Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness – BOOTS on the TRAIL

Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail ~ Southwest Oregon (October 2020)

2020-10-072022-02-21Posted in HikingTagged Abbott Butte Lookout Oregon, Anderson Camp Trail #1075, Anderson Mountain Oregon, Day Hiking, Hershberger Mountain Lookout, Hiking, Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Southern Oregon, Umpqua National Forest

UPDATE
The #1470 from Yellow Jacket Camp to the Rocky Rim Trail #1572 was restored by the Siskiyou Mountain Club during July and August, 2021.

The Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail (#1470) runs, as its name suggests, for some 30 miles between Huckleberry Gap and Three Lakes along the divide between the Umpqua and Rogue River watersheds. The Forest Service describes it as the primary route through the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. We’ve spent the last five years hiking almost all of it in sections. By doing so, we got to experience the #1470 directly and also ponder the future of our trails that aren’t social media darlings. So here are some thoughts about the #1470 as a whole, with particular emphasis on where the Service’s sometimes overly hopeful descriptions of it depart from its reality. But let’s be clear here: this is a personal reminiscence, not a guidebook and should not be relied on as such. Just saying…

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Buckneck Mountain (Rogue-Umpqua Divide) 05-Oct-2020

2020-10-052020-10-06Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Buckneck Mountain Oregon, Day Hiking, Hiking, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Southern Oregon

The Forest Service bills the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470 as the primary route through the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. Two week’s ago we hiked the section from Forest Road (FR) 37 toward Three Lakes, the trail’s northern end. Despite this section of the trail having been ceded to motorcycles, that hike went well. That left just one major section (there are a few minor one’s we’ll likely never hike) left – the one past Buckneck Mountain between Fish Creek Camp on FR 870 and FR 37. We set out to do that today, ahead of real rain forecast to arrive (ha!) later this week.

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Rim Rock (Umpqua National Forest) 27-Sep-2020

2020-09-272020-10-03Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Day Hiking, Hiking, Rim Rock Oregon, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Southern Oregon

The Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail (#1470) runs, as its name suggests, for some 30 miles between Huckleberry Gap and Three Lakes along the divide between the Umpqua and Rogue River watersheds. I have a love/sadness relationship with this trail. Sections of it are in good condition with big views, while others are viewless brush-choked slogs that haven’t seen maintenance in years and years. We’ve spent the last five years hiking it in sections. Today’s effort was to explore the section north from Forest Road (FR) 37 to Three Lakes. The LovedOne was joining me on this ramble and I worried that we’d experience one of those brushy slogs she detests. But no worries. This section of the #1470 is outside the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness and the Umpqua National Forest has opened it to motorcycles. So, in short, thanks to use by responsible motorcyclists, this section of the #1470 proved to be brush-free and easy to follow, with only deep ruts in a few places. It had obviously been ridden recently but we encountered no motorcycles during today’s visit.

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Yellow Jacket Camp (Rogue-Umpqua Divide) 06-Jul-2020

2020-07-062022-03-31Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Anderson Camp Trail #1075, Anderson Mountain Oregon, Day Hiking, Hiking, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Sandstone Trail #1436 Oregon, Southern Oregon, Yellow Jacket Camp Oregon4 Comments

UPDATE
The #1470 from Yellow Jacket Camp to the Rocky Rim Trail #1572 was restored by the Siskiyou Mountain Club during July and August of 2021. 😃

I have a conflicted relationship with the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470 which runs the length of Southern Oregon’s Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. On one hand, the Forest Service’s website styles this trail as the “primary route” though this wilderness, but only a few sections of it appear to have seen any maintenance for a long, long time. On the other hand, it provides access to views, old lookout sites, meadows with wildflowers, and otherwise inaccessible parts of this wilderness. But, like that famous “box of chocolates”, you’re never quite sure what to expect – easy movement on good trail or an arduous slog on dim, overgrown tread over, under, and around fallen trees of varying sizes.

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Donegan Prairie (Umpqua National Forest) 25-Sep-2019

2019-09-252022-01-31Posted in Hiking, Southern OregonTagged Day Hiking, Donegan Prairie Oregon, Hiking, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Southern Oregon, Umpqua National Forest

I first came across this short hike in John & Diane Cissel’s Old Growth Forest Hikes (2003) and then found it listed as the Donegan Prairie Trail #1431 on the Umpqua National Forest’s website. It provides access to large meadows (full of wildflowers in season), a rare dry meadow community, and large stands of 300-400 year-old trees. Unfortunately, the website said it was presently closed due to fire damage. Well, I had to see for myself what “damage” entailed (The LovedOne, sensing a possibly painful adventure, opted to have her hair done instead).

