My first choice of destination for this day was the South Fork Wenaha River from Timothy Springs, but FR 64 was blocked by snow just above its junction with FR 6403. Thus, I went for my second choice, which was the rutted track 1 ½ miles down FR 6403 to the Rough Fork Trailhead (Umatilla National Forest). There were two big snow patches on this narrow road, and I used downward momentum to scrape through them thinking that a few hours of melt would make the ascent a little easier at the end of the day.
The Rough Fork Trail descends 1800 feet in 3 ½ miles to reach the South Fork Walla Walla River Trail, an 18 ½ mile route that would be a great early season backpack. Since the road access is just melting out, there has been minimal foot traffic on the Rough Fork Trail (I saw only elk and deer tracks), but the path, as it loops down mostly open slopes, is in excellent shape.
I crossed the South Fork Walla Walla on a sturdy bridge and hung a left to explore some of that trail, hiking downstream about two miles to the footbridge over Box Canyon Creek. This section of trail alternates through shady woods and some steep open cliff traverses. It only reaches river level once. There was a great feeling of seclusion down here, and the only campsite I saw, at the big footbridge near the trail junction, looked a little overgrown and rarely used.
Big thunderheads were gathering as I came back up the Rough Fork Trail, and I feared my trusty vehicle would be sliding backwards on a chute of mud and slushy snow if I didn’t get out before the downpour. As it was, I was able to power through the snow patches quite easily, and the big drops didn’t begin to hammer down until I was well on my way back to Tollgate.
South Fork Walla Walla River 5-30-18
Re: South Fork Walla Walla River 5-30-18
My wife and I hiked this trail a few years back. We started at Deduct, which is always really neat to see the headwaters of an actual river like the Walla Walla. I think it's about 8 miles to the bridge at Reeser creek. We got there early, so decided to hike up Rough Fork and camp at Motett. That was a mistake, because Motett was crowded with trailers. And Rough Fork didn't look that long on the map because of all the switchbacks. It was a lot longer and steeper than I thought it would be. We should have just camped down at the creek. We still had fun though. I love that area, but my only complaint is that it's outside of the wilderness, so it's open to dirt bikes. I've seen a rubber boa every time I've hiked along either fork of the Walla Walla. It's the only place I've ever seen them.
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Re: South Fork Walla Walla River 5-30-18
Beautiful area! I love that last shot looking down on the river with the green all around.