Day 28 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast!
9:05 AM, SW Oregon, near Agnes – Lupe stood on a bank overlooking the Rogue River.
The river is beautiful, SPHP, but look at how smoky the air is getting now that we’ve left the coast!
Yeah, was afraid of this, Loop. Never, ever rains anymore!
A woman came jogging along the winding paved road that passed for a highway in these parts. SPHP spoke to her.
Hey, are you local? She was.
Can you tell us how to get to Grants Pass from here?
Yes. There’s a bridge around the next bend. Cross it and you’ll find a road to the R. Get on that road and just keep going! Don’t turn off it.
SPHP thanked her, and Lupe was on her way.
10:20 AM – USFS Road No. 23 climbed up onto the steep upper slopes of a very long ridge, sometimes winding along right up on top. Paved, with occasional short gravel stretches, the road was exceptionally narrow, more of a one plus lane affair than two. SPHP drove slowly to prevent occasional oncoming traffic from making life too interesting.
16 miles later, 0.5 mile E of Bear Camp Overlook, SPHP parked the RAV4 at a saddle where a couple of side roads left No. 23.
Let’s have a look, Loop! This might be our turn.
The side road going NE was signed as No. 2300-079. Going S, a better road was marked CBCH17, whatever that meant. A broken yellow gate stood open 100 feet from where this road left No. 23.
So, is this the road you were looking for, SPHP?
Not entirely sure, Loopster, but I think so. Let’s try it. Back to the RAV4! If this is the way to Brandy Peak (5,298 ft.), 3.5 miles should get us to a trailhead.
11:16 AM, 64ºF – After winding first uphill, then down, CBCH17, which was actually USFS Road No. 2308, widened out where there were views on both sides of Bear Camp Ridge. A hill with a bald summit was visible 0.5 mile NW. To the SE, the terrain dropped away toward a mostly burnt forest. Smoke obscured details of more distant hills and ridges.
No signage, but a dirt path climbed up onto a 10 foot high bank where Lupe found a wooden post. Maybe there had been a sign at one time?
In any case, SPHP was now virtually certain that Lupe really was at the trailhead for Brandy Peak, and that the dirt path was Trail No. 1147.
Trail No. 1147 climbed at an easy to moderate pace as Loopster set out, going WSW along a ridge. Easy to follow, the trail looked seldom used, covered with sticks, small branches, and occasional deadfall. Sometimes Loop was right up on the ridgeline, but often the trail was a bit down the S slope. A couple of times switchbacks returned the Carolina Dog to the ridgeline again.
The whole region was thickly forested, but early on Lupe did come to a view of the same hill along Brandy Peak’s N ridge that had been visible from the trailhead.
The trail eventually strayed farther from the ridgeline, again staying S. Lupe came to a flat region that went on for a little way before No. 1147 resumed its climb, this time more steeply than before.
The American Dingo passed 2 small cairns shortly before reaching the ridge again. Here, the trail divided. One route apparently followed the ridgeline the rest of the way up the mountain. Lupe took the other route, which climbed more gradually along the S slope.
Before long, the trail broke out of the forest. Brandy Peak’s summit was soon visible less than 150 feet up an open slope. Lupe went right for it.
11:57 AM, 70ºF, Brandy Peak (5,298 ft.) – Not a cloud in the sky, which was a lovely blue overhead, but a dirty gray brown toward all horizons, as Lupe stood atop the highest rock formations near the SW end of a 60 foot long, 15 foot wide, summit ridge running NE/SW. The smoke wasn’t horrible, but definitely bad enough to mar the views.
Congratulations, Loopster! You’ve reached the Curry County, Oregon high point!
Brandy Peak was easy, SPHP. I like it!
Yeah, well, less than a mile to get here, and no significant obstacles made earning your chocolate coconut bar a cinch, didn’t it?
Chocolate coconut bar? Bring it on, SPHP!
