Sunday was a somewhat drizzly, low-cloud day in the foothills, so I chose this creek hike along the southern fringe of the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness. I hiked in to where the Eagle Creek Trail joins the Eagle Creek Cutoff at the ford of Eagle Creek, about 6.8 miles one-way and then back again.
There are some goings-on at the trailhead. The BLM road (extension of Harvey Road) leads up to the left; to the right is a new logging road that switchbacks down the slope. The old road that led down to Eagle Creek has been blocked by logs, but has been graded about 650 yards down to a landing - or is it a new trailhead?
From there, you continue to descend into the valley and then take the duff trail that undulates gently long the course of Eagle Creek. There are a couple of campsites, an old cabin site on the left side of the trail, and then a narrow gorge before you drop to creek level and meander through cedar bottomlands and get close to the creek itself.
The sign for the Eagle Creek Cutoff had fallen off its Douglas-fir snag, so I pounded it back on. The weather held up pretty well, just cloudy with sprinkles here and there. Mushrooms were experiencing a second fruiting after the sunny October hiatus: grisettes, chanterelles, chicken-of-the-woods, sulfur tuft, helvellas, as well as Cascades russulas being their usual filthy selves. There are also many large old-growth trees that survived a burn about a century ago.
This is a good ramble on a low-cloud day and is usually a decent choice in fall and early spring - just moss and ferns, big trees and mushrooms, splashing creeks and no one else out there.
Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
- BrianEdwards
- Posts: 2405
- Joined: February 2nd, 2010, 1:32 am
- Location: Oregon City, OR
- Contact:
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
Great choice of a hike. Luv the 'other' eagle.
Clackamas River Waterfall Project - 95 Documented, 18 to go.
- Splintercat
- Posts: 8328
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: Portland
- Contact:
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
Thanks, Bobcat - nice report! Did you happen to notice if this logjam was still in place at about the 3 mile mark (below a gentle bend in the trail, where the creek is maybe 200 feet distant)?
I've been thinking about a return to Chak Chak falls in 2014, and this was the crux aid in getting across a fairly deep Eagle Creek in spring.
Hopefully Barb Adams will stop by and give us the lowdown on the trailhead. The Oregon Equestrian Trails organization has done a tremendous amount of work in that portion of the Salmon-Huck in preserving trails (and trail access) that the USFS surely would have allowed to fade away (along with vital work in the Badger Creek wilderness -- they've really done invaluable work over the years to save some "quiet" trails from oblivion).
The Eagle Creek canyon has a long, ugly history of over-logging west of the national forest boundary by the timber corps. I first hiked it when I was a kid, in about 1974, and the entire road section (to the bottom of the canyon) of the trail was logged bare -- a continuous clearcut that made for a miserable, hot, dusty climb back out on sunny days (if you can imagine that now!). With much of our corporate timber industry now bought out by equity firms, I suspect we're seeing a "liquidation of excess assets" or "creative destruction" to put it in Romneyspeak.
Tom
I've been thinking about a return to Chak Chak falls in 2014, and this was the crux aid in getting across a fairly deep Eagle Creek in spring.
Hopefully Barb Adams will stop by and give us the lowdown on the trailhead. The Oregon Equestrian Trails organization has done a tremendous amount of work in that portion of the Salmon-Huck in preserving trails (and trail access) that the USFS surely would have allowed to fade away (along with vital work in the Badger Creek wilderness -- they've really done invaluable work over the years to save some "quiet" trails from oblivion).
The Eagle Creek canyon has a long, ugly history of over-logging west of the national forest boundary by the timber corps. I first hiked it when I was a kid, in about 1974, and the entire road section (to the bottom of the canyon) of the trail was logged bare -- a continuous clearcut that made for a miserable, hot, dusty climb back out on sunny days (if you can imagine that now!). With much of our corporate timber industry now bought out by equity firms, I suspect we're seeing a "liquidation of excess assets" or "creative destruction" to put it in Romneyspeak.
Tom
- mattisnotfrench
- Posts: 1318
- Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm
- Location: SE Portland
- Contact:
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
Awesome! I love this hike and it's great that it's so close to Portland.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of shape was Harvey Road in? The last time I was up there it was pretty rough up to the trailhead but it looks like they've been doing some serious road work.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of shape was Harvey Road in? The last time I was up there it was pretty rough up to the trailhead but it looks like they've been doing some serious road work.
