Hike coordinator: Richard O’Neill
Narration by Richard O’Neill
We were few but we were mighty. Four of us, includng your intrepid hike leader, made the trip to Briggs Valley for a nice and easy hike along Briggs Creek.
The area had been off limits for most of the summer because of the nearby Rum Creek Fire but fortunately, that fire was contained by the time we did our hike. Fortunately for Briggs Creek fans, the Rum Creek Fire did not ever reach Briggs Valley. That’s not to say though, fire was not a part of this hike for the forest here bears the scars from at least two fires that scorched the woods along the creek.
We began with a quick history lesson at the meadow at Sam Brown Campground. The meadow is the sight where the mining town of Briggs, Oregon once stood. In the meadow is the actual grave of Sam Brown, a bartender at the hotel in Briggs.
History lesson over, we headed out into a green forest with hints of of the coming fall season. The trail went between Briggs Creek and the campground with plenty of side trails braiding off the trail. Once we left the campground behind us, the next point of interest was Dutchy Creek, which was barely trickling, the low water making for an easy creek crossong.
From there the route alternated between actual trail and jeep roads and Briggs Creek soon became our hiking companion, flowing below the trail. As mentioned the forest was singed but there was plenty of greenery on the ground beneath the trees. We enjoyed the up and down ramble through the woods, where eventually we reached Elkhorn Mining Camp. The camp serves as a rustic backwoods campsite nowadays but we explored a bit and found all kinds of rusting mine equipment and the old garbage pit replete with rusting tin cans.
A short walk past Elkhorn Camp brought us to a crossing of Briggs Creek itself. We sat down for lunch, choosing to soak in the sight of an idyllic creek flowing in the bottom of a deep canyon surrounded by green vegetation. This was also our turnaround point, so we avoided that whole wet boots thing. The one good thing about an out-and-back hike is that you get to enjoy the same woodland and creek scenery all over again, so we were all pretty satisfied with the day’s venture.
More pictures of this hike on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page
For pictures of the pre-hike that Richard conducted, you can see those here on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page
Pictures below by Richard O’Neill
