Appeal Tribune
❚ WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020 ❚ 1B
Outdoors
GOING ROGUE
A view of the Rogue River from the Rogue River Trail.
Rogue River Trail
an adventure in
rustic splendor
and soft beds — while local outfitters of-
fer trips that turn a challenging hike into
a luxurious experience of wine and craft
beers.
No matter how you experience the
Rogue River Trail — typically hiked May,
June, September and October — the key
is just getting started.
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
Editors note: Oregon’s outdoors is
largely closed to outdoor recreation fol-
lowing COVID-19 restrictions. Until that
changes, the Statesman Journal will
feature “greatest hits” from outdoors
writer Zach Urness each week in a nod to
armchair adventure and for future trip
planning purposes. h This story was
originally published April 12, 2014.
Setting up shuttle and lodge in
advance
Flora Dell Falls makes an amazing swimming hole along the Rogue River Trail.
PHOTOS BY ZACH URNESS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
In the depths of the Rogue River can-
yon, there’s a sense of being swallowed
by a place altogether separate from the
outside world.
The mountains encase the valley in
thousand-foot walls, and the river
glides deep and green past wildlife, for-
est and a civilization of rustic lodges
built beginning in the 1930s.
The wilderness stretch of the Rogue
River is among Oregon’s most famous
attractions — it’s been featured in
movies, novels and enough magazine
pages to paper mâché half the state —
but has always been the dominion of
rafting and fishing.
Yet during the past decade, hiking
and backpacking have become increas-
ingly popular on a 40-mile trail built
more than a century ago for pack mules
supplying gold miners.
Today, the lure of the Rogue River
Trail between Grave Creek (near Grants
Pass) and Foster Bar (near Gold Beach)
is its ability to provide options found
few places in North America.
The network of lodges gives weary
backpackers the chance to spend nights
in rustic splendor — meals, hot showers
More than anything, a trip down the
Rogue River Trial is an adventure.
Rattlesnakes and black bears, water-
falls and deep canyons, long days on the
trail and beachside camping spots cre-
ate days that never approach dull.
My wife and I lived in Grants Pass for
seven years and had plenty of Rogue ex-
perience — both paddling and fishing —
but until this May had never hiked the
entire 40-mile trail.
We decided to change that with a trip
of four days and three nights, two spent
at campsites and one at a lodge.
We settled the two most important
factors ahead of time — finding a shuttle
for our car (see below for shuttle details)
and reserving a spot at the lodge.
All that remained was to hit the trial.
See ROGUE, Page 2B
Fishing for something to do during isolation
Fishing
Henry Miller
Guest columnist
A reader asked via email about the
feasibility of staging a protest in sup-
port of re-opening the Mongold boat
ramp at Detroit Lake.
He proposed holding it at a golf
course with the rallying theme “let’s
close the golf courses for six weeks and
open the ramps in Oregon.”
To my mind, addled as it is, it’s an ap-
ples-and-oranges situation, a privately
owned business vs. a government recre-
ation agency.
But I sincerely feel the pain.
While I don’t have a boat, I’ve fished
out of Mongold with friends who do.
The hugely popular ramp in the De-
troit Lake State Recreation Area, as well
as nearby Detroit Lake State Park, are
managed by the Oregon Parks and Rec-
reation Department.
Currently, all state park facilities are
closed to the public.
Chris Havel, the associate director for
the department, said officials don’t have
any dates for reopening any state-park
facilities, but those will be based on
three priorities: public health, commu-
nity readiness and parks department
staffing and infrastructure to accommo-
date visitors.
“We know it’s going to be gradual,” he
said about re-openings to avoid crowd-
ing, especially with the state on the cusp
of the summer recreation season.
Another major issue is avoiding the
appearance of favoritism that would
come with spot openings, especially at
the more popular, and congested, sites.
Many other popular areas managed
by state parks such as Devils Lake in
Lincoln City and Prineville Reservoir in
central Oregon also feature amenities
such as campgrounds and boat ramps.
“Every park is somebody’s favorite,”
Havel said.
The department gets no general
funds in the state budget.
And with zero revenue coming in
from day-use and campground fees be-
cause of the statewide closure as well as
declines in Oregon Lottery and recre-
ational vehicle registration fees, the
main funding sources, everyone at the
department is as anxious as the public
to get things back in operation.
“We’re all developing strong patience
muscles through all of this,” Havel said.
He then reiterated the criteria for a
phased reopening: Public health and so-
cial-distancing requirements, and com-
munity and state parks preparedness.
“We all want to get out,” Havel said.
“We know we’ll get there. We just don’t
know when, yet.”
Turkey time
There was a text message from fish-
ing buddy Dick Wasson with a couple of
attached photos of a tom turkey in full
puffed-up mating strut attempting to
woo a nearby hen.
Dick, a former longtime local resi-
dent who now lives on the Siletz River at
the coast, said he took the photo in
south Salem during a visit to town.
According to the time stamp, the text
and photos were taken and sent on April
14.
My reply: “That tom obviously is
oblivious to the spring turkey (hunting)
opener tomorrow.”
Which was a joke, of course.
It’s illegal to shoot inside the city lim-
its.
Fish that keeps on giving
Speaking about Dick, he reminded
me that I’m glad I got lucky, past tense,
on our last fishing trip.
There still are a few hunks of halibut
in the big freezer in the storage room,
vacuum-sealed in heavy plastic bags
from Leonard’s Landing Lodge in Yaku-
tat, Alaska.
It sure comes in handy during the ex-
tended, self-imposed drought of fishing
opportunities.
The fish – the last of a 50-pounder –
is a welcome protein source and a nos-
talgic reminder of adventures past, and
the promise of more to come.
And barbecuing lends a sense of nor-
malcy to life.
Although “normal” hardly describes
my near-fanatical penchant for all
things barbecue. Anybody else you
know make garlic mashed potatoes on
the Q?
And because the gas grill is under the
roof of the carport, there have been as-
sorted cookouts during rain and hail
storms and even near-blizzards, albeit
with the grill meister clad in a heavy
coat with wool stocking cap.
The greatest drawback is getting the
food in the house while it’s still hot be-
cause it’s hard to sprint while holding a
plate of chicken, fish or burgers and
See MILLER, Page 2B