Oregon Hikers

I have been trying to retrace the route of the Cougar Rock Trail. Does anybody have a GPS track?

I would have thought Cougar Rock is in forbidden territory. You sure about this?

Attached is a track from a 2017 hike I did up Elevator Shaft then east on the rim. I followed the Cougar Rock trail for a couple hundred feet and it is quite visible in the track. I backtracked then went on to Nesika and Franklin Ridge, etc.

--Paul

aircooled wrote: ↑

April 28th, 2019, 11:25 am

I have been trying to retrace the route of the Cougar Rock Trail. Almost no trail remains since the fire. Does anybody have a GPS track?

As of 4/22/2019, when I last talked to a ranger, that entire entire is closed. I was told it would remain closed "for some time" due to unstable rock.

Cougar Rock may be unstable but the Cougar Rock trail itself followed a broad ridge then cut across the basin. I don't recall any spots where unstable rock could fall on a hiker.

aircooled wrote: ↑

April 29th, 2019, 7:46 am

... I don't recall any spots where unstable rock could fall on a hiker.

The rockfall danger is not up on the ridge itself, but on the approaches below. The trail beyond Benson Bridge is closed due to ongoing rockfall. This means there is no normal access to the Elevator Shaft or Larch Mountain trails.

I doubt that Cougar Rock itself is any more unstable than it's ever been, and you should be able to approach it safely from following the Larch Mountain trail down from the parking lot. However, the area east of the Larch Mountain trail is closed, for whatever reason. Best to respect the closure for now. There are plenty of other areas to explore.

aircooled wrote: ↑

April 28th, 2019, 11:25 am

I have been trying to retrace the route of the Cougar Rock Trail. Does anybody have a GPS track?

Yeah, if you haven't already gotten one, I do. Not really any visible sign of the trail remaining.


Clear sailing...

aircooled wrote: ↑

April 29th, 2019, 7:46 am

Cougar Rock may be unstable but the Cougar Rock trail itself followed a broad ridge then cut across the basin. I don't recall any spots where unstable rock could fall on a hiker.

No danger from rocks around there. Falling trees are another question!


Not a good place to be in a windstorm!

Technically the whole basin is still under the closure.

Lurch wrote: ↑

April 30th, 2019, 10:55 am

Technically the whole basin is still under the closure.

Interestingly, despite some signage saying the road is closed, the "high water trail" totally lacks any indication of that.

kepPNW wrote: ↑

April 30th, 2019, 8:56 am

No danger from rocks around there. Falling trees are another question!

That's an amazing photo Karl!

kepPNW wrote: ↑

April 30th, 2019, 11:03 am

Lurch wrote: ↑

April 30th, 2019, 10:55 am

Technically the whole basin is still under the closure.

Interestingly, despite some signage saying the road is closed, the "high water trail" totally lacks any indication of that.

Likely because as far as I know, the highwater trail isn't an official split, and the powers that be that haven't actually been out there didn't know to sign it.