MISLANTAH CREEK
WHERE: From Brookings take the Chetco river road (county road 784 which becomes forest service road 1376) about 26 miles to FSR 360 (there is a sign pointing the way to the Tincup trail). Follow 360 about 2 miles to FSR 365 (another sign for Tincup) which you will follow for .8 miles to the end of the road.
THE TRAIL: This hike was part of a 4 day mini vacation during a very stormy week which included about 7 minor hikes along with this one short overnight trip in mid November of 2006. It had been raining fairly hard for several days straight and I told myself before my time off that I would do a last overnight hiking trip. The rain was poring down and there were near record winds on the coast. The next day I heard that the winds surpassed 140 mph in Gold Beach about 25 miles up the coast from Brookings. The hike to Mislantah creek, which would serve several trails if I had continued on, was only 1 mile long. The hike was short but traced a forest ecology that I had rarely hiked. The Siskiyou Mountains, especially on the windward side of the range, are extremely diverse with tree species that represent the Oregon cascades, Oregon coastal mountains and the northern California mountains. In addition this is an area that was partially burned by a the biscuit fire a few years back. This fire was one of the biggest fires in Oregon's written history. The most unique feature was the amount of green leaf cover during this time of year. The Myrtlewood, Chinquapin, and Madrone cover offered deciduous evergreen cover in a time when most deciduous leaves have turned color and fallen in other areas. In addition there was still some Alder (with leaves still on the tree and not turned but dulled and ready to fall), Douglass fir, hemlock, Pacific Yew, and even a few Redwoods. This one mile that I walked also skirts the edge of some burned and/or cut forests (to stop the burn I presume as it is very close to the wilderness). When the trail met the creek their is a brief side trail that leads to a large open camping area along the creek. I nearly froze my fingers setting up my tarp cover which was only 10' x10'. Once this was done and my tarp was as stretched as possible, while slanted enough to allow water runoff and side rain blockage, I sat and read excerpts fro the Dalai Lama's book "A Policy of Kindness".
This book was very inviting and seemed to offer many simple but meaningful viewpoints on why we have issues on this planet and how we can contribute to solutions. Unlike many writers who talk about the problems that society faces, he does not try to blame. He offers solutions for us individuals to use which will enhance our own personal well being and by extension the well being of society with both being mutually beneficial. Anyhow it had some very meaningful passages which I think anyone, no matter their religious or personal background, could appreciate. The book contains excerpts from the Dalai Lama's nobel peace prize acceptance speech as well as interviews with reporters and Q&A sessions with students. I would not have mentioned this book if it did not mean something to me. I also would not mention it if I selfishly thought it would only apply to my relatively narrow beliefs.
On the back down the same road I drove in on (about 20 miles total) I arrived at the Redwood Trail. It is about 1/2 mile before Alfred Loeb State Park when heading back toward Brookings. This is a 1+ mile loop through Western Hemlock, Douglass Fir and Redwood forest culminating with a 20 foot diameter Redwood tree. To be honest, some of the Sitka Spruce forests along the coast are more impressive, as is the Redwoods in Redwood National Park, but this trail marked the diversity of the wet Oregon Coastal forests meeting the northern California forests.