Oregon Archives – Page 7 of 12 – GlassMountains Trip Reports

Siskiyou Prominence Peaks, Oregon, June 2017

July 5, 2017 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In late June Linda and I and our canines established base camp at Lake Selmac in the SW Oregon Siskiyou Mountains. Linda found several bicycling routes to explore in the area while I hiked several Siskiyou Prominence Peaks. The canines enjoyed the new scents of the area but were glad to leave for the open Ponderosa Pine forests of home by the end of our visit. Before this visit the mountains I planned to visit were just names on a map. By the end of the week they each made an impression on me and I left the area with memories and a better appreciation of the Siskiyou Mountains than I had before.

Grayback Mountain

My first goal of the week, on Tuesday June 20, was Grayback Mountain, south of Applegate, Oregon. Grayback Mountain is the high point of Josephine County, Oregon with 7048 feet of elevation. It is also the 49th most prominent peak in Oregon with 2248 feet of prominence. Tuesday morning I drove up the Thompson Creek Road south of Applegate, then took a forest road to the Upper O’Brien Creek Trailhead. The last mile was a bit eroded but the drive in was not a problem for my Jeep.

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Southern Oregon Prominence Peaks, July 2016

July 15, 2016 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

My peakbagging focus since late spring has been Oregon Prominence Peaks. I realized early in this hiking season that I had the opportunity to make very good progress on the list of Oregon’s 100 most Prominent Peaks. After earlier trips to the Siskiyou Mountains and Blue Mountains I identified four Southern Oregon prominence peaks as my next priority. I broke up the project into two trips.

Mount Ashland

Mount Ashland is the 15th most prominent Oregon peak with 3131 feet of prominence. On July 5 I drove south to the Mount Ashland Ski Area by way of Lake of the Woods. From the Ski Area I followed forest road 20 west and parked in shade near the summit road.

I hiked the summit road to the summit located just east of the top of the summit lift. This was a pleasant road hike in ideal weather. I especially enjoyed the views of Mount Shasta and other peaks to the south.

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Oregon’s Blue Mountains, June 2016

June 16, 2016 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In early June I visited the Jarbidge Mountains of Northeast Nevada to attempt Matterhorn Peak. My travel route passed through Oregon’s Blue Mountains. As I passed through I hiked several prominence peaks there. Deep snow and high water conditions in the Jarbidge Mountains frustrated my plans there. But hiking peaks in the Blue Mountains proved to be the highlight of my trip.

Oregon’s Blue Mountains are uplift mountains located in Northeast Oregon and Southeast Washington. This mountain range consists of several subranges and is a part of the larger Columbia River Plateau.

Big Lookout Mountain

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Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, May 2016

May 22, 2016 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

I had spend the fall, winter, and early spring of 2016 hiking Arizona prominence peaks. Upon our return to Oregon in the late spring I was ready to focus on hiking Oregon prominence peaks. A large number of such peaks lie in Southwest Oregon in the Siskiyou Mountains, Southern Oregon Coast Range, and Western Cascade Mountains.

I decided to make my first peak bagging trip to the Siskiyou Mountains. I assembled a list of peaks, gathered maps, trip reports, and key GPS waypoints to help me access these peaks.

Olson Mountain

On May 17 I drove to and hiked Olson Mountain in the Western Cascades northeast of Medford. This peak has 1860 feet of prominence, the 94th most prominent peak in Oregon.

The first challenge was to navigate the forest roads to drive to near the summit. I had viewed satellite images of the forest roads to help sketch out a possible route. I marked this route with waypoints on my topo maps of the area. This research proved to be very helpful and I was able to find my intended “trailhead”.

From my parking spot I hiked up a short jeep trail. I wandered about the brushy and indistinct terrain of the summit to identify the highest point on the mountain. I finally satisfied myself that I had found it and retraced my route back to my Jeep.

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