A super special place: Rough & Ready Creek

Upstream of Seats Dam
18 April 2013 | O'Brien, OR -- Rough & Ready (R&R) Creek is renowned by natural scientists who adorn the area for its outstanding biodiversity and most unusual geology. Across the web there's tons of information about the area, but very little direction on how to explore R&R for yourself, with your boots on the ground.

But this area doesn't have to be elusive, and R&R has something for everyone. You should go hiking there the next chance you get, maybe on your way to or from the coast.

The easiest access is from Redwood Highway 199 just north of O'Brien, OR at the Rough & Ready Creek Botanical Wayside. A short trail is flat and graded well enough for strollers, perfect for a fun family hike along R&R's lower rocky banks.

But don't stop there.

Mudsprings Trail
Download the O'Brien 7.5-minute quadrangle map issued in 1996 for free and use it to locate the old roads that provide access to Seats Dam, premier swimming holes, and exposed bedrock formations that are out of this world. R&R's lower, rocky reaches are best explored when the water is low, fording is easy, and walking in the creek bed is an option.

Hikers who want to take it a step further, and explore Rough & Ready's upper reaches, can use the historic Mudsprings Trail which appears in map issues as early as 1917. But if you're going to hike Mudsprings Trail, use the 1996 O'Brien quadrangle, and the Buckskin Peak quadrangle map issued in 1996. 
Darlingtonia fen on the very much threatened Mudsprings Trail
From the blinking light in O'Brien, OR, head west on Lone Mountain Road, right on Naue Way, and then left on FSR 011 (Rough & Ready Creek Rd). Drive slowly and be considerate of the neighbors. You'll come to a gate that says "Foot Traffic Only." Park there and walk past the gate.

Follow FSR 442 for about a mile to the south bank of Rough & Ready Creek, where there is a primitive, unsigned, easy-to-miss trail heading west and upstream.

You can follow this route all the way to Mudsprings, but this non-wilderness trail is threatened by ongoing maintenance deferments and damage from the 2002 Biscuit Fire. We'd like to grow the capacity to rehabilitate this historic trail.
Historic Mudsprings Trail filled in with trees killed by the 2002 Biscuit Fire. 
Lace up your boots, study your topo maps and pursue other area destinations, like Alberg Mine, and the upper, deep canyon reaches of R&R. This area is known for being rugged and rocky, wild and forsaken.

So you when you go out there, be Rough. Be Ready, and Leave No Trace.

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A very special place: the Wild Rogue Wilderness Area

Hanging Rock, courtesy Mike Cooley
15 April 2013 | Marial, OR -- The wild Rogue River is a popular destination, attracting thousands of whitewater rafters a year. But very few meander past the river corridor and far into the rugged 35,800-acre Wild Rogue Wilderness Area. 

There you will find the Rogue's wildest and most pristine tributaries, including West Fork Mule Creek, Blossom Bar Creek; Paradise, Burns and Tate Creeks, whose headwaters to confluence are enveloped in the wilderness boundary.

You'll find mining relics, cemeteries and cabin sites, all from a time long gone, when gold lured early settlers to this area. You'll find fish, game, old-growth and out-of-this-world geology. And if you get far from the river, you'll probably find yourself, too.

The 40-mile Rogue River Trail is popular for springtime backpackers, before the canyon's south-facing slopes get too hot. But to hike into the wilderness' recess for some unconfined solitude, the best access is by Mule Creek Trail No 1159.

It climbs about 8-miles from Tucker Flat Campground to Panther Ridge Trail No. 1253, which offers outstanding views of the Rogue Canyon, as well as access to Hanging Rock, an unusual outcrop that also offers unparalleled views. The ridges also offer great access to diverse game habitat.

Unfortunately, the Mule Creek Trail has suffered from ongoing damage after the 2005 Blossom Fire. Fallen, fire-killed trees and brush have choked a lot of it in, and without restoration work the historic trail is very much threatened.
Flora Dell Creek confluence
So this June the SMC is joining forces with Wilderness Volunteers, a national volunteer group, to start work on the route. Volunteers coming from around the US are going to camp from Tucker Flat Campground and work their way up Mule Creek Trail.

The trip is full.

To access the Wild Rogue, read the BLM's Rogue River Ranch brochure, which includes driving directions and other important information. Always be prepared; this area is remote and dangerous.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SMC HIRING SCHOLARSHIP AND PAID TRAIL CREWS


Contact: Executive Director, Gabe Howe
Phone: 541-708-2056
Email: howegabe(a)gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SMC HIRING SCHOLARSHIP AND PAID TRAIL CREWS

10 April 2013 | Ashland, OR – The Siskiyou Mountain Club is looking for high school seniors from southern Oregon who want to participate in a 15-day trail project and get $1500 for college.

The summer program runs July 2-16, and there is a mandatory orientation June 1-2. The youth crew will be rehabilitating and maintaining a network of trails in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area that has suffered from ongoing damage from the 2002 Biscuit Fire.

Participants will learn how to use a crosscut saw and properly remove brush, as well as adopt strong leadership and other life skills. They’ll spend fifteen days camping in the Kalmiopsis’ remote recesses.

Serving on the crew is the award’s only term. $1500 will be awarded through each participant’s college’s financial aid department. Only students attending accredited colleges starting fall 2013 are eligible. We highly encourage part-time, non-traditional and community college students to apply. ­­

“This can be a leg up in the work-force, and in the classroom,” says Austin Kasner, 2012 SMC volunteer, 2013 Southern Oregon University graduate, and employee at Standing Stone Brewery. “It definitely helped me get ahead.”

The Club is also hiring youth from southern Oregon for a 10-day crew later in July, working in Ashland’s Soda Mountain Wilderness Area on an ecological trail-conservation project. That is a paid-crew and the dates run July 23 – Aug 1, tentatively.

Apply online for the scholarship at http://goo.gl/lRDWG

Apply for employment at http://goo.gl/glyPZ

Preference will be given to applicants who apply for both. Applications will be accepted through April 30. Inquiries can be made to SMC Director Gabe Howe.

Gabe Howe
(541)708-2056
howegabe@gmail.com
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Shoofly Trip Report

SOU students Kolby McNeal and Mike Jones logout an old-growth ponderosa
7 April 2013 | Ashland, OR -- Yesterday Siskiyou Mountain Club volunteers set out to get a head start on the winter's windfall on the Red Buttes Wilderness' Shoofly Trail. Winter left us lots of work.

We met at Medford REI at 9am, and reached the Shoofly Trailhead at 10:15am. Southern Oregon University intern Kolby McNeal gave the safety talk, and we started descending through groves of giant sugar pines, Douglas fir, and ponderosa pine.

From left to right: Mike, Brandon, Angie, Kolby, Jack
It didn't take long to reach an old-growth ponderosa that winter winds had blown down over the trail. It was about 3' in diameter.

We reached the Butte Fork Trail No 957 and headed upstream, running into more old-growth that had fallen on the trail. The largest tree we encountered was left for next time, and we suspect there are a lot more downed trees further up Butte Fork Trail toward Azalea Lake.

The Butte Fork Applegate River provided us a great lunch site. It was running high and clear.

We left this one for next time
Fresh windfall is still green, hasn't settled much, and has a lot of energy pent up in it. It's really important to figure out where the bind is, read your kerf, find out your safest quadrant to figure the cut, and have good escape routes.

Volunteers joining were Angie, Brandon, Jack, Kolby and Mike. The trip was led by SMC Field Coordinator Gabe Howe.

Crew leader Gabe Howe
Want to hike this trail? Click here for a field-guide.
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