Hike – Page 6 – Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Group

Oregon Coast Trail – January 8, 2022

Hike coordinator: Richard O’Neill

Narration by Richard O’Neill

Last year, in my never-ending quest to find a trail I’ve never hiked on, I wound up on a section of the Oregon Coast Trail that ran from Humbug Mountain State Park to a rather nondescript trailhead between the park’s campground and the nearby town of Port Orford. Part of the route was comprised of a decommissioned segment of the old Highway 101. As happens when I find a new trail, a club hike is sure to follow and so it came to be that 14 hikers followed me (even though I was hiking at my usual place in rear of the hiking queue) onto the trail.

The area had been pummeled by high winds the week prior to this day so I fully expected to find an entire forest of dead trees covering the trail. But my fears turned out to be groundless because the forest was still standing. The only sign of the past winds were small branches, leaves, and conifer needles strewn about the trail. The first half of the hike was through a woods comprised of myrtle and as always with these trees, the laurel-like scent from the leaves was intoxicating, particularly as the air underneath the trees was imbued with that very scent.

The trail followed Brush Creek for a bit before charging up and over a wooded ridge. Just about when the complaining about the grade was to start, the trail headed downhill, and all was harmonious between hikers and hike leader.

The second half of the hike was on the historic highway, and we traded dirt path for old pavement. The grade was uphill but mildly so and mottled sunlight reached us hiking on the pavement. There were a number of seasonal creeks and runoffs flowing across (underneath, in culverts, actually) the trail. The historic highway segment is 2.8 miles long, but we wouldn’t go that far (except for Brad, who missed the trail to the viewpoint where we ate lunch). At that viewpoint, we enjoyed a magnificent vista consisting of Port Orford Head, Humbug Mountain, a collection of islands known as Redfish Rocks, and the Pacific Ocean shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.

The sun dipped behind Humbug Mountain on the way back and the woods became cold and dimly lit. Twilight comes early in these parts, apparently. But now, 14 other members of our club can say they hiked this section of the Oregon Coast Trail so now I must find another new trail upon which to drag my friends upon.

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

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page and Lane Harris’ Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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North Bank Habitat – January 1, 2022

Hike coordinator: Brad Bishop

Narration by Brad Bishop

Imagine a hiking world, a world where the downhill stretches are making you breath hard. A world where you are praying to mush through muddy cattle tracks. A world where a practical joker running down the trail and yelling STOP! STOP! makes you automatically think someone has had a heart attack or broken a leg. Yes, you have entered the ‘Worst Hike Ever’ zone.

What started as a Christmas replacement hike with a tongue in cheek about being the worst hike ever, turned into an epic journey into the frozen, wild, wilderness of the North Bank Habitat.

I knew this hike would not be pretty. I figured the total uphill of Power Line Trail to the beginning of the Muddy East Boundary Trail would be enough to keep most ‘Sane’ hikers from starting their New Year off on the wrong foot. (get it?) But imagine to my surprise 14 crazy people wanted to spend the day after New Year’s Eve starting resolutions that may soon be afterthoughts.

The mood was jovial as we met to head to our destination. The forecast was no precipitation, and a chance of sunshine. As we headed towards our destination most of us were taken aback by the site of a white snow-covered monolith in the distance. Surely our hike was at a much lower altitude and besides the sun was shining on some of the peaks already. As we pulled into the parking lot there was much gusto about hitting the trail.

Starting up the Power Line, everyone was determined to have a great New Year’s Day as the sun was going to be warming us, the trail was icy but welcoming. After about a mile of steady climbing we started to get into some deeper snow, but the cattle had their muddy paths that most of us figured were better than the shallow post holes we were slogging through. Everyone seemed to be up to the challenge ahead as we climbed ever higher.

The views challenged the most picturesque scenes of the Alps, and with the sunshine many hikers were discarding layers as we continued our ascent. We were almost done with the worst part of the hike, or so I thought.

As we got to the junction of Power Line, Soggy Bottom and Blacktail, everyone decided to push upward to the East Boundary Trail. As we were at the ridge, I noticed most hikers were putting layers back on.

As we started our trek to the weather station, I realized we wouldn’t have the help of the beef anymore. As we started out on the East Boundary a deer was spotted as we were resting. It looked at us as if ‘WTF’ are you humans doing here. It bounded off nonchalantly. I hate deer. They make travel through wilderness look like a joyful outing in a park.

At this time, I was concerned as I had heard rumors of a mutiny because of deep snow. I took a poll of the hikers and all said to push on as we have gone too far to head back even though I did hear disparaging remarks about the hike leader.

As we pushed forward, we were post holing to our knees. I tried to rally confidence of our plight by singing ditties, but it just seemed to irritate my companions. Around this time, one of the hikers spotted a bald eagle laughing at us and it seemed to energize some of the downtrodden.

We continued with no other options. Everyone knew there was only one way out. Continue down the snow-covered trail. It was slow going. A few hundred yards to rest and blow your nose and continue on.

Finally, we saw signs of civilization (the parking lot). We all made it, even though a 7.5-mile hike took 5 HOURS. Some were not in a celebratory mood. We had some award-winning chowder and kitsch, laughed and vented, and chalked it up to “don’t doubt Brad when he says ‘Worst Hike Ever’”.

