R) Hike the unique Red Rocks
U) Outside the Applegate Valley
S) As Rushmore tackles Red Buttes
H) Brisk Pace + Social Vibe = All Welcome
MORE ‘ROCKY RED’ DETAILS WITHIN:
The Rushmore Society, your real life social network of very busy people, invites all our members, and those interested in checking out the Society, to join us on MARS! RSVP HERE!
Well, as close as you can get, the Red Buttes Trail, near Applegate Lake outside Jacksonville.
M) Red Buttes Hike is a moderate 8 miles
O) Providing a unique Red Rock landscape
R) And Echo Lake, a mid-hike REWARD
E) RSVP NOW! What you need to know below:
WHO: Members and Non-Members alike
WHEN: 8:45am, Schoolhaus Brewhaus, JVille
CARPOOLING: Yep, from the Brewhaus
HIGH CLEARANCE VEHICLES: Yep, definitely.
WHAT TO BRING: Lunch + water (lots, like more than you think) + sunscreen + hat + good hiking shoes + camera + swim suit if you wish to dive into Echo Lake!
HIKE: Moderate (6.5/10) 8 miles/1440 Elev. gain
ESTIMATED TIME: Five hours
POST HIKE EATS: Brewhaus, duh!
DRIVING DIRECTIONS:
From the town of Ruch, Ore. take Upper Applegate Road south toward Applegate Reservoir. Once you reach Applegate Reservoir, continue along the lake toward its top end to a T-junction. Turn left at the T-Junction to a gravel road intersection about two miles up the road. Continue straight from the gravel intersection on Forest Road 1050 for one mile. After one mile, turn right on rough and steep uphill Forest Road 1055.
Follow this very rough road not suitable for low passenger cars for about nine miles to a pass where multiple roads and trails branch off. This is Cook and Green Pass. Choose the section of the Pacific Crest Trail — marked by a white diamond — that heads uphill through a forested ridge and is paralleled by an old rough road (it’s the trail on the right-hand side as you drive up).
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
**Red Buttes Trail is quite exposed**
**You will be in the sun all day**
**More water than you think**
**Rushmore is a social network, not an outdoor guide group. Please hike at your own risk**
MORE ABOUT THE HIKE:
Whoever named the wilderness was either color blind or believed that “Red Buttes” sounded superior to “Orange Buttes.” In any case, the peaks are a sight to behold. They’re a dark, rich orange streaked with white marble veins that preside over an open ridgetop with views deep into California.
The cool part about the trail is that it doesn’t just provide views of the buttes in the distance, but brings you almost face-to-face with them. At the 2.5-mile mark, the trail comes to their craggy base, below which is Echo Lake, wrapped tightly in the valley below.
Strange as this may seem, the sea shells actually provide a hint to the Red Buttes’ geologic origins. The buttes are composed of peridotite rock that originally formed in the ocean a few million years ago.
The Siskiyou Mountains were created when the North American Plate ripped westward, pushing seafloor to the surface and creating bizarre and beautiful peaks such as the Red Buttes in the process.
DETAILED MAP:
Alright, that’s all we got. RSVP NOW!
The Rushmore Society is Southern Oregon’s premiere real life social network of very busy people in search of Adventure, Connection and Play. Do More, Live More, Rushmore.
