Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Group

North Umpqua Hot Springs – November 12, 2022

Hike Coordinator: Missy Kroeker

Narration by Missy Kroeker

What can be better than a hike on the North Umpqua Trail in the fall of the year? It was a Saturday in November, the 12th to be exact, that the Friends of the Umpqua hiked the Hot Springs segment of the NUT. This section never disappoints. Even though the sky was cloudy and threatened rain now and again it was a glorious fall hike. Autumn trees bring to mind this Psalm, “let all the trees of the forest sing for joy”. On this autumn Saturday the trees were definitely singing for joy!

We started our hike at Toketee Campground with our lunch spot at Columnar Falls, which is technically on the Dread and Terror segment of the NUT. Since the falls are so close to the Hot Springs parking lot, within a quarter mile, why not keep going and eat lunch enjoying the falls?

There’s a faint path through the bushes heading downstream where Surprise Falls can be seen tumbling over mossy rocks. The trail traverses over the top of the falls where the water springs out from the rocks below. From the trail, this “surprise” isn’t fully appreciated, but from below the tumbling water is beautiful.

I think most of the hikers that day had been on this segment multiple times, but this did not lessen everyone’s enjoyment of time spent with friends on a beautiful trail. It was time well spent, soaking in the beauty of creation on such a magnificent Autumn afternoon. I think I did hear the trees of the forest singing.

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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Upper Rogue River – October 29, 2022

Hike Coordinator: Richard O’Neill

Narration by Richard O’Neill

Misery loves company and I’ve been known to take friends on a hike that made me miserable. However, the opposite can be true in that happy hikers also love company, which is why I took the Friends to the Upper Rogue River. The Upper Rogue is the site of many of our favorite hikes such as Rogue Gorge, Takelma Gorge, Natural Bridge, and Knob Falls. However, north of these iconic places, the Upper Rogue River Trail has not felt the love in terms of trail maintenance and the number of visitors. That’s too bad, for this section is certainly worthy of a visit.

Eight of us set out on the trail from the Big Bend Trailhead and immediately, the tenor of the Rogue River was noticeably different from the aforementioned iconic hikes. Here the Rogue snakes back and forth in a series of serpentine bends, the river seemingly in no hurry to reach the turbulence downstream. The river is placid and serene and the tranquility cannot help but soothe your soul, although it didn’t stop me from making fart jokes.

The trail alternated between dark conifer woods and river overlooks from tall cliffs. In the woods, an understory of alder trees with leaves glowing yellow waved the autumn colors. On the ground, tall bracken fern likewise added to the fall vibe while making the trail faint and hard to follow. The tall cliffs were comprised of volcanic ash deposited when Mount Mazama blew its top and created Crater Lake.

At about the three-mile mark, the trail passed the largest log jam in the world, extending hundreds of yards. The Rogue here, snakes through the logs in an equally large open meadow. The terrain is marshy here, but a large footbridge keeps boots dry and made a logical place to eat lunch at. Several of us continued on into the woods on an increasingly faint trail that led to another picturesque overlook of the mirrorlike river.

On the way back, the forest vegetation was wet as if it had rained but fortunately, the rain missed us. We even enjoyed some sunlight on this cool day, the weather gods refusing to rain on our hiking parade…this time.

More pictures of this hike on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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Briggs Creek – October 15, 2022

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

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Fish Lake – September 17, 2022

Hike Coordinator: Missy Kroeker

Narration by Missy Kroeker

“When Hobbits threw a birthday party (and they usually did), all guests were presented with a small gift. ……… The tradition has been elaborated as a form of thanksgiving, so it was taken as a recognition of services, benefits and friendship shown, especially in the past year” Tolkien’s Letter 214.

What!? Isn’t this supposed to be a trip report for the Fish Lake hike on Saturday September 17, 2021? Your assumption would be correct.

A goodly amount of avid hikers assembled at the courthouse parking lot, ready to head south to the Fish Lake trailhead which is out of Tiller. The weather was overcast and cool with a hint of Fall in the air. The group promptly left the lot at the stroke of 8:00am. Anxious, we were to get on the trail. First, we stopped in Canyonville to pick up Terry and Edwin. The carpooling group continued on to the trailhead which is accessed by surprisingly good, mostly paved and gravel roads.

