Douglas Wildcat Mountain Trail - We Built it! (July 26-27)

Use this forum to report and discuss trails in need of maintenance. This will help organizations like TKO and agencies like the Forest Service get the most recent on-the-ground trail conditions.
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SCurtis
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Joined: March 4th, 2013, 8:03 am

Douglas Wildcat Mountain Trail - We Built it! (July 26-27)

Post by SCurtis » July 14th, 2014, 6:47 pm

This is a trip report for a trail that doesn't exist, yet. We’re going to build one July 26-27!

Due to ongoing problems at the old Douglas and Wildcat Mountain Trail head a year ago the Forest Service closed the road going to the old gravel pit that used to be the trail head. They took out ½ mile of road to prevent access (not just a gate, totally destroyed it). The problem is the new trail head is now 1/2 mile away from the actual trails with some rough going to get there.
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Old road from new parking lot

Trail Keepers of Oregon along with Oregon Equestrian Trails is partnering with the Forest Service to build a connector trail from the parking lot to the trails. The Forest Service is going to rough out the trail but we need LOTs of help to get it useable for hiking and horses.

Here’s part of the scouting party from Curtis from Trail Keepers, Barb from Oregon Equestrian Trails, and Tim from Back Country Horsemen (taking the picture McKenzie from the Forest Service).
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Trail Scouting Group

Here is where the new ½ mile trail will start. That orange flag will be the inviting entrance to a new trail.
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Trail Head

Here’s Curtis (me) from TKO just the other side of those bushes trying to figure out where the trail will go.
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scurtis

The trail will start through some secondary growth with lots of rhododendrons. Should be a beautiful section when they are in bloom.
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Rhododendron Trail

We've got the brushing started and the Forest Service will give us some time with an excavator to push the big stuff to the side but we’re a long way from a hikeable trail.

The trail will swing into some older growth and follow an old skid road for a short section. This goes back in some large trees and some nice shady areas. The only easy to build section of the trail.
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Skid Trail

Then switch back into a couple of small meadows.
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Meadow

It will go through another recent growth area (10 -15 year old trees). It will then go around the old gravel pit with open flower covered areas (yes, if you turn around from this picture you get gravel pit, take beauty where you can find it.)
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Flowers

And then views up Eagle Creek (the other one).
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Eagle Creek

At this point you can go down the Douglas trail towards Eagle Creek or up towards Wildcat Mountain.

We’re looking for all the help we can get July 26-27 to get as much of the trail usable as we can. Some of us will be going up Friday 25th to do prep work. The main work party is Saturday and Sunday. We’ll be camping around the trail head parking lot (camping not required and this is only 1/2 hour out of Sandy). Dinner provided Friday and Saturday evenings even if you aren't camping. If you can only make if for a day, Great! We need lots of help.

Splintercat’s old description for the trail head http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... _Trailhead gives good directions to the trailhead. Just ignore the part “The quarry and trailhead are only 150 yards up this deeply rutted road.” That road no longer exists. It's the road we are building a trail to replace. :-)

If interested sign up at http://www.trailkeepersoforegon.org/events/.

This is really a big project. Building ½ mile of new trail takes a lot of work, more than you think if you haven’t done this before. We are going to try and get as much built in this weekend work party as possible. But to get the trail in the shape it needs to be in to last for years as a hiker/horse trail will likely take more work parties than this one. So even if you can’t make this one join a future one. We may even schedule some restoration work closer to the fall rains to make the old road look a little less like a series of bomb craters. If you have a group that would like to work together we can even work to provide tools and one of our crew leaders to help.

This is an official Forest Service project so please do not do it without guidance. Really, we are easy to work with and will do it with the minimal amount of bureaucracy.

Curtis
TKO Crew Leader

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mrbijae
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Re: Douglas Wildcat Mountain Trail - Build it! (July 26-27)

Post by mrbijae » July 15th, 2014, 8:30 am

I have signed up for a Saturday shift. If I survive and the dogs allow me a second day of labor I'll make Sunday too.
Metta Bhavana
http://www.bijae.net

"If the only prayer you said in
your whole life was, 'thank you,'
that would suffice."
-- Meister Eckhart

SCurtis
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Re: Douglas Wildcat Mountain Trail - We built it! (July 26-2

Post by SCurtis » July 23rd, 2014, 9:10 am

If you are interested in helping here are the details. It helps if you sign up on the TKO site but if you get the sudden urge to help this weekend we'll find a tool for you. :-)

Recent rains have cleaned the woods readying them for a little trail work. However, much you can help will be appreciated as building this connector trail will be a lot of work. Weather looks like it will be good with rain ending today (Wednesday). Temperatures in the lowlands will be in the 80s but we’ll be at 3600 ft elevation so should be about right for us.

Directions:

From Shorty’s Corner about 2 miles East of Sandy (blinking yellow light) go South on Firwood road. Careful at the first 3-way stop sign at about ½ mile as Firwood takes a right at this intersection. Continue on Firwood for 3.1 miles to a 4 way stop.

Turn Left at the 4-way onto WildCat Mountain Drive. Stay on this road for 9.4 miles (according to Google, my Odometer was slightly more). On-line directions say that this road changes to NF-36 then NF-3626, but it is all the same road. At about 9 miles the road changes from 2 lanes to 1 lane with turn outs. You’re getting close to the turn off - the next road to the right after it narrows is the turn to the trail head!

At 9.5 miles take NF-105 to the right - the number is painted on the road. Last time I was up there I put a small "Douglas Trail Head" sign on a tree. If I get there before you there will be also be a larger Trail Keepers sign at this intersection. Go 1 mile down this paved road which ends in the trail head parking lot.

If you have a GPS Latitude: 45.30108, Longitude: -122.06511

Dinner is available Friday and Saturday evenings. If you haven’t, tell me if you are staying for either/both so we can make sure we have enough. Breakfast/lunch is up to you. We’ll have water available but bring water bottles for out on the trail. Work will be within ½ mile of the trailhead/parking lot.

Friday we’ll be doing prep work (opening the first part of the trial, brushing for later work, and setting up camp). I’ll try to get to the trail by 9am but have to cross Portland so I may be latter depending on traffic. This day is more informal so if you are coming up, whenever you get there is fine. Just check in with me when you can.

Saturday we’ll try and get an early start at 8:30am. If you are a later don’t worry, there will be someone at the trail head all day to direct you.

Sunday, again an 8:30 start. We’ll be working further down the trail but not too far from the trail head. We’ll stop work at about 3pm to allow time to clean up and drive out. Again we'll have someone at the trail head.

We’ll be working in brush so wear long pants, long sleeve shirt, and sturdy boots. Bring a water bottle, snacks, lunch. We’ll provide tools, gloves, and hardhats.

My cell phone is (503)954-4995. There is cell service at the site.

Thanks,
Curtis Smith
Crew Leader
Trail Keepers of Oregon

SCurtis
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Re: Douglas Wildcat Mountain Trail - Build it! (July 26-27)

Post by SCurtis » August 4th, 2014, 5:16 pm

We finished the trail! We had 30 people that showed up to help.

Lots of people from TKO and Portland Hikers
Several from Back Country Horsemen
A few from Oregon Equestrian Trails
A few people drove over from Redmond to help
A scattering from other volunteer lists
One from Bark
One from Mazamas
and even a worker from the Forest Service.
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Lots of tools. PCTA loaned us some extras to make sure no one did without.
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Digging into the trail. If the Forest Service hadn't done such a good job punching the rough trail through we'd still be there.
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We beat the trail into submission. Go look at it if you get the chance!
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Nick from the Forest Service installed new trail head signs, guide signs along the route, and posts to block ATVs.
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Here's the Saturday Crew (minus a few still on the trail).

Thanks to all that helped!

Curtis
TKO Crew Leader

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Splintercat
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Re: Douglas Wildcat Mountain Trail - We Built it! (July 26-2

Post by Splintercat » August 5th, 2014, 7:58 pm

Thank you, Curtis & volunteers! What an amazing amount of work in one weekend - and what a great effort from so many trail advocates! :)

For folks unfamiliar with the area, the Douglas Trail is the nearest gateway into the Salmon Huckleberry Wilderness, the nearest wilderness area to the Portland area. This proximity and a long history of logging in the area has led to problems with illegal dumping, OHV use and shooting in recent years -- some of the worst in the Mount Hood National Forest. The Forest Service, Clackamas County and Dump Stoppers have done a lot over the past six years to turn that around, including closing the old quarry that served as the Douglas Trailhead for many years -- and as an out-of-control shooting gallery and OHV course that kept many hikers away.

Here's a sampling of what used to be the trailhead -- starting with the large, old quarry:

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The cliff to the left drops directly into the Eagle Creek canyon and is the Salmon-Huckleberry wilderness boundary. The angled road in the background actually led to the old trailhead! Yikes!

The old trailhead was a jumble of garbage from shooters -- this was a typical sight:

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The shooters were hard on the trailhead signs, too -- even though they were somewhat hidden about 100 feet into the forest:

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The previous photos were taken in 2006, and by just two years later, the same sign was reduced to this:

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So, a totally scary, intimidating experience for hikers, to say the least! :? But the new trailhead and spur trail marks a HUGE improvement over that troubled past, and if you haven't hiked the trail, give it a try! Here's the Portland Hikers Field Guide page for the Douglas Trail. It makes for a nice evening in summer -- and be sure to head north on the McIntyre Trail to the fine viewpoint shown on the Field Guide map.

Great to see this area being restored for recreation! Thanks for your hard work, everyone!

Tom :)

AaronPDX
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Joined: August 11th, 2014, 10:09 pm

Re: Douglas Wildcat Mountain Trail - We Built it! (July 26-2

Post by AaronPDX » August 11th, 2014, 10:13 pm

New member -- and new friend of the S-H wilderness -- here... Thanks for all your hard work, folks; I wish I'd known about this before now. I tried the trail (from the west) a couple weeks ago, and found it confusing to say the least. If anyone has come from that side and can give me advice on the true trailhead, I'd appreciate it. I've studied this site and the FS PDF and I'm still a bit confused. I did successfully do Eagle Creek 501 today though, and it was beautiful.

And if there's another work party do let me know and i'll try to attend.

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