Calendar

Past Activity

Canceled: Brice Creek

  • Start date: 10/03/2020

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 10/03/2020

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

UPDATE 9/30: Brice Creek Trail is open! Hike is on!

We'll join Brice Creek Trail at Cedar Creek Campground, and follow Brice Creek to Champion Creek, with a .6 mile loop to Lower Trestle Creek Falls on the way. We will pass by lots of tempting swimming holes, and there should be time for a quick dip if it's not too chilly.
(Because I don't know how the air quality will be, I am not planning on the Upper Trestle Creek Falls, which would add more elevation gain and make this a difficult hike instead of an easy one! Next year...)

Currently, Brice Creek Trail is open, although the campgrounds are closed. I'll check on their status as we get closer to departure, and email all hikers with an update, as parking might be an issue if the campground is closed.

We'll follow Obsidians social distancing guidelines, and participants will arrange their own transportation. The road and parking are fine for non 4WD vehicles.

  • Event Leader: Carpenter Kathie

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Trips

  • Area Type: Mountain

  • Departure Location: South Eugene High School, 19th & Patterson

  • Rating: Moderate

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 89

  • Season: 2020

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Ten essentials, good hiking shoes or boots especially if it has recently rained, lunch, water. Rain gear depending on forecast. Camera - this should be a beautiful hike with fall foliage.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 8.5

  • Member Fees: 1

  • Elevation Gain: 600

  • Non-Member Fees: 5

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

Our journey began on a foggy morning, with visibility so poor that we lost two cars before we even got to I5. After turning around at LCC they caught up though, and by the time we all reached the trailhead it was a sunny beautiful day. The first weekend in October turned out to be too early for fall foliage, but just right for a swim, so we spent the first 4+ miles from Cedar Creek Campground to Champion Creek looking for the perfect swimming hole, of which Brice Creek has a gorgeous abundance. On the return trip the Fearless Four (Darko, Jessica, Wally and Kathie) dove in while the others showed superior judgment by cheering and jeering from the banks. Worth it though! An optional, socially distanced early dinner at Hop Valley was the super fun ending to a super fun day.

Added bonuses: Six separate sightings of snakes, who seemed to be unusually active that day, and no traces of the wildfires that ravaged so many of our favorite hiking spots.

If you're looking for a moderate hike with just enough elevation gain to heat you up so you're ready for a refreshing plunge, Brice Creek is the one. It's lush and lovely, and shaded most of the way. It's just a short, easy drive from Eugene with plentiful parking, suitable for all vehicle types. The trail is well maintained, and several campgrounds on the other side of the creek provide easy access, so that you can make your hike as long or as short as you want and use the handy "facilities" along the way.

Members & Guests signed-up & waitlisted

  • Number of spots on trip: 12
  • Number of spots available: 0
No. Status Full name Phone Transportation Needed? Trip Fee # Can Take?
1 Signed-Up Carpenter, Kathie 541-505-2370 N 1
2 Signed-Up Miller, Wally 541-221-9123 N 1
3 Signed-Up Sojak, Darko 541-799-9199 N 1
4 Signed-Up Masin, Rachelle 541-547-4742 N 1
5 Signed-Up Meacham, Lynn 541-214-8827 N 1
6 Signed-Up Myers, Michael 541-579-4733 N 1
7 Signed-Up Hoecker, Nancy 541-217-8453 N 1
8 Signed-Up Hawkins, David 541-505-0119 N 1
9 Signed-Up Straub, Peg 541-514-7298 N 1
10 Signed-Up Cooney, Marguerite 541-600-0217 N 1
11 Signed-Up Allen, Jane 541-731-1338 N 5
12 Signed-Up Iredale, Gwyneth 541-505-0055 N 1
13 Signed-Up Hanson, Vicky 541-683-7107- cell 541-954-5269 N 1
14 Signed-Up Larsen, Sandra 541-687-2589 N 1
15 Signed-Up Moll, Jessica 510-459-5178 N 5