Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Page A-9
Winding Trails: by Al Hobart
Thursday, August 11, 1966
Illinois Valley News
Preston Peak Climb
Few mountain peaks in the
Siskiyous rise to an elevation of
over 7,000 feet. The two highest
are Mt Ashland, 7,533 feet. and
Dutchman Peak, 7,418 feet., both
situated near the eastern end of the
Siskiyous. Fourth member of this
small group of rocky aristocrats,
outclassed by Observation Peak
by a mere 30 feet, is Preston Peak,
right here in our own back yard. It
is 7,310 feet high.
If not in height, there are
at least a few important respects
in which Preston stands out
above its few peers: It is the
most spectacular of the group,
its bare twin peaks rising above
the surrounding mountains like a
sentinel ever on the alert. From the
higher of its two peaks the great
rock drops away sheer for several
hundred feet on its north face
and for a hundred feet or more
to the short saddle connecting it
with the lower peak to the east.
The south side too is an almost
perpendicular drop-off. From the
west a steep and narrow backbone
of rock provides the only means
of attaining this highest point
without the use of technical
climbing apparatus. Extreme care
in selecting secure hand and toe
holds is necessary in much of the
climb; and to be on the safe side,
a few well-chosen words of prayer
might help in negotiating the
rougher spots.
What makes the Preston
climb really rough is the fact that
there is no trail or easy approach
to the main peak. Shale, great
boulders and a tangle of brush
surround the mountain at the
lower levels. The lower peak
can be quite easily reached by
taking the long trail down Clear
Creek from Young’s Valley, up
the Rattlesnake Springs trail and
along a high ridge leading up from
there. My first approach to the
mountain was over this route, now
so overgrown with brush for much
of the way as to be hard to locate
at times.
The most direct route to
the peak from Young’s Valley
is by way of Cyclone Gap, past
El Capitan, Copper Peak, and
Raspberry Lake. This is the route
we took when Charles, Joe, and
I climbed to the summit a few
days ago. Joe’s 10-year-old Danny
gamely stayed with us till we
reached the most hairy part of the
climb near the summit, where on
either side of the rocky comb you
can look straight down for what
seems to be at least half a mile.
I met the gang on Rockydale
Road at 4 a.m., where they
transferred to the jeep, and we
took to the mountains at Bear-
camp Ridge. Our 8 or 9 hour
trip was punctuated by several
weird incidents that would have
discouraged less hardy souls, but
we carried on to a successful and
happy finish. Tobegin with, a few
miles from take-off old busybody
Joe drew my attention to the gas
gauge. It said empty–almost. (I
had slipped up there–but I think I
convinced them the gas gremlins
did it.) Then on the way to Cave
Junction to get gas Charles braced
his big No. 10s on the dashboard
smack on top of the cigarette
lighter and almost set the jeep on
fire. When the smoke from the
burning insulation cleared away
Little Toot coughed a couple of
times, backfired bravely, then took
off like nothing untoward had
happened.
With a full gas tank and
everybody comfortably squeezed
into Little Toot’s 2-man cab we
made good time up the big ridge,
past Camp Chicago and Sanger
Lake and into Young’s Valley. A
short distance farther on, at Bell
Echo campsite, the repaired road
ends, but we went a couple of
miles farther on an improvised
jeep trail.
When we had hiked the 2 or
3 miles in to Raspberry Lake our
steep climb began, and for half
a mile we had to fight our way
through occasional dense tangles
of brush. Finally we reached the
base of the last rocky ascent to the
summit, and from there it was a
matter of picking the best way up.
When at last we reached the
majestic old rock’s highest point
I experienced a feeling of elation
even greater than when I stood on
the summit of Mt. Shasta, nearly
twice as high–because I had once
tried to climb Preston’s highest
peak when alone, and chickened
out. I’d crawled all over the
mountain otherwise many times,
including the lower peak, but the
high point had me buffaloed.
Joe and Charles for a long
time have wanted to climb Preston
too. Now at last we have it, my
favorite mountain, with its tiny
glacier and all in our hip pocket.
Joe, just to be different, climbed
the last couple of hundred feet
twice–he forgot his rope and had
to go back after it.
There may be other forms
of exercise that are better and
outdoor thrills that are greater than
mountain climbing, but we haven’t
discovered any. Preston Peak
affords a wonderful example of
at least one of the greatest joys of
mountain climbing: Its moderately
high peak may not extend so
far toward the heavens, but the
scenery from up there is out of
this world.
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