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Past Activity

Drift Creek Wilderness from the North

  • Start date: 03/17/2019

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 03/17/2019

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

WEATHER UPDATE: Warm and dry predicted.

TIDES: High at 0935 Low at 1638.

(St. Patrick's Day)

This is a chance to hike in one of the lesser visited wilderness areas from one of the lesser used trails. This is a pretty area; however, here are reasons you might NOT want to do the hike. Yes, sometimes it is worth making sure people know upfront what they are signing up for:

1. It is a long drive, a good two hours each way, past Newport to the south and then a 15 miles on FS roads.
2. For the drive, it isn’t a long hike, about 8 miles RT, maybe closer to 7.5.
3. I will be taking pictures of blowdowns and removing some of the smaller ones. I am scouting it for the annual early April log out done by the Scorpions of the three trails that go down to Drift Creek. We are only hiking one of those three trails on this date.
4. That’s right, the hike goes DOWN 1400’ to Drift Creek, so one is hiking out uphill.

That said, the area is pretty, not crowded, and Drift Creek is pleasant, and if you “collect” wilderness areas, as I do, this is one of the 47 in Oregon. It is 50-100 yards to the other trail destinations across the creek, but it is about 6 hours of driving and hiking to get there if the water is high, and it will be!!

Bring good rain gear. Despite the 15 month drought, the coast range gets rain that the valley does not get There are no stream crossings, and Drift Creek itself is not easily reached from the end of the trail (which ends in a campsite), but the trail may be muddy, and gaiters are recommended. I got real wet on it last year. The gradient of the trail is steady but not severe. Walking sticks are useful.

I hope to be at the Trailhead by 10, at the bottom for lunch, out by 1:30 or so and back in Eugene before 4. NOTE THE CHANGE IN THE STARTING TIME.

  • Event Leader: Mike Smith

  • Event Leader Phone: 520-488-9569

  • Event Leader Email: mssq@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: 210

  • Season: 2019

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Rain gear, pack cover, gloves if it is cold, and usual hiking accoutrements, and a foam pad to sit on, since everything is likely to be wet. Remember that the first part will be easier than the last. Bring some sort of bag to hold dirty or wet gear after returning from hike. Having a spare pair of shoes to wear makes the drive home more comfortable.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance: 9.5

  • Member Fees: 1

  • Elevation Gain: 1400

  • Non-Member Fees: 5

  • Committee: Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report

After driving to Newport and crossing the Yaquina Bay Bridge, we drove in a long 14 miles from US 101 to Drift Creek Wilderness, Horse Trail North. I was pleased to have remembered the way in, which is not intuitively obvious! We hiked along the ridge for about a mile and a half, clearing what we could, then took the moderately steep descent the rest of the way down to the creek, clearing more and noting a few blowdowns which will be logged out in early April. The trail was in good shape, dry, and we had lunch at the campsite by the creek. We turned around and came back out, climbing the 1200 feet in 2 miles. It is steady but the footing is good, at least in dry weather. The wilderness is well off the path to it, which has been beaten down by a lot of logging.