Sterling Mine Ditch - Wold Gap to Deming Gulch 12-31-25

Photos by Francie

Ashland Hiking Home

One Wednesday we had 6 hikers come out to finish the year with a shuttle hike from Wolf Gap to Demming Gulch.  It was a chilly 32* so we bundled up since there is very little elevation gain in this hike.  It didn't take long before we realized we needed to remove our layers since we were hiking in the sunshine.

As we hiked along, we saw lots of scat.  One pile was large, tubular and segmented with points on the ends.  There was also a lot of fur in the scat.  We were guessing perhaps a wolf.  It wasn't fresh and there were no prints to see.  We also saw lots and lots of bear scat.  We discussed that a trail camera would pick up a lot of wildlife if it were set up on the trail.  

We could see Grayback Mountain, Burton Butte, Mount Baldy, and perhaps Wagner Butte, Red Mountain and Dutchman Peak.  There was very little snow for this time of year.  At one point, we thought we were seeing low lying fog, but realized it was from just 1 burn pile.  It is amazing how much smoke is created from just 1 such pile.  

We took our lunch and relaxed with some nice views and then continued on down to road 39-2-8.  We stopped there and saw a pair of boots that have been left in a tree.  They were full of soil and it looked liked someone has added some moss to it.  I believe these boots were here last year.  

We continued down to the car at Demming Gulch.  We had hiked 9.98 miles so I walked until my watch said 10 miles.  Our elevation gain was 318 feet and our descent was 1,053. 

This was my last hike as the leader of the Wednesday group of Ashland Hiking Group.  I have enjoyed showing new areas to people and revisiting others that we enjoy.  Now will be my time to relax and enjoy hiking as a participant.

Francie