(Day 1 of 7 4.) Looking at the map of Marble Mountains Wilderness, Portuguese Peak seemed like the obvious choice to start for a loop hike as there are two trails leaving from there. On closer inspection, there's actually about a mile of road to trudge along to join them, but that's not really so bad. I made a plan for a grand extravaganza around the wilderness. It was eight days at first, but I adjusted to seven. (A KML file of the plan can be found here. Import to Caltopo for best viewing?) I would head up Wooley Creek, then swing up Bridge Creek, tag Medicine Mountain, then up around Cuddihy Lakes. Plunge east to Marble Mountain where the Pacific Crest Trail runs and swing through Sky High Valley before actually taking the PCT south. Past Summit Lake and Cliff Lake, I would turn west again up Bug Gulch, then along more ridges to English Peak, past more lakes to Portuguese Peak and the long way down to the end. I checked what the forest said about the various trails, which wasn't much, and got myself to the trailhead. It has a bathroom and coral and picnic table and river access across the road and information beside the start of the trail. Besides the normal things, it also mentioned there's been a mountain lion spotted in the area. Do they think there's not mountain lions in the areas one hasn't been spotted? I got started on the well used trail under the shade of madrones.
Information at the start of Wooley Trail. It only actually says the name down on the road for the turn. The trail under the madrones.
It gets out far enough and turns to climb high, grabbing views of the Salmon River canyon, then out over Wooley Creek. I saw one review of the trail complaining that it travels high up above the creek rather than down next to it. I thought that was weird to say because I can read a map and I knew it did that before I got on it, but also this "creek" is sufficiently large to be part of the designated "Klamath Wild and Scenic River" (never mind the dam down there somewhere) and not something to cross every time a low trail hits a cliff. I'm fine with it winding along, high and dry.
Salmon River and a little taste of the slopes that exist above a large body of water snaking along. Sign for the Marble Mountain Wilderness in Klamath National Forest just short of the actual boundary at the ridge line up ahead. Salmon River churns as Wooley Creek empties into it. Portuguese Peak Trailhead is a short way up the road after the bridge. Up the canyon and to the mountains, that's the plan.
It may be up on the cliffs, but there is still some water available at small and large stream crossings.
A tiny water crossing, but you can hear it in the play of water, feel it in the cool air, smell it in the mud, see it in the flicker of light. Spheres of little flowers on a big bush of spikenard.
The area around Deer Lick Creek is clearly quite popular for camping. There's a large site and a smaller site just off the trail along with fully three different spots where people have cut steps into the dirt to help get down to Wooley Creek. The incoming Deer Lick Creek is plenty substantial for a water source and requires a few rock steps to cross with dry feet.
Getting a glimpse of the huge Wooley Creek. There is a swimming hole just above the rocky section. A bit more water in Deer Lick Creek than the unnamed seasonal stream before.
Across the creek, I found evidence that it has been a popular site for a while now as I noticed the dark shape of a tall chimney still standing among the trees where there was once a house. Well, perhaps a lodge by the size of the thing.
I went over for a better look at the fireplace that sits high above Wooley Creek near Deer Lick Creek.
There was a warning about entering a burned area among the information at the trailhead. The burn was quite evident as I continued to climb high above Wooley Creek once again.
If you look closely, there's a bit of Wooley Creek visible down there among the green. There's some tough looking ferns among the granite. Almost all the firecracker flowers are dried tubes for the season leaving just this one. The wintergreen keeps making me think I've found more coralroot orchids even when they have leaves, so this leafless wintergreen really confuses me.
The hiking upward wasn't so hard. It was certainly a nice way to start after being far too lazy in the previous weeks.
There's that mountain again, but getting closer. I met a new lily as big as the Humboldt lilies down south: a Washington lily. The blackberries aren't quite ripe. I tried two. Tiny tiny brookfoam flowers.
There is an inholding along the way and the cabin is just visible below the trail when passing the ditch that is a water source. Past the cabin, it's another stretch of trail with a lot of burn visible. It also comes with a couple small, deep canyons bridged just below waterfalls.
Big leaves (Indian rhubarb) like to occupy shallow edge waters all along the creeks. The first waterfall on Haypress Creek, seen from the bridge. Back down near Wooley Creek by a swimming hole. The trail never stays low for long. The waterfall on Bridge Creek from the edge of the bridge.
I came upon Fowler Cabin with plenty of light to spare and couldn't help but notice that three other people were already there. Quite the crowd. I get a lot of camps all to myself, so it wasn't so bad to find myself hanging out with folks for once. One (and the stock) were doing the yearly trail clearing. The other two were out to maintain temperature sensors. I was the only one not out working. They had rather poor news for me about the trail up Bridge Creek, but the trip was certainly working out so far. I said, well, I can always turn around. The trouble is, at some point in a loop you can't turn around and they didn't have any news for me about the trail down off Portuguese Peak.
Gunnison National Forest DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 (orange line, map link ) I got an early start trying to beat the mosquitoes and sort of made it. I noticed the missing bit of sign on the ground to finally discover that there's no camping (or campfires) allowed at the lake. I turned at the post, ready to take it wherever it may go. The couple at the lake thought it was silly to think it might rain in the afternoon because the air was just too dry. Indeed, I'd washed two pairs of socks (in a bag well away from the lake and creek because I'm not a barbarian and I know soil bacteria is needed to break up everything from that and you don't find that floating in water) which were very nearly dry in the morning. It was quite pleasant until I got to the long grass meadows and everything from my knees down got wet anyway. A little bit of view over the meadow still shadowed in the morning. The trai...
Angeles National Forest The stars are still not aligned for Jupiter Mountain. The low chance of rain looks rather like it will materialize, although the amount may not be much, and it is a bit colder than expected. The clouds are low over the mountains, but not so low as the peaks. There is some slight promise of clearing. Where the mountains stop and the flat desert starts, there is a bit of blue visible. The potential of rain seems like a stronger promise. Parking is easy in a large turnout at the bottom of Spunky Edison. The trail is unmarked as it starts climbing past a water tank. The trail starts among a grove of pines that appear planted. It starts off looking like road. I go left; the other side loops through the trees that occupy the saddle. The ground is terraced and the trees are unique to the area. It could be an old tree farm. The trail passes a water tank and splits again. This time I go right and shortly find the climbing thin track I am expecti...
Patapsco Valley State Park interactive map link I was charged with deciding on a hike that kids could do, except I have no experience in this or in evaluating what a particular kid can do. Plus, I would be without any parental supervision. Alltrails offered up Cascade Falls as a possible suitable suggestion, except that it would be done on the weekend and is a very popular location. I liked a climb on Garrett's Pass and a drop on the Cascade Falls Trail, which is 4 miles and only 300 feet or so from bottom to top. (It goes from ~20m to ~100m.) That's not so much, right? And I even had the means for up to 2 kids to be self sufficient, able to carry water, snacks, camera, and a light sweater on their own. Self sufficiency for the win, right? The hike would be in the Patapsco Valley State Park, like most my hikes would likely be. This park has a mix of free lots and pay lots. The pay lots have different prices for in state or out of state, weekends/holidays or weekdays. T...
Klamath National Forest (Map link.) It has been a couple years since I actually did some trail work besides kicking the odd log and a lot of sticks off the path. There have been some excursions by the Siskiyou Mountain Club that got far enough south to tempt me, but none had worked out thus far. I noticed they would be working out of Clear Creek for five days and that sounded long enough to make it worth the drive. Is it odd that these California trails are getting a lot of maintenance by people from Oregon? Yep. I also notice that the folks driving out of Ashland are actually a couple miles closer to the trail than I am. I'm coming from another county too. Judging by the license plates on the way, it looks like more people from Oregon are using these areas too. In fact, you can find it covered in guide books for southern Oregon. Thursday The lower (last) parking area at No Mans Trailhead with the traditional burn area hazards signs marking the trailhead itself. The wo...
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