Once at trailhead we all assembled for our group photo, then we were off to our destination of Fish Lake, four miles away. The Fish Lake trail starts by following the creek, veers away then returns to following the creek to the outlet at the lake. The trail has been cleared of most of the blown down trees except in a couple spots where hikers had to decide how to navigate the huge trees and roots blocking the path. Which will it be? Over? Under? Use the tree as a bridge? It was fun to see how each hiker navigated the obstacle, it wasn’t a problem though. Everyone made it through. Stands of burn scarred conifers lined portions of the trail. It was heartening to see the 10 to 20 year old “baby” trees replenishing the forest to its former glory. The trail descends around the edge of a swampy pond which is beautifully decorated with moss, lily pads, algae and grassy edges. Once again, the trail ascends back within sight and sound of the creek drawing the hiker up to Fish Lake. Fish Lake is a lovely blue lake surrounded by verdant forest with prominent High Rock as a focal point looming above the lake.

The group settled themselves along the shore to bask in the beauty and refresh themselves with lunch.

“Ok, Ok, what’s the deal about Hobbits?”, you might ask…

Once everyone settled into enjoying their lunches, the hike leader announced it was her birthday. She had decided to celebrate Hobbit Style by presenting her hiking friends with a homemade Oregon Trail cookie wrapped up into a gift. Even party hats were distributed for all to wear as we celebrated. What could have been a better birthday celebration than the beauty of creation and the fellowship of friends?

After much laughing, photo taking, joking, cookie munching and general merriment, the hikers got back on the trail. Some in the group didn’t want the celebration to end and wore their party hats all the way back to the trailhead. Many in the group commented that it didn’t seem like 8 miles, so pleasant was the weather, the beauty of the area and the company of hikers.

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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Lemolo Lake – September 3, 2022

Hike Coordinator: Penny Groth

Narration by Penny Groth

Seventeen hikers gathered on a cool, slightly misty morning. Destination: Lemolo Lake. First visit for several, frequently visited for others.

Our trek began on the west side of the lake near the dam. We traveled counterclockwise. The lake was dotted with quite a few boats, being the last holiday weekend of the summer. Probably a final summer outing as families return to school schedules. Boaters fished in lake boats, skied behind motorboats, and kayaked along shorelines.

The hike was quite the variety pack of environments including lakeshore, forest and several campgrounds. Forests included several species including Doug fir, Lodgepole pine, White pine, Hemlock, and White fir. Wildflowers were done for the season and grasses turning golden.

We lunched at a great little picturesque beach. Hikers visited with old and new comrades, and enjoyed the view.

After completing the shoreline trek of the lake’s south side, we rounded the east edge of the lake and hopped onto the North Umpqua Trail (runs on the north side of the lake) to return to the dam. The NUT portion has lush undergrowth with various ages of trees, a very pretty segment of this hike. Ten and a half miles total, fairly level.

Back at the courthouse where we had carpooled from, I chuckled as I watched us emerge from cars. Slowly, some sounds of pain… BUT we’ll be back for more. Soon!

More picture on Lane Harris’ Flickr page

Pictures below by Penny Groth

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2022 Campout Day 3: Salt Creek Falls to Vivian Lake – AUG 20, 2022

Narration by Lane Harris

Waking up to greet the last day of hiking, we were pleased to see that a change of winds caused the smoke from the Cedar Creek fire to dissipate* from our campsites at Odell Lake and the surrounding area. We had Salt Creek Falls planned for a hike but had been smoked out the day prior. Thankfully, the drive this day would be a short one, as we would need ample time to hike the 10-plus miles from Salt Creek Falls to Vivian Lake, Diamond Falls, and back.

*dissipate: /ˈdisəˌpāt/ verb 1. to break up and drive off: The overuse of the word “dissipate” caused Missy’s hiking buddies to dissipate.”

Salt Creek Falls sits directly off of Hwy 58, attracting many people who gather to awe at the second largest falls in Oregon. On this morning, it had its fair share of visitors, but was certainly not overcrowded. After oohing at the sites from above, we took the path to the bottom of the falls to do some aahing from below. It is quite a marvelous waterfall, and after multiple digital images were captured on our devices, we climbed back up the path to begin the hike proper.

After about a mile of pleasant forest hiking, we took the junction which led us to Diamond Falls. The view of the falls from above are mediocre at best, with all the trees obscuring any good views, so we decided to take the trail that leads to the bottom of the falls. We were soon greeted with an in-your-face view of this incredible waterfall! This type of waterfall is called a fan waterfall, as the water maintains contact with the rock and spreads out in a fan-like shape. We could actually reach out and touch it. It was decided later that this was truly the highlight of the day.

