ELK CREEK

ELK CREEK

WHERE: From Portland take I 5 south to highway 96 about twenty miles south of the California border. Watch your speed crossing the state line as the California Highway Patrol is fond of pulling over cars with Oregon plates. Take highway 96 east along the Klamath River to the town of Happy Camp. From here look for signs leading to Elk Creek road and follow to the trailhead at Sulphur Springs.

THE TRAIL: Me and my good friend John hiked this trail as a last minute alternate to an Olympic Mountains loop which was still snowed in during late July 1999. A loop can be made by following Elk Creek Trail to Granite Creek Trail. From here there are several loops that can take you across to re-meet Elk Creek or go even farther to the Pacific Crest Trail and/or Bear creek. This is a huge wilderness with many trail options. We started at 2000 feet then climbed to 5500 in the Granite Lakes region. Once you reach the higher elevations in the middle of the wilderness you can do long stretches of hiking without monstrous grades. You will also encounter a lot of fools gold and very pristine old growth forests. Many views await throughout the hike. This was a very beautiful hike but I am writing this off of a four year old memory so many of the details are lost. I do, however, remember this area in the Siskiyou Mountains to be one of the most beautiful I have seen anywhere.

The only downside to this hike was pouring rain that greeted us as we reached the sub-alpine lakes. There were a couple times where we had to quickly set up a tarp shelter. During a stay at one of these temporary camps we were greeted by four travelers on horse (two guys and two gals). They suggested whiskey and women to keep us warm: Fortunately we had one half of the equation in a bottle of Southern Comfort. In the evening the rain ceased and we were able to start a fire and improvise a clothes line over it to speed up drying.

LOOP HIKE (5 easy going days): In September 2007 I finally got back to this beautiful wilderness to do an extended loop. I have wanted to do this the last two years but forest fires have prevented it. Unfortunately prior to starting to going on this hike my Suburu was stolen along with my hiking boots forcing me to buy new boots the day before I left with no time to break them in. I intended on doing a loop which would basically do a circle around the wilderness but halfway up to the Cuddihy Lakes I was starting to blister and figured the larger loop with all its ups and downs would leave me without feet. I started at Sulfur Springs and hiked up the Elk Creek trail to the Granite Creek trail to Cuddihy lakes (roughly 2,000 to 6,000 feet elevation in over 10 miles). The trail starts through forest of Douglass fir, Chinquapin, Incense Cedar and a few scattered Pacific Madrone. It also goes through an older burn. The first section mainly goes through forest typical of Northern California and Oregon. Cuddihy Lakes are nestled behind the Granit mountains where there is a nice subalpine lakeside campsite.

Day two started with a quick elevation gain on the "Rim Trail" before following close to a ridge as the trail stays rocky and hovers up and down. Once you pass the Burney Lake junction the trail is well maintained and flat. The views along the Rim trail are spectacular as you can see the mountains to the south as well as the wilderness' namesake Marble Mountain rising to the east. Unfortunately the berries are not as abundant here as in the Oregon and Washington mountains (at least the edible berries). There was an abundance of Tall Cascade Grapes however if you don't mind the tart taste. The trees at this elevation consist of Whitebark Pine, Foxtail Pine and Mountain Hemlock. This was a short day that ended at Big Elk Lake (about 6,000 feet elevation) where I met Roy who was doing an annual backpacking trip with a buddy(both from the Portland area) of his (they camped at the other side of the lake): They first did a 28 day trip in the Brooks range of Alaska in 1978 and they have done a trip every year since. He asked me a lot of questions about what I think about when I roam the mountains and even though I came up with an answer I realized that I really don't have a good answer. I think about lots of things but before long the forests or landscape distract me and I just think about how beautiful the world is. I camped underneath a cluster of Hemlock and didn't bother with my rainfly for the second night so I could gaze at the stars whenever the cracking branches wake me. I did hear a lot of "stomping" around that night by a hefty animal of some sort. The next morning as Roy and his buddy were leaving they told me that a sow and her cub wandered near my camp. In this area you are supposed to use the counter-balance technique of hanging food because there bears are able to figure out roping techniques and rip part of the rope that is tied to the tree causing your gear to fall. The counter balance technique involves throwing a rope over a branch (at least 6 feet from the tree trunk). You then tie one container and raise it to the top of the branch and tie your second container to the other end of the rope (I actually use parachute chord which works very well). You then push that container up as high as you can with a stick so the two containers couterbalance each other. Remember to leave loop on the rope at one end so you can pull it back down.

