The full conditions we “enjoyed” recently on Roxy Ann brought enough snow – at least to the high country above 6,000 feet (1,829 m) – for our local ski area to open tomorrow. 😊 More storms are expected next week, hopefully bringing more rain 🙂 and more snow 😁 to our still parched region. So we wanted to do a longer hike before being confined to quarters by these oncoming Winter storms. Something long but not too hard, with little or no snow, no cross-country, and no anxiety (Lord knows there’s enough of that going around these days) about route finding. The nearby Sterling Mine Ditch Trail came immediately to mind. 😃
In 1877, a 26 mile (42 km) long ditch was constructed to convey water from the Little Applegate River to a hydraulic mine in the upper reaches of Sterling Creek. Both the ditch and the mine were out of business by the 1930s, but the ditch tender’s trail alongside it remained. In recent years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Siskiyou Upland Trails Alliance (SUTA) have worked to make this trail one of the iconic hikes in Southwest Oregon. It’s long (but easy), open all year (but hot in summer), and is now accessible from seven trailheads. It was the first hike we ever did down here and we’ve hiked it a lot since. So it was sort of a sentimental journey today as we did a loop from the Deming Gulch Trailhead, over Wolf Gap, and back through Armstrong Gulch.
It was cold as we hiked up the Armstrong-Deming Road to Wolf Gap. But the south-facing slopes on the other side of the Gap were warm and inviting. The clouds, while artistic, did not block the sun and, more importantly, did not dissolve into a photo-killing opalescent overcast. 😎
About 3.1 miles (5 km) from the Deming Gulch Trailhead, we reached the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail (SMDT). From here, we’d make an almost imperceptible descent back to Deming Gulch.
About 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the Wolf Gap Trail, the SMDT turns a corner and starts trending north. The warm, dry, south-facing slopes are replaced by a wetter, colder, less sunny environment that favors tall trees and lush undergrowth.
This loop totaled 11.1 miles (17.8 km), with 1.8 miles (2.9 km) uphill (970 foot (295 m) of gain) on a gravel road and the rest downhill or essentially level on great single-track trail. We encountered a big, friendly dog and one breathless mountain biker during the day; otherwise the trail was ours. Our legs got a good workout and now we’re ready for the rigors of the holiday celebrations ahead. 😁
BOOTS on the TRAIL 
Thanks! We don’t like being cooped-up inside but we sure do need the water!
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It’s crazy how quickly the weather can change in the mountains. Good thing you got some hiking in before the winter storms come.
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