For the first hike of the year, remember: ‘The Outlaws of the Umpqua’ say, ‘Make the First the Worst’.

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page and Lane Harris’ Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill and Lane Harris

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2021 Year in Review

Many trails, many memories…

Please enjoy this video recap of our year of hiking adventures!

2021 Year in Review: Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Club – YouTube

Bolt Mountain – November 13, 2021

Hike coordinator: Lane Harris

Narration by Lane Harris

The morning started off foggy in Roseburg, but the forecast said it would lift as the day wore on. I was more interested in the weather near Grants Pass, however, and it pretty much said the same thing. Nice, we should have great views today!

To be honest, I was more concerned about losing hikers on the way to Bolt Mountain trailhead than I was about the weather, as the route there isn’t easy. There are no signs in Grants Pass saying “Bolt Mtn this way”. While it’s paved roads all the way to the trail, if you’re not paying attention to the road signs, you may find yourself in Jacksonville before you know it! To prevent this from happening, I handed out directions to drivers and navigators alike, hoping they’d appreciate the nice little pictures I grabbed from Google Street View, showing what each turn looked like with landmarks, etc.

The good news is I got many accolades for the very kid-friendly directions with pictures. That, and all hikers arrived safely. However, Missy and Michael did admit they took the wrong exit off the freeway, followed by at least one other vehicle who knew better, but decided to follow them anyway, as dutiful hikers will do. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with an impromptu scenic side trip through downtown Grants Pass!

With everyone accounted for, we set out on the trail! I chose to actually lead the first part, as I wanted to get everyone past a few confusing places due to a series of little trails that can be tempting to walk on. These trails stay closer to the river, which I’m sure are lovely to hike on, but we were here to go up! And up we went after a level half-mile had passed underneath our boots.

The climb up Bolt Mountain isn’t the hardest hike around, but it constantly reminds you that you are definitely going up, as the valley floor keeps getting further and further away as you round each corner and look down. Thankfully, the trail builders showed mercy and kept the grade nice and steady, never going too steep. This makes the 1200 foot ascent over the course of 3-plus miles very doable for most hikers.

As we steadily strode up the south side of the mountain, I had hoped the fog would begin to lift. Oh, we had some views of the nearby hills and such, but the views were nothing like when I had hiked this trail back in March. Maybe it would be clearer on the north side, which is closer to the top…

As we basked in the deep fog on the north side, hopes of a clear view from the top had all but faded. Was this the price to be paid in exchange for all hikers making it to the trailhead today without getting lost? Was it too late to make a sacrificial offer to the fog gods (yes, I just made that up) in exchange for clear views from the top? Apparently, the answer was yes.

The top of Bolt Mountain, even on a clear day, doesn’t quite offer 360 degree views, as some of the treetops obscure the views. But, you can see enough that you can consider it a worthy reward for making it to the top. Today, we would not be awarded ANY views, and the treetops would not be to blame. Today, the fog gods would have their way and force us unworthy hikers to eat our lunch under their cold, grey blanket of dreariness. Ok, so it wasn’t that bad, and it wasn’t that cold. But we definitely could NOT see anything around us. I even mentioned to the group that we only had to wait 2, maybe 3 hours for this fog to lift, and then we would get our views…. maybe. Unsurprisingly, my comment was met with an outbreak of laughter, you know, the kind that says ‘good luck with that’!

Saying farewell to the fog gods, we all departed the top of Bolt Mountain and began the descent downward. It was heading down that I began to realize that there were actually better views of the valleys below with each step I took. This was due to the fog not being as thick as it was at the top. I had mentioned to everyone before the hike to take in the views both on the way up and the way down, as the views on top may not live up to their expectations. Boy, was I ever right about that!

Upon reaching the parking lot, I mentioned that we will need to get this one back on the schedule again and hope for a clearer day, perhaps in the spring. I will have my trusty kid-friendly directions with pictures ready so no one gets lost on the way here.

Oh, and on our way back through Grants Pass, I got a bit turned around and we ended up taking an impromptu scenic side trip through downtown Grants Pass. But hey, I’ve heard there’s nothing wrong with that…

More pictures on Lane Harris’ Flickr page

Pictures below by Lane Harris

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North Umpqua Trail: Hot Springs segment – October 30, 2021

Hike coordinator: Coreena Gosselin

Narration by Richard O’Neill, edited by Lane Harris

We had hoped this would be a repeat of last year’s superb autumn hike but alas, this was more like winter. It has been raining for the last several weeks and the rain drops have knocked a lot of the leaves down. But while there were little leaves on the trees, the trail and forest floor were covered with them.

Most of the group of ten hikers proceeded past Deer Creek bridge toward Columnar Falls, which is technically on the Dread and Terror section of the N.U.T., but only slightly when approaching from the west. This was the turnaround point of the hike.

The day was chill and rain fell for most of the hike and we all agreed it was a grand hike!

