Sterling Mine Ditch Trail: Little Applegate TH to Tunnel Ridge TH

April 6, 2019

With all of the rain and snow storms this season in Southern Oregon, hiking has become a matter of timing. A few weeks ago the Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Club from Roseburg came down and hiked at Applegate Lake.  With rain storms in the forecast, we didn't make it to that  hike.  So when their club came down again on Saturday to hike a section of the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail and it appeared that storms would hold off, we were in.  Besides, we had never hiked this section of the SMDT from the Little Applegate TH to the Tunnel Ridge TH.

Time to hike another section of the SMDT

It may have been a daytime hike, but there were plenty of Shooting Stars out!

Carol & Katie enjoy one of the many "benches with a view" along the SMDT

Fawn Lilies were in abundance on this hike!

After a quick car shuttle, we started at the Little Applegate TH and hiked uphill for about a half mile to connect with the main flat trail that typically follows the mine ditch.  This particular section would wander through forested sections and then along grassy ridges with beautiful views of the surrounding valleys and snow capped mountains.  We were also treated to many wildflowers which are in abundance this year due to all of the rain. Towards the end of our hike we did check out the tunnel at the Tunnel Ridge area where they now have a historical sign highlighting various facts about the Sterling Mine Ditch creation, cost and usage.

A typical section of the SMDT with "the ditch" off to the right

The squirrels have been very busy along the SMDT

John taking a break by an old oak while taking in the views

Richard painfully crosses the one large fallen tree on the entire trail

Looking through the tunnel at Tunnel Ridge

We are glad that the Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Club let us join them and want to thank Richard, John and Diane for letting us tag along on their adventure in Southern Oregon. Make sure and check out their website and if possible, join them on one of their hikes in the future.  They venture out twice a month from Roseburg to Crater Lake to Southern Oregon to the Coast.  They are a wonderful group and we have always enjoyed our hikes with them.

Thank you John, Diane, and Richard!

One last note.  We have yet to see a bear or mountain lion on one of our hikes.  But today, for the first time ever, we actually saw the ever elusive Unicorn and got a picture to prove it.  Maybe we will see Sasquatch next!

A very rare photo of the elusive Unicorn - a first for us while hiking!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Sterling Mine Ditch Trail -- Deming Gulch TH

September 3, 2018

We decided to spend our Labor Day laboring on the trail.  But since it was a flat and fast trail, there wasn't much laboring, just blue sky above the beautiful woods.

Time to hike!  The trail awaits.

The Sterling Mine Ditch Trail from end-to-end is 26 miles long.  We have hiked various portions of the trail from 4 of the 7 trailheads available, and today we hiked another portion from our 5th trailhead, the Deming Gulch TH.

View along the flat Sterling Mine Ditch Trail (ditch to the right)

As mentioned earlier, the SMDT is a flat trail and our from the Deming Gulch TH to our turnaround spot, proved that point.  Only the occasional dip of the trail into the "ditch" provided any uphill or downhill grade.  There were also two basic scenery views along the trail.  Some sections were in the open sunshine which provided views of the surrounding Applegate Valley, while other sections passed through forested ravines that provided cool shade with lots of trees to enjoy.  Both were welcomed and enjoyed.

Some sections provided views of the Applegate Valley

Other sections were dominated by trees and shade.

After hiking toward Grub Gulch for just over 3 miles, we took a break and then backtracked to our starting point.  We then hiked a portion of the trail between the Deming Gulch TH and the Armstrong Gulch TH to add a few more miles to our hike.  I guess you could say we did an out-and-back hike in two different directions.  When all was said and done, it was an enjoyable 8.3 mile labor of love.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Sterling Mine Ditch Trail - Armstrong Gulch TH

January 28, 2018

The Sterling Mine Ditch trail is over 20 miles long and currently has 7 different trailheads.  We have hiked sections of the SMDT from the Tunnel Ridge TH and the Bear Gulch TH,  so today we decided to hike another portion of the trail starting from the Armstrong Gulch trailhead.

Time to get hiking!

We actually parked at the horse trailer area for the Armstrong Gulch TH and hiked up a half mile series of switchbacks to the SMDT.  We then made a right turn and hiked over 3 miles out and along the trail.

View along the very flat Sterling Mine Ditch trail

Trail with the Sterling Mine Ditch to the right- hard to see in some sections.

The first mile was mostly in the shade and featured lots of trees and even a few areas with large groupings of ferns. We then entered the more sun exposed segment of the trail which featured great views of the Applegate Valley and surrounding mountains, some of which were still covered wtih a little bit of  snow from the last storm.  No wildflowers were seen yet, but it is still early in the year.  It was not however too early for those wonderful little friends of hikers known as ticks.  Yup, they were out already, but we only collected (and discarded) a few.

