O'Brien Creek Trail

The WWE has its Friday Smackdown and so does hiking: the smackers being hot weather and a steep trail and me being the pencil-necked geek smackee. I had harbored ambitions of summiting Grayback Mountain but within 10 yards of hiking, I could tell I had forgotten to pack my uphill legs in the daypack. Oh, well.

Be cool, grasshopper!

Ray and I had attempted Grayback once before, but an early summer snowstorm drove us back to the Sturgis Fork Trailhead, although we did make it as far as the meadow on Grayback's east-facing slope. But this particular August Friday would be different and boy was it ever! The temperature was nearing 100 degrees and the steep slope with hot sun won out and once again, I tapped out on the east-facing meadow on Grayback's slopes.  

Up, up, up...

After driving several miles up a very rough road to the trailhead, I parked in the shade where it was 89 degrees at mid-morning. The O'Brien Creek Trail immediately headed uphill on an old and rocky road bed through the manzanita shrubs and fir trees. Right away, my legs went as wobbly as a cooked spaghetti noodle and my shirt was immediately soaked in perspiration. But, hey, I had all day to get there so I just plodded along at a slow pace, stepping aside on occasion to let the faster slugs and snails pass by.

The shade was not as cool as it looks

O'Brien Creek does not provide a a lot of creek time on its namesake trail,  the trail instead spends most of its time in a dark and shady forest. Normally, I'd say something like "...and I was grateful for the cool shade" but on this day it was hot shade that provided little or no succor. Oh, by the way, the trail was a steep one, gaining approximately 1500 feet in a little over 2 miles.

Ocean spray

Despite the flaming hot conditions, flowers were happily blooming alongside the trail. I'd bloom too along the trail if I didn't have to hike up it on a hot day. Sprays of ocean spray did not live up to their cool, wet, and misty ocean name but they did put on a floral display for the camera. Beetles, bees, and wasps cavorted and frolicked upon the large flowery heads of cow parsnip. Lesser white-colored flowers such as hawkweed and pearly everlasting also made an appearance here and there.

Snow shelter below Grayback Mountain

After a mile or so of grudging progress up the trail, a side trail led to the snow shelter, a small rustic cabin on Grayback's slope. Krause Cabin's site was nearby, but the cabin had burnt down in 2001, giving rise to the construction of the current shelter. At any rate, the shelter's amenities did not include air conditioning and ice cold beer, so my needs remained unrequited.

Pearly everlasting

Returning back to the O'Brien Creek Trail, it was ever and upwards into the hot forest as the trail switchbacked back and forth before spitting me out into a semi-dry meadow where the trail petered out altogether. Unbeknownst to me, I had left the trail when I inadvertently continued straight on a switchback, but I just figured I'd just walk up the meadow to the top of Grayback.

Sneezeweed

However, the hot sun pinned me down like Hulk Hogan wrestling a 98 pound weakling. As I made slow and painstaking progress up the steep slope, it got to the point where I really was not feeling well because of the heat. At the point where I recrossed the Boundary Trail in the meadow, I sat in the shade and ate lunch, hoping the rest would allow me to continue, especially since my destination was within sight.

Hooded ladies' tresses

I rested by taking pictures of meadow wildflowers still flowering in late summer. On my blog post from Park Meadow, I mentioned that until then I had never seen a small flower by the name of hooded ladies' tresses. Yet, here on Grayback Mountain, the small orchid was growing everywhere. The yellow end of the color spectrum was well-represented by groundsel, sneezeweed, and goldenrod.

Grayback Mountain...so near, yet so far

Although we don't have any wildfires burning nearby, the valleys were quite hazy due to smoke from some wildfire somewhere. Accordingly, Mount McLaughlin was just a rumor in the haze but nearby Big Sugarloaf Peak was enjoyably visible. Not so enjoyable a view however, was the formidable rock wall of Grayback Mountain looming behind me.

Coneflower

Even in the shade of a small tree, it was still too warm so I did the sensible thing and headed back the way I came, but on trail instead of meadow. Better to live to hike another day, even with the imposing destination in sight. At least on the way down, I understood why I had been so tired coming up: that was one steep trail! And by the time I got in the car, it had warmed up to 95 degrees in the shade and by the time I reached the small town of Applegate, it was up to 103. So I'm 0 for 2 as far as summiting Grayback Mountain goes. Darn snow and heat, what's next? If I wind up getting shut out a third time it'll no doubt be due to a swarm of locusts. Or maybe pestilence.

