Hiking Reports

Travel using primarily feet only. Hands might be used with hiking poles for balance or uphill travel.

Hurwal Divide, Oregon, August 2020

September 9, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Wednesday, August 26, I climbed Hurwal Divide. Hurwal Divide lies in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, part of the Wallowa Mountains, and gets its name as the steep divide between Hurricane Creek to the west and the West Fork Wallowa River to the east. It has 9776 feet of elevation and is the seventh highest peak in Oregon (with at least 500 feet of prominence).

The Hurwal Divide from Aneroid Mountain (2013-08-07)

Tuesday afternoon I drove to the north side of the Wallowa Mountains and car camped near the Hurricane Creek Trailhead. The trailhead was busy and I was fortunate to find such a nice spot to camp nearby beside Hurricane Creek.

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Maxwell Benchmark, Oregon, July 2020

August 13, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

Maxwell Benchmark and Hunt Mountain rise abruptly above the Baker Valley and invite a visit each time I see them. Early on Thursday, July 30, I left the valley to visit them.

Maxwell Benchmark (center) and Hunt Mountain (right) from Running Iron Road in the Baker Valley

From the Baker Valley I turned off Pocahontas Road and drove west up South Rock Creek Road. I continued along Rock Creek as the road entered National Forest, became FR 5520, and changed from pavement to good gravel to coarse and eroded gravel. I passed the Killamacue Trailhead and arrived at Eilertson Meadow.

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Edson Butte, Oregon Coast, July 2020

July 17, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Friday, July 3, Michael Berry and I hiked to the summit of Edson Butte in the Southern Oregon Coast Range. Edson Butte has only 2786 feet of elevation, but has 1866 feet of topographic prominence, making it the 91st most prominent peak in Oregon.

The Pacific Ocean and beaches to the west from Edson Butte summit.

The route was a long hike on forest roads, some well maintained and others apparently not used or maintained in many years. There was some road work in progress higher and we encountered trucks hauling gravel from a quarry near the summit and returning for more. The weather was cloudy and misty in the morning but this cleared in the early afternoon and we got ample views of clearcuts as we hiked out from the summit.

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West Cedar Mountain, Arizona, April 2020

April 21, 2020 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, April 4, I left Tucson for a few days to visit three Arizona prominence peaks. After climbing Buckskin Benchmark on Sunday and the Date Creek Mountains highpoint on Monday, I drove onto the Agua Fria National Monument Monday afternoon and found a secluded camping spot a quarter mile from the dusty and busy Bloody Basin Road. I spend another pleasant evening and night there.

East Cedar Mountain (L) and West Cedar Mountain (R) from Bloody Basin Road

The next morning, Tuesday, I continued driving east on the dirt Bloody Basin Road towards my next and last destination for this trip, West Cedar Mountain. West Cedar Mountain has 1769 feet of topographic prominence and 5489 feet of elevation. It lies to the west of the Mazatzal Mountains across the Wild and Scenic Verde River, and has been on my “Wish List” for several years. I expected the hike, itself, to be fairly short, but two friends had previously hiked the peak and they reported a lot of thorny brush. I dressed defensively.

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