[pct-l] Oregon Sct. A water report

[Nathan Miller]

Greetings and perambulations!  I hiked Oregon Sct. A sobo the last week of June.  Here's the water situation as of then (given south to north):

Fern Spring:  piped into a large trough; flowing in a strong trickle; huge specimens of Woodwardia fimbriata, but beware of the poison oak gauntlet

Lookout Spring:  trickling out of a small pipe

Kangaroo Springs:  I saw only one pool, otherwise there wasn't much water evident there

Lily Pad Lake:  full, but probably needs treated

Shortly before the trail crosses road to Chrome King Mine, there's a small but strong stream not on the map and not mentioned in the book

Echo Lake:  a goodly drop from the ridge, but quite full

Roughly halfway between Echo Lake and Cook and Green Pass, the trail crosses a small trickle with Rhododendron occidentale growing.  I'd be surprised if it's flowing when the through-hikers arrive.

Cook and Green Pass:  I didn't investigate that spring, but the environs looked really lush

Beardog Spring:  a somewhat strong trickle, might be dry by through-hiking season

Bearground Spring:  actually appears to be a cluster of several springs, all very strong with hundreds of gallons of water per minute

Donomore Creek:  lots of water, but its banks are a bit steep

Tamarak and Kettle Creeks:  while the trail crosses them on the map, they flow underground, emerging many tens of meters below the trail and probably not worth pursuing, as is Kettle Lake

Sheep Camp Spring:  gushing strongly from a 2-inch pipe

Spring/creek maybe a mile or so north of SCS:  flowing very strongly, not sure why it's not better-marked on the map

Seep maybe a half mile north of Grouse Gap:  supports a population of Dodecatheon and Caltha leptosepala, but will probably be dry by through-hiking season

Small stream near Mt. Ashland Campground:  flowing strongly

Bowl below Mt. Ashland Ski Area:  several trickles flowing well

Mt. Ashland Inn:  faucet and picnic table with sign inviting hikers to rest and hydrate, but not to camp

Freshet a mile or so south of Siskiyou Summit:  three trickles, at least one of which flowing underground where the trail passes

-Nathan Miller
Newberg, OR