Union Creek – BOOTS on the TRAIL

Remembrance of Trails Past (November 2020)

2020-11-232020-11-23Posted in Hiking, Southern OregonTagged Day Hiking, Hiking, Huckleberry Mountain Oregon, Hummingbird Meadows, National Creek Falls, National Recreation Trail, Southern Oregon, Union Creek, Upper Rogue River3 Comments

A while back, I found a charming little hiking guide from 1969 that the Rogue National Forest had assembled for the area around Union Creek on the Upper Rogue River. Most, but not all, of the listed trails were short and went to a lake or creek or something scenic. Nothing epic that would dissuade people from getting out of their cars for a brief hike in the woods. Possibly this was an odder activity then than it is now? Anyway, I recognized some but not all of the listed trails. And of the ones I did recognize, the guide’s description sometimes didn’t tally with what we’ve found during hikes on or near them in recent years.

Continue reading →

Rogue Gorge Trail (Union Creek, Oregon) 15-Nov-2018

2018-11-152022-01-30Posted in Hiking, Southern OregonTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Day Hiking, Hiking, Natural Bridge Campground, Rogue Gorge Trail, Rogue River, Southern Oregon, Union Creek, Upper Rogue River, Upper Rogue River Trail #10342 Comments

We hiked our first Rogue River-related trail (to Boundary Springs) in 2012. Over the next six years, we hiked all of the other river-related trails between the springs and the ocean, culminating (we thought) with the Lower Rogue River Trail this year. Having thus declared victory, we were chagrined to find we’d missed one. Map-gazing revealed the Rogue Gorge Trail (USFS #1034A), which links the Rogue Gorge Viewpoint to the north with the Natural Bridge Viewpoint to the south. This slight required remedy!

Continue reading →

Union Creek Trail (Union Creek, Oregon) 06-Nov-2018

2018-11-062022-01-30Posted in Hiking, Southern OregonTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Day Hiking, Hiking, Old-growith forest, Rogue River, Rogue River - Siskiyou National Forest, Southern Oregon, Union Creek, Upper Rogue River2 Comments

No better place to wait out the end of the seemingly endless 2018 Midterm election cycle than on a hike. With The LovedOne temporarily liberated from the Palace of Cellulose (i.e., the library), we set out to hike one of the smaller trails we’d by-passed on our many trips to the Upper Rogue. Of course, pie at Beckie’s Cafe on our return was a major motivating factor.

Continue reading →

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).

Continue reading →

Cowhorn Mountain (Deschutes NF) 05-Oct-2017

2017-10-052022-01-30Posted in Central Oregon, HikingTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Central Oregon, Cowhorn Mountain, Day Hiking, Deschutes National Forest, Hiking, Howlock Mountain, Mount Thielsen Wilderness, Oregon, Oregon Cascades Recreation Area, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), PCT, Union Creek2 Comments

Cowhorn Mountain Deschutes National Forest Oregon

First off, it seems useful to review where we are here. This is not the Little Cowhorn Mountain topped with a lookout and located on the Willamette National Forest at the end of a one mile trail. This Cowhorn – what some also, for extra confusion, call Cowhorn Butte – is on the Deschutes National Forest (in the Oregon Cascades Recreational Area) a few miles southwest of Crescent Lake. Back before this Cowhorn’s cow-horn shaped summit spine fell over in a 1911 storm (some storm!), it was called Little Cowhorn to distinguish it from Mount Thielsen, which was then called Big Cowhorn. The hike to this Cowhorn Mountain’s 7,664-foot summit is along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) starting north from Windigo Pass, which is reached via Forest Road (FR) 60 (a good gravel road) off State Highway 138 about six miles north of Diamond Lake.

Continue reading →

Tipsoo Peak on Snow (Mt. Thielsen Wilderness) 06-Jul-2017

2017-07-062022-01-30Posted in Hiking, Oregon Wilderness Areas, Southern OregonTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Day Hiking, Diamond Lake, Hiking, Mount Bailey, Mount Thielsen, Mount Thielsen Wilderness, Oregon, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), PCT, Southern Oregon, Tipsoo Peak Oregon, Union Creek2 Comments

Tipsoo Peak Mount Thielsen Wilderness Oregon

Tipsoo Peak (8,034) is one of the few 8000-foot Cascade volcanos (it ties for #38 in terms of elevation) with a well-graded trail to its summit. Located in Oregon’s Mount Thielsen Wilderness, it is an easy hike to spectacular 360º views, including Howlock Mountain, Mount Thielsen, Mount Bailey, Diamond Peak, the Three Sisters, and Diamond, Miller, and Maidu Lakes. Directly south of its summit is the highest point (7,560 feet) on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in Oregon and Washington. We decided to do a quick hike to its summit to: (a) take in the views on what was to be a full bluebird day, (b) check-out snow levels along the PCT, and (c) generate an excuse to stop at Beckie’s Cafe in Union Creek for some of their delicious pie (because hiking is hard and you need to stay fueled!).