The SE end of the summit ridge was rocky, the NE end densely covered with low bushes. Brandy Peak wasn’t as comfortable as it might have been. Lupe tried several spots, while SPHP examined a plaque attached to the side of the highest rock. A glass jar with a red lid and a rusty wire loosely wrapped around it rested below the plaque.
Huh. Thought there was supposed to be one of Richard Carey’s signature red cans containing a registry up here, Loop, but I don’t see one. Looks like there might be one in the jar, though.
Well, sign me in, SPHP!
Opening the jar, it did contain a registry, a small spiral notebook with a green cover that had been sliced in half.
Wow! Look at this, Looper. There is a registry!
Not all that amazing, SPHP. You were expecting one, weren’t you?
Yeah, but I didn’t expect that you knew who put it here! Your friend Jobe Wymore placed it on 5-25-15.
Jobe has been to all the county high points out W, SPHP. Every, single, one.
Richard Carey’s red can wasn’t the only thing missing on Brandy Peak. SPHP had read that there was a Squirrel survey benchmark up here, and had been excited about showing it to Lupe, but couldn’t find it. Maybe it was hidden among the bushes? In any case, no sense even mentioning it to the Carolina Dog only to disappoint her.
No views to the E due to the forest, but to the extent permitted by the smoke, Lupe could see in all other directions. Brandy Peak was clearly higher than anything else in sight, but some of the other hills and ridges weren’t all that much lower. Sugarloaf Mountain (5,034 ft.) stood out to the SSW.
Interestingly, the topo map actually did show a Squirrel Peak a little over 2 miles SW. However, SPHP didn’t realize it at the time, or Lupe would have been climbing it, too. A crying shame to have been so close to fabled Squirrel Peak and not have gone there!
Since Squirrel Peak wasn’t happening, Lupe had plenty of time to enjoy her traditional full summit hour on Brandy Peak. Relaxing most of the time, she also sniffed back and forth along the summit ridge multiple times from one end to the other.
Exactly an hour after arriving, Lupe stood again on the true summit. A couple of photos and she was on her way back to the RAV4. This time she followed the ridgeline route back down to the little cairns. The rest of the return was identical. (1:39 PM, 71ºF)
Brandy Peak wasn’t it for the day. SPHP drove back to USFS Road No. 23, and the long winding drive E along the ridge continued. Lupe reached the Rogue River again near Galice where No. 23 ended. From here No. 2400 went SE through Merlin to I-5 where SPHP turned N.
4:16 PM, a gravel pit –
Huh. I don’t know, Loop. Pretty certain we were on track when we passed that pond a little way back, but this doesn’t seem right. Maybe I missed a turn?
After leaving I-5 at Exit 76 near Wolf Creek, SPHP had followed a service road NE for 1.5 miles to a R (E) turn onto Speaker Road. 4.1 miles of pavement led to a good gravel road that wound crazily and steeply SE past a bewildering series of side roads.
Everything had been fine. King Mountain (5,264 ft.) was supposed to be a gimmie. Just a drive up, and the turns had all matched up with the map. Until now. Instead of an expected fork in the road, which seemed overdue, Lupe was at a gravel pit.
Well, how much farther is it to King Mountain, SPHP? Can we get there on paw from here?
Don’t think it’s all that much farther, Loopster. No more than 1.5 miles as the crow flies. Of course, actually somewhat more, if we follow the ridge around to it. On the other paw, we ought to be able to pick up the right road again before too long, once we can confirm our position.
Let’s do that then, SPHP!
A jeep trail entered the gravel pit from a bank at the E end, but a better road continued NE past the pit. Hoping the better road might wind its way up King Mountain, although the initial direction seemed dubious, SPHP led the American Dingo that way.
Went well, at first. The tree-lined road climbed steadily at an easy pace. Lupe occasionally enjoyed smoke-impaired glimpses of hills and ridges off to the NW. SPHP began to think a road shown on the map that went almost up to the ridgeline might be the one Lupe was on, but after going 0.5 mile, she came to a fork not shown on the map.
