Past Activity

Aubrey Mountain

Start date: 10/29/2017
Start time: 12:00 AM
End date: 10/29/2017
End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

This is semi-explora: Aubrey Mountain is just east of Oakridge and can be accessed either by the Salmon Creek trail(s) or, the way this trip is planned, from Dunning Road. One big reason to do this trip is for the fabulous autumn colors that are present. The trail is primarily used by mountain bikers and climbs about 600 feet in the first 1.7 miles then mostly levels off for the next 1.8, to the junction of Aubrey mountain (left) and Heckletooth Mountain (right). We will go left another 1.5 miles to Aubrey mountain (about 3000’), doing the rest of the climbing. Views are reportedly excellent from the top, and while we may see mountain bikes, it is getting late in the season. The trail may have slick spots, but probably not too bad after a week of dry weather. The route via Salmon Creek is longer and has a climb on a USFS road, upon which we may hike, but not nearly as much.

Event Leader: Mike Smith
Event Leader Phone: 520-488-9569
Event Leader Email: michaelspinnersmith@gmail.com
Assistant Leader:
Event category: Trips
Area Type: Mountain
Departure Location: Lane Community College, parking lot nearest stoplight
Rating: Moderate
Roundtrip total drive miles: 85
Season: 2017
Permits Required:
- NW Forest Pass
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required: Dress for a dry, cool day.
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance: 10
Member Fees: 1
Elevation Gain: 1400
Non-Member Fees: 5
Committee: Trips
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Three of us went out to the Dunning Rd. Trailhead east of Oakridge and hiked up Aubrey Mountain. I had gone the same way towards Heckletooth the week before, but this time we turned at the junction. There are significant map discrepancies here. The GPS shows a road and a trail; the Oakridge map shows the road and then the trail coming from it, which is correct. The trail, however, has a sign saying "Aubrey meadows 1/2 mile," when in fact it is closer to a mile, and the trail goes below the summit (of sorts) of 3000' Aubrey Mountain. From the meadow, the map shows the trail looping back to the trail we came in on, and indeed, there is a junction near the beginning. The problem is that the trail from the meadow clearly is headed north as well as down, and I wasn't entirely clear that we weren't going to end up at Salmon Creek. It's possible the trail goes down a long way and then switches back, but the map doesn't show that route. Not wanting to have us descend a long way only to re-ascend and go back the way we came, we turned around not long after the meadow, and retraced our steps, which is what I had planned.

We saw about a dozen elk cross the trail and I had a praying mantis on my pack during lunch. The colors were good, but it was past the peak. Still, it was a nice day to be out there, and while we saw rather fresh mountain bike tracks, we saw nobody again. I'd do Heckletooth again; for the little extra effort compared to Aubrey, it is a lot better hike.