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  • Wanderers Peak Trail?

    While playing with my GPS, I noticed a reference to Wanderers Peak Trail, which is on the other side of the canyon from fish creek.  It is about halfway between button creek and an unnamed creek to the north.  I see Wanderers Peak, but I don't see any references to trails.  I googled it, and this is about the best info I could find, but it doesn't give any details (length, elevation, trailhead location, etc).

    Oregon Clackamas Wanderers Peak Trail



    Feature Name:Wanderers Peak Trail
    Feature Type:Trail
    State:Oregon
    County:Clackamas
    County Population:338391
    County Housing Units:136954
    County Size:1868.17 Square Miles
    Latitude:45.13472
    Longitude:-122.17833
    Elevation:
    Map Cell Name:Bedford Point


    Anyone know what it is?  Is it really a trail?
    Wanderers Peak Trail?
  • Re: Wanderers Peak Trail? (#)
  • 1/13/08; 8:37:58 PM ¦ by Donovan
  • There is a trail fragment from the road just south of Wanderer's that heads towards the old Memaloose Trail. There may be some trail north of the summit but I have never looked. The east slope of Wanderer's is an open slope of scree and wildflowers.
    • Re: Wanderers Peak Trail? (#)
    • 1/14/08; 7:49:26 AM ¦ by Rob Williams
    • On the current FS map, it shows a VERY short trail from spur road 270/275 to the peak.  It is on the north side of the summit.  According to the map, the 270/275 road is gated about half way up.  Might be an interesting place to explore next spring.....
  • Re: Wanderers Peak Trail? (#)
  • 6/29/08; 4:17:56 PM ¦ by Joe Keller
  • I pulled out some maps this weekend looking for the Dry Ridge Trail area. My USGS map for that area was the 1956 version (I really need new maps), and it shows a Wanderer's Peak Trail that ran for several miles. It forked off a trail (Memaloose Trail) that began at a footbridge over the Clackamas west of Lazy Bend Forest Camp. The fork was on Memaloose Creek about 3 miles from the mouth, and the trail climbed south up the ridge to Wanderer's Peak, crossed over the top and continued turning west to past Memaloose Lake ending at a junction at a lookout on South Fork Mountain with the South Fork Mountain Trail. Looks like Road 45 overlayed some of the trail. I wonder if any remnants coming up from the creek remain?

    From the lookout the S. Fork Mountain Trail went south along the ridge clear past Bracket Butte (basically Road 4540 today).  Or it went north down the ridge line to intersect another road (what ended up being the west part of Road 45). Is any of this trail north of the peak still identifiable? Road 4545 may have been built over the lower end, but what about above that?

    The map also shows a Cold Spring Trail heading east from the South Fork Mountain Trail (4540) down Pick Creek, across Fish Creek and up Calico Creek to intersect a road (I guess where 5420 ended at that time). What ever became of this trail? Curiously, the map also identifies the current Fish Creek Mtn Trail 541 as the Cold Spring Trail, but the two are not connected.

    p.s. I like the new search feature added to the site!
     
    • Re: Wanderers Peak Trail? (#)
    • 7/2/08; 9:35:37 AM ¦ by Donovan
    • There is a chunk of trail just south of Wanderer's on the right side of 45 Road that crosses a creek and comes  up at a bend in the 45 Road a mile or so before Memaloose Lake Trail 515 (beginning rerouted) and use to connect with 515 on the left in a low spot beside the road. Nice walk.
      There is an older route, blazes only, that skips Memaloose Lake and ridge walks down from South Fork Mountain towards Wanderers. I have not found any thing on Wanderer's itself except a whole bunch of wildflowers on it's open east exposure and a big view. Heavily logged country.

      There are a nice 6 miles or so of trail criss-crossing 4540 from the saddle just south of South Fork Mountain. At one point across from the old road to SooSap Peak, you will find Cold Springs Ranger Station site in a grove of large hemlock aand the 519 Cold Springs Trail. It can be followed about a half mile down and to the south past the springs and into a large clear cut. There are pieces of this trail down into the canyon. Nice chunk at Pick (or Shovel?) Creek. Use older map. The '56 shows it all wrong. Continuing south, a nice piece at Round Mountain. Then down off the west side of Miner's, quite a little way below the road. At Divide Butte it gets real fragmented. At Lost Creek, where it descended, it is gone completely. The set of switchbacks out of there up to Baty Butte Trail are still there.

      Several people have spent considerable time looking for trail across Bracket Mountain. It is not there but is makes an excellent adventure.

      I have never had an interest in looking for 519 on the east side of Fish Creek because the country was so heavily cut. I do think that the west side down into the Wash Creek/Fish Creek confluence would be worth exploring.

      Our current access to Fish Creek Mountain Trail 541 from the Sandstone side is a fragment of Cold Springs Trail.