View from the trail with some slightly snow covered mountains in the distance

As the sun came out in the afternoon, we peeled off our sweatshirt/jacket ---  it actually felt hot! After turning around and retracing our steps, we finished our hike at 7.3 miles, which still leaves us with plenty of the Sterling Mine Ditch trail to explore in the future.

If you are interested in this trail, click here for the website which gives the history of the Sterling Mine Ditch and maps showing the various trailheads and hiking distance in miles.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Sterling Mine Ditch Trail

November 5, 2016

It has been quite a few years since we last hiked the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail in the Applegate.  So with forecasted cool weather and plenty of time for a long hike, we ventured out to explore some of the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail along with a couple of access trails.

Time for a hike!

When we last hiked any of the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail, there were just two trailheads with access trails. When combined with the main trail and road, this formed a nice 4-5 mile loop hike.  As we began our hike today, the trail now has at least six different trailheads, four areas for horse trailer parking,  and with trail improvements and connections it forms a network over 18 miles long that can be used for hiking, bikiing and horse riding.

Informative sign about the Sterling Mine Ditch trail history.

We began our hike today at the Bear Gulch TH off the Little Applegate Road.  This 1-mile access trail wanders slowly uphill through tree filled woods before a couple of switchbacks bring you to the main Sterling Mine Ditch Trail.  This access trail was probably our favorite part of the hike due to the autumn color still on the trees, the shade and coolness of this portion, and the fun of having the wind pick up and blow a sea of leaves all around you when you stop and stand still.  Just hiking this trail to enjoy autumn is worth it.  There was even a bench where you could sit and just enjoy the woods.

Autumn color along......

....the Bear Gulch Trail

Once we got to the main trail, we made a left turn and began hiking what is a very flat trail along the ridge with the Sterling Mine Ditch alongside us.  Hiking along the ridge gave us so many opportunities to view the beautiful Applegate Valley and surrounding mountains, a few of which had snow.

View of the Applegate Valley, trail and to the right, the Sterling Mne Ditch

As we continued we weren't sure how far we would hike along the main trail, but after a couple of miles we came to a junction with another access trail leading to the Wolf Gap TH.  Rather than continue hiking along the ridge, we decided to give this 1.5 mile access trail a try which would make our total hike just over 9 miles long.

The very level Sterling Mine Ditch Trail

The Wolf Gap Trail, like the Bear Gulch Trail, was wooded and looked so inviting.  But we soon learned that this trail was almost all uphill and that shade we saw soon turned into a thing of the past as we emerged out into the open.  As we pressed on uphill, we began crossing exposed ridges and what was suppose to be a cool cloudy day turned into a very hot sunny day, which turned us into very hot hikers -- and not in a good sense.  (We later found out that the Applegate Valley was 15 degrees warmer than Medford, when usually the reverse is true)

One of many beautiful views from the trail.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

One last beautiful view!!!

At times it felt like we were hiking in the middle of summer as the sun reflected off the hillsides.  We trudged

on thinking that this was the longest 1.5 miles we had ever hiked.  We passed a hornets nest in the ground that was right next to the trail and filled with unhappy hornets, hiked through tick infested grass segments of trail (Glenn got 1 tick, Katie got 4) and even found a spot where a large black bird (Crow or Raven) had been killed and only feathers remained.  Was this the trail of doom?  Was there really a Wolf Gap TH??

An unhappy hornets nest along the trail!!

Tick infested grass portion of trail

Then we finally saw the trailhead sign in the distance and upon arrival, took a much needed food, drink and rest break. Glenn made sure to take pictures of the trailhead sign to prove we had hiked the Wolf Gap portion (since we might not hike that trail again).

Proof that we made it!!!!

Our return leg followed the same route in reverse and was pretty much all downhill or flat, so that felt good. We sprinted by the hornets, said a prayer for Mr Crow and quickly descended to the main trail.  We did enjoy the many beautiful views all along the trail and especially enjoyed the yellow autumn colored oak trees. There was also evidence that bears tend to hike the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail too (some very big bears based on their droppings!), but evidently they only come out at night.  We did see a number of other hikers on our return leg and the Bear Gulch Trailhead area was pretty full of cars when we finished.

One of the golden orchards of oaks!!

Our recommendation if you hike this area is to start at the Bear Gulch TH like we did and then head left or right at the Sterling Mine Ditch trail, take in the views of the valley, and then turnaround at the distance of  your choice.  If you head to the right, there is a tunnel that is about 2 miles down the trail which makes a great turnaround spot too.  Either way, get out and try this trail and enjoy the view!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol