Past Activity

Marys Peak North Trail

Start date: 05/27/2023
Start time: 12:00 AM
End date: 05/27/2023
End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

An hour or so drive to Junction City and on Highway 20 to Woods Creek Road—then 7.5 miles on paved and gravel road to the North Ridge Trailhead #1350. It is 4.4 mile hike up to the day use Observation Point /parking lot/toilets where we will see yellow avalanche lilies in the meadow. Another .6 miles to the top of Marys Peak (3750 ft) for lunch. We should start the hike around 9:30 and app. 2 1/2 hours reach the summit. It is marked as moderate but the elevation gain s like two Pisgahs. No snow! The representative at the Corvallis Forest Headquarters said they had been no reports of trees across the trail. I am sure there will be trees to cross over. Target opens at 8:00 so bathrooms would be available. There are no convenient ones on the way to the trailhead and none at the trailhead.

Event Leader: Janet Jacobsen
Event Leader Phone: 541-206-1251
Event Leader Email: jbjacobsen@comcast.net
Assistant Leader:
Event category: Trips
Area Type: Coastal
Departure Location: Eugene Target, W11th, parking lot closest to W11th
Rating: Moderate
Roundtrip total drive miles: 129
Season: 2023
Permits Required:
Event Status: Passed
Supplies and Equipment Required: Appropriate layered clothing. lunch, snacks, water. Sun protection. Wind? Recommend long pants if we have to climb over logs.
participant prerequisites:
Conditions:
Total Distance: 10
Member Fees: —
Elevation Gain: 2100
Non-Member Fees: 5
Committee: Trips
Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

The Woods Creek Trailhead parking lot is also an intersection for the 62-mile Corvallis to the Sea trail (C2C). It was interesting to visit with a youthful backpacker who said she left Corvallis the day before and hoped to reach the coast on Monday. From my scouting trip to Conners Camp the week before, I knew that the upper part of North Ridge trail had four large trees to flounder over. Fortunately the lower section had only a few bunny hop step overs and one squeeze-by log. The green oxalis with its white blooms carpeted the hillsides along with intermittent yellow violets. Stealing the show from the cloudy and misty no-views at the summit meadows were the avalanche lilies, fawn lilies, yellow violets and a few purple violets. Our hike including the many stops to identify flowers took six hours. A note for a 2024 leader: Some of us were dismayed that the bathrooms at the upper parking lot were closed until May 30. Thanks for Karen for driving and for identifying flowers. Another thanks to the considerate bicyclists and especially the one who explained a bunny hop over a log.