Twin Pillars South direct to Wildcat Mountain summit?

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mistercakes
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Twin Pillars South direct to Wildcat Mountain summit?

Post by mistercakes » May 16th, 2017, 2:33 pm

Hello all--

I'm going to be in the Ochocos next week, and am wondering if there's a route or trail directly from Twin Pillars South / Wildcat Campground directly up to the "summit" of Wildcat Mountain. I'd like to make a loop from Twin Pillars South, up to the Wildcat Mountain Summit, then up to Twin Pillars via the Wildcat and Belknap trails.
http://www.oregonhikers.org/w/images/4/ ... eekmap.jpg

Anyone tried this? :D
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miah66
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Re: Twin Pillars South direct to Wildcat Mountain summit?

Post by miah66 » May 18th, 2017, 7:09 am

Most of that area has burned in a fire about 6-10 years ago and because of that there is ALOT of down trees and many of the "trails" are not so well defined once you get a few miles up Mill Creek and leave the valley. This is a wilderness area and as such, no chainsaws=not much maintenance. Cross country travel may be no harder/easier than on the "trail" because of the fire. That said, the route appears simple enough on a topo map and aerial imagery shows no major impediment, so it does seem possible. From my trip there, it seemed that there was fencing everywhere South of the parking area/campground that led me to believe there is a contentious ownership situation, ie. "Wilderness Boundary" vs Cattle Ranch in the area, so something to keep in mind.
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romann
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Re: Twin Pillars South direct to Wildcat Mountain summit?

Post by romann » May 18th, 2017, 10:16 pm

Probably no trail at all, even official trails there (once you're out of the valley) are very lightly traveled. Looking in Google Earth it seems W side of Wldcat is mostly outside of burn area, terrain looks pretty easy but blowdown seems to get worse as you near the summit. I've done the trail part only, and both trails were okay a few years ago, but hard to tell after the winter we've just had.

Your loop is around 10 miles; maybe if the travel is slow, a good backup plan would be staying at White Rock campground - there's watering trough near trailhead and the place is very nice.

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Double Tree
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Re: Twin Pillars South direct to Wildcat Mountain summit?

Post by Double Tree » May 20th, 2017, 7:53 pm

A friend hiked this area a few years ago, and encountered very windy conditions, which brought down trees. She described it as dangerous hiking, at the time. Perhaps, pick your campsite well.
Kelly

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miah66
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Re: Twin Pillars South direct to Wildcat Mountain summit?

Post by miah66 » June 9th, 2017, 10:11 am

Any update?
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retired jerry
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Re: Twin Pillars South direct to Wildcat Mountain summit?

Post by retired jerry » June 9th, 2017, 12:05 pm

I just saw this

Yeah, I bet you could go cross country but there's no trail, but that area tends to be fairly sparsely grown so it's probably possible. Maybe best to do that at the beginning of your loop.

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