TKO Project - The "Other" Eagle Creek (Oct. 11, 2008)

[Jane]

Our destination this day was the "other Eagle Creek trail ", the #501 in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness of the Mt. Hood NF.

These are someone elses directions I am sharing, and as always, consult your Mt. Hood Forest map. Take Highway 26 out of Sandy east for a couple miles and turn right onto Firwood Drive (Shorty's Corner). Follow Firwood 2.2 miles to a four-way intersection where you cross Wildcat Mountain Road and you will be on Kleinsmith. Kleinsmith is very curvy, and in turns into Kitzmiller at some point. You will have traveled on this Kleinsmith/Kitzmiller road about 4.3 miles, and then turn left on Fern Eagle Road (if you need a bathroom break, Eagle Fern Park is just ahead with restrooms).Drive 6.6 miles on Eagle Fern Road to Harvey Road (a little yellow and black handmade sign mark this road). Drive .4 mile to a hard left. Follow this dirt and rock road 1.9 miles through a clearcut that is now growing new trees; you'll pass a blue forest gate on your right, then continue on this forest road where you will take a left (no other way to go) and then a right. After this right turn follow this (rocky and potholed) road straight. It will be flat then go downhill to the hiker trail head. Brush is crowding in here a little but there is room for about six vehicles. The trail starts off as an old muddy and rutted road, then later turns into a single lane trail.

Trailkeepers of Oregon joined with several Oregon Equestrian Trail members (yep including three horses) for our work venture today. After carpooling to the trail, we rounded up for the safety and hazard info from our leader, Barb Adams of the OET.

trailhead tool and safety talk

We then broke into two groups, 6 of us to do brushing, hiking in about three miles, and 4 (including a forest employee) continued further on to work on the trail for tread work and water bars. I'm not sure where the horse riders (a third group) were heading for their tasks (they had to park their trailers and saddle up at a different spot) , but they passed us gracefully on the shared trail, one even patiently letting me pat him on the nose (the horse that is ; )

It was interesting to learn a different perspective in doing trail maintenance on a trail shared with horses - we lopped higher and wider - horses tend to want to tread on the downhill side of the trail if there's too much vegetation encroaching from the uphill side - so we lopped and clipped and cleared several feet where needed.

busy trail workers

(I had a -but I'm sure not original - idea: loppers should have bright orange-painted blades/ends so you can see where they are when you reach into a mass of thick stems or brush : )

Barbra will be sharing some before and after shots. Also, for watering holes such as this little stream:

one of several small stream crossings

we were advised to clear branches for easier access for horses.

It was a gorgeous day, crisp and no rain, and we enjoyed hiking this beautiful trail, hearing the tumbling Eagle Creek along the way.
There were many old growth firs and cedars, including this big guy (note my red-capped liter Nalgene bottle against the tree lower center for scale):

grampa tree

We were safe, had fun, and even got some work done:)

brushing crew

As is often the case on work party outings , there is little opportunity much less free hands to take photos. If more reports or photos become availble from my comrades, we will share them here also.

a couple more pics from the hardworking treading crew!

Stay tuned for future Trailkeepers of Oregon events, they are truly rewarding and big fun!

[jeffstatt]

Thank you Jane and everyone else for your day of hard work! Sounds like you lucked out on the weather. you can never tell with mid-October!

[Splintercat]

Thanks Jane & volunteers! The first half of the battle on that trail is simply finding the trailhead..! I'm still working on that front, but have learned that the actual trailhead is on private timber land (I think), so actually getting it marked may be difficult.

But it's a gorgeous trail, and thanks for taking care of it this weekend - it deserves to be visited more often, despite the confusing access! Glad the weather treated you well, too. I would have liked to been along on this one - sorry to have missed it!

Tom

[Jane]

Thanks Tom and Jeff, yes you guys missed a fun day : ) Once one does get to this trail, which we walked on for quite a ways before it was actually in "Wilderness" designation (no sign , just the knowledge of our leaders), it is as beautiful as any Gorge or Mountain trails, just without the vistas. Because it is a canyon trail, it's very gentle and gradual with its inclines and declines, at least the first few miles we were on. Lots of water sources, and we passed a couple nice camp spots. As I mentioned above, the wonderful old growth we enjoyed, as well as lush ferns , Oregon Grape, many kinds of mushrooms, and plentiful berry vegetation (I'm sure we barely made a dent in their population ) Yes the sign situation - Barb said it's almost impossible to keep signs up - they get vandalized or removed, it's very unfortunate.

[pablo]

Thank you Jane and TKO folks for your efforts.

Having done the Eagle Creek trail in the past month I can attest to the tremendous effort you guys must have put in to clear brush. As you've noted this is a very productive and verdant stretch of forest and the brush over the trail in open areas exposed to sunshine was high and thick. I did a bushwhack up to the Plaza Trail that day and there was far less brush on the bushwhack than there was on the trail.

--Paul

[cfm]

Thank you TKO members! I was actually up there yesterday. I missed one of the gravel road turns, and ended up collecting a TON of chanterelles on Longview Fiber forest property about 1/2 mile north of the tailhead.

After I filled my bag, I went back to the wrong turn and found the TH and took a wonderful run through the forest on the Eagle Creek trail. It was bliss, and I wondered why such a secretive trail was in such great shape.

I hope to join you all again some day!


Easy running on the Eagle Creek trail:

[Jane]

Thanks Jane & volunteers! The first half of the battle on that trail is simply finding the trailhead..! I'm still working on that front, but have learned that the actual trailhead is on private timber land (I think), so actually getting it marked may be difficult.

Tom

Here is Barb Adams' additional info on the trail and our work this day:
The road going into Eagle Creek Trail #501 is timber company land, then BLM land, and before the junction of Douglas Trail with Eagle #501 you are in the Mt. Hood National Forest. On October 11 we had four volunteers from Trailkeepers of Oregon; seven from OET; and John Peterson from Zigzag Ranger District as one of our crew leaders. I enjoyed the joint effort very much, and the opportunity to work with people who care about keeping our trails maintained. With the three crews we accomplished a lot. The last two miles of trail still need work on a stream crossing, a large overgrown water bar, some side-slope tread, and, of course, brushing Salmon Berry. The Forest Service is decomissioning the old road going down from the hiker trailhead so that will be helpful. This winter OET will be working with Zigzag Ranger District on getting some new signs made. You can also reach Eagle #501 by hiking down from Douglas Trailhead. Douglas Trailhead is accessed from Wildcat Mountain road. It has plenty of parking and is easy to get to as long as you have directions as there are no signs right now. Barb - Oregon Equestrian Trails
.................

and thanks Paul, it'a a cool area I would like to explore more myself.
Sorry we didn't cross paths Jen, yes it's a wonderful trail huh

[Splintercat]

Jane, I saw the wilderness sign on our June trip to Chak Chak Falls -- it was resting on the ground, at the base of a tree:



I made a note to myself to bring along a couple of fresh bolts and my socket wrench on the next trip...

This is also the canyon where Chak Chak Falls is located, high on the south wall, on the outlet from Baldy Lake -- here's Greg Lief's beautiful shot from our trip to the falls in June:



For scale, that me, Jamie and my friend Ted at the base of the falls - it's a nice big drop! I haven't posted web pages for the trip, but will soon, and will post a link here on PH.

Glad to see this trail into the wilderness getting some use - and much needed maintenance. It's a gem. It's also in the very first Lowe guide -- "100 Oregon Hiking Trails" -- the classic guide, and a collector's item.

In those days (1969) the trailhead was at the bottom of the old road grade, and when I first hiked this trail as a kid, we did, indeed drive all the way down that terrible road! The Lowes describe the trail as reaching a meadow they called "Cattle Camp" or "The Farm", then "terminating at the end of new construction." Hard to know what they meant by that, since the trail appears on very old maps -- it could mean that in 1969, the trail was being rebuilt, or old routes re-opened?

Thanks, again, volunteers!

-Tom