Crews hope to log out 26-mile trail system
By Lee Juillerat for the Ashland.news
A 16-person crew has taken on trail improvement work in the Fremont-Winema National Forest’s Mountain Lakes Wilderness.
Heather Berg, a retired Klamath Ranger District ranger who has remained involved in trail improvements projects since she retired, said the Siskiyou Mountain Club (SMC) has its wilderness corps working in cooperation with the High Desert Trail Riders, which is providing pack support, and the Klamath Trails Alliance.
The crew began their work Tuesday, August 12, by hiking in from the Varney Creek Trail. The group, which pack support from the High Desert group, hiked to Harriette Lake where they established a base camp.
“Their goal,” Berg said, “is to log out the entire 26-mile trail system and also maintain water drainage, trim brush and repair tread as time allows.”
During a reconnaissance visit earlier this summer, more than 300 trees were found across the trails. In addition to the crew at Harriette, there are SMC and KTA volunteer crews on Clover Creek and Mountain Lakes Trails.
The SMC planned to fund and accomplish the work through the Resource Advisory Committee West Zone Trail Maintenance Project approved in 2024. That agreement, however, remains tied up in DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) review. Berg said SMC garnered financial support from the trail community to fund the project.
“This is an incredible contribution to public lands trails,” Berg said.
The Mountain Lakes Wilderness, located on the Fremont-Winema National Forest — with trailheads near Rocky Point and Lake of the Woods — covers about 36 square miles. Unusually, it is the nation’s only wilderness with a perfectly square boundary. The area is a cluster of four overlapping shield volcanoes. Its highest peak is Aspen Butte, an elevation of 8,208 feet.
Because of its proximity to Klamath Falls and the Rogue Valley, Mountain Lakes is a favorite place for day hikers and backpackers, in part because it has 20 small lakes.
Mountain Lakes was one of the three original primitive areas created in 1930 in the Oregon-Washington region. It was among the original wilderness areas created in 1963.
Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at 337lee337@charter.net.
