Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

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greenjello85
Posts: 554
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:31 pm

Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

Post by greenjello85 » July 9th, 2016, 7:53 pm

I got out for a hike/trail maintenance day in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. I was under a time constraint as usual so I didn’t get as far as I wanted but I made it to a bit past Coffman Camp. I started out on the Douglas Ridge TH and headed up towards Wildcat Mountain. After making my way through the old quarry, which is starting to fill in with flowers, I arrived at the first excellent viewpoint of the Eagle Creek drainage. I actually enjoy this area in the fog. It creates really beautiful views of the steep valleys.

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Eagle Creek Drainage

The lower section of the trail had a bit of blowdown. I cleared some and left several easy step overs as filters to prevent motorcycles from heading up. There are two sections that could still use some help. A large snag fell and broke into large pieces in one area. It took a smaller tree down with it. Also, there were two trees fallen on top of each other making a 4 foot high tree wall that had a 30 foot detour to go around them. I was able to cut the top one but it was at the top range of my saw. After getting through that behemoth I was tired, and my saw is really made for pruning and it doesn’t cut well close to the ground. I left the lower tree for someone with a crosscut. The section I cut was too heavy for me to move on my own so it’s still there but the trail is somewhat passable now. Overall the trail for this entire hike is really in great condition. The tread is narrow past the wildcat turnoff but this is to be expected for as little traffic as this area receives.

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18” is about it for my saw. I generally wouldn’t even bother with something this large but it was a huge impediment to travel. Once that section gets rolled out of the way it should be an easy step over.

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The sun was fighting a battle with the fog all day!

Eventually, we reached the intersection with the Mcintyre Ridge Trail. I had planned to checkout the viewpoint but skipped it due to the foggy weather, and the extra time I spent clearing the trail. Huey and I pressed on!

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Allotropa vigrata (I’m guessing :D )

About this time, I saw the strangest thing I’ve seen in all my time in the forest. There was a large blue ceramic replica of male genitalia. I was dumbfounded! I had a to do a double take to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. There was no way I was touching that thing so I left it and moved on. I’m not going to post a picture but it’s on my flickr page.

We passed by the Wildcat mountain turnoff and headed for the plaza trail. Shortly, we arrived at a magnificent viewpoint on a rocky ridge spine. I imagine one can see several big peaks on a clear day. This isn’t a wildflower hike but there are many varieties to be found in the open areas of this ridge. Most of the rhodies and beargrass are long gone.

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North

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South

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Paintbrush

We entered the forest again where the battle for the sky continued.

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My favorite shot of the day

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Lilium washingtonianum (Google guessing again), Also, several orange lilies can be found (Columbia lilies?)

We reached the intersection with the Plaza trail marked by one of the oldest looking signs I’ve seen. We turned right heading southish.

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Trail sign

Almost immediately, I began seeing this large scrape marks on the trail. They were about 8” across and a foot long. There were also several very big scat piles so I suspect it’s a bear.

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The trail goes through some really beautiful forest through here. It is INCREDIBLY quiet. No planes, no car noise. I was serenaded by the drip drop from the trees above and the occasional bird. Very serene. We reached the Coffman camp. We headed down to the spring that is clearly marked and has a good trail to it. On the way down Huey bolted off the trail until he came to a sudden stop at the end of his leash. He spotted a buck I hadn’t even noticed that quickly leaped away. It didn’t trot, it bounded. I could hear the thump as his hooves were driven into the forest floor. It was pretty cool. Very powerful animals!

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Coffman Camp

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The spring

We climbed to the next high point on the trail and then went ahead and called it a day. On the way back, I followed the plaza trail past the Douglas Ridge intersection to another awesome viewpoint! We scrambled uphill to a small open flat summit that had some really great flowers. The ground up there was like walking on a mattress. Very thick moss that doesn’t see much traffic. I saw another deer shortly after rejoining the Douglas Ridge Trail.

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I noticed this old insulator on the way back down just east of Wildcat Mountain Trail

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It was a great day of hiking! We covered 9.39 miles and the EG is moderate. I wound up clearing around a dozen down trees, cutting two brushy sections, and clearing countless limbs off the trail but the whole trail is pretty easy going now. I saw one couple on my way back near the TH but that was it. It’s amazing that a trail that is less than hour from Portland has such total solitude!
~Dan

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retired jerry
Posts: 14396
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

Post by retired jerry » July 10th, 2016, 5:34 am

You cut an 18 inch log with your saw? Good job!!! Thanks.

I sometimes bring a folding saw and can cut, maybe, 6 or 8 inches.

Yeah, interesting how deer "bound" rather than running :)

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RobFromRedland
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Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

Post by RobFromRedland » July 11th, 2016, 6:24 am

Thanks for your efforts to keep lightly used trails open. They are much appreciated! Cutting an 18" log with a handsaw is hard work!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: WOW! What a ride! - Hunter S. Thompson

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miah66
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Joined: July 6th, 2009, 8:00 pm

Re: Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

Post by miah66 » July 11th, 2016, 7:42 am

Something awesome about the Salmon Huck. I hiked the Central Salmon River Trail this weekend, for the first time(!) from the road up to the jct w/ the Kinzel Lake Trail. I just love it out there. Thanks for your hard work, Huey too! :D He knows those woods better than anyone! lol
"The top...is not the top" - Mile...Mile & a Half

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greenjello85
Posts: 554
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:31 pm

Re: Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

Post by greenjello85 » July 12th, 2016, 9:29 am

retired jerry wrote:You cut an 18 inch log with your saw? Good job!!! Thanks.

I sometimes bring a folding saw and can cut, maybe, 6 or 8
I can only cut stuff that big when they are in good position. The first cut took maybe 10 minutes. I'll usually only cut up to about 12". The saw will get through 6-8" elevated logs in just a couple minutes though. It's pretty quick :)
RobFromRedland wrote:Thanks for your efforts to keep lightly used trails open. They are much appreciated! Cutting an 18" log with a handsaw is hard work!
Cutting logs is kind of like going to gym only I feel like I've actually accomplished something when I'm done :lol: I know Douglas ridge saw some fs maintenance last year so it will probably be another 5 or 10 until it sees any more! The Plaza trail is really pretty cool as it follows the ridge lines. I'm surprised it's not more popular.
miah66 wrote:Something awesome about the Salmon Huck. I hiked the Central Salmon River Trail this weekend, for the first time(!) from the road up to the jct w/ the Kinzel Lake Trail. I just love it out there. Thanks for your hard work, Huey too! :D He knows those woods better than anyone! lol
Yeah I started out hiking there because it's close but it really is a cool area. Big old growth in the valleys, rugged ridge lines up above, and most trails are very lightly used. Huey should know those woods well after his 12 adventure hiking from mcintyre ridge to the salmon river TH! I'm guessing he maybe went to salmon mountain and down but who knows :lol: Notice he is now leashed :)

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gratefultrails
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Joined: October 21st, 2015, 8:08 am
Location: Eugene

Re: Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

Post by gratefultrails » July 13th, 2016, 6:01 am

Excellent photos and report!! One of the best captures of the charm of the Salmon Huck. I've come across.

Also, we saw that giant blue dildo while hiking Wildcat two weekends ago... it's been there awhile now! Too weird. It has a gnome face carved into it.

Thanks for your trail service!

acoulombe
Posts: 37
Joined: July 21st, 2017, 8:56 am

Re: Douglas Ridge TH to Coffman Camp

Post by acoulombe » August 7th, 2022, 12:02 pm

Has anyone been up to Coffman Camp recently? Is the spring reliable? Planning a loop through the area and don't want to be surprised if we can't access water on the ridge.

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