If there is a link to specific language that allows access to Olallie Butte Trail we should probably post it here somewhere.
I could never get a clear answer on it.
Don2
Donovan said
If there is a link to specific language that allows access to Olallie Butte Trail we should probably post it here somewhere.I could never get a clear answer on it.
Don2
Here is a brief description which should be enough for anyone familiar with the area.
Get yourself on road 4220 heading south towards Olallie Lake. Park at the powerlines, there is plenty of room. Head onto the powerline road going east. After a short distance take the trail on your right which quickly climbs. It will cross the Pacific Crest Trail at about a 90 degree angle; continue straight, there are no sidetrails past this. It is a continuous but fairly even grade for 4 miles and 2500 ft. gain. The view from the 7215' top can hardly be equaled.
I only found this by meeting one of three Estacada (then-) high school girls who crossed the Cascades on horseback from Warm Springs Reservation to Estacada and home. This would have been 1962 or 63. At that moment much of the route was trail. They did use a section of the aforesaid powerline road and informed me that was where to find the trail up Olallie.
Back when this was all Forest Service land, a trail went down the main ridge to the south from the top. This trail now ends at a road coming west from the reservation. Be aware the Warm Springs folks consider the area to the south closed, unlike Olallie Butte itself.
I did some googling and don't see any specific reference to hiking on the reservation. There are some pages dealing with fishing, and some lakes are DEFINITELY closed to fishing by non tribal members, but I don't really see anything relating to access to hiking. Maybe it is a "don't ask, don't tell" type of thing? Or maybe since Olallie Butte is in the McQuinn strip (I'm pretty sure that is a true statement), that it is allowed?
I did find the following piece from a hunting/trapping regulations document:
350.220
On–Reservation Hunting – Non–Members: No nonmember shall pursue, shoot at, or kill any wild animals or wild birds at any time within the Warm Springs Reservation except within the McQuinn Strip pursuant to the terms of a cooperative agreement between the Tribesand the Oregon State Game Commission (now the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission), dated May 30, 1973, and extending to September 21, 1982, and providing the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission with the option to extend the term of the agreement for an additional ten–year period. During the term of said agreement or any extension thereof, non–tribal members may hunt in the McQuinn Strip in conformance with Oregon State hunting regulations.
I haven't looked into this for several years - at one point in time 3 to 5 years ago, they had a page including a map detailing open and closed areas. At that point basically the whole reservation was off limits with a few exceptions like Olallie Butte and the campground at Breitenbush Lake. At some spots on the Western edge of the reservation (near4220) there are still large keep out signs, like at Olallie Meadows and behind Breitenbush Lake and the road heading south to that lake. When I have more time I will see if anything was downloaded about this back then.
The import of their website has changed drastically since my previous visits as well. Now its all about tourism. Earlier it was much more about asserting their authority over tribal lands and history. And who knows, maybe they've decided tourism is more important than keeping people out of their reservation. Except those signs are still up.
I'm pretty sure it's not a wilderness area. This is an abandoned trail.