Applegate Lake

September 23, 2018

Autumn.....just the sound of it is enough to make us want to hike,  It is our favorite season of the year and along with Spring, is one of the most beautiful times to get out and hike.  So we wasted no time and got out on the first full day of Autumn for a hike at Applegate Lake.

A view of the very low but still beautiful Applegate Lake from the Payette trail

We started at the French Gulch trailhead and hiked along the Payette trail which follows the shoreline of Applegate Lake.  However, this shoreline had no lake as Applegate Lake is very very very low.  So our first mile or so was along dry lake with a shoreline.  We did notice a few Autumn colors in the trees and spotted a large Osprey nest up on a tree, so not all was disappointment at the start.

Osprey nest along the Payette trail

Autumn sunshine and blue skies!

We continued on the flat Payette trail for about 4 miles which did provide us with some beautiful views of various portions of the lake.  We then turned off onto the Osprey trail which headed uphill to the Prospector's Loop trail. Our plan was to hike the loop trail, but after about a half mile, we came across a very large tree across the trail.  The picture does not do justice. Our choices were to hike either up or down the very steep ravine 20-30 yards to the end of the tree and then hike either up or down the ravine to get back on trail.  Not our idea of fun with all the poison oak and since Katie voted "no" to make it a 3 - 0 vote, we turned around and headed back to the Osprey trail.

Road block and turn around spot on the Prospector's Loop

We then hiked up the Osprey trail to the Dagelma trailhead parking lot and started down one of our favorite trails, the Calsh trail.  This short trail wanders down and around the ravine from the trailhead to the lake shore where it intersects the Payette trail.  With the sun out, blue skies, and a slight breeze, it was a wonderful hike along the Calsh trail.

A little color of Autumn along the Calsh trail

After rejoining the Payette trail we hiked back to the French Gulch trailhead and our car having finished a beautiful 7.2 mile Autumn hike.  Get out and enjoy Autumn yourself.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Da-Ku-Be-Te-De Trail

July 10, 2016

9.2 miles

The name of this trail may sound like a line from The Sound of Music being sung by Julie Andrews, but it was actually named after a band of Native Americans who lived in the Applegate Valley.  Either way, the word "trail" meant it was time for another hike!

Time for another good long  hike!

Having hiked the previous Sunday and Wednesday for a combined 16+ miles, we decided to take advantage of the mild & smoke-free summer weather and try out the Da-Ku-Be-Te-De trail, one of the few trails at Applegate Lake that we have not hiked.

One of many views of Applegate Lake from the trail

We parked at the Swayne Viewpoint which is located just past the dam.  Parking here is free, there is a bathroom, and it is closer so there is less driving.  The trail follows the lake shore from Swayne Viewpoint all the way to the Watkins Campground.  Along the way you pass through the Hartish Campground and Day Use Area (fee for parking) and pass a couple of boat launching ramps.

Hartish Day Use Area /Boat launch.  Campground is just past the parking area

Sign along the trail at the campground 

Beach area at Hartish Campground - Katie took a dip at the end of our hike!

As you may notice in the pictures, the day was very cloudy and the temperature was in the upper 60's- very rare for July in Southern Oregon.  Although the trail does have areas with lots of tree coverage, we would not recommend you hike this trail on a very hot and sunny day.  When reading up on this hike, words like "ticks", "rattlesnakes" and "poison oak" stood out to us, but only poison oak was seen on our hike and that we made sure to avoid.  We did see bear scat, but no bears.  Twice on our hike we startled a group of deer but we able to get one to pose for a picture.

One of our "deer" friends

After following the lake shoreline for four-and-a-half miles, the trail turned in-land along a rail fence which led to the Watkins Campground.  Since no one was camping, we took a break at a campsite while Katie commenced rolling in the dirt.

Katie at Watkins Campground looking for a good dirty place to roll.

The trail forms a loop at the Watkins Campground, so after our break we hiked from the end of the campground down the loop till it rejoined the original trail. While hiking back to the Swayne Viewpoint we got to view the lake in the opposite direction.  Some of the mountains that you can view along this hike include Stein Butte, the Red Buttes, Kangaroo Mountain and Stricklin Butte.

One of the "open" portions of the trail

Wide angle view of Applegate Lake

We finished the 9.2 mile hike in just over 4 hours which included our break and Katie's dip in the lake.  The trail is pretty much flat with just a few mild inclines/descents and with the campgrounds and boat ramps provides many opportunities for turnaround points.  There are also many places where one can stop and sit along the lake shore to enjoy the view and quiet.  So don't let the distance scare you off from trying this hike. Get out there and enjoy!!


Just a side note, since we hiked over 26 miles in one week, we celebrated afterwards by getting Double-Doubles at In-N-Out Burgers afterwards.  But we won't torture you by posting a picture of them.  Oh the rewards of hiking!!!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Mule Mountain Trail

May 3, 2015

Just seeing the words Mule Mountain Trail on a trailhead sign would be enough to stop some folks from even attempting the hike.  Add to that these two facts: 1) Mule Mountain is said to have received its name during the Indian War period when mules, pulling a howitzer (a small artillery piece) supposedly slipped off the trail and fell in to the creek. 2) It was on the Mule Mountain Trail that the Friends of the Umpqua Hiking Club first used the phrase "Richard Hike" to designate a long, uphill both ways, tough hike, which in this case was led by one of it's members - Richard.

So despite all those facts, we decided to call our hiking friend Richard (the same as noted above) and plan a hike up the Mule Mountain Trail -- after all, we have never hiked this trail and how do you know how tough a trail really is until you have hiked it?