Continue reading →

Discovery Point Snowshoe (Crater Lake NP) 08-May-2017

2017-05-082022-01-30Posted in Snowshoe Hiking, Southern Oregon, U.S. National Parks & MonumentsTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Crater Rim Viewpoint, Day Hiking, Discovery Point, Hiking, Mount McLoughlin, Mount Shasta, Oregon, Snowshoeing, Southern Oregon, Union Creek, Union Peak4 Comments

We live about an hour and a half from Crater Lake National Park and, while we’ve visited several times, we don’t get to it (or at least the Rim) as often as we should. Too busy with tourists in the summer months; too challenged by snow and weather in the winter months. A little touch of guilt here – particularly now that there’s talk of privatizing National Parks and abolishing National Monuments (so sad, so stupid). So, yesterday, with The LovedOne mostly recovered from a bout of bronchitis, we went for a short – but amazing – snowshoe hike to Discovery Point on the lake’s west rim.

Continue reading →

Upper Rogue River Trail (River Bridge to North Fork Dam) 27-Sep-2016

2016-09-282022-01-29Posted in Hiking, Hiking (Bike Assist)Tagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Day Hiking, Hiking, No-See-Em Camp, North Fork Dam Recreation Area, Oregon, Prospect Oregon, River Bridge Campground, Rogue River, Southern Oregon, Union Creek, Upper Rogue River

The Upper Rogue River Trail (USFS #1034) is a National Recreation Trail that closely follows the Rogue River for about 47 miles from its headwaters at Boundary Springs in the northwest corner of Crater Lake National Park to the North Fork Dam Recreation Area outside Prospect, Oregon. The trail can be day hiked in sections between readily accessible trailheads. Today we finished the last section – from River Bridge Campground to the North Fork Dam Recreation Area – of our effort to hike the entire length of the #1034, section by section. As with a previous section, we again went from south to north to accommodate a hike & bike approach.

Continue reading →

Upper Rogue River Trail (Hamaker Campground to Foster Creek) 16-Sep-2016

2016-09-172022-01-29Posted in Hiking, Hiking (Bike Assist), Southern Oregon, U.S. RiversTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Crater Lake National Park, Day Hiking, Foster Creek, Hamaker Campground, Hiking, National Creek Falls, National Recreation Trail, Oregon, Union Creek, Upper Rogue River, Upper Rogue River Trail #1034

The Upper Rogue River Trail (USFS #1034) is a National Recreation Trail that closely follows the Rogue River for about 47 miles from its headwaters at Boundary Springs in the northwest corner of Crater Lake National Park to to the North Fork Dam Recreation Area outside Prospect, Oregon. The trail can be day hiked in sections between readily accessible trailheads. Today I finished another section – from Foster Creek to Hamaker Campground, going from south to north to accommodate a hike & bike approach. The LovedOne had a doctor’s appointment plus she was concerned that this section would be the same unmaintained mess as was the Foster Creek to Big Bend section (post), so I was on my own for this one.

Continue reading →

Upper Rogue River Trail (Foster Creek to Big Bend) 07-May-2016

2016-05-082022-01-28Posted in Hiking, Southern Oregon, U.S. RiversTagged Beckie's Cafe Oregon, Big Bend (Upper Rogue River), Crater Lake National Park, Day Hiking, Foster Creek, Hiking, Mount Mazama, National Recreation Trail, Oregon, Rogue River Trail, Union Creek, Upper Rogue River, Wild & Scenic River

This section of the #1034 was in poor shape in 2016 and recent reports say that it’s still a wreck. Expect slow-going and navigation challenges.

The Upper Rogue River Trail (USFS #1034) follows the Rogue River for about 47 miles from near its headwaters at Boundary Springs in the northwest corner of Crater Lake National Park to the North Fork Dam Recreation Area outside of Prospect, Oregon. The trail can be day hiked in sections between readily accessible trailheads. Today we did the short (~7 mile) Foster Creek to Big Bend section and allowed for slow going due to winter storm damage and limited trail maintenance.

Continue reading →