Day three started with a quick drop to the top of the Wooley Creek valley before ascending up to the Pacific Crest Trail(PCT). I picked up the trail on the south side of Little Marble Mountain and the views were spectacular to the east, west and south. I headed south on the PCT which stays near the crest on the 5 mile portion that I hiked to the Summit Lake junction (there are many sub-alpine lakes that can be reached from this section of the trail. There is a very unique section on this leg consisting of steep rocky perches with whitebark and foxtail pine clinging onto the rocks. I met a fellow named Jacob at the PCT junction with the Elk Lake trail: He lives in the area and had a few days off to wander around the wilderness. At the Summit Lake junction I hiked down about 600 feet in elevation to the lake were I surprised Peter (from Sacramento) and his dogs napping. One dog was so excited that he worked his way out of his harness. He was staying at Campbell Lake a mile away and just did a day hike to Summit Lake. Cliff Lake is also in the vicinity and is surrounded by soaring walls of granite. I almost went there but wanted to stop early so I had more time to read the biography of Jack Kerouac and his book "Dharma Bums", besides I had no intention of pushing it to hard on this hike. There were some clouds tonight so I put up the rainfly and slept as I listened to the water gently leaving the lakes outlet on its journey to Shackleford Creek to Scott Creek then the Klamath river before finally arriving at the pacific ocean.

On day four my plan was to head down Summit Lakes creek to a trail that cuts over a pass to Elli Lake. I couldn't find the cut-off trail so I wound up hiking down the creek for quite awhile before hoofing it all the way back to the PCT where I would retrace my steps for a few miles then continue along the crest to Paradise Lake. I ended up following the wrong trail at the junction with the Red Valley trail and ended up following the Marble mountain trail which stayed above the PCT. The cool thing about the trail today was that the clouds were coming in from the west. In the morning they were laid out below me covering Wooley Valley. By the time I got to Marble Mountain the climbed up the mountain as the clouds where now blowing past me in white haze at 20 miles per hour blowing upward past my face and over the crest where I could see the white haze immediately drop over the ridge and disappear as the heat evaporates the clouds. To the west I couldn't see over 100 feet but 400 yards to the east in the valley below I could see the bright rays of the sun warming the meadows. It is amazing how much of an influence this steep crest, which divides the coast from the interior of the west, influences the weather. It is even more amazing being on top of the crest walking on that line that seperates rain from sunshine. The crest is steep enough to force the western winds up to a chill that limits the airs ability to retain moisture before it drops down the other side warming up and evaporating into the sky.

Another awesome thing about day four was seeing two bears withing 20 minutes of each other. This was before reaching Little Marble Mountain. I saw the first one right after taking a few pictures of the clouds smothering the valley below. I literally would have been had may camera ready to take a picture if I just waited a few more minutes as it was abling down the trail toward me. Once it saw me, right after I saw it, the bear charged up the mountain. 20 minutes later just as I walked past some brush just below me on a steep slope I heard a rustle. I stopped thinking it was something bigger than a squirrel but smaller than a bear as it would not have let me get that close. My curiosity arose so I walked toward the brush to see what it was. As I approached I heard another rustle of an animal trying to get out of its prediciment and just then a small 120 pound bear (probably an adolescent) popped into sight and onto the trail. It stared at me for a few seconds then darted the opposite direction along the trail before heading up.

I followed the Marble Mountain trail as the clouds continued to fly by face making me feel like I was an explorer in some far off desolate alpine region. I couldn't see 40 feet in front of me or below me. All I saw were a few solitary tree peeking through the haze so every 30 seconds new landscape would present itself. It was especially cool when I would reach a patch of trees which create a stark contrast to the whiteout conditions before and after the trees. It was like walking through a temporary shelter. Eventually the trail headed down the mountain and visibility increased as I dropped down to the rim trail over to the Rainy lake junction and then down to the lake at about 5,400 feet elevation. Here the clouds hovered several hundred feet overhead.

It rained some overnight and into the morning so I had to pack what I could inside my tent then take the tent down as quick as possible before pulling down my scented items that were hung off a tree branch. Day five brought me into the aptly named "rainy valley" lying at 4,500 feet. Back down to Douglass fir territory with what appeared to be some scattered Pacific Silver fir along with quite a few Cedar trees. Rainy Valley flows north from Marble Mountain thus having less exposure to sun allowing for the cooler rising air to drop its moisture. Once Rainy Creek meets Elk Creek the valley goes west where the trail side (north side) of the creek gets much more solar exposure creating a dramatic change in vegetation where Pacific Madrone and Tanbark Oak are the dominant species with scatterings of fir, Cedar and Chinquapin mixed in. Just before the trail meets Granit Creek the remnants of a recent forest fire are witnessed. I could still smell the chared wood from both the trees whos lives where claimed as well as the many still standing that survived the storm.

This wilderness is one of the largest in the west not counting national parks. I think Eagle Cap and Pasayten are the only ones larger in Oregon, Washington and California and probably offers a larger number of trails. The loop opportunities are numerous and there are a wide variety of side trips to take as well adding to the adventure.