Western bistort, gone to seed

For more pictures of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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Sucker Creek Gap

Every year the seasons change. Summer folds into fall, fall slips into winter, and winter usually takes 13 months to morph into spring. Such is nature's cycle, and every late summer, I hike knowing that each upcoming hike may be the last foray into the mountains until the snow melts the following year. And this year's nominee for the Forget-About-It-Winter-Is-Here Award is a mid-October hike to Sucker Creek Gap.

A peak at Pyramid Peak

On this dubious award winning day, the weather had called for partly cloudy/partly sunny weather which sounds like one of those philosophical glass full or glass empty ponderings. But the weather question is somewhat more significant as the answer usually relates to what clothes to wear, how far to hike, the destination or trail of choice, or even whether to go hiking at all. 

Some of that morning rain, pre-pants

So, it was partially sunny at the Steve's Fork Trailhead, although the clouds did their fair share of blotting out the sun. Extra layers of clothing were quickly donned due to a distinct chill in the air. It had rained earlier and the vegetation was damp which meant my pants were likewise dampened by means of bush to pants transfer of water. 

Brewer's srpuce is the Droopy Dawg of trees

Ray and I had backpacked here years ago, but the trail now was somewhat overgrown and sketchy. Obviously, the trail does not get all that much use. Brewer's weeping spruce, a distinct Siskiyou specie, sadly drooped their branches just off trail. Intermittent openings in the forest provided views to Lake Peak rising above the trail. Despite the cool and wet, it was good to be out for a hike.

View to Lake Peak

About halfway up the brisk climb to Sucker Creek Gap, I met Ken and Denise, a pair of fellow hikers who like me, were engaged in our wonderful little hobby on a chilly morning. Ken sort of does what I do except he posts videos of his hikes instead of writing about them. If you ever thought about going somewhere in the Siskiyous, chances are there is a Trailken1 video of it, After trailside introductions and pleasantries were exchanged, I continued on. Pretty much at the trailhead, I had crossed into California but Homeland Security had the day off and passports were not needed. Somewhere near a cirque lake, I re-entered Oregon and it sure felt good to be back home.

The cirque lake

On our backpack trip from years ago, Ray and I had camped at the unnamed cirque lake sited below one of Pyramid Peak's ridges and I left the trail to visit my old lake friend. I was a little disappointed because the lake was colored a dark brown and the surrounding meadow was dry and dessicate with the advent of the coming winter. I had to remind myself that we had camped in spring and the water was then fresh off the spring thaw, nearly as pure as the driven snow itself. 

Trail at Sucker Creek Gap

At Sucker Creek Gap, I took the Boundary (spelled "Boundry" on the USFS trail sign) Trail towards Swan Mountain with the idea of summiting the prominent peak. Before that feat could be accomplished, an uphill stretch through viewless forest had to be negotiated. The trail was sketchy here with plenty of fallen branches and trees to keep things challenging. Once out of the forest, thick (and wet!) brush encroached the trail and I waded through, grateful we were past tick season. 

I so wanted to climb Swan Mountain

Swan Mountain was eminently visible and it would be less than a mile to the summit. However, on the crest of this portion of the Siskiyous, it was obvious that clouds were forming on the mountain range itself. Cloud shadows and sunlight danced upon the valleys below, but where I was at was ominously gray with the temperature getting colder by the minute. A brisk breeze upwelling from the Sucker Creek canyon freezingly reminded me my pants were still soaking wet from the brush wade. Apart from a few desultory rain drops, it didn't really rain but it sure felt like the weather see-saw was tilted towards winter.

Swan Mountain and Craggy Mountain

Rapidly losing my enthusiasm for climbing Swan Mountain, I turned back and enjoyed views of Pyramid Peak, the Sucker Creek drainage, and the distant Red Buttes as clouds formed and reformed over the mountains. At the intersection with the Sucker Creek Trail, I ran into Ken and Denise again as they were returning from the Sucker Creek Shelter. The last three miles to the trailhead were then spent talking trails with Ken and it seemed like we finished off the hike in no time at all. It was nice to sneak in a hike before winter's thirteen months of rain conspires to keep us out of the mountains.

Clouds form above the mountains

For more pictures of this hike, please visit the Flickr album.

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