[pct-l] Mt. Jefferson Wilderness

[Charles Cornwall]

Susan,  I actually did a section hike of this area from Sept 15th to the 22nd, 
from McKenzie Pass to the Columbia River, sections E and F.  From Santiam
Pass to Russel Creek is a normal hike, nothing out of the ordinary.  I had 
planned to camp at Jeff Creek the night before crossing Russel Creek, which is
maybe a mile or 2 south, due to recent posts on pct-l (the recent thread on here
talking about Russel Creek) about it being better to cross in the morning.  But I
was by the creek/camp before I realized it (Jeff Creek - I expected it to be bigger than
it ended up being).  Anyway when I arrived at Russel Creek it was 5:30 in the afternoon.
There was plenty of water roaring down.  I didn't like my options right by the trail crossing
so went upriver quite a ways checking for a better place.  I went farther than the 50-100
yards that had been mentioned here, and didn't see anyplace workable, so worked my
way back down to the trail.  Just upriver from the trail crossing are a set of cairns, one
on each side of the creek, where it looks like somebody has filled in several rocks to walk
on part of way across, then it was just a short hop to another large rock on the other side.
This definitely seemed possible, so I made the crossing here and it was easier than I had
imagined it would be.  I later found out there was a trail crew working at Whitwater Creek,
which is just a few miles farther on and just below Scout Lake.  I'm guessing they are the
ones that made this crossing possible by placing the rocks.  Otherwise I would have had to
find a place to camp that night and cross the next morning.  The divide to the north of Jefferson
Park is a steep hike up there but definitely worth it for the view.
 
Charlie
 
 
Sunday, September 27, 2009 10:47 AM




From: "Susan Virnig" <susan at newstories.org>



To: pct-l at backcountry.net


Just asking again about the section from Santiam Pass north to Scout Lake,
including the difficult ford of Russell Creek.

I posted this same question about a month ago and got some helpful
information about how best to do the ford.

I'm just posting again, in case anyone has recently been over this stretch
of trail and can give me an update.

This Wednesday three of us will be going in up from the Whitewater Creek
trailhead to Scout Lake, then dayhiking 3 miles north to the ridge (so I can
touch the place I was turned around by a snowstorm, in order to walk the
WHOLE trail) and then we'll head SOBO to Santiam Pass.

Thanks for any info or suggestions you can provide.