I was graciously invited by cfm to join her on a hike to somewhere Tuesday the 3rd. When we were thinking of options, I told her I had never been to Opal Creek yet. We agreed on this destination, as it was not too far for either of us, and we met up in Salem to take one vehicle.
We drove east from Salem on Hwy. 22 for about 23 miles, watching for the Swiss Village Restaurant, then turning left on Little Fork Road. Another 15 miles on this paved road, then 1.3 miles on gravel, then left on road 2209 and another 4.2 miles. These directions are in Sullivans' "100 Hikes in the Central OR Cascades" or Paul Gerald's "60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Portland" for Opal Creek - I was certainly not paying attntion but rather to the lovely drive, the suprisingly expansive canyons, and wowing at Henline Mtn. along the way.
She had brought mountain bikes for both of us, and the general plan today was to ride the rocky road to Jawbone Flats (a little over 3 miles), then stash the bikes somewhere, then hike the Opal Creek trail to Cedar Flats (about 2 miles one way), then back. And of course allowing time and opportunities for exploring, photo taking, and other leisure breaks.
Arriving and gearing up at the forest-gated entrance a little after 10 am, cfm skillfully put the wheels on the bikes and adjusted them, set her GPS, and off we went. My biking rapport is minimal, and even though I had to hop off and walk it up the huffer hills (they were not that steep, it was just me..thank you cfm for not scowling at me everytime ;) it was big fun riding through mud puddles, dodging many rocks, and careening (with some brake squeezing) down the hills. We pulled over at "Merten Mill", an area full of old saw-mill equipment from the 1940's.
We explored beyond that a ways on a little trail to an area called Cascada de los Ninos ( "Waterfall of the Children"), or also know as Sawmill Falls in some books - a very pretty find!
this is looking through several feet of water, the greenish stones apparently make the water look this blue-green color..
We saddled up again and rode another 1+ miles to the little historic mining town called Jawbone Flats. These buildings were built around 1930, with the early mining focused on lead, zinc, copper and silver. The mining ceased in 1992, and the land donated to the fledgling non-profit Friends of Opal Creek (established in 1989). Then in 1996, with federal legislation, many land ownerships changed hands, as well as former mining claims, to be part of the Opal Creek Wilderness and the Opal Creek Scenic Recreation Area - almost 40,000 acres.
The "town" was made up of several cabin-like buildings, a "store" and a "Forest Center" lodge, but all were closed as we walked our bikes through. (Info on classes and cabin rentals are available at www.opalcreek.org )There were a couple guys working on the road and this building, something "new" to replace an older building?
After crossing the Battle Axe Creek bridge,
we found a safe place to stash the bikes, and stopped for a drink of fresh water at the water- powered generator building. On our walk towards the trail, these ancient remnants lined the far edge of the town...
The Opal Creek trail itself (fomerly known as Bear Trail thought cfm?) was a little muddy, VERY root infiltrated, and a few downed logs to crawl over, but this was not a difficult trail. We searched for flowers, but saw next to none. There was still large snow patches here and there, it may be too early for the Trilliums here? But, we saw huckleberry bushes starting to bud, cfm said she has fond memories of gathering many yummy berries here :) There were a couple of small bridges we crossed, and one stream about 2 yards wide. We often ventured closer to the creeks edges for better photos. These are not in any particular order...
Finding a nice little open area , we decided to have a quick lunch. We then had only a short ways before we came upon Cedar Flats. It's just a level area, a few camp spots, with yes, big ol' Cedars (possibly 1000 years old I read?), Yews, much downed stuff, and lots of snow at the moment. It was here, cfm told me, where this is where a miner had an epiphany about protecting this wilderness....good for him! For all of us, now to relish...
Along our way today cfm found two geocaches, and showed me what was inside them and what they were about. Nothing like finding a hidden treasure that us big kids can still enjoy:) And speaking of treasures, this primeval wilderness is defintly one. There were other trails in the area that beckoned us - Whetstone Mtn., the Opal Creek "loop", Battle Axe trail, Beachie Creek exploration...but for another time.....
Shortly on the road heading back, we (I) had some bike issues (the back wheel/ brake/gear mechanism/chain all jammed). Having minimal tools ( a rock, elbow grease and dexterious fingers) cfm got it so the wheel would turn at least, I had to walk it most of the way back, but could coast on the down hills - big fun still!
We got back to her car between 3:30 and 4:00 I believe. Oh what a great day in the woods, I would love to come back again, thank you cfm for sharing this beautiful and historical area that was all new to me! We did about 10-11 miles ,combo of biking and hiking, and under 500' elev. gain. By the way, there's a sign as you start this trek that tells a little history about Opal Creek - Opal Creek was not named so because of its opalescence colors, but some early influential dude's wife's name was Opal - so there ya go ;)
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