I have been three times in the past six weeks to the ridge that separates the Molalla and Little North Santiam drainages. The primary objective on all three occasions was to visit Nasty Rock, where I had never been. In the end, I hiked the three of the last four trails described in A Hiker’s Guide to Oregon’s Hidden Wilderness, published in the mid-1970s by the Central Cascades Conservation Council (p. 36 and p. 38).
1. Not Nasty Rock
My first attempt was to head up the Nasty Rock Trail (Willamette National Forest’s Trail #3356) in the Opal Creek Wilderness. This trail does not go to Nasty Rock, which I well knew. I have done it before to its maintained end at a forest covered prominence (Peak 4478). It then continues northeast along the ridge on a well-defined path to the jagged rock outcropping called Not-Nasty Rock by the Cascade Rambler (Peak 4678). The objective was then to hike farther along the ridge on an abandoned trail to reach Nasty Rock.
The Nasty Rock Trail (USFS) is relentlessly steep, rising almost 2,500 feet in 1 ½ miles. Once at the forested knoll of Peak 4478, it segues seamlessly into the climber’s trail that drops steeply and then rises from a saddle to the ridge that leads to Not Nasty Rock. The latter is a shattered, mostly sheer-sided rock outcrop that rises above a talus slope. I scrambled around the north face of the rock and found a climber’s bivvy nestled at the base. The mossy chute here looked like the only non-Class V route and I gave it a try. When I began stretching too far for purchase and the rotten Old Cascades basalt was breaking off in my hands, I decided to come down. I tried to access the saddle below down the steep slope, but turned back. Coming around to the south side of the rock, I found a trail bench across the talus. Once I entered the woods again, I continued straight but lost the trail. I encountered a rock outcropping and dropped down the steep slope, clambering over blowdown and not finding another trail trace. I turned back at this point. (I now think you have to go back up to the ridge directly after leaving the talus slope to make a traverse above the rock outcropping.)
A second Nasty Rock Trail, one which actually takes you to Nasty Rock, is in BLM-land north of the Opal Creek Wilderness. I spent the better part of a day trying to find out exactly where it was. Maps indicated I could head around the south side of the Table Rock Wilderness using the Copper Creek Road, but I ended up at a bunch of gated roads on private timberland.
I went back and took the Middle Fork Road, which runs along the Table Rock Fork of the Molalla River. This road also crosses private lands that are savagely clearcut, but the Middle Fork Road is open all the way. Then you get into a maze of BLM roads, all unsigned. At some point, you get a good view of the east face of Table Rock, and you can stop and make the short walk in to Joyce Lake.
3. Nasty Rock
When I got home, I checked a checked a couple more maps that show the BLM trail. It seemed like I had hit the exact spot, so I resolved to try again.
The BLM’s Nasty Rock Trail is mentioned in a 2013 proposal to include the headwaters of the Molalla River in the Opal Creek Wilderness. There are even a few photos of the trail, and the BLM asserts it is committed to maintaining it as a “historic trail” but will not publicize it (i.e. no signage).
Last Sunday, I returned to the Three Gents’ campsite. It’s a two-hour drive from my house, and a lot of gravel, but the surface is not bad (just a few shallow potholes) as everything is maintained for the logging trucks. Looking around the trailhead area, I spotted a narrow bench (maybe a trail?) about 40 yards back from my car. Then I went to the Three Gents’ campsite: there was a flagged trail leading right out of it!
Cursing the Three Gents, I headed up this trail, which switchbacks up through a clearcut, pushing through dense huckleberries. The tread is rough but would not have survived without the evident pruning. When, the trail leaves the clearcut, it drops to a bench with several dry creek courses and eventually rises to a ridge. This all seemed in the wrong direction from Nasty Rock to me, but I kept going as this was a definite abandoned trail, now very obscure but clearly blazed. There was debris and blowdown everywhere, much of it big old growth noble fir, and this got worse where the tread dropped over to the south side of the ridge. I got pretty banged up negotiating this obstacle course and, realizing I wasn’t going to get to Nasty Rock this way, I cut back up to the ridge and found another tread that took me up to a view over talus fields and then to a forested summit. I continued a little farther to a rocky second summit that offered views from Mt. Hood to the Three Sisters. I was now east of Burnt Mountain and heading towards Whetstone Mountain on what turned out to be Peak 4818!
Excursion B:
Forty yards behind my car, I peered at the narrow trail bench I had seen before. An arrangement of rocks going up the road cutting seemed more and more like a rough set of steps. These led up to a trail. For the first time, I noticed a couple of white diamonds on a tree. Suddenly, everything was smooth going: switchbacks up to the north ridge of Burnt Mountain and then a traverse along its west side. I made a short off-trail foray to the ridge crest and an old logging road (The east side was an old clearcut) to get a view of Mt. Hood. The trail continued, and before bending around the large bowl that holds the headwaters of the Molalla, I got my first glimpse of Nasty Rock to the west. There were only a couple of downed trees before the trail hit the ridge and some open dry meadows carpeted with pinemat manzanita and common juniper. Views extended south to the Sisters. I hiked above cliffs and outcroppings and fetched up at the base of Nasty Rock, an easy scramble to get far-reaching views: all of the ridges and peaks of Bull of the Woods and Opal Creek and the Cascades from Hood to the Three Sisters – it was hazy, so on a clear day the view would include perhaps more volcanoes. Not Nasty Rock was also visible and far to the west, Marys Peak in the Coast Range. Table Rock and Rooster Rock in the Table Rock Wilderness lay to the north and below were the headwaters of the Molalla River.
Verdicts:
* The Nasty Rock Trail (USFS) does not go to Nasty Rock, but the Nasty Rock Trail (BLM) does.
* The Nasty Rock Trail (BLM) is shorter and not as nasty as the Nasty Rock Trail (USFS), and it offers more views.
* Nasty Rock is not as nasty as Not Nasty Rock.
* Locating the Nasty Rock Trailhead (BLM) can be a nasty business.
* The trail leading out of the campsite at the Nasty Rock Trailhead (BLM) is not the Nasty Rock Trail; it is part of the old Boundary Trail to Whetstone Mountain.
* The Boundary Trail going east from the Nasty Rock (BLM) Trailhead is extremely nasty and should only be attempted by gluttons for punishment.
* The Nasty Rock Trailhead (USFS) is also unsigned, but there is a new parking area on the right about ¼ mile before the Opal Creek Trailhead.
* Not Nasty Rock can be accessed via either the Nasty Rock Trail (USFS) or the Nasty Rock Trail (BLM).
* A couple of adventurous loops could be made using all of these trails:
Nasty Rock Trail (USFS) to Not Nasty Rock; then along the ridge to Nasty Rock and down to the BLM trailhead. Boundary Trail to Peak 4818 and then (very nasty, tortuous, abandoned section of unknown caliber) all the way to Whetstone Mountain. Whetstone Trail down to FR 2209 and back to the Nasty Rock (USFS) Trailhead by road.
A shorter version of the above, and perhaps more merciful, would mean a very steep bushwhack down from Peak 4818 to the North Fork of the East Fork Gold River. Here pick up the abandoned cat track to the Blende Oro mines (I posted about this in 2012), cross East Fork Gold Creek to the Whetstone Trail, down to the road and back.
