We have a lot of trips planned for 2015

These are a few I’m extra excited about

By Gabe Howe, executive director
For the Siskiyou Hiker

A few weeks ago, we released the first half of our 2015 volunteer calendar. From day hikes in the Ashland watershed, to long hitches in the Kalmiopsis, we’ve got a lot of opportunities to choose from.

But these are three of the trips I’m most excited about. To get details and sign up for volunteer trips, email howegabe@gmail.com or call 541-708-2056. Check out our complete first-half 2015 calendar.

Spend three nights in the Wild Rogue Wilderness and see the wilder, more remote and pristine recesses of the wild Rogue River canyon. Hike forsaken trails that haven’t been maintained in decades, and record their conditions along the way. The data you collect will be used to make plans for our crews later in the year.

We’ll be car camping and doing long day hikes over rugged terrain with some shuttling. We will do some brushing along the way as well. This is a rare opportunity to get to know the wild canyons, ridges and peaks most that people only see from a boat.

I spent the summer of 2005 exploring the underbelly of the popular Rogue River canyon, and then could see the trail maintenance backlog was taking its toll. Ten years later I’m excited to do something about it.

Spend a couple of days logging out an eight-mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail that weaves through the Soda Mountain Wilderness Area near Ashland, OR. We’ll also be doing some touching up and tread work on the Boccard Point Trail.

We’ll car-camp overnight at the historic Bean Cabin site, and split off to work different trail sections during the day. The work is moderate without any major elevation changes. Keeping these popular trails maintained early in the season reduces erosion from heavy foot traffic that comes later in the year.

Spend four nights on the 26-mile Trans-Kalmiopsis Route, crosscutting downed logs and brushing along the way. Long sections of this iconic route need annual maintenance as trees killed by the 2002 Biscuit Fire continue to fall in the same areas.

This time of year the Kalmiopsis’s legendary flower bloom will be full blown, and you’ll get the chance to see a couple of the largest Kalmiopsis leachiana botanical areas, not to mention fields of Rhododendron and Azalea. You’ll hike through eerie ridge-top skeleton forests, deep pristine canyons and experience an ancient ecosystem in rapid transition.

The work will be tough and be concentrated in specific areas. The Trans-Kalmiopsis Route is only 26-miles but makes a challenging elevation profile. It’s rugged, steep and absolutely pristine. Don’t miss this chance to check it out and steward a trail route that was almost lost forever.