No matter! The R branch continuing uphill had to be the right choice, didn’t it? Lupe went that way. However, the road soon began to narrow, becoming less substantial before leveling out. The Carolina Dog went a bit further, but the road stayed flat. Hmm.
Hang on, Loop. This can’t be right. No telling where this road is going. We’re way over on the NW side of the mountain, which is the wrong side. The road we ought to be on must be on the other side of this ridge.
Don’t we need to be climbing then, SPHP? We’ll never even get up onto the ridge at this pace.
Yup, guess we’re just going to have to go up and over it, Looper.
Easier said than done. The bank along the SE side of the road was so steep that it wasn’t even possible to climb up into the forest. Lupe had to backtrack a little way before finding a spot SPHP was able to manage.
Even the mountainside above the bank was quite steep. Fortunately, Lupe came to no significant obstacles as she climbed through the forest. Blue sky seen between the trees made it look like the top of the ridge might be only 100 feet higher, but that proved to be an illusion.
Farther than it looked, but Lupe got there. Surprisingly, the top of the ridge was not forested, but broad and open. King Mountain’s summit, where 3 towers protruded above a densely forested hill, was in sight a mile SE. A lone tower stood off to the ESE.
The map showed that the road Lupe was looking for shouldn’t be too far down the other side of the ridge. The plan had been to continue on over to it. However, Lupe had reached the ridgeline at a rocky spot where low, scratchy bushes grew near the rocks. These could be dealt with, but the slope going down to the road, which wasn’t even in sight yet, turned out to be thickly covered with tightly-packed bushes waist high on SPHP.
To the NE, the ridge rose toward a high point. Some bushes that way, too, but not as many.
Let’s go that way, SPHP!
Did seem like the better choice.
Staying on bare ground where possible, or utilizing openings among the bushes presenting the path of least resistance, Lupe wound her way up to a rocky crest at HP5033.
HP5033 really wasn’t much closer to King Mountain than where Loop had reached the ridgeline, but she was now in position to continue E down to the saddle leading to it. Coming to HP5033 quickly proved to have been beneficial. Upon departure, Lupe discovered a trail neatly bordered by stones that got her past all remaining bushes into another stretch of forest.
Didn’t take long at all to reach the saddle, where a large dusty parking lot was bordered by boulders. Happily, the road Lupe had been trying to get to went right by it. There was also a sign.
So, what does the sign say, SPHP?
Says King Mountain Rock Garden, area of critical environmental concern.
Rock garden! Rocks don’t grow, SPHP. You mean to tell me that humans think they can grow rocks?
We can under laboratory conditions, Loop. I’m more than a little skeptical out here, myself.
So, where is this Rock Garden? The only rocks I’m seeing are the boulders around the parking lot, but they don’t look like anything too special to me. Hate to say it, SPHP, but they look as cold stone dead as any other rock, and we’re supposed to believe that they’re growing?
Actually, Loop, I think a rock garden is more like a collection of beautiful, exotic flowers and plants merely decorated with rocks. Everyone just sort of understands that the rocks aren’t alive, and that it’s the plants that do all the growing.
Oh, I get it now, SPHP. Like this lovely arrangement of scraggly bushes and dry grass around a central dusty parking lot. Simply superb! What exquisite landscaping skills on display! But I do wish the King Mountain Rock Garden managers were here, because I’ve got a secret gardening tip that might improve their results.
You do? Like what, Looper?
I know this is an odd concept, SPHP, but watering a garden can often work wonders. Might want to try it here next season! See this yellow grass? It’s dead, because it died of thirst. Some of these bushes appear about to kick an apparently empty bucket, too. The current managers can stop worrying about any critical environmental concerns, since they’ve already let everything die. Is it absolutely necessary to have the dry, dead husk of a withered, brown thumb to be made a manager here?
