Pearsoll Peak Hike
From Oregon Hikers Field Guide
- Start point: Upper Chetco Trailhead
- End point: Pearsoll Peak
- Hike type: Out and back
- Distance: 5.4 miles
- Elevation gain: 1,400 feet
- High point: 5,098 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Seasons: Early summer to early fall
- Family Friendly: No
- Backpackable: No
- Crowded: No
Contents |
Hike Description
NOTE: This hike starts at Chetco Pass. If your vehicle cannot make it up the rough road or if the road is gated, you will need to park at McCaleb Ranch and hike 4.5 miles up the road to the trailhead, making for a round-trip hike of almost 14 miles and 4,000 feet of elevation gain. If you arrive before June 1st or after September 30th, the road will be gated closed anyway. See the trailhead page for more information.
Pearsoll Peak is a prominent mountain on the eastern edge of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, actually the highest point in the wilderness. An historic 1954 fire lookout sits atop the peak, and the views are incredible on a clear day. This area has burned several times and there is virtually no shade on the hike, so avoid this one on hot summer days.
A network of rough mining roads branch out from the trailhead at Chetco Pass, all of them now blocked to vehicle access by a wooden fence that surrounds the area. Find the road heading north from the pass, which is your route. As of 2021, the best way through the fence is to walk around the end of it.
Follow the road as it heads uphill going north. Wildflowers bloom here in June. The road curves to the right, then makes a switchback uphill to the left. At 1.1 miles, the road curves and reaches a junction. Pearsoll Peak with its lookout cabin comes into view for the first time. Ignore the road that heads straight, and follow the road that heads uphill to the left.
As you climb you'll pass a few live trees scattered amongst the burned snags. At 1.8 miles, the road begins an uphill traverse along the southeast ridge of Pearsoll Peak. The track ends at an old chromium mining prospect and just beyond is the wilderness boundary. Now on a trail, continue heading uphill until you reach an easy-to-miss switchback at a saddle where the trail heads uphill to the right. Follow the trail as it climbs the final 0.3 miles to the summit.
The 1954 lookout cabin sits just outside the wilderness boundary. It has been restored by the non-profit Sand Mountain Society, and it remarkably survived the 2002 Biscuit Fire that swept through here. As of 2021, the Wild Rivers Ranger Station reports that the cabin is not available for overnight stays. If it happens to be unlocked, you can go inside and have a look around. There is an outhouse below the cabin.
On a clear day you will have 360-degree views. You can see the Kalmiopsis Wilderness spreading to the west of the ridge and the canyon of the Illinois River below you to the east.
Return the way you came.
Maps
- Maps: Hike Finder
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Kalmiopsis and Wild Rogue Wilderness
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Powers and Gold Beach Ranger Districts
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: Siskiyou National Forest
Fees, Regulations, etc.
- Access road from the Illinois River closed from October 1st to June 1st.
Trip Reports
- Search Trip Reports for Pearsoll Peak Hike
Related Discussions / Q&A
- Search Trail Q&A for Pearsoll Peak Hike
Guidebooks that cover this hike
- Hiking Oregon's Southern Cascades and Siskiyous by Art Bernstein
- 76 Day-Hikes Within 100 Miles of the Rogue Valley by Art Bernstein
More Links
- Kalmiopsis Rim Trail #1124 (USFS)
- Pearsoll Peak Lookout Trail #1125 (USFS)
- Pearsoll Peak (Just Peachy)
- "The view is sweeter when you earn it" (Mail Tribune)
- "My Adventure: We spent our anniversary on a mountaintop" (Mail Tribune)
- Pearsoll Peak (Summit Post)
- Pearsoll Peak, Oregon (Peakbagger)
- Pearsoll Peak Lookout (Fire Lookouts)
- Pearsoll Peak (Forest Lookouts)
- Pearsoll Peak (Every Lookout in Oregon)
Contributors
- justpeachy (creator)