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Grasshopper Mountain (Rogue-Umpqua Divide) 27-Aug-2019

2019-08-272022-01-31Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Buckeye Lake Oregon, Cliff Lake Oregon, Fish Lake Oregon, Grasshopper Mountain Oregon, Highrock Mountain Oregon, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Skimmerhorn Trailhead Oregon, South Umpqua River Oregon2 Comments

Today was forecast to be the hottest day of the year in the Rogue Valley. 105°F (40°C) was on offing. So, of course, I had to go hiking. Yes, I’d certainly get sweatier than a tree fungus but so it goes. The LovedOne wisely decided to stay home instead and work on a sweater (in anticipation of winter).

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Wiley Camp Loop (Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness) 11-Sep-2018

2018-09-112022-02-21Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Day Hiking, Hershberger Mountain Lookout, Hiking, Muir Creek Oregon, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Southern Oregon, Union Creek3 Comments

Wiley Camp Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness Oregon

In May of 2015, we did a loop hike through Buck Canyon, the only part of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness that sits on the east side of the divide. We came in from Muir Creek and left via Meadow Creek, passing Wiley Camp along the way. I got to wondering if you could loop around Fish Mountain from the Wiley Camp Trailhead and today I decided to find out (The LovedOne opted for a library board meeting instead).

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Anderson Camp (Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness) 01-Jun-2018

2018-06-012022-01-30Posted in Hiking (Bike Assist), Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Anderson Camp Trail #1075, Anderson Mountain Oregon, Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Day Hiking, Hiking, Oregon, Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Southern Oregon2 Comments

Anderson Camp Trail Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness Oregon

The Forest Service styles the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail (USFS #1470) as the primary route through the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. This may be true in concept but, in practice, they seem to have given little, if any, attention to its maintenance. We have been exploring it in sections for the last few years and have found tread ranging from good (from its southern trailhead to Abbott Butte Lookout) to non-existent (between Falcon Butte and Abbott Butte). It would be the obvious thru-hike for this wilderness if one could trust the tread (and also find water sources). But our explorations continue, this time between Anderson Mountain and Hershberger Mountain, with a visit to Anderson Camp, Anderson Prairie, and the site of the Anderson Mountain fire lookout.

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Highrock Mountain (Rogue-Umpqua Divide) 23-Aug-2016

2016-08-242022-02-21Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Day Hiking, Fish Lake Oregon, Hershberger Mountain Lookout, Highrock Mountain Oregon, Hiking, Oregon, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

In 2015, I did two dayhikes in Oregon’s Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness (details): an out-and-back on the Rogue-Umpqua Divide (USFS #1470) and Rocky Rim (USFS #1572) Trails (post) and a loop hike around Fish Lake (post) on the Rocky Rim, Rogue-Umpqua Divide, and Fish Lake (USFS #1570) trails. Highrock Mountain (6,195 feet / 1,888 m) is a prominent feature visible from various points on all of these trails. While not the highest point in this wilderness (that honor belongs to Fish Mountain, at 6,789 feet (2,069 m), about 4 miles to the northeast), it stands out from other peaks in the area because of its hulking rockiness and nearly treeless summit.

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Golden Stairs Trail (Rogue-Umpqua Divide) 22-Jun-2016

2016-06-232022-01-29Posted in Hiking, Hiking (Bike Assist), Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Abbott Butte Lookout Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Day Hiking, Golden Stairs Trail, Hiking, Oregon, Prospect Oregon, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

This trail is described in a few hiking guides for Southern Oregon, but those descriptions are more than a little out of date with its current state. Of course, I didn’t know that at the start, so this hike became a bit of an adventure rather than just a walk in the woods. There are no actual stairs, so it’s not clear whether “Golden Stairs” refers to the trail’s steepness, to the yellowish rock on some of the rock formations it passes, or to an alleged gold mine (there being no genuine gold mines in the Cascades) owned in ages past by the Abbott Brothers (who named a great number of places in this area).

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Rattlesnake Mountain (Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness) 27-Oct-2015

2015-10-272022-02-21Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Day Hiking, Hiking, Rattlesnake Mountain Oregon, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail #1470, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, Southern Oregon

Rattlesnake Mountain Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness Oregon

Even though it’s written up in two prominent guidebooks (Hike #40 in Sullivan’s 100 Hikes in Southern Oregon (3^rd Edition) and Hike #30 in Bernstein & Urness’ Hiking Southern Oregon (2014)), this is one of those quirky little hikes that wouldn’t necessarily be on your “must do list.” But it exploits a weakness (more like a failing) in the wilderness designation system that lets a forest road (Forest Road (FR) 870) penetrate deeply into the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness, which gives you access to big views with minimal hiking effort. So it seemed like a interesting short hike we could do before an approaching weather front reached us.

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