We had a “lucky 13” on our trek around Mildred Kanipe on this cold, cold Saturday after Thanksgiving. Sun was promised but didn’t deliver until after our hiking was through. I’m sure we must have shed our extra calories in doing this round about, and up and down 6-7 miles in the fresh but cold morning air. Did I say it was cold? Actually, the up and down kept us warm as we explored 3 different loops in the park.
The nice thing about hiking close by is we were back by 1 o’clock and the afternoon was our own. A big shout out to Diane Rannow for helping map out and mark this round-about trail.
Eleven of us fall-loving hikers met at the courthouse on a chilly morning. It was a beautiful colorful drive to the trailhead. Two other hikers from Grants Pass met us at the trailhead, eager to join us.
And off we went! We quickly realized we were in for a fall treat! The trail meandered through fallen leaves with tunnels of overhead branches and a sea of color! Much of the trail is right along the beautiful Rogue River. Oh, that river melody!! About 2.5 miles into the trail, you start to hear, and then see, the amazing Takelma Gorge. What a spectacular site to see, and on top of that, with glorious fall foliage. Wow!
We lunched at, what Rheo calls, the liquid rocks near Woodruff Bridge. Once again, why, how? Need that geology class! We headed back to the trailhead with the gift of a second viewing in the different afternoon light. Cameras going click-click – ha!
I thought I might have done this hike in the past. But, nope, I would have remembered this one! Definitely add it to your fall hiking schedule for next year!
On the far eastern end of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail lies Three Lakes, if in name only. In reality, there’s really only one lake, but even then, it barely qualifies as a pond. Perhaps in the past there were two other small bodies of water, but it appears those have all but dried up and turned into meadows. This was our destination, nonetheless, so the route to get to this large puddle of water had better have some decent scenery. Fortunately, it did. With a hint of wildfire smoke in the air, we made our way through large meadows, tall forests, and several small creeks. This made the 9-mile hike worth the effort.
Seven hikers gathered at the courthouse. My first comment to them was, “Everyone knows we’re not doing Bohemia Mountain today due to smoke, right?” Ha! Yep, we’re all on the same page! Good start!
It was a beautiful drive up the North Umpqua, a bright blue sky. So good to see after periods of smoke that week. After a mid-road turn around (what’s a great day of hiking without “turn around, follow me”…) we found the trailhead.
We parked on FS road 60, then began our trek up trail 1414. This is technically the Lemolo segment of the North Umpqua Trail. It follows the North Umpqua River in the beginning. This is a much smaller version of said river, a very pretty, meandering version as we are not that far from its beginning (Maidu Lake). Vegetation was very lush and wet because of a full day of rain the previous day. Mosquitoes were pretty thick, big and hungry.
About 2.25 miles up the trail, it changes in name to the Maidu segment. We crossed Tolo creek and continued. The trail began to climb and become dusty. At approximately 3.5 miles, the hungries got us and we found logs in the sun (to avoid skeeters) to enjoy our lunch. Always fun, intellectual discussions with friends such as the best compliment to a peanut butter sandwich! Heading back down, we reached Tolo Creek. John stated he’d never been up Tolo Creek, so off we went on an adventure. What a great little find! A small gentle creek with ripples and small waterfalls. As the trail left the creek and went up, discussion began. Well, we do have to hike back out! So, our return began. We hiked about 11.75 miles. A great day of hiking and adventure!
While classic car enthusiasts sat around admiring hot rods, flatbed trucks, and the like during Roseburg’s Graffiti week, some of us opted to just sit around on Pine Bench. Literally, that’s what we did. But we had to get there first. Although not a strenuous hike, the first mile climbs nearly a thousand feet, which made all the hikers who joined me on this day wonder what they had gotten themselves into.
As the group of about 15 of us left the Soda Springs Trailhead just below the Soda Springs Dam (like, it would be somewhere else?…) This short trail intersects with the Bradley Trail, at which point we turned westward. I informed the group that the first mile was the toughest, but that it would be smooth sailing after that. From the viewpoint of my fellow hikers, that comment seemed to be more myth than truth as they huffed and puffed up through the shaded forest. I honestly didn’t think they believed me. But to everyone’s relief, the trail did eventually level off some, but not until we made one last push through a burned area that was exposed to the already hot July sun. I think I just hear someone click “dislike” on this hike…
Redemption for me came when we entered the plateau of Pine Bench after that uphill drudge of a thousand feet. The shade of the tall firs and pines, along with the levelness of the trail got me back into everyone’s good graces. Up here, in this park-like setting, it’s hard to be despondent about anything. It’s one of those places that you could imagine being a pleasant park, or a nice wooded campground. That is, if there were any roads up here. There isn’t. It’s wilderness. Otherwise, I would’ve drove here.
