Paul, you are a braver man than I. Back in July me and a few friends found ourselves trying out the Rapidan Trail. We completely lost it after the first road crossing and they weren't into it at all so we bailed and just followed roads for awhile. We did wind up seeing a few Cascade Lilies and got a couple of nice views in but on the whole the part of the trail we followed wasn't all that interesting. Glad you made it up further and found the views I was hoping to see.
Matt Reeder said:
Paul, you are a braver man than I. Back in July me and a few friends found ourselves trying out the Rapidan Trail. We completely lost it after the first road crossing and they weren't into it at all so we bailed and just followed roads for awhile. We did wind up seeing a few Cascade Lilies and got a couple of nice views in but on the whole the part of the trail we followed wasn't all that interesting. Glad you made it up further and found the views I was hoping to see.
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Hey Matt,
Nice picture, thx for posting. I was hoping to get a reply from someone who had done the Rapidan Trail as there is not a word about it anywhere in the guide books I have nor on the Willamette NF web site and nothing useful so far on the 'net. I think it is a neat little trail worth saving and should get on someone's list - I'm going to make a return trip and flag the iffy bits and maybe clear some downed logs and brush. Obviously it makes possible a Rho Ridge traverse.
I have no historical evidence to support this claim but I think the Rapidan is old indian trail - just by the location and layout and the way it goes so nicely up the ridge into a forest of huckelberry bushes with not much in the way of switchbacks.
I want to take it out further along the ridge above the 46 rd and connect to Mansfield and Scorpian Mtns and return via Short Mtn. There were a bunch of trails in there at one time but a bunch of logging since, I wonder what's left.
--Paul
There is little public info on this but I think it is part of a heritage trail called the "Mollala Trail", a branch off the "Klamath Trail". Years ago there was some kind of review of historic trails by the State to see which ones they wanted to celebrate. I seem to recall that these two were not favored because of their presumed use in the slave trade.
Donovan