Road to Siouxon TH

Trip recommendations, current conditions, and other trail related Q&A
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Walkin' Fool
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Road to Siouxon TH

Post by Walkin' Fool » October 11th, 2018, 12:57 pm

The forest service site says 4WD is recommended to get to the Siouxon TH (road 5701). Having never been, I'm hoping someone can tell me if the road's really that bad.

TIA!!

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weathercrazy
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Re: Road to Siouxon TH

Post by weathercrazy » October 12th, 2018, 7:30 am

I've never had issues, but there are spots you need to go slow!

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BigBear
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Re: Road to Siouxon TH

Post by BigBear » October 12th, 2018, 8:21 am

It's been a number of years since I've hiked this trail because the last time I did (circa 10 years ago) my Civic did scrape on one or two of the slide areas and that took the hike off my list (especially considering the long drive). I haven't tried it now that I have a CR-V but I don't believe it could have improved over the years.

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teachpdx
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Re: Road to Siouxon TH

Post by teachpdx » October 12th, 2018, 12:19 pm

I went up a couple years ago (before the Forest Service 4x4 warning) and there were only a couple of slumps where I had to slow down and gingerly navigate my car through. One of them was like driving over a low curb... I just had to go at an angle. I can only imagine that they have gotten worse over the past couple years, but unfortunately I don't have any firsthand knowledge. I've actually been wondering the same thing, as it's a great fall hike.
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Walkin' Fool
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Re: Road to Siouxon TH

Post by Walkin' Fool » October 12th, 2018, 4:06 pm

Thanks everybody! I think I'm going to attempt it this weekend. If so, I'll report back on conditions.

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Don Nelsen
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Re: Road to Siouxon TH

Post by Don Nelsen » October 12th, 2018, 7:44 pm

I go there via a different access than you are mentioning and I've been there three times this past month. I go via FR 64 and 6403 and most of the road is fine but has lots of potholes on the final 6403 section and about 18 or 20 water bars that are high enough that most cars will have a problem unless they are fairly short wheelbase or very good clearance. Most SUVs should be fine and you don't need 4wd any place on that road. In a few spots the brush may scratch up your car a bit.

It was beautiful up there and it should remain so for the next week if the current forecast holds. My most recent trip I went several miles beyond Siouxon, past Huffman Peak and scaled P 4020 another mile beyond Huffman. Of course, I did Siouxon on the way back.

Here are a few pics:

http://www.fototime.com/users/donnelsen ... .%20092818

dn
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Walkin' Fool
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Re: Road to Siouxon TH

Post by Walkin' Fool » October 14th, 2018, 8:36 am

Great pics, Don!

I hiked the Siouxon Peak lollipop yesterday from FR 57/5701 and frankly, think the roads hardly deserve a mention. They're almost all paved but there are several spots where, as teachpdx says, it's slumped and is like going over a curb. Zero need for 4WD, but a super low car might scrape if you're not careful, I suppose. No issues at all in an Outback.

As a side note, that's a cool hike! I can't believe I've never been, and will definitely go back to explore other areas (Huffman Peak, Horseshoe Ridge, etc.). It felt quite a bit easier than the mileage and elevation gain would suggest, but we did go the opposite way as is described in the field guide, to have a steeper ascent and more gradual descent.

I was surprised to see 6 or 7 cars in the parking lot when we arrived at 7:30AM, and even more surprised to see several dozen when we returned, with the parking lot full and cars lined up down the road!

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