Thursday, July 13, 2023
Today I headed up into the Rogue-Upmqua Divide Wilderness to hike the Acker Divide Trail.
I drove up Road 530 to the trailhead at the sharp switchback:
Two trails start here. I’d be heading down Acker Divide Trail 1437:
The trail immediately entered the wilderness:
Then entered the burn area from the 2017 Pup Fire:
I crossed Lonewoman Creek, which actually had water in it:
After that the trail traverses across a large meadow.
I saw this lovely butterfly with translucent wings:
Back in the forest:
There was plenty of blowdown to deal with:
I passed the junction with Pup Prairie Trail 1434, which probably doesn’t see much use:
The forest was pretty green and lush:
This is Toad Lake, according to the map, but I didn’t see any water. Maybe it’s hidden beneath the vegetation:
There were some nice wildflowers:
I reached Cripple Camp Shelter:
The shelter seemed sturdy and sound, but it had unfortunately fallen victim to vandalism:
The fire ring in front of the shelter looked like it had not been used in quite some time:
It’s hard to tell from a photo, but these douglas firs were enormous:
The meadow in front of the shelter:
Just beyond the shelter is the junction with Cripple Camp Trail 1435 where I turned left and soon reached the trailhead on Road 400 where this plaque has been placed:
I headed back the way I came. The light was better in the big meadow when I passed back through:
This was a nice hike. I don’t think this wilderness sees many visitors, which is too bad.
I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at my lovely riverside campsite:
Gaia stats: 6.7 miles, 915′ elevation gain
