My good friend Ryan and I have been friends since meeting at camp in 2011. He just got back from an amazing trip though Europe with his girlfriend and I was dying to hear all about their trip! So why not catch up while climbing a mountain? We headed out to Pechuck Lookout, which is a hike I have been dying to do for a while, but needed someone who could handle the steep inclination. Enter Ryan! I had seen this hike on another blog I follow, trail-dad.com, which is this guy who hikes with his son all over Oregon and Washington. I love their blog, go check it out! Definitely worth the look!
So Ryan and I headed out to the Rooster Rock Trailhead which is maybe 30 miles or so east of Molalla and a part of the Table Rock Wilderness. When facing the trailhead signboard the Rooster Rock Trail starts up the hill behind you. (The trail is NOT the old decomissioned road to the left of the signboard.) Immediately the trail was pretty steep and it did not let up much until the very top. Can you say, hello calves!? Mine were definitely screaming. The trail ascends into Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and vine maple woods. Switchback up through brush of rhododendrons which blooms in late June/early July. From there you'll reach an old jeep road bed and then leave it, still heading up. Yep, keep going up the steep hill. There are about ten switchbacks, some of them short Z-switchbacks. Make a traverse, switchback, and recross the old jeep trail. Wind up and switchback again. I think there were definitely more switchbacks than my switchback nightmare over at Smith Rock! Finally, reach the High Ridge-Rooster Rock Trail Junction on the ridge crest. If you were to turn left, Rooster Rock is one mile down the trail. Turn right for the Pechuck Lookout. Ryan and I did not realize if you kept going left it would go over to Rooster Rock, which was a huge bummer we missed on such a beautiful day!
At the top is the lookout itself! This two-story cupola-style lookout, maintained by the Bureau of Land Management and volunteers from the Friends of Pechuck, is on the National Historic Lookout Register. The site was first established as a lookout in 1918, with the current structure being erected in 1932. It is open for overnight stays; reservations are not required. A little awkward when we went up there because there were actually a couple of people staying there! I felt almost as if I was taking pictures of someone's house. We wanted to go inside, but it felt a little weird so we just stayed enough to take a few pictures and then hike back down.
So Ryan and I headed out to the Rooster Rock Trailhead which is maybe 30 miles or so east of Molalla and a part of the Table Rock Wilderness. When facing the trailhead signboard the Rooster Rock Trail starts up the hill behind you. (The trail is NOT the old decomissioned road to the left of the signboard.) Immediately the trail was pretty steep and it did not let up much until the very top. Can you say, hello calves!? Mine were definitely screaming. The trail ascends into Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and vine maple woods. Switchback up through brush of rhododendrons which blooms in late June/early July. From there you'll reach an old jeep road bed and then leave it, still heading up. Yep, keep going up the steep hill. There are about ten switchbacks, some of them short Z-switchbacks. Make a traverse, switchback, and recross the old jeep trail. Wind up and switchback again. I think there were definitely more switchbacks than my switchback nightmare over at Smith Rock! Finally, reach the High Ridge-Rooster Rock Trail Junction on the ridge crest. If you were to turn left, Rooster Rock is one mile down the trail. Turn right for the Pechuck Lookout. Ryan and I did not realize if you kept going left it would go over to Rooster Rock, which was a huge bummer we missed on such a beautiful day!
At the top is the lookout itself! This two-story cupola-style lookout, maintained by the Bureau of Land Management and volunteers from the Friends of Pechuck, is on the National Historic Lookout Register. The site was first established as a lookout in 1918, with the current structure being erected in 1932. It is open for overnight stays; reservations are not required. A little awkward when we went up there because there were actually a couple of people staying there! I felt almost as if I was taking pictures of someone's house. We wanted to go inside, but it felt a little weird so we just stayed enough to take a few pictures and then hike back down.
- Date of hike: January 31st, 2015
- Distance: 5 Miles out and back
- Elevation gain: 1580Feet
- Difficulty: Difficult
- Mile Mark: 243
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