After meeting Richard in Ruch, we drove up the Applegate Lake Road to a turnout just past mile marker 12.  Sometimes the trail sign is knocked over which makes finding the trail start a little more challenging, but today it was there in plain sight.....and so the adventure began.

Uphill we go.....lots of tall grass and poison oak along the trail too.

The first 1 - 1.5 miles of trail were uphill, but it was a slow steady uphill, not too bad, as we hiked up through a shaded forest area filled with wildflowers.  Stops were made often on this hike as there was not only a large variety of wildflowers, but also large quantities of each of those varieties!  This trail is a great wildflower hike, but I digress.

Having completed the first "section" of the trail, we then entered the next 1 - 1.5 miles  of trail which was very similar except for one slight difference, gone for the most part were the trees and shady areas -- replaced now by sunshine and heat.  The actual steepness also remained about the same so we were still skeptical about the stories and warnings as noted in the first paragraph of this post.  On we trekked, enjoying Lupines,  Starflowers, Cat's Ear, and the many other wildflowers as well as the incredible views of the surrounding mountians and valleys.

Starflower

Cat's Ear

Lupine

Then we came to the last portion of our 4.2 mile hike out to the base of Baldy Peak.  Still great views....still lots of wildflowers.....still lots of sunshine and increasing heat.......but the trail went into another gear and we found ourselves steeply climbing to  what we could see would be our turnaround point.  It seemed so close, but seemed to take a long time to reach.

After much effort we made it to a lone large tree below Baldy Peak which provided us with shade as we took a much needed break for food & drink.  The toughness of the trail though was quickly lost as we took in the views and the sound of silence during our break.  Occasionaly the wind would blow through and it was so nice just to sit there and take it all in  - it was worth the effort.

One of the many views

But all good things must come to an end and eventually we knew it was time to head back down.  As much as uphill hiking can be tough, sometimes it is the downhill that wears on our knees the most.  So even though our bodies wanted to head down the trail quickly, we had to pace ourselves so that we would live to hike another day.  Once again we were treated to an incredible display of wildflowers and got to see the mountain and valley views that we did not see on the way up.

One of the locals checking us out near Baldy Peak

Yes, the heat does affect Glenn in strange ways!

Yes we were tired after the 8.5 mile hike was done, but we were also glad that we could and did hike this trail.  We fared far better than those mules in the Indian War period and we survived a "Richard HIke" as well. Not bad for one day of hiking.

Trekking Together

Glenn & Carol

P.S. We want to say a special "thank you" to Richard for joining us on this namesake hike and for also sending us some pictures that we could use on our posting.  Please visit Richard's hiking blog by clicking here.  He should have his side of the story posted soon and usually includes a link to pictures of each hike.

Little Grayback Trail

Last week we both had vacations so during the week we took Katie and did a few local short hikes. But when Sunday rolled around it was time to venture out and try a new and longer hike.  We drove out to the Ruch Country Store to meet our hiking friend Richard and then carpooled to the Little Grayback trail near Applegate Lake.

It's Trekking Time!!!

Richard told us that this trail was a steady climb but featured great views.  That was enough to interest us and Richard didn't lie.  The trail was a continuous slow steady climb but never overwhelming and the continuous views of the snow capped Red Buttes and Siskiyou mountains provided us an excuse to stop.

Our constant view of the Red Buttes and Siskiyou mountains

The trail took us through alternating shaded wooded areas and open sunny portions. As we got closer to the top and our turnaround point, we hiked through multiple open grassy knolls, some with small wildflowers. Each provided us with beautiful views, warm sunshine and plenty of photo opportunities.

One of many sunny grassy knolls that we hiked through

At one point on the trail we came across a group of Knobcone pine trees.  This was the first time we have seen these trees with their unique cones.  Instead of growing at the end of branches, these cones grow right on the tree. This tree is considered to be a fire-climax species as the cones do not open until the tree is killed by fire. After the fire, the cones begin to open to release seed into cooled mineral soil.

Knobcone

Our turnaround point came at the 3.9 mile mark along another open grassy area.  We went off trail a little bit and broke out the food and drinks.  The view was incredible and there was no sound but the wind.  We could see the mountains in the distance, had trees in view as far as the eye could see, and we even got to see Big Squaw Lake. Even Katie enjoyed the break when normally she does not like to stand still - unless there is food involved.  Hmmm..maybe that had something to do with it.

Our lunch break view.....can you see Big Squaw Lake?

Our hike today put us over the 100 mile mark for the year.  It is the earliest we have ever reached that mile mark and puts us on pace for a 300+ mile year!!! (knock on wood)


100 miles hiked already this year!!!

After getting our fill of food and drinks, we started the 3.9 mile descent.  The return hike seemed to go by quickly - maybe it was because if was almost all downhill. As we hiked through one of the grassy knolls areas, something caught our eye.  There among the rocks and grasses was a flower we had not seen on the way up ---the "one and only" monkey-flower. Glenn loves monkey-flowers - something about the name. When we hiked the nearby Stein Butte trail, a few years ago, we saw a barrel full of monkey flowers!

The one and only Monkey Flower we saw on this hike

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  We really enjoyed this new hike and the weather was absolutely beautiful -- around 70 degrees with a few clouds.  After driving back to Richard's car at the Ruch Country Store, Richard treated us to soft serve ice cream cones at the Pit Stop Espresso. What a great way to top off a great day of hiking!
THANKS RICHARD!

Be sure to check out Richard's blog on this hike as well.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol