Opal Creek Part One
Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 10:27 pm
While Ozark Flip struck terror in the Cascade Fish Population I left rod at home I set off with my true love for the Old Growth Forest of The Upper Little North Fork of the Santiam River and the Opal Creek Scenic Area and Wilderness (actually we would just step foot into the Wilderness as postholing thru snow was not our cup of tea (or glass of wine either). Shortly after leaving Gates, Oregon we came upon a scene that, fortunately was not a precursor of more to come.
So we returned to our humble abode, drank our 151 daiquiries, ate our Kung-Pao tacos, drank some more wine, sat in front of the fire, ate strawberries and whipped cream, read, and contemplated the coming day's adventure. Oh--and listened to the rain on the roof compete with the rushing creek for the privilege of lulling us to sleep.
Standby for Journey up Opal Creek. Will Mike and Kathy disobey the forest service sign? Will they make it up to Cedar Flat. Only the Shadow knows...
good hiking
Mike
More than likely the forest in the background is a second growth forest and it is likely that the foreground area has been harvested a second time. While good for our economy (in some ways) not so good for fish and critters that inhabit the forest. After a few more stops we reached the trailhead and our 3 mile, 200 ft vertical hike into the Opal Creek Ancient Forest Center. Along the way we viewed 7 foot in diameter Douglas firs, had glimpses of the Little North Fork Santiam River, glanced into mine portals, and walked through an old sawmill site--all on an old mining road that in a place or two is beginning to slump into the river canyon.
The most surprising part of the walk in was the presence of snow--but we were walking at slightly above 2,000 feet elevation. Now even in mid winter it rains as much as it snows at this elevation but the snow must somehow win out. After slightly over 2 hours of walking and exploring we arrived at the old mining camp at Jawbone Flats. The camp, a mixture of new and old and restored and tumbledown structures, was virtually abandoned to our seasoned eyes. All the buildings had signs that identified the structures as residences or open to program participants only and to respect the privacy of the residents. Finally I spotted "The Office" only to realize that was a sign dating back to the old mining days, then I noticed a "1" under the sign and then recognized the building from the website. It was to be our home for the next two nights. So not wandering any further we enter the small rustic cabin (it was not locked) unburdened ourselves of our packs and before I could circle 3 times and sit down Kathy had opened a fine Non pba bottle full of a really nice Pinot Noir. She had cheese and crackers and I made myself a quesadilla.
Refreshed we walked through the village and noted the many relics of the mining days including not a few derelict vehicles. Among which was the following:
Our big event of the afternoon was the quarter mile jaunt to view Opal Pool. Walked past the building that houses the Pelton wheel that drives the generator that provides electricity for this little village (about 9.6 megawatts), then past derelict woodstoves, an old Firetruck, a row of about 5 old trucks lined in formation, an outhouse with a composting toilet, and finally the remains of an old stamp mill (I think). We walked across a relatively flat are called "the meadow." I suspect that it is residue produced from the stampmill that had been spread out and leveled. At last (all of 10 minutes from our abode) we reached, for the very first time, Opal Creek (our cabin was actually adjacent to Battle Ax Creek. After the confluence of Battle Ax and Opal Creek the waterway becomes the Little North Fork of the Santiam River.
After crossing the bridge over Opal Creek we walked downstream a little to obtain a better view of the pool.
Now here, from my point of view at least, came the big letdown of the trip. Opal Creek was not named for the semiprecious stone! No a Forest Service District Ranger in the 1920s claimed that the only sight that he had ever seen that was as beautiful as the creek was his wife. So he named the creek after his wife, Opal! What a suck up!So we returned to our humble abode, drank our 151 daiquiries, ate our Kung-Pao tacos, drank some more wine, sat in front of the fire, ate strawberries and whipped cream, read, and contemplated the coming day's adventure. Oh--and listened to the rain on the roof compete with the rushing creek for the privilege of lulling us to sleep.
Standby for Journey up Opal Creek. Will Mike and Kathy disobey the forest service sign? Will they make it up to Cedar Flat. Only the Shadow knows...
good hiking
Mike