Leave from the Safeway parking lot in Ashland at 9:00 AM unless otherwise indicated. Bring water, lunch, hat, sunscreen and rain gear as appropriate. TH = trailhead; EDT = estimated drive time; PCT = Pacific Crest Trail; DIM = Dead Indian Memorial Highway. 100 Hikes = 100 Hikes in Southern Oregon, Second Edition
August 6: Grouse Gap Drainage
TH: Up the Mt. Ashland Ski Road to the PCT crossing just past the 7 mile road marker; EDT: 30 min.
Description: Hike south on the PCT to Grouse Gap; turn left and walk about ¼ mile along the road to Grouse Gap shelter for lunch. After lunch follow the Grouse Gap Creek Drainage down to FS 40S15 and then back to the TH.
Distance: 7.6 miles; elevation gain: 1,500 feet. Weather forecast. RT driving mileage: 30 miles.
August 13 - 14: Ashland Hiking Group 2014 Overnight Bring your Golden Age Passport for Park Admission.
August 13: Union Peak - Crater Lake National Park (p. 77 in 100 Hikes) Meet at 8:00 AM.
TH: Take Highway 62 towards the south entrance to Crater Lake National Park. The trail begins approximately 1 mile west of the entrance on Highway 62 at the Pacific Crest Trail crossing. Description: This is one of our favorite hikes; great views combined with just a bit of a challenging rock scramble near the summit. Follow the PCT for 3 miles to the Union Peak trail junction. Follow the Union Peak trail to the summit. Distance: 10 miles; elevation gain: 1,600 feet. Weather Forecast. RT mileage Union Peak only hikers: 170 miles.
Overnight at the Crater Lake Lodge. Dinner in the dinning room at 5:00 P.M. Breakfast at 7:00 AM. Sack lunches will be available for the hikers.
August 14: Wizard Island (page 60 in 100 Hikes) - Leaving the Lodge at 8:00 AM so that we can make the 9:30 AM boat. The boat ticket is $52 / person. We last did this one in 2010. A hike, a boat ride, a hike, a boat ride and a hike all in one day! This is considered by many to be Oregon's most spectacular and unusual hike. From the Cleetwood Cove TH it is 640 feet down to the water on a 1.1-mile switch back trail. The boat ride to Wizard Island takes about 40 minutes, visiting Devil's Backbone, Lalo Rock, an incredibly beautiful waterfall, the Phantom Ship, the lakes 1,932 foot deep spot and much more. From the Wizard Island harbor it is a 764-foot climb in a 1-mile series of switchbacks to the summit of the cinder cone. The boat ride back skirts the south shore of the lake and takes about 1 hour. Distance: 5 miles. Climbing: 1,900'. Weather forecast. RT mileage is 190 miles for the non-hikers and 210 miles for the hikers.
August 20: Hidden Valley - Mt. Shasta Meet at 8:00 AM Hike Leader: Gary Swanson
TH: Take the first Mt. Shasta Exit (mile 740). East on Mt. Shasta Blvd. to the first left and then left on Ski Village Drive over to Everitt Memorial Highway up to Bunny Flat. EDT: 90 min; Description: Hike up to Horse Camp and the Sierra Club lodge to pick up the Mt. Shasta Circumnavigation Trail. From there head up sandy forested slopes to the pinnacle overlooking Hidden Valley and the high mountain grandeur of Shasta and Shastina. 6 miles, 2,300 feet of climbing. Weather forecast. RT mileage 180 miles.
August 27: Abbott Butte (p. 89 in 100 Hikes) - Meet 8:30 AM
TH: Take Highway 62 towards Crater Lake past the 51 mile marker; turn left at the Woodruff Bridge sign onto FS 68 / Woodruff Meadows Road for 12.8 miles to the TH (last 7.7 miles are one-lane gravel); EDT: 1:45. Description: pleasant woods and flower-filled meadows, great views on the way to lunch below the abandoned lookout tower on top of Abbott Butte; return the same way RT: distance: 7.5 miles; elevation gain: 2,500 feet. Weather Forecast. RT mileage: 165 mi