Hmm. Hard to say. As the American Dingo left the rock garden parking lot to take the road the rest of the way up King Mountain, environmental concerns beyond dead grass glinted under nearly every tree and bush.
Well, maybe they’ll catch on to your watering suggestion, Loopster. Looks like plenty of people who come here enjoy a liberal self-administered dose of liquid themselves. Beer drinkers. Lots of Lupe treasures laying around.
Aren’t you going to collect them, SPHP?
Yes, we will, Loop, but not until we’re on the way back.
Heading E, the road climbed at a moderate pace, the grade diminishing once it curved S. Soon Lupe was approaching the lone tower.
Dipping slightly after Lupe passed the first tower, the road then started uphill again, going past many smaller towers that hadn’t been visible from a distance. Wasn’t much of a climb. The road flattened out as the Carolina Dog reached a collection of towers and buildings.
6:44 PM, 62ºF, King Mountain (5,264 ft.) – The sun was low by the time Lupe reached a pancake flat summit region a good acre or two in size. Any former natural relief had been leveled to accommodate a bunch of towers, including the 3 big ones that had been seen from a distance, plus several good-sized buildings. The road ended making a loop around all the buildings.
The N and E sides of the summit region were all heavily forested. Lupe should have enjoyed sweeping views to the S and W, but wildfire smoke was now uniformly bad in an otherwise cloudless sky. Reaching the S edge of the mountain, Lupe listened to a blower noisily exhausting air from a building, while gazing out at a dirty sea of smoke.
Searching for whatever passed for the true summit now, Lupe wandered W, finding the marginally highest ground in this direction. SPHP also discovered an “Onion 2” directional survey mark embedded in the SW corner of a concrete pad serving as part of a tower foundation.
Taking a seat on the Onion 2 cement pad, SPHP shook the Carolina Dog’s paw, congratulating Lupe on a needlessly long, yet successful ascent of King Mountain. Once the second and final chocolate coconut bar of the day had been consumed, there really wasn’t much reason to stay. Nevertheless, Lupe lingered a little while, bathed in evening sunlight.
Shadows were long by the time Lupe trotted past the lone tower again. On the way down to the King Mountain Rock Garden, SPHP collected 57 Lupe treasures, stuffing them after compression into a plastic grocery sack at the end of a pole held over the shoulder like a hobo.
Plenty more where those 57 came from, but the bag was full. Trudging past the rock garden, Lupe and SPHP stuck with the road, confident it would somehow lead back to the RAV4.
Downhill all the way! The road ahead was getting steeper, stretching endlessly down into an increasingly dim forest, when SPHP suddenly snapped out of a reverie. Nearly dark!
How long have we been going, Loop? Seems like we ought to be there by now.
Sorry, SPHP, I haven’t been paying any attention. You’re the one with the map, and this is just a road hike.
Yeah. Maybe I ought to take a peek at it. Hang on.
The map provided little comfort. Ought to have come to a fork by now. If it had somehow been missed, this road led down into a maze of others that never would lead to the RAV4.
Hmm. Let’s go a little farther, Looper. If there’s no change, we better go back to make certain we didn’t miss a turn.
Going farther didn’t help. Better turn around! Lupe regained hundreds of feet of elevation before finding a couple of fainter side roads. Taking the one that shot off to what would have been the R on the way down, Loopster explored it W through an inky blackness now broken only by the faint, flickering beam of the tiny flashlight.
The side road lost elevation, too, but at a slower pace. It went on and on. When Lupe passed a spot where frogs were croaking, SPHP began to worry. Was Loop already way back down to the pond that had been passed in the RAV4 en route to the gravel pit? How was that possible?
It wasn’t. Everything was fine. Suddenly there was a reflection off to the L, and there was the RAV4, all alone, patiently waiting.
For a drive up, King Mountain was quite the adventure, SPHP! Can’t remember the last time I was so glad to see a gravel pit! (8:53 PM, 52ºF)
Links:
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Brandy Peak GPS Track by Ryan Frome (8-7-20)
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