The serene trail that runs east to west here eventually intersects with the Boulder Creek Trail, which heads deep into the Boulder Creek Wilderness. We would only be going about a half mile up to where a small campsite offers some nice cliffy views well above the creek below. It pleased me to see that some trail work had been completed here. A year and a half ago when Colby and I hiked up here, the small side trail to the campsite was passable, but overgrown with brush. Trail work these days is not as common as it used to be, and us hikers truly appreciate any and all efforts that others have put forth to making these paths hiker friendly.
It was near this campsite where we sat upon the world’s largest pine bench to eat lunch. After sharing a few stories and laughs, we commenced the walk back across the “flatueau”. Upon reaching the trail intersection, we stayed on the Boulder Creek Trail which immediately charges straight downhill. Looking back, I think I would’ve led the group back down the Bradley Trail, as it was apparent that the trail workers neglected to clear out this portion of the Boulder Creek trail that heads downhill. It was still in good shape, but there were areas where we had to do some brush-dodging in order to avoid getting whacked in the face by the branches. Also, there wasn’t much to look at here. And it’s rather steep with many switchbacks. My recommendation? Just avoid this portion of the trail. And you’d truly hate yourself if you attempted to go UP this part of the trail!
We soon reached the North Umpqua Trail and headed upriver back to the parking area. This 2-mile stretch is really a road and not a trail, and doesn’t offer much more than the sound of the river with no good views. Just another reason that I should’ve done this hike as a straight out and back hike instead of a loop. That being said, any day hiking is better than any day working!
We got back just as the mercury was hitting the mid 80’s. Some of us cooled off with water that was pouring from a breach in the nearby water flume. After a 6-mile hike in the middle of summer, it’s just what you do.
Overall, I think everyone enjoyed this tour of the world’s largest pine bench. It’s not a stroll through the park, but with some effort, anyone can make it up to Pine Bench and take a stroll through an environment that is very park-like.
Thirteen gathered for the hike on the Siltcoos Lake loop trail with Edwin leading us counterclockwise on the loop. The weather was perfect under the shade of the lakeside forest. We had a pleasant lunch spot on the lake with much lollygagging and storytelling before the finish of our loop. Others headed over for a stroll on the beach after our 4.1-mile loop, which may have been challenging since there was a huge gathering for an ATV takeover of the beach, unbeknownst to us.
After a hour and half drive to the trailhead, 14 enthusiastic hikers started down the North Umpqua Trail to the top view of Lemolo Falls. In 1908, two rangers on horseback named a four-mile ridgeline south of the river as “Dread and Terror” in reference to the disagreeable possibility of fighting forest fires in the impenetrable thickets of white thorn brush blanketing the area. For us, in this day and age, it turned out to be a beautiful, 4-mile out and back along the North Umpqua River with no thorn brush in sight! Views included cascading rapids and small falls culminating at 102-foot Lemolo Falls.
After stopping for a lunch break, we regrouped at our vehicles and proceeded a few miles to the next trailhead that would take us to another perspective of Lemolo Falls. This hike took us a mile or so down the opposite side of the river canyon in a series of switchbacks that led us to the bottom of the falls. Along the way, many rhododendrons and wildflowers were in bloom providing a splash of color. The raging sound of the falls and the huge clouds of spray provided a spectacular visual and auditory extravaganza!
The day of the hike was overcast, but sun was forecast by afternoon. Unfortunately, that did not include the Bandon beach area. Nevertheless, we had 10 from the Roseburg area head off for the coast, and we met 2 from the Striders at Bandon.
We were lucky to have hard sand after leaving the jetty area, so the 4-mile southward trek was relatively easy. We had 3 creeks to get through though, so feet got wet. Not much wind to speak of either, so a rather pleasant wander down and back which covered about 8 miles.
The tide had receded on the way back so there were a few tide pools to explore, and seals with pups lounging on the rocks just offshore. There were rewards after the hike of strolling Bandon, and I’m sure it also involved ice cream.
The Cape Mountain Trail system in the Siuslaw National Forest just north of Florence provides hikers and equestrians alike with a variety of options. Cape Mountain itself is not the destination, but the area around it is. With a multitude of intersections here and there, there are many different ways to hike this wooded place.
On this day, our group took the Princess Tasha trail to the Berry Creek trail, then the Nelson Ridge trail back to the trailhead. Although only a few miles from the Pacific Ocean, the dense forest here makes hikers feel like they’re a world away from any ocean. Only when you’re on top of Nelson Ridge can you see the ocean in the distance. It was here where we stopped and had lunch before continuing on.
Although there are no grand vistas, the solitude of this place is well worth the drive to the trailhead.