Author of Extraordinary Oregon!, PDX Hiking 365, 101 Hikes in the Majestic Mount Jefferson Region, and Off the Beaten Trail. Website: www.offthebeatentrailpdx.com
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
I tried to get to this trail about a month ago and couldn't find it. I parked at the logging road blocked by dumped tree roots and followed the newly graded road down (your mention of the 650 yard swath to the landing area), but then I couldn't find where the old road or trail started from there. I feel like I was in the right area, but just missed where the old track ties into the new road.
We ended up going off-trail down to the creek and then looping back. Not recommended.
We ended up going off-trail down to the creek and then looping back. Not recommended.
Rambling on at Allison Outside
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
Wow, there's a forest at the trailhead now. It's been a number of years since I've hiked this trail. The reason it left my radar is that the loggers beat the holy crap out of the dirt road about a mile from the last paved road and my Civic couldn't get through their divots.
I really liked that trail when I did it.
How's the dirt road for low clearance vehicles?
I really liked that trail when I did it.
How's the dirt road for low clearance vehicles?
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
Vast improvements have been made in the last 9 months, I believe. We did it in a Honda Fit. It was a dry day, however, after many dry days. I don't know what it would be like in the mud.BigBear wrote:How's the dirt road for low clearance vehicles?
Rambling on at Allison Outside
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
@Splintercat: I didn't notice the logjam, which doesn't mean it isn't there. If it's three miles in, that means it's a little downstream from the most obvious campsite along the trail, accessed by two clearly defined spur trails.
@matt: Harvey Road is O.K. A few potholes, but nothing almost any vehicle couldn't wind in and around. There have been some improvements since the logging began in the area. I wouldn't go there during the week - a small vehicle might just get squelched by one of those trucks.
@awildman: The trail pickup from the landing I described is rather obvious, which tells me you may have wandered down the new logging road instead (It is the lowest of the roads and is also graded and blocked by log debris). Here's what the landing/trail transition looks like:
There were also posted signs in the area saying there should be no logging, which tells me this may be an actual trailhead rather than a logging landing:
@matt: Harvey Road is O.K. A few potholes, but nothing almost any vehicle couldn't wind in and around. There have been some improvements since the logging began in the area. I wouldn't go there during the week - a small vehicle might just get squelched by one of those trucks.
@awildman: The trail pickup from the landing I described is rather obvious, which tells me you may have wandered down the new logging road instead (It is the lowest of the roads and is also graded and blocked by log debris). Here's what the landing/trail transition looks like:
There were also posted signs in the area saying there should be no logging, which tells me this may be an actual trailhead rather than a logging landing:
-
- Posts: 62
- Joined: October 20th, 2008, 4:21 pm
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
Mt. Hood Chapter Oregon Equestrian Trails finished clearing the logs from Eagle #501 on July 14. Mike Matthews, Wilderness Stewart, helped us out by scouting the trail, taking photos, and noting location of larger logs.
For the timber cutting this summer the old road leading down to the trails (Eagle #501 and Douglas) was restored almost to the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness Boundary. Our chapter worked with the timber company to get dates when we could pull our horse trailers in and park along the entry road. We park about a mile before the small parking area for hikers.
Eagle #501 is a terrific trail...one of my favorites.
barb
For the timber cutting this summer the old road leading down to the trails (Eagle #501 and Douglas) was restored almost to the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness Boundary. Our chapter worked with the timber company to get dates when we could pull our horse trailers in and park along the entry road. We park about a mile before the small parking area for hikers.
Eagle #501 is a terrific trail...one of my favorites.
barb
Re: Eagle Creek (Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness)
Thanks for the update, Barb, and for all the good work.
So I stand corrected - not a new trailhead (Wishful thinking!). The area around the cleared road down to the wilderness boundary shows no signs of logging yet. It has been ditched to take winter runoff, but perhaps next summer the operation will begin.
The trail is still pretty clear. Two trees down that I remember on the way to the ford.
I should add that the wilderness boundary was moved up the road in 2009 to the edge of USFS property.
So I stand corrected - not a new trailhead (Wishful thinking!). The area around the cleared road down to the wilderness boundary shows no signs of logging yet. It has been ditched to take winter runoff, but perhaps next summer the operation will begin.
The trail is still pretty clear. Two trees down that I remember on the way to the ford.
I should add that the wilderness boundary was moved up the road in 2009 to the edge of USFS property.