Castle Rock Fork, Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness

(Click on any picture for larger view and slide show)

 

Hummingbird Creek is our destination

With June 21^st being the official start of summer and the longest day of the year, it is perhaps fitting that this hike was the also longest hike of the year for me… so far. I decided to take Colby on this kick-off to summer trek, since I knew he would be able to handle what I knew would be a hefty dozen miles or so of trudging through another wilderness hike with dad. Lucky guy, that Colby is…

 

 

Let the trail begin!

 After an early rise and departure from home, this would also be a very long drive to get to the Castle Rock Fork trailhead near the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness. With many miles under the tires, we were ready to put miles under our boots. The late morning sun dictated that we could leave our jackets behind. The sign said 6 miles to Hummingbird Creek, our turn-around destination.

 

 

Nice trail

 The trail began immediately with a gentle yet steady descent, of which I reminded Colby that this would be an uphill ascent at the end of our hike. The look of realization of this fact on his face was priceless, to which I reassured him that the total elevation gain/loss of this hike was not that much, since it paralleled the creek below. He responded with a doubtful “hmmm”.

 

 



Picturesque view of the trail

The first mile had been recently maintained as evidenced by tool marks and vegetation cleared. But after that, on-the-go trail maintenance was left to me and Colby. We proceeded on what was an easy trail to follow, but it was obvious that this was not a well-used trail, as we continuously kicked limbs and other debris off to the side. I have always done this as a courtesy to future hikers, and this trail certainly needed it.

 

 

Rhododendron in bloom

 

More prettiness

We quickly reached the highlight of this hike: Rhododendrons, rhododendrons, and more rhododendrons! For the next few miles, I was delightfully distracted by these late pink blooming beauties. With no picturesque views of canyons or mountains and such, I was pleased to have something other than just tree trunks to look at.

 

 

Forest beauty

 

Although there were no big views to speak of, the forested path showed us a few sights of the creek, a rock wall dripping with water, and various wildflowers still in bloom.

 

 

 

 

Rhododendron with double-trunked tree in background

 



 

 

A rock face with tears of water

 

Things are a bit fuzzy

 



 

With rhododendron world behind us now, we reached the 4 mile mark, looking for the bridge which, according to my map, would cross Castle Creek and continue on up. Our “bridge” across the creek turned out to be a fallen log about 2 feet in diameter, 10 feet above the creek, and 50 feet in length. Ok, so this is what separates the men from the boys. After a climb onto the uprooted trunk and with Colby on my heels, we traversed nature’s footbridge, safely to the other side. Woohoo! To his credit, Colby showed no fear, nor did he express any before, during, or after this initiation to manhood.

Proud to have made it across!

 

"I wonder if I can make it back across that log..."

We took a short break after the log crossing, where Colby contemplated his place in the world. And I took pictures.

 



Castle Rock Fork

A small hillside stream

The trail now continued on the other side of the creek slowly at a steady climb, with glimpses of the creek to our left and way down the hillside. This part of the trail had many logs which we had to step over or negotiate around. So where are those trail maintenance guys now?!

 

Rocks, logs and rock formations on Castle Rock Fork

Soon, we were at Hummingbird Creek, a quaint little area, and our turn-around spot where we ate lunch on summer’s first day.

 

 

Colby decides to do his part in keeping the wilderness clean

After a meal of chicken and cheese, we explored the primitive Hummingbird campsite, just a small flat area where hikers and backpackers of years past have periodically spent the night on their way through this area. Colby found an empty potato chip bag, which he wanted to take. After asking him why, he replied that it shouldn’t had been left there. Well, how proud does THAT make a dad! I’d like to think I had something to do with his sense of respect for the great outdoors and those who visit it.

 

Colby earns a gold star for his environmental awareness!

On top of that, he found a tin can and wanted to take that too. We promptly put them in his pack, knowing we had made this small part of the wilderness just a little bit nicer.

 

 

On our return leg we enjoyed a few breaks, snacking and splashing cool stream water on our hot faces. We arrived back at the trailhead, logging a very respectable 12.28 miles. All that was left was the 2 hour drive home, leaving me thinking that it was a good thing I did this hike on the longest day of the year!

A 12 mile journey

 

Castle Rock Fork location in Oregon

 

NOTE: Right after lunch on the return leg, my camera started acting up. After much trouble-shooting, I attempted more picture taking, thinking I had captured some photos.  However, after getting home, I discovered that the last picture my camera saved was of Colby holding the trash he had found(last photo above). I’m glad I at least captured a meaningful moment :-)