We first came across this little trail on the Hiking Project, then found a description of it on the Forest Service’s website (#1001). This description is one of the longest and most effusive we’ve seen recently on a USFS website, so we decided to go see this trail for ourselves. We also hoped that now we’d miss any lingering snow (there was none) but still be in time for a few wildflowers (we were).
The promise of unsettled weather in the near future pushed us toward one more “summer” hike before we’re hit by wet and cold (and before there’s enough snow for snowshoeing!). Thanks to the Hike Mt Shasta website, we’d had a great hike in California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest a couple of days ago. Although other hikes in the Marble and Russian Wilderness areas beckoned from our never diminishing list of hikes to do (our way of bringing the myth of Sisyphus to hiking), the thought of one a little closer to home (that is, one that didn’t involve a four-hour roundtrip drive) was more appealing. Two that we’d done in 2016 about this time – Old Baldy and Vulture Rock (Point 6054) – seemed like good, close choices that could be fashioned into a loop hike. With the LovedOne begging off to set-up (after the bomb threat had been cleared) the now monthly library book sale, I was on my own for this one. I argued that bears and chipmunks rarely try to blow you up, but to no avail.
In February of this year, I snowshoed to the summit of Brown Mountain, a relatively small shield volcano located in Oregon’s Klamath and Jackson counties, directly south of its more prominent neighbor, Mount McLoughlin. Then, later in the summer, we circumnavigated the mountain, on a combination of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and other local trails (post). While planning for these trips, I’d come across mention of the South Brown Mountain Shelter, lying just west of the PCT about two miles north of Dead Indian Memorial (DIM) Highway. Unlike the Appalachian Trail, which seems to have a plethora of shelters, they are few and far between on the PCT. Which, of course, made a visit to this one all that more attractive. So we waited until it could be done as an early Winter snowshoe and then drove – carefully – to where the PCT crosses the DIM at Pederson Sno-Park. This is an informal sno-park (with no amenities), so no permit is required to park there.
On Fridays, the Mail Tribune (our local paper) publishes an Outdoor section which usually includes an account of one or more local hikes that might be of interest. While we were driving U.S. Route 20 back from the East Coast, the Tribune came up with five nearby hikes to view Fall colors. Four of these we’d already done but the fifth, a hike on a relatively flat section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) across the Dead Indian Plateau, was new to us. The paper described the attractions of this hike as …the raspberry-colored leaves of the knee-high huckleberries under the big fir-tree canopy… and …a diversity of Fall mushrooms… After 11 days in a car, being outdoors on this hike sounded like a GREAT idea, so we went for it!
Going from south to north in this area, the PCT (USFS 2000) crosses State Highway 66 at Green Springs Summit, skirts the south shores of the Hyatt and Howard Prairie Lakes, crosses Dead Indian Memorial Road, goes around Brown Mountain (post), and then crosses State Highway 140 before entering the Sky Lakes Wilderness. Between Howard Prairie Lake and Dead Indian Memorial Road, the PCT curves around Old Baldy (6,339 feet), the site of a former fire lookout, and thus an attractive destination for our hike. This piece of the PCT can be accessed either from the south (via the Keno Road, which goes south from Dead Indian Memorial Road just beyond Milepost 18 east of Ashland, Oregon) or from the north (from the well marked turnout, which serves as Pederson Snowpark in winter, just past Milepost 27 on Dead Indian Memorial Road, also east of Ashland). Old Baldy is about 4 miles in either way, so we started from Keno Road. The PCT’s crossing of Keno Road is marked only with one of the new, large PCT plaques, so we almost drove right past it.
Where the PCT heads north from Keno Road
We found this to be an exceptionally mellow section of the PCT, one with no apparent elevation changes (yet we’d gradually gain 1,600 feet) where you can just stroll along enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of the Fall forest.
Along the PCT on the Dead Indian Plateau
Along the PCT on the Dead Indian Plateau
This being the PCT in late season, the tread was in perfect condition, with evidence of heavy (and much appreciated) maintenance.
Keeping the tread clear
Unfortunately, we were a bit late for the promised raspberry-colored huckleberries, so we turned our attention to the mushrooms – more on those later.
We just missed the colorful huckleberries
The PCT crosses three dirt roads between Keno Road and Old Baldy and just before the last of these (Forest Road 2520, near Griffin Pass), there is a sign pointing to a spring – open water otherwise being hard to find in this area.
The PCT crosses FR 2520, after passing a side trail to a spring
About 0.5 miles past FR 2520, we passed a sign for a side trail to Vulture Rock. Neither this side trail or the named Rock (which is Point 6054) are shown on our maps, so we made a note to come back and explore more here. A little further on, the PCT begins a gradual climb up the east side of Old Baldy and enters an area where a past fire has downed the trees and opened views to the south and east. We could easily see Mount Shasta to the south and Aspen Butte, in the Mountain Lakes Wilderness, to the east. We could also see what we hoped were some prescribed (or slash) burns (and not late season wildfires) in the forest to the south.
Mount Shasta from the PCT on the southeast side of Old Baldy
Aspen Butte (red arrow) from the PCT on the southeast side of Old Baldy
Smoke plumes (yellow arrow) from fires to the south
The PCT goes around to a ridge on the north side of Old Baldy and from there it’s a short cross-country hike through open forest,
Going cross-country through the forest
to the bare, flat, but viewless, summit of Old Baldy.
The summit of Old Baldy
The USCGS benchmark on Old Baldy
In 1924, the Forest Service constructed a cupola-style fire lookout on Old Baldy, which was in service until 1961 when it was removed by being burned (then a common practice with lookouts that were no longer needed). Lots of pieces of melted glass and old nails can be found among the summit rocks.
The Old Baldy lookout in 1942
We had a snack on the summit and then started back, now looking for the promised Fall mushrooms, which, if we looked down, paid attention, and didn’t trip, were pretty easy to spot. Formal identification of mushrooms is beyond us (we’re still working on vascular plants and birds), so we just appreciated them for their subtle, but warm, colors.
Overall, a very easy (9.6 miles round-trip; 1,600 feet of elevation gain), pleasant hike (stroll even) through the forest, with some views, and a summit thrown in. The side trail to Vulture Rock is intriguing, so we’ll be back to investigate that – likely coming in from the north to mix things up a bit.
BOOTS on the TRAIL 