Rickreall Ridge 5-29-17

Hi All,

What follows is an account of a long day biking into an area I have always wanted to explore, and finally made the effort.  Back in the late 80s a