Southern Oregon Tour
October 6-7, 2007
The Southern Oregon Tour was in two distinct parts,the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains on Saturday and the Klamath River passage to northern California on Sunday. And each of the two days offered distinct sub-parts as well.
Tour hosts Rich & Jan from Aloha were driving their Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ryan & Bailey from Lake Oswego were driving a Jeep Cherokee and Jerry & Evelyn from Yakima were driving a Ford F-150 pickup.
Rich & Jan's photos of the two-day event can be viewed at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8666826@N05/sets/72157602316831254/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/8666826@N05/sets/72157602333759932/
THE UNIMPROVED 370 ROAD:
Saturday started off with us meeting in Sisters, Oregon and following a paved Forest Service road due south of town for 15 miles. Even though the road was paved it seemed really bumpy to me. We took a much-needed rest stop at Three Creek Lake where we aired down our tires for a smoother ride. I had been running 45 lbs of air so no wonder the road felt so bumpy.
It had been snowing off and on for the past couple of days and we had a little bit at the lake, but our road would hit heights of nearly 8,000 feet where we expected to see our share of white stuff. Our goal was to cross the mountains on the notoriously rough FR370 Road. The unimproved Forest Service road comes out about three miles past the Mount Bachelor Ski Area on the Cascade Lakes Highway.
There was already a skiff of snow on the ground at the lake, but we ran into more as we climbed in elevation on the 370 Road. Hunters had made tracks for us, but at the same time they compacted the snow so it was one slippery son-of-a-gun. We had to keep our momentum up in the turns so as not to slide off the road. It could have been any one of us, but Ryan got the honors this time. He slid into a ditch in a corner, got stuck and Rich pulled him out. Actually it was sort of fun, attaching three straps together, finding a bare spot for traction, standing under big trees dropping clumps of snow. Beautiful scenery, mountains, pines with snow-laden limbs and folks working together.
Passing oncoming vehicles was sometimes a trick. The road was so slippery our rear-ends tried to catch up with the front-ends on the downhill stretches. I almost slid into a truck that pulled over to let us by. Whew, it was close! The snow wasn't all bad; at least it helped smooth out the rough, rocky road. It was a neat drive and we all had fun, but we were relived when we finally hit pavement on the Cascade Lakes Highway.
CASCADE LAKES TO MOUNT WALKER:
We took a well-deserved rest stop at Sparks Lake where we decided to find a good spot for lunch. Only a couple of miles down the road were Elk Lake and the Elk Lake Resort. Little did we know it was a destination of renown staffed by a bunch of friendly characters that specialize in fun times and good food.
http://www.elklakeresort.net/
After lunch Ryan & Bailey had to leave for a function in Bend so we sadly said goodbye to them. Rich & Jan and Ev and I continued south on the Cascade Lakes Highway. The highway is a paved, two-lane Forest Service Road (FR46) that has all the appearances of a state highway. The highway passed several lakes with the reflections of snowy mountains in their cold, clear waters. It was beautiful.
At Crescent Lake we turned east to gradually descend the slopes of the mountains before entering the Deschutes River Valley. We tied up with Highway 97 at the community of Crescent and drove south to the Mount Walker Road. It had been a long day for me, only four hours of sleep the night before, so I suggested that Rich & Jan make the drive to the lookout on Mt. Walker while I take a short nap. They encountered another rough road, similar to the 370, but shorter. The view from the top is usually grand, but clouds had set in allowing only a view of the valley below. They returned just as I was awaking from a one-hour nap!
We whizzed south on Hwy 97 at a high rate of speed (55 mph) until we reached the Klamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The marsh is a wet remnant of an ancient lakebed that now supports tall grasses and a variety of waterfowl. Our objective was to see the marsh up close and drive a dirt road the length of the far side. The marsh was neat, but it was too late in the year to see much in the way of waterfowl. The dirt road, however, was a true backroad and a most enjoyable drive.
We reached Klamath Falls, checked into our motel and had dinner at 8:00 Saturday night.
TOPSY GRADE ROAD AND THE KLAMATH RIVER:
Sunday morning found us munching on a continental breakfast at our motel. Since we were the only participants we decided to leave earlier than usual to make time on the other end. Little did we know we would use every second of it on our route.
Our goal was to drive a road that closely follows the Klamath River from a point just west of Klamath Falls to Yreka, California. It is a popular river so we were expecting the road to be in good shape. Heh, heh, the best-laid plans and all that jazz.
It was early and still foggy as we drove out Highway 66 to our turnoff. Our first up close view of the Klamath River was from the road next to the shoreline. The river was wide and slow moving as it flowed through a hazy, foggy gap beyond. Absolutely beautiful. The road, however, was not so beautiful. It was turning rough. Rocky. Bedrock, crushed rock, pit run, sloughed rock, you name it rock. Between the rocks was dirt. Sometimes nice clean dirt, other times powdery silt.
It was the Topsy Grade Road, otherwise known as the Topsy Wagon Road, that from 1875 to 1903 served freight wagons and stagecoaches that ran between Linkville (Klamath Falls) and Yreka. The road meanders through forests, down canyons, over creeks and through deserted ranches. It provides a scenic though bumpy access for fishermen, river rafters, hunters and campers to points along the Klamath River. It was bumpy enough that we stopped to air down our tires. Either that or loose our eyeteeth.
The road was neat. Four-wheel drive was not required, but we shifted into low range a few times for some of the steeper descents. We passed a pile of rubble that was once the Frain School; and another place once referred to as Topsy Station - nothing remaining now, but at one time it had a post office, stage stop and freight dock; at an old ranch site we checked out a dilapidated log building with no doors or windows; and we passed the Kerwin Ranch before returning to civilization at Beswick in northern California.
Near the end of the road we passed two reservoirs, both beautiful mountain settings and both polluted with thick green algae. What a shame! We stopped for a tailgate lunch on a hill above one of the lakes and continued downstream to a fish hatchery where we made a rest stop and aired up our tires. It was only a few more miles until we reached Interstate 5 at a point just south of the Oregon border.
THE SCOTT-APPLEGATE TRAIL:
Thank goodness we got an early start from Klamath Falls because it was approaching mid-afternoon by the time we reached the freeway. We still had one more stop to make before buzzing north. The Applegate Trail Museum north of Grants Pass was worth a stop. It was nicely done, first class displays and a docent who dressed the part of an early settler. You would never guess what the building held from the outside and if you ever find yourself in the area and if you are interested in emigrant trails, you should stop. No two ways about it.
The museum was our last stop and where the tour officially ended although we caravanned up Interstate 5 together until the Corvallis-Albany area where Rich & Jan turned off on backroads and Evelyn and I stopped to visit our daughter and her family.
It was a really neat weekend, fun roads, great scenery, interesting things to see and history to ponder. Thanks to Rich & Jan for organizing and leading the trip.
Jerry & Evelyn from Yakima
__________________________
BACKROAD DRIVERS NORTHWEST