Oregon Hikers

Hey Guy, doesn't the road to Nesika need Palmer Mill Rd or can Brower be used instead? I guess I should look at a map or something

The lower section of Palmer Mill Rd. hasn't been drivable for about ten years due to a washout about a half mile below the junction with the Multnomah Basin Rd. It was ok for bikes and foot travel though. It is completely wiped out now, but that's another story. The trails club has been using the upper section of Palmer Mill Rd., starting at the LMR snow gate to access Nesika.

Also, re that abandoned road above the quarry pit: That's a cat track that ends above the quarry. There's another road starting near the other quarry on the private timberland. Here's a map:


BTW, while that private area was being logged, starting in 2012 it was posted no trespassing at the only road entrance to the property at MP 8.3 on LMR. They even had a 24/7 guard on duty. I spoke with that guard and found that the land belonged to Frank Timber Resources, headquartered in Mill City, OR. Not surprisingly, they didn't want anyone in there while they were logging and had their supplies and equipment on site. They are done with the logging, at least for the time being and the land has been replanted. The area was long open for hikers and hunters and may be so again but I'm not sure of that. In any event, it is not currently posted.

dn

Guy wrote: ↑

December 29th, 2018, 7:41 am

https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoors-Hik ... e-1280.mp4

If you have a higher quality or longer version of that video I would like to see it, please.

The road to Nesika is "basically" unchanged, although the fire has left some very precarious trees and rocks hanging over the road. The odds of something falling at the exact moment you drive by is probably slim, but one of these days I predict a work crew may head home and find their passage blocked. Also, USFS added numerous new, aggressive water bars. They are now mandating that only higher clearance 4X4 or AWD vehicles use the road.

Are people allowed to walk the road to Nesika? At the intersection with the Larch Mountain trail last weekend, I saw signs that seemed to forbid travel to the east, but the wording referred to trails, not a road. I see on their web site that Trails Club members have been working on the lodge.

So I walked west on that road to the junction with the Devils Rest trail. Wow, that road is completely transformed. It used to be deeply shaded; now it's a mountain meadow covered in white flox and alive in other wildflowers.

And the green gate was hanging open. I'd never seen that before.

klossner wrote: ↑

June 25th, 2019, 3:13 pm

Are people allowed to walk the road to Nesika? At the intersection with the Larch Mountain trail last weekend, I saw signs that seemed to forbid travel to the east, but the wording referred to trails, not a road. I see on their web site that Trails Club members have been working on the lodge.

So I walked west on that road to the junction with the Devils Rest trail. Wow, that road is completely transformed. It used to be deeply shaded; now it's a mountain meadow covered in white flox and alive in other wildflowers.

And the green gate was hanging open. I'd never seen that before.

The road is open from the Larch Mt Road to the Larch Mt Trail. The Green gate has been open for a while even before the fire I think. The road is officially closed from the larch Mt Trail to Nesika but Trails Club members and volunteers are allowed access to work on the Lodge, grounds and general cleanup etc.

How many miles is this loop? Have you done Larch ghost town trail? Or old Palmer mill site? If so do you have any info on those? Thank you.

Pablo's original post has a map at the end of it and states his loop route was 10 miles, 2900' EG. However this is the "off trail TR" forum, and it is not a standard route, just something he designed for himself on this particular day.

The Palmer Mill site has been clear cut(several years ago), it is located across Bridal Veil Creek from Palmer Mill Road. If you do your own map research, you can pinpoint the actual site. You can still wander around the stumps and find artifacts, but the brush is pretty annoying. Never heard of the Larch Ghost Town trail you mentioned, but there are plenty of cool old relics in the woods all around this area. Fun to explore.

I was up there recently. In reference to Pablo's very first picture with the barricade: that section of decommisioned road now is easily navigable. Some log and rock hopping with cairns in the washout section, then well worn tread all the way to the brown gate where it is road again.