We continued up the trail with Vivian Lake as the goal. The trail to get there is not easy, in terms of elevation gain vs distance. In other words, the trail is steep! In one part, the trail climbs 600 ft in half a mile. Hikers huffed and puffed, taking frequent breaks on the way up. Fortunately, we were walking in a deeply wooded forest which provided ample shade, a small win for us. The sound of nearby Fall Creek was constant, adding another dimension to that deep woods feel.

Upon reaching Vivian Lake, we plopped ourselves down along the shoreline, giving our tired bodies a much-needed break. Here, the air was still and quiet, the sounds of the creek non-existent. The thought of hiking back down was also non-existent, as we languished in the shade along the water’s edge. We spent time eating our lunches, watching birds soar high in the sky, and witnessing dozens of tiny frogs hop about the shoreline. This was definitely a peaceful place to be.

About an hour later, we gathered our things and headed back down the trail, this time with a bit more pep in our step, as it was literally going to be all downhill from here. Needless to say, the going was much easier. We even had enough energy to play! What with some rhyming games to finish the day. For this game, everyone had a say. Our witty words were on full display. Heading downhill, we all knew the way. Alas, I have led you astray…. Anyway, now YOU know how to play!

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill and Lane Harris

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South Slough – August 20, 2022

Hike Coordinator: Rheo Wheeler

Narration by Rheo Wheeler

We had 8 participants on the hike at south slough. Weather was amazing for the 4-mile loop through the estuary. The wildlife was clearly absent for this hike, but the side trip to the beach was our reward. Truly a short sleeve weather day at the beach near Whiskey Run.

Pictures below by Rheo Wheeler

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2022 Campout Day 2: Cultus Lake – AUG 19, 2022

Narration by Richard O’Neill

Sometime in the middle of the night while we all slept, happily dreaming of new trails, smoke from the Cedar Creek Fire cloaked Odell Lake. Who wants to hike in that crap? Not us, so we quickly confabbed and put together an end-to-end route that ran from Little Cultus Lake to Cultus Lake. And after the half-hour drive to the trailhead, I’m glad to report that the air was blessedly clear at Little Cultus Lake.

We had an enjoyable view of Little Cultus reposing in a forested bowl below a bright blue sky before the trail took us into the woods and we never saw Little Cultus again, in what was a trend for this hike. After a mile or two, we reached scenic Deer Lake and then the trail, in keeping with the trend, then ducked into the forest and we never saw Deer Lake again, either.

Cultus Lake is a large lake and is not so easy to hide, although the trail did a good job of keeping us from seeing the lake as we hiked roughly three miles along the Cultus Lake shoreline. We did stop at a boater’s camp for a lunch ‘n laze, watching thunderclouds form just east of the lake.

As we walked through the forest, we became adept at spotting the floral spires of pine drops, a parasitic plant that we normally don’t see a lot of where we normally hike. There were plenty of pine drops in this area, though.

Mike, Missy, and I get the Golden Boot Award for this hike because while everybody piled into the one car to effect the retrieval of the second car, we hiked nearly another two miles to the Cultus Lake Resort. By doing that, we got more lake time than we did during the entire hike up to that point.

Read more about this hike on Richard O’Neil’s blog, Richard Hikes

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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2022 Campout Day 1: Rosary Lakes – AUG 18, 2022

Narration by Richard O’Neill

Our original plan was to camp at Waldo Lake for the annual club campout and explore some of the many trails in the Waldo Lake Wilderness. However, the campground was sold out and then the Cedar Creek Fire closed the Waldo Lake Wilderness. Sheesh, what’s the point of making plans, anyway?

We relocated to nearby Odell Lake and because of fire-related closures, we didn’t have a lot of choices about where to hike, so we settled on nearby Rosary Lakes as the destination du jour. The trail was only about 10 miles from the fire, which was 0% contained, yet the air was surprisingly smoke free.

The sky was overcast and light rain fell off and on for the entire day. However, it was also fairly warm and none of the six hikers on this outing felt the need to put on any extra clothing or rain gear during the entire day’s venture.

The Pacific Crest Trail climbed steadily for several miles through a forest comprised of trees covered in moss like my arms are covered with hair. The Rosary Lakes number three, each lake huddled at the base of imposing and craggy Pulpit Rock.

At the Lower Rosary Lake, the first lake we ran into, a deer came to visit with us, totally habituated to the presence of human beings in their forest haunts. Edwin spotted a small lake off trail and before you knew it we were all following him down to the unnamed lake. No complaining though, the lake was pretty cool and made a nice diversion from the more familiar Pacific Crest Trail.

Next stop was Middle Rosary Lake, which had the best view of Pulpit Rock standing against the gray sky. Raindrops pattered on the lake’s surface as the ripples spread out and ran into each other in unrestrained chaos.

Upper Rosary Lake was perhaps the smallest of the three lakes and just for fun, we walked on a use path that circumnavigated the lake and the walk was part hike, part bushwhack as the trail went sketchy on the far side of the lake. But it was hard to get lost as all we had to do was keep the lake on the right-hand side and at some point, we’d return back to the Pacific Crest Trail, which is exactly what happened.

Seems like Edwin was feeling adventurous and when he saw a small lake on Lane’s GPS screen, next thing you know, we were again following him off-trail to another small lake near Middle Rosary Lake. After exploring the large rock pile formed courtesy of Pulpit Rock, we followed a path along the nameless lake which soon petered out altogether. Next thing you know, we were following Edwin downhill through the forest and brush down to Lower Rosary Lake, and then to the Pacific Crest Trail again.

After consulting the map, Edwin and Terry decided to go cross-country down Rosary Creek and then cross Highway 58 to reach our campsite. The rest of us decided to partake in the safety and comfort of a well-established trail that we all knew where it went. I’m both happy and sad to report Edwin and Terry beat us back to the campground.

Read more about this hike on Richard O’Neil’s blog, Richard Hikes

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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Bullards Beach – August 6, 2022

Hike Coordinator: Richard O’Neill

Narration by Richard O’Neill

Even though the club hiked this one hike on one certain Saturday, the club outing on the Bullards Beach horse trails was really about three hikes.

The first hike was a Cascades Mountains hike, a relatively easy amble to Nip and Tuck Lakes, which was the original destination for the club. However, the Windigo Fire burst into flaming existence, thanks to a round of lightning storms hovering over dry forests. Since the Nip and Tuck hike began at like-named Windigo Pass, it stood to reason that we might not be hiking there. It became official when the Forest Service closed off large swaths of land, trails, and roads in the Windigo Pass area. Time for Plan B.

When the mountains are aflame, then the coast seems like a logical choice. So off I went several days before the actual hike, to test out a route on the Bullards Beach State Park horse trail system. Comprised of the Cut Creek, North Loop, Three Mares, and Pearl’s Trail(s), plus one other nameless trail that runs along the Bullards Beach Road between campground and beach. There’ll be a pop quiz in the morning, boys and girls.

There were two drawbacks to that 7-mile route: virtually all of the loop was on soft sand, and the last half was in shadeless sand dunes and dang, the warm sun baked my noodle as I trudged along. I needed to make some changes, otherwise my fellow hikers would hate me more than normal.

The first change was to hike in the opposite direction so as to get the dunes out of the way first when the day would be cooler. The second change was to replace the Cut Creek Trail segment with a walk on Bullards Beach itself, trading in three miles of soft sand for some hardpack on the beach.

Approximately 10 hikers (including two friends from the South Coast Striders) hit the trail, totally unaware of my travails in cobbling together the route. Soft sand was still soft sand, though, and leg muscles were soon aflame like the forest at Windigo Pass. But, at least it wasn’t as hot as it could get in the afternoon.

The cool part (literally!) was that after the trail crested and dropped through a series of grassy pastures, the fog rolled in and there’d be no threat of hot sun for the remainder of the day. There’d be little to no visibility either, as the thick fog limited our vision to about 15 feet or so. As we straggled down the beach, we all appeared to each other like spectral hikers from the underworld, ghostly in the thick fog.

Our egress off the beach was Exit 147 and it was an open question as to whether we would see the sign or not. But the exit signs are painted bright yellow and it was just enough color for us to notice as we trod along in our colorless world of gray. So, while our original hike had been nipped and tucked by the Windigo Fire, we did make do in fine fashion.

Read more about this hike on Richard O’Neil’s blog, Richard Hikes

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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