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill (and one by Rheo Wheeler, Columnar Falls)

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Cow Creek Trail – October 16, 2021

Hike Coordinator: Terry Andreucci

Narration by Terry Andreucci

We left the fog in Roseburg, heading south on I 5 toward Azalea and the trailhead. Beautiful Autumn colors were everywhere as we drove out Cow Creek Road. As we passed by Galesville Reservoir, everyone took notice of how low the water level was.

Upon arriving in partial sunshine, 9 hikers headed down the trail for a 7 mile out and back hike, taking in views of the beautiful old growth forest in the drainage of East Cow Creek.

This proved to be an eventful hike for a number of reasons. For one, the trail hasn’t experienced much recent use, and the vegetation has grown up along parts of the trail making for some damp pant legs. Additionally, a number of trees have fallen in the trail since last winter and walk arounds had to be used. And lastly, and most amusing of all, there were 3 creek crossings that required skillful rock hopping on slippery surfaces!

As we all returned to our rides, I was betting that there wasn’t a dry foot among us! All of this added to a wonderful fall day with fellow hikers, just enjoying Mother Nature.

Pictures below by Rheo Wheeler

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Videos, pics, and stories of our 2021 Annual Club Campout Hikes

If you didn’t make this year’s campout, you missed out on some fantastic hikes!
What’s the next best thing?… Pictures, videos and stories of the hikes, of course!
Please enjoy the beauty of hiking by proxy without breaking a sweat by following the links below.
(You should really join us sometime…)

Rogue Gorge Loop – October 2, 2021

Hike Coordinator: Richard O’Neill

This hike was supposed to go to Cliff and Buckeye Lakes, located in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. But due to wildfire closing the road to Skimmerhorn Trailhead we opted to visit the Upper Rogue which had the fall colors thing going on and as an additional bonus, there were no wildfires in the area.

10 hikers set out on the trail and the first item of interest was Rogue Gorge, where the Rogue funnels into a narrow slot canyon that used to be a lava tube before the roof collapsed during some bygone millennia. Also at the Gorge viewpoint area is the Living Stump which is a stump whose roots melded with the roots of nearby trees and so manages to live despite showing no outward signs of life. It kind of reminded me of when I take Lane hiking with me! I vote his trail name should become Living Stump!

Once we began hiking downstream along the Rogue River, the fall colors became the reason for doing this hike. Every tint and hue that can be found on the warm end of the color spectrum was readily seen in the ample vegetation growing along the river, often all on one single leaf! Across the river and in the bright sunlight, the colors were so bright we had to wear sunglasses so as to prevent further retinal damage.

About halfway to Natural Bridge we switched river sides by walking over a bridge at particularly scenic stretch of wild river seething in yet another collapsed lava tube. This allowed us to walk in the more brightly colored and more sunlit side even though it meant we had to hike on the only uphill section of trail.

At Natural Bridge, the Rogue disappears from sight while it travels a short distance underground in an uncollapsed lava tube, and reemerges about 100 feet downstream. The sight of the river bounding between boulders was awesome and we all stopped to gawk at the splendor of it all.

After lunch at Natural Bridge, it was a perfunctory 3.5 mile walk along the river. Because the afternoon sun was high in the sky, each side of the river was the sunny side now. Accordingly, we hiked in veritable rainbow of autumn-colored foliage on the way back.

The Upper Rogue, in my opinion, is the best fall hike in southern Oregon and we certainly all enjoyed this hike, it was a great show.

More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page and Lane Harris’ Flickr page

Read about this hike on Richard O’Neill’s Blog

YouTube video

Pictures below by Richard O’Neill

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Cooper Creek Reservoir – September 4, 2021

Hike Coordinator: Nancy Johnson

Narration by Nancy Johnson

Cooper Creek reservoir is always a great close hike and a great way to stay active. We had 8 brave souls, with 4 of them new faces on this very smoky day. Early morning wasn’t too bad regarding air quality, but it did catch up to us at the end.

John was adventurous leading 5 on the new trail after the upper boat ramp. This side of the trail still has not been completed , so they “bushwacked” up the hill to get on the road. I kept to the road with 2 in tow.

It was a great day, thank you to all that showed up.

Pictures below by Nancy Johnson

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Siltcoos Lake Trail – August 21, 2021

Hike Coordinator: Rheo Wheeler

Narration by Rheo Wheeler

We had five that traveled from Roseburg, meeting two who traveled north from camping at Eel Lake that took part in the Siltcoos Lake loop trail. The weather was perfect after rain showers passed through, although the trail was dry.

This trail is very shady with all the undulations of a typical Richard hike, uphill both ways. Wait this wasn’t a Richard hike though. Most of the boggy areas had dried out although there was still one creek running to the lake.

We had lunch with views of the lake before completing the loop. On the north end of the loop there were many stumps left from the 30’s where you could see the axe cuts from where they put the springboards in to use crosscut saws to take the trees down. These hallmarks from the old logging days are finally fading after 90 years.

A short 4.5 mile trail: Perfect for the old lady who picked it.

More pictures on Lane Harris’ Flickr page and Richard O’Neill’s Flickr page

Read about this hike on Richard O’Neill’s Blog

Pictures below by Rheo Wheeler, Richard O’Neill and Lane Harris