20 OCTOBER 2019 | SISKIYOU HIGHLANDS — 2020 is the year to backpack one of our Signature Routes and now is the time to sign up for a group backpacking trip with Siskiyou Mountain Club. Everyone is welcome on these trips. We provide experienced trip leaders, shuttles when necessary, and a safe place to lock up your car while you’re out with us.
No permits necessary. No cost.
So block the dates off your calendar, follow the emails we send each month up until the trips, and celebrate Siskiyou Mountain Club’s 10 year anniversary in the backwoods. Just email info@siskiyoumountainclub.org for details and to sign up.
June 5 – 7: Illinois River Nat’l Recreation Trail
Hike along the sharp canyons of the Illinois River to a high mountain prairie. See the wild tributaries like Silver and Indigo creeks. The trip includes long, steep pitches and some areas with narrow, loose tread. Email bonsaigoat@gmail.com for details and to sign up.
July 16 – 19: Young Kelsey Route
Start at the lower reaches of the Illinois River’s east fork. Rise through old growth cedars to an expansive meadow. Then descend gently along the banks of a mountain creek and ascend its west fork to the western end of the Siskiyou Crest. Finish up on the emerald pools of the South Fork Smith River. Read more about the route here.
August 3 – 9: Cascade to Caves Monument Route
Start from Pilot Rock in the Soda Mountain Wilderness and hike west along the Siskiyou Crest through true fir forests. Ascend to sub-alpine meadows where summer highs hover around the 80s. Then branch off the Pacific Crest Trail at Cook ‘n’ Green Pass and hike another 30 miles all the way to the Oregon Caves National Monument.
Shuttle provided.
All trips are free. Read more about the signature routes.
September 3 – 7 (Labor Day): Leach Loop
Backpack 50 miles through a rugged, unforgiving landscape shaped by fire and erosion. Traverse mountain peaks that come from nowhere, a stunning river canyon, and hike along the most rugged reaches of the Josephine ultramafic sheet. This backpacking trip is not for the faint of heart, but traverses a land wilder than almost anything in the lower 48.
September 18 – 21: Wolf Loop, Sky Lakes Wilderness
Start from the upper reaches of the Rogue River’s middle fork and climb all the way to its headwaters, a pristine lake along a sharp fault line. Then traverse a complex of mountain lakes to the Pacific Crest Trail and descend back through alpine meadows.
May 15 – 17: Wild Rogue Loop
