ROGUE RIVER

WHERE:     From Portland take I 5 south to exit 61.  Follow about 15 miles to Galice where you will continue on Galice road finally reaching a boat ramp a few miles up-river at Graves Creek.  There is a quaint little resort in Galice which offers a last chance for outdoor supplies and a real country meal.  You will meet a lot of river rats here who plan on floating down to the Illinois river or even as far as the ocean in Gold Beach.

I actually decided to hike this one after a rafting trip down the river.  I remembered the warm waters, steep mountains, and the remnants of history left along the river.  On my expedition I hiked about fifteen miles in, camped, then hiked another 8 more miles in before heading back.  I left my camp at the same spot for the second night.

THE TRAIL:    The total trail length is about forty miles going as far west as Illahe.  Campsites are plentiful enough occurring every 1-3 miles, usually along a tributary creek.  There are also several swimming holes which are very warm despite the fact that the river flows from the Crater Lake vicinity (at least it was warm in August).  The trail is fairly flat and has several items of interest which often require very small side trips.  Whiskey Creek cabin is only a few miles down the trail. It is a well preserved cabin built in the late 19th century with a water powered mill for mining, a solar shower and remnants of the olden days inside the cabin which is owned by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) with open access:  As a side note I had noticed that the BLM is not very popular amongst the locals in that neck of the woods.  Starting at the halfway point there are also several lodges and a historic private cabin that Zane Gray lived in eons ago.  If you hike during peak season in the summer the lodges will be open so you can re-up on supplies or even get a cold beer.  This is a very mellow and easy, albeit long hike, with almost constant views of the Rogue River and its valley.  Wildlife is also abundant here although when I hiked the river in March I did not see anything. You can probably purchase the "Rogue River Guide", by Vladimir Kovalik, in Galice for about $10 which tells you all you need to know about the Rogue river from Galice to the ocean.

There were lots of animal signs but few large mammals to be seen on the upper portion of the trail.  I did see a Bald Eagle perched high up a fir tree on the other side of the river.  We had a five minute staring contest before I got to watch this magnificent bird fly off over the river looking for lunch.  I also saw a couple of Great Blue Herons flying low over the river.  These are also awesome creatures to watch in flight with their enormous wingspan.  In addition I saw many Long-Toed Salamanders, Alligator lizards and a California Mountain Kingsnake.

One of the most interesting things about this trail is the vegetation which represents some of the most of the diverse biomes of vegetation south of the Cascades.  On the north side of the trail one will see scattered Ponderosa Pines mixed with Manzanita,  Pacific Madrone, Pacific Willow, Douglass Fir and Port Orford Cedar.  The south side of the river has lusher stands of Fir due more less moisture evaporation resulting from being shaded by the mountains.  Watch out for Poison Oak.  I did this hike twice:  Once in early spring and once in early summer.  The summer trip gave me a rash that covered a good portion of my body and this is apparently quite common.  This was a very painful experience!

STARTING FROM THE WEST SIDE OF THE WILD ROGUE WILDERNESS:

From Ocean Beach you follow Highway 33 to Rogue River Wilderness signs near Agness.  The trail starts near what appears to be a hunting ranch as there were many Grouse in an area of fenced in grasslands.  After about a mile the trail passes its last hint of civilization and into the forests of Oak, Madrone, Fir, Hemlock and Chinquapin.  I only followed this trail for about 4 miles and it never really left site of the river despite climbing above it a couple hundred feet.  The most interesting scene was a group of ducks racing each other along the water occasionally stopping to dunk for a fish then racing again.  There were lots of Elk, Deer and Cat excrement as well.