Hike Coordinator: Lane Harris
Narration by Lane Harris
An even dozen hikers made the drive up Illahee Road to the trailhead east of Illahee Rock. While short, this hike was very sweet. The route traversed a spectacular fire-scarred rocky ridge with expansive views down into the Boulder Creek Wilderness. It was a short, but rough trail to get to Wild Rose Point. After a short repose, the group continued further up towards the ominous sounding Devils Stairway. This part of the trail was more friendly to the hiker’s feet, but it was a bit more uphill than the first part of this hike. The trail to Devils Stairway crossed through several large meadows before ascending up through colorfully flowered rock gardens and eventually reaching the Stairway itself.
A nice long break was had by everyone, as we marveled at the views to the north, picking out notable mountains like Fairview Peak and Bohemia Mountain. To the south lied Mt Thielsen and Mt Bailey.
As they say, it was all downhill from here! Literally, it was all downhill from here. We got to enjoy the hike in reverse this time, but with less effort.
This trail has seem some neglect over the years, but for the more adventurous souls, it’s worth the extra effort to get to and explore.
More pictures on Lane Harris’ Flickr page
Pictures below by Lane Harris
