Recreational Activities - Trails
Mt. McLoughlin Trail
3716
Season: |
Summer |
Elevation: |
5,100 to 9,495
Feet |
Length: |
10.0 Miles Round
Trip |
User
Groups and
Difficulty Rating: |
|
|
More Difficult
- Hiker |
Prohibited
User Groups: |
|
Trail
is Not Designed for: |
Pack and
Saddle, Mountain Bike, Motorized Bike, ATV, 4-Wheel Drive, Barrier
Free |
Level
of Use: |
Moderate to Heavy |
Facilities: |
|
Maps: |
Butte
Falls
Ranger District Map
Sky Lakes Wilderness Map
USGS Quad(s):
• |
Fee: |
|
Description:
Mt. McLoughlin is located within Sky
Lakes Wilderness. The 5 mile long trail
to the summit of Mt. McLoughlin winds through rocky terrain.
In many places it is difficult to see and follow.
After it leaves the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail behind
(at a point about a mile from the parking lot),
the trail ascends through a boulder-strewn
forest; watch for blazed trees. Above timberline
piled-up rock cairns mark the route to the
ridge-top summit route. Along the ridge, the
trail is marked by the old Forest Service telephone
poles which lead to the top.
Due to steep slopes, poor footing and coarse bare rock, horses
are not recommended for the Mt. McLoughlin Trail above its junction
with the Pacific Crest Trail.
No motorized or mechanized equipment (i.e. bicycles) are allowed
in the Wilderness.
Please observe the "pack
it out" ethic (and perhaps you might even pick up other people's
litter as you come down). Take only pictures, leave only footprints.
CAUTION! Each year a number of people become disoriented or lost
on the way back down, usually due to coming down a different route
than they used when climbing the mountain. Tempting as it may seem
to descend the sandy, cinder slope on the south side of the mountain,
the lower you go on this slope, the farther away you are from the
trail. Once down to timberline it is a 2 mile, boulder-hopping
hike northeast back to the trail. A better way is to return back
down the ridge, keeping the poles in sight until the trail leaves
the ridge.
The trail can be difficult to follow during the descent, particularly
if it is getting late and the light is fading. Stay alert for
trail blazes and familiar landmarks. Look back up the trail
occasionally; this may help you stay on it going down. If you lose
the trail and cannot find it again, the best direction to travel
would be to the east or southeast (which will take you either to
the Pacific Crest Trail or to Highway 140).
Although summertime weather is usually mild at the mountain's
base, the summit is subject to cold winds, driving rains, lightning
and snow storms. Be prepared for weather changes -- and know the
symptoms and treatment of hypothermia. Bring along warm, rain-repellent
clothing.
The hike from the trailhead to the top of the peak involves an
elevation gain of about 4,000 feet. There is no water along the
summit trail; carry enough liquid for your needs.
HELPFUL ITEMS: sunglasses, sun-screen lotion,
hat, compass, insect repellent, and a first-aid kit.
About Mt. McLoughlin
Mt. McLoughlin rises 9,495 feet above sea level. Although its
eastern base is in Klamath County and the Fremont-Winema
National Forests, most of it (including the summit) are in Jackson County
and the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Mt. McLoughlin covers
an area of over 20 square miles and it comprises an estimated volume
of about 4 cubic miles. It is the highest peak in southern Oregon,
and the highest point in the Cascade Range between the Three Sisters
and Mt. Shasta.
Geology: Mt. McLoughlin is a relatively young,
composite volcano that first began to build up less than a million
years ago. Composed of alternating layers of pyroclastic rocks
(cinders, scoria and volcanic ash) and andesite/basalt flows, the
mountain's summit was once higher than it is now. Later eruptions
(some as recent as 12,000 years ago) added more rock, but the erosive
work of Ice Age glaciers removed massive amounts of the mountain's
northeast slope. From the summit ridge, you can look down on the
long, winding mounds, or "moraines", of loose rock left
along the sides and lower end of these ancient glaciers. Gravity
continues the slow, steady process of "wearing away" the
mountain, as loose boulders regularly roll and bounce their way
down the steep northeast slope.
Ecology: After leaving the parking lot, you pass through a forest
composed largely of Shasta red fir and mountain hemlock, with scattered
lodgepole pine and other trees; manzanita and other shrubs form
the understory. As you climb above the forested slopes, you see
only the hardy whitebark pine -- a stunted, subalpine species.
Although deer, elk and bear occur on the mountain's lower slopes,
most of the animals you're likely to see are smaller: Clark's nutcracker
(a grey/black/white bird), golden-mantled ground squirrel (common
at the summit), and if you're lucky, pine marten (a shy member
of the weasel family).
History: Mt. McLoughlin was a major landmark to local Indians.
To the Takelma people, the mountain was known as "Alwilamchaldis" (an
important hero in their myths) and it was the home of Acorn Woman
(who made the acorns grow each year). The Shasta Indians called
it "Makayax", one of three mountains which poked above
the surface of an ancient ocean. The Klamath called the mountain "Kesh
yainatat", the abode of "dwarf old woman", who controlled
the west wind. Arrowheads and other artifacts have been found on
the mountain's lower slopes; Indians occasionally hunted deer and
elk here while camped at lower elevations during the summer.
The
place-name history of Mt. McLoughlin is complicated indeed. The
first white man to see what we now know as Mt. McLoughlin was Hudson's
Bay Company fur trapper Peter Skene Ogden in 1827; he named it "Mt.
Sastise" for the Sastise (Shasta) Indians
who had guided him north from the Klamath River into the Rogue
Valley. Ogden's term, however, was soon changed in spelling and
transferred to the huge, 14,000 foot volcano in northern California
which now bears the name Mt. Shasta. Its former name (Pit
Mountain, from its location near the Pit River) was applied to
the Oregon peak. Still called "Mt. Pitt" by some local
residents, Mt. McLoughlin was known to early settlers by a number
of other names as well, among them: Mt. John Quincy Adams, Mt.
Jackson, Mt. Clear View, and Snowy Butte. As if that weren't confusing
enough, it had indeed also been named Mt. McLoughlin as early as
the mid-1800s! Dr. John McLoughlin, known as the "Father of
Oregon", was the head of the Hudson's Bay Co. in Oregon during
the period of exploration and early settlement. Tall, and with
a long mane of white hair, Dr. McLoughlin was a far-sighted Oregon
pioneer. It is fitting that this mountain bears his name, a name
that was officially confirmed by the state legislature in 1905.
It is unknown who made the first ascent of Mt. McLoughlin, but
by the late 1800s the mountain was probably being climbed by residents
and tourists on a fairly regular basis. The Forest Service erected
a fire lookout on the summit in 1917. Strong winds threatened to
blow the little building off the mountain each winter, so the Forest
Service replaced it in 1929 with a new lookout built on a mortared-rock
foundation. Often situated either above or in the clouds during
fire season (making the job of spotting fires impossible), the
Mt. McLoughlin Lookout was eventually abandoned and burned down.
Access:
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