Trail Talk – October 2023

Onion Springs Trail. Wickiup Trail. Hemlock Lake. The Oregon Skyline Trail from Devil’s Peak Saddle to Sky Lakes. Puck Lakes Trail. Solace Cow Camp. Gopher Ridge to Lake Ivern to Ranger Springs. In the Sky Lakes Wilderness of Southern Oregon, these are all trails that were abandoned during the federal government downsizing of the 80s and 90s. Sadly, there’s likely more to come. With USFS emphasis on motorized recreation (OHV trails) in the forests abutting the wilderness area, we may soon lose King Spruce, Alta Lake, Red Blanket, Tom and Jerry, all due to lack of maintenance. Trees fall and are left to block the trail corridor; trail tread is neglected and is heavily eroded or simply disappears in the overgrown vegetation. Switchbacks fail. Runoff channels consume the remnant tread.

The litany of abandoned or neglected trails continues throughout that Ranger District. Rogue-Umpqua Divide Trail. South Fork Trail. And one of the saddest of all? Sections of the Upper Rogue Trail. Fifty years ago, the Rogue River National Forest was so proud of this trail, much of which had been constructed by CCC crews in the 30s, that they published an interpretive booklet for hikers. The booklet contained trail information and included the trails of the Rogue-Umpqua Divide area.

Many of the “Boomer” generation, excited about the backpacking craze of the 70s, flocked to these trails. Maintenance was ongoing, often summer fire crews cleared the trails for access to lookouts and quick routes into the backwoods for fire suppression. Today, what work is done on USFS trails falls to volunteers and contract crews. We’ve seen a few of our local trail systems, like Kalmiopsis and Red Buttes, re-open after damaging wildfires. But many systems may be beyond resurrection.

The point of this monologue is to point out that we can’t take our trails for granted. If we’d been told in the early 80s that within 40 years many of our favorite hiking loops would become impassable, we’d have scoffed. We knew then that our National Forests would never let such a thing happen.

Maintenance must be ongoing. In Jacksonville, we’ve been quite fortunate to have a Public Works Department, along with their volunteers, maintaining the Woodlands and Forest Park trails.

There is no “trail work season.” Summertime saw volunteers grubbing poison oak and invasive weeds, as well as pruning back overhanging branches and encroaching vegetation. Control measures were undertaken for this year’s bumper crop of yellowjacket wasps. As the days cool and moisture returns to the soil, the crews begin to rehabilitate tread that has been exhausted by many feet during the busier seasons. Some switchbacks need attention after careless hikers cut corners. Chokepoints must be maintained to control speed (maximum 10 mph). Some re-routing may be necessary to address visitor safety.

Take time in the woods to enjoy the season. And remember, Knobcone Pine Trail in Forest Park is currently closed for fuels reduction and other trails may also be temporarily closed as the season progresses.