Cascade Siskiyou National Monument

We dodged a bullet! We had reservations at Hyatt Lake Recreation Area, a US Forest Service campground inside the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. Sadly, we got an e: mail a couple weeks ago that they cancelled our reservation as the campground was opening late due to snow. When we drove up there today, we learned that vehicle length is restricted on the entrance road, and also that the road is quite unstable. For example, this washed-out section of highway would not have been fun to navigate with Colectiva – not even remotely! Lucky us we got water, power, cable and internet instead in Ashland Oregon, and still got to drive here!

Cascade Siskiyou is another National Monument managed by the BLM. As such, it has no visitor center or infrastructure of any significance. However, it is in a lovely section of Southern Oregon, worth a visit if you find yourself in the area. In fact, this area is a treasure trove of reservoirs created from dams built in the Depression era to create water resources to fuel the population explosion. The scenery is spectacular!

The Pacific Crest Trail runs right through the middle of the Monument. As you know, the Woman loves the PCT and takes every opportunity to hike sections of it whenever we are in the area. However, those sections of the PCT that summit nearby are so deeply snowed in that there is no way for us to hike.

So, we head to some lower levels to try again. Once below the snow line we manage to find where the PCT crosses Historic Highway 99. Not only do we find a section of the PCT, we also manage to find the path of the Historic Applegate Trail. This trail was blazed by the Applegate family in 1843, attempting to find a less dangerous way into the Oregon Territory. We even found a cache here, which thanks to the cache owner, is the only reason we discovered this hidden gem.

Another cache led us to a section of the PCT that we hiked for a couple of miles. Oddly enough, we were able to use the Geocaching app I had on my phone to see where the PCT was in relation to Historic Highway 99. Then, finding a cache that was listed as being on the PCT, we used the mapping function of the Geocaching app to follow along the PCT – of course using the occasional blazes to confirm we were in the right place.

All in all, the Monument was a good visit. While there is not a visitor center or other such infrastructure, there is hiking galore all over the Monument. And the scenery is to die for.

Talk to you soon!