking out of our motel in Gold Beach in the morning and doing three hikes along Jerry’s Flat Road before heading down to our next motel. So far the vacation had been going okay but each day had thrown some kinks our way and this day would do the same.

Our first stop was the Francis Shrader Old Growth Trail.
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The interpretive loop was just under a mile long. Brochures were available at the trailhead which we found to be very informative. It was probably the best interpretive trail we’d been on and would make a great hike for kids. Unfortunately our phones didn’t handle the low light conditions of the morning in the forest well so our photos were limited.
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To reach this trail we’d turned off of Jerry’s Flat Road 9.7 miles from Gold Beach onto Road 3300-090 for two miles. Our next stop was just across the Rogue River at the Myrtle Tree Trailhead. To get there we drove 100 feet further along Jerry’s Flat Road and turned left on Road 3310 crossing the river and turning right onto an unmarked road for less than a quarter mile to the signed trailhead.
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This trail was even shorter than the Old Growth Trail at just half a mile out and back. It climbed to Oregon’s largest known myrtle tree.
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Rough skinned newts and snails were numerous on the trail so we had to watch our steps.
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After visiting the tree we returned to Jerry’s Flat Road and followed it across the Rogue Rive to Road 375 where we turned left and followed it to Agness. We parked at the Agness Community Center/Library per the trail signs.
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We were a little nervous about our planned 6.2 mile hike here given it was almost the same time of year as our tick filled visit to the nearby Illinois River Trail the previous year.

The first part of the trail follows roads and paths through private property so following the trail signs was important.
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Candyflower and wild iris were in bloom along the trail.
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Poison oak was also a common sight.
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The trail had not been maintained yet this year and we encountered blowdown almost immediately after leaving the old roads. We were able to navigate the first few spots without having to deal with any of the poison oak but it meant being more in the brush and it wasn’t long before we’d each brushed off ticks.

After only a mile we came upon a large washout.
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I crossed it to see if I could easily pick out the continuation of the trail. It wasn’t obvious and no marking was visible so we considered our options and decided neither of us were too keen on continuing. We were unsure of the trail conditions further on so we turned around, went back to the car, and did a thorough tick check.

It was going to be too early to check in to our motel in Crescent City so we decided to pick out another hike from our guidebook that would be along our way. We chose to check out the the site of a former Native American village in Tolowa Dunes State Park.

We parked at a tricky trailhead to find along Pala Road. My best advice for finding it is to look at the park on Google Maps, find Pala Road near the NE end of the park and get driving directions. 🙂
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Pala Road passed through cow pastures which proved to be interesting on our drive out as we wound up in a heard of dairy cows on their way to be milked.
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As for the hike my left foot had gotten a little tender during the drive. I had been wearing an older pair of hiking shoes and they were really irritating a tendon or ligament on the outside of that foot. Every step shoved the shoe up against it and I was really having trouble walking.

We were headed for the village site which was located atop a small hill.
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We stopped at the picnic tables so I could put some bandages on my foot to try and cushion the contact before heading back downhill to a marked trail junction where we headed for the Smith River.
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The scenery in the area was great with several types of flowers blooming and many birds flying overhead including great white egrets and a bald eagle.
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The bandages weren’t helping so Heather came up with the idea of trading shoes. For the rest of the hike we each wore one of the others shoes which did provide some relief. We managed to make it to the Smith River which was less than a half mile from the village site.
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It was late enough now that we’d be able to check in to our room so we called it a day and I limped back to the car. When we got settled I iced my foot and we wondered what the next day had in store. Happy Trails!

Flickr: Shrader Old Growth, Myrtle Tree, Lower Rogue, and Yontocket

Tags California, Crescent City, Francis Shrader Old Growth Trail, hiking, Lower Rogue River Trail, Myrtle Tree Trail, Oregon, Rogue River, Smith River, Tolowa dunes state park, Yontocket

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Marble Mountains Trip report

Marble Mountain Wilderness Day 5 – Frying Pan Lake to Shackleford Trailhead

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 5, 2016
No Comments on Marble Mountain Wilderness Day 5 – Frying Pan Lake to Shackleford Trailhead

The final day of our Marble Mountain trip began with us packing up camp shortly after 5am followed by some coffee and granola for breakfast. We began hiking just after six climbing back up to the Pacific Crest Trail and saying goodbye to the Sky High Lakes.

We followed the PCT back to the trail to Summit Lake and followed that trail down to the lake. Most of the blowdown was still over the trail, but the trees that we had been forced to go around at the beginning of this .7mi section of trail had been cleared. The trail crews had been busy and we’d see more evidence of recent maintenance all the way back to the trailhead.

We stayed on the Shackelford Trail at Summit Lake. This was a section of trail we had not hiked on the first day so the scenery was new. We descended 1.6 miles to a junction with the Campbell Lake Loop Trail.

The next 1.2 mile section of trail passed through a meadow with a lily pad pond.

We then entered a forested section of the trail before reaching Log Lake where we found some nice bigelow sneezweed in bloom.

While we were resting at Log Lake a black tailed buck walked by on the trail. It appeared to be favoring it’s right rear leg.

At the end of the 1.2 mile section we were back on familiar trail again just 2.8 miles from the Shackleford Trailhead. The butterflies were again plentiful in the meadows along this section, including around one particular muddy patch of trail.
Five swallowtails

Various butterflies on the Shackleford Trail

Not far from the trailhead we met a Wilderness Ranger and another Forest Service employee heading into the wilderness. They asked about our trip and seemed as surprised as we were that we had not seen any bears during the five days. We logged a total of 64 miles during our trip and saw plenty of other wildlife. In addition there were plenty of wildflowers and all around amazing scenery. The Marble Mountains had not disappointed. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157669884816212

Tags black tailed deer, California, hiking, log lake, Marble Mountain Wilderness, Pacific Crest Trail, Shackelford trailhead, shackleford trail, Sky High Lakes

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Marble Mountains Trip report

Marble Mountain Wilderness Day 4 – Red Rock Valley & Marble Rim

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 5, 2016
No Comments on Marble Mountain Wilderness Day 4 – Red Rock Valley & Marble Rim

We woke to nature’s alarm clock on Thursday. Birdsong was coming from a vast variety of birds. A soft morning light was falling in the valley and we watched as the bright sunshine made its way down the mountain sides.
It was going to be another warm day and we were happy to be free of our large packs for a day.

After breakfast we threw on our day packs and hiked around the far side of Frying Pan Lake and headed back out of the valley eventually picking up the trail we’d come in on the previous day.

We came to a junction where the right hand fork led back up to the Marble Valley Shelter.

From that point we had another 3.3 miles to go to reach the Red Rock Valley Trail. We soon crossed a branch of Canyon Creek below a small cascade and above a nice little waterfall that was difficult to get a good view of.

This portion of the Canyon Creek Trail crossed a couple of other side streams as it gradually descended through the forest towards the Lovers Camp Trailhead.

When we reached the Red Rock Valley Trail junction we turned right and quickly found ourselves at a bridge-less crossing of Canyon Creek.

We didn’t feel like fording the creek and soaking our shoes this early in our hike so we found a way across on some rocks and debris. The trail then began to climb up and around a ridge end.

When we finally came around the ridge we were suddenly in a different forest. Ponderosa pine trees replaced the Douglas firs along Canyon Creek.

On the way down the Canyon Creek Trail we’d been discussing the fact that we hadn’t seen any large wildlife other than the lone doe near Paradise Lake on the second morning of our trip. We’d seen signs of deer and bear all over the place so we were surprised at the lack of sightings. Coming up the Red Rock Valley Trail that started to change when a doe and her fawns ran up the trail in front of us.

We took a break to let them put some distance between us, then continued on. The trail soon left the drier forest and entered a series of meadows.

The meadows didn’t have quite as many flowers as those along the Shackleford Trail, but there were some and with the open views we could see the red peridotite bedrock that gave the valley its name.

Checkmallows

Lupine

Checkerbloom

Cascade calicoflower

Tiger lilies

The trail continued to climb up through the open meadows as the day grew warmer. The further up the valley we went the steeper the trail became as well. As we trudged up the valley we began to think that doing the loop in the opposite direction might have been a better idea since the climb would have been along the forested Canyon Creek Trail providing some protection from the Sun. With our minds elsewhere we were startled by a grouse hen and her chicks noisily taking flight. They disappeared quickly and left us startled on the trail.

Nearly 4 miles along the Red Rock Valley Trail we reached the small unnamed lake at the head of Red Rock Creek. There were more tents here than we’d seen in the Sky High Valley which we found a bit perplexing.

As we were passing by the lake Heather spotted a strange looking large insect which turned out to be a wood wasp.

From the lake the trail really launched uphill for the final climb up to the PCT.

A distant Mt. McLoughlin came into view on the way up.

Once we were back on the PCT we were on familiar trail having hiked this section on the way to Paradise Lake two days earlier. The flowers were still wonderful and a new addition this time was another grouse hen and her chicks.

After 2.2 miles on the PCT we arrived at the 3-way junction with the Big Elk Lake and Marble Rim Trails. This time we headed straight on the Marble Rim Trail climbing a wildflower lined ridge.

As we climbed a doe darted across the trail ahead of us and vanished over the ridge.
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The trail passed through a couple of small stands of trees but for the most part remained in open meadows gaining views of the Marble Mountains and Trinity Alps.

Wildflowers were everywhere in the meadows.

Our goal was a marble cliff that we’d seen from the PCT which offered a dramatic view of the Marble Mountains.

We also had a nice view of the south side of Kings Castle which we’d climbed up two days earlier and of Preston Peak in the Siskiyou Wilderness.

On the way back down to the PCT we were seeing lizards scurrying everywhere, but the only pictures I was able to get was of one hiding behind some grass and another with the camera on some weird effects setting.

Once we were back on the PCT we had to backtrack a half mile to the Sky High Lakes Trail. This trail went up and over the ridge then dropped down to the Sky High Lakes. We’d been looking forward to taking this trail to find out the route that it took. We had not been able to tell from the lakes exactly where the trail was located even though we knew the general area.

After returning to camp we grabbed our chairs and headed back down to Frying Pan Lake. Heather was sitting on a rock letting her feet soak when I looked over and noticed something in the water. At first I though it was either a newt or tadpole coming up for air, or some dragon flies that had landed on the water. Then I noticed a long tongue sticking out and realized it was a garter snake swimming around.

Heather decided that was enough of being in the water and surrendered her rock to a chipmunk.

We went to sleep that night knowing we’d be hiking out the next day. It was a bittersweet feeling knowing our trip was almost over but also feeling a little excited to eat some cheap fast food, take a shower, and see our cats. Before we could do any of that we needed to fall asleep though and to do that we needed the little bee that had seemingly become obsessed with Heather to stop buzzing outside our tent. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157669916059431

Tags California, Canyon Creek, Canyon Creek Trail, deer, fawn, Frying Pan Lake, grouse, hiking, Kings Castle, Lovers Camp Trailhead, Marble Mountain, Marble Mountain Wilderness, Marble Rim, Pacific Crest Trail, Red Rock Creek, Red Rock Valley, Red Rock Valley Trail, Sky High Lakes, Wood wasp

California Hiking Klamath Mountains Marble Mountains Trip report

Marble Mountains Wilderness Day 3 – Paradise Lake to Sky High Lakes

Post author By derwoodynck
Post date July 4, 2016
3 Comments on Marble Mountains Wilderness Day 3 – Paradise Lake to Sky High Lakes

After being serenaded all night by the frogs around Paradise Lake we woke to the sounds of happy birds singing at the morning’s first light. I got out the tent and wandered around for a bit spotting a doe near the meadow full of shooting star flowers. It was still too dark to get a picture so I just watched her nibble at the plants as she walked north along the PCT.

As the sun light began to reach Kings Castle we heard a loud bird calling from behind our campsite. It turned out to be a mountain quail, a bird I had only seen in pictures. It was still too dark to get a clear picture of him.

We had originally planned on continuing north along the PCT then going down to either Bear or Tuck Lake but after hiking over 15 miles on the previous day and being pretty wiped out by the heat and cumulative elevation gain we decided we were going to see enough lakes during our trip. After breakfast we packed up and headed south on the PCT retracing our steps back to the Marble Valley Shelter. It was shaping up to be a hot day and we were already feeling the effects of the heat when we reached Box Rock Camp. We took a break there before continuing. At the shelter we took yet another break then set off on the Canyon Creek Trail before following a pointer for the Sky High Lakes.

We continued toward the Sky High Lakes for almost 2 miles passing small Gate Lake and entering the meadows of Sky High Valley.

We spotted the Sky High Shelter along the way which we would visit later after finding a camp site.

It was humid in the meadows which added to the heat from being exposed to the Sun and we were anxious to get our packs off. The first lake we arrived at was Lower Sky High Lake.

We followed the trail along the lake passing one possible camp site and another that was occupied.

Next up was Upper Sky High Lake. There weren’t any sites along this lake but there were some nice trout, some newts, and a duck in the lake.

The final lake in the valley was Frying Pan Lake (named after its shape).

The smallest of the lakes this one was swarming with dragon flies.

We found a spot for our tent on a small hill east of the lake.

We had camp set up before 11:30am and spent the rest of the day relaxing and exploring the area around the lakes. There weren’t many mosquitoes to speak of except for in the thicker stands of trees so we were able to really enjoy the scenery and wildlife.

Yellow-rumped warbler

Grand collomia

Mariposa lilies

Western tanager

Sky High Shelter

Black Marble Mountain from the Sky High Shelter

Fish in the outlet creek of Lower Sky High Lake

Newts in the outlet creek

Bog orchids

Dragon flies near Frying Pan Lake

Junco

Shooting stars along Frying Pan Lake

The afternoon turned out to be the cloudiest it would be during our whole trip.

We turned in that night well rested and looking forward to a day of hiking without our full packs on Thursday. It was quiet that night and we were awoken by the sound of something running nearby our campsite and a little later I heard something splash into Frying Pan Lake and move around in the water for a bit. Finally a frog began to croak and a few others joined in helping me fall back asleep. Happy Trails!

Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/albums/72157670427784056