Shortly after I returned to Oregon this summer, some of the young guys in my church—and their dads—began talking about having another camp-out and hike such as we had done two years before, at Olallie Butte.
That time, we camped a few miles north of the butte on a Friday night and drove down to the butte and hiked it in the morning. The weather was good, and we got some inspiring views from the top. Incidentally, none of us had known how long the trail was, but one of the organizers estimated about 1.5 miles one way based on his reading of a map. Well, that map left out a lot of detail, such as the numerous switchbacks. The entry at
SummitPost says it’s actually about 3.8 miles one way. Maybe it was good that we didn’t know how long it would be, because we all made it, and I think most of us thought it was worthwhile.
This time, MB suggested that we hike in to Jefferson Park. He and his sons had done it with a group from the church that one of his brothers attends, and they really enjoyed it. I had been wanting to make that hike for several years, and enthusiastically supported this suggestion. That was back in July. By some time in August, a number of the young fellows and their dads (the latter including DS and RK) were planning to participate, and Jefferson Park had been definitely fixed as our destination. We were to meet at DS’s place on the afternoon of Friday, September 1.
Note: for many more pictures from this trip, click here:
More Pictures.
The weather that afternoon turned out to be pretty good. I think the sky was fairly clear and the temperature was decent, if a bit warm at first. Our goal for that evening was to camp somewhere near the chosen trailhead.
We traveled as follows: south to Silverton, south on Cascade Highway to Hwy. 22, east on Hwy. 22 to just before Detroit, north on Road 46, south on Road 4685. As we traveled down Road 4685, MB’s son Brandon expressed some doubt about whether this could be the right road, since it was in much better condition than the road they had traveled the other time. When we got to the the trailhead parking area, it didn’t seem quite right to them either, but we were following the directions that someone had given them. MB’s brother hadn’t yet replied to his request for directions, so we weren’t exactly certain if this was the same way. I think that we later determined that they had come this way before, but had taken the more southern trail (3364) down to 3429 and then entered the Park via the Pacific Crest Trail (#2000). But we didn’t realize this until the next afternoon.
We wanted a more secluded campsite than the large trailhead parking area, so we drove further up the road (another reason for doing this, at first, was that there was still some doubt as to the location of the correct trailhead). I was riding with MB in his pickup, and we headed back to the trailhead after advising the others via radio to check out a steep spur road on the south side of 4685. We read the new map at the trailhead and realized that part of our confusion was due to a discrepancy between our maps and reality. The original two trailheads shown on our maps had been blocked and replaced by a new trailhead with ample parking. In the new arrangement, trails 3364 and 3375 are reached from the same trailhead; the trail forks shortly after the beginning. This discovery reassured us somewhat, although MB was still uncertain which trail he had hiked before. He thought it was probably 3375, so this is where we ultimately went.
We returned to the spur road and found the others setting up camp in a clearing a short distance from the end of the road. Food was set out on the tailgate of a pickup. Meanwhile, the sun had nearly set. There were at least four digital cameras along on this expedition (compared to zero such devices two years before), and several of their owners, including myself, attempted to capture images of the sunset.
We talked of building a campfire, but (I think) this was not permitted by the Forest Service that weekend.
In the morning, DS and MB prepared a large breakfast (pancakes and sausage). Some time after eight, we packed up everything and drove to the trailhead. MB filled out the wilderness use permit and attached it to his backpack, and then we set out. As expected, the trail forked soon after the beginning, and we took the left fork, labeled “3375.”
The first part of the trail climbed moderately through a forest of large trees, passing several flowing streams, and then ascended more rapidly through progressively sparser vegetation. At the higher altitudes the trail was worn into powdery soil on which grew a low, dense ground cover. DS had brought a GPS unit, and it showed nearly three thousand feet of elevation gain at the peak of the trail. My topographical map shows about 3080 feet at the trailhead and 5960 feet at the crest of the trail, giving 2880 feet of gain over several miles. From the top, the trail descends several hundred feet to a series of meadows just outside what is called Jefferson Park. We stopped for lunch where the trail first met the South Fork of the Breitenbush River.
After lunch, most of us continued on into the Park, stopping at Park Lake for a little while. We conferred and decided that it was about time to leave, so we should just cross the next ridge and then head back. RB and I set off at a rapid pace, soon reaching Scout Lake (actually on the other side of the second ridge). The others showed up a few minutes later. The GPS showed about 5.5 miles at this point, implying a round-trip distance of 11 miles. A couple of us checked out Rock Lake, in a deep hollow to the northwest. Then we all headed out.
We made much better time on the return trip. Some of us went on ahead with MB’s water purification kit to a stream in the forest on the downhill side, and BB and JB used this kit to replenish everyone’s water bottle—a very welcome development. I, for one, hadn’t brought enough water on this trip. After stopping there for maybe thirty minutes, we continued to the trailhead in at least three groups. The rest of the hike was uneventful.
Incidentally, there was a large wildfire west of Mt. Jefferson, and as we descended the last of the trail, we noticed that the sunlight was becoming prematurely red, and the sky was very hazy. We attributed this to smoke blowing north.
Although most of us were very tired, when we reached the parking area there was talk of relocating a mine shaft that DS and his sons had explored a few years before. The general opinion was in favor of such a venture, so we set off in the appropriate direction. The mine was supposedly above Elkhorn Valley, off of Road 2209, near the Henline Mountain Trail that Claire and I had hiked back on July 1. Well, we drove to the general area, and then parked near a steep ravine and scaled it looking for the mineshaft. We poked around for over an hour (maybe two hours?) but didn’t find what we were looking for. Some of the guys dug in rubble that had collapsed from the side of an old caterpillar road, but this was also fruitless.
We returned to the pickups and reexamined the maps, and decided to check out a few more ravines up the road. Several of us quickly checked the next ravine, determining that it didn’t look right, and then we headed up to the next one. Within a couple minutes, DS and his son J. had found the shaft. The rest of us soon followed them, discovering as they had that the shaft had collapsed more than it had been when they had explored it before. After digging for a little while, they saw that it would be a major undertaking, and dangerous, and so we gave up on it.
We stopped in Silverton for ice cream, and then went back to DS’s place. It was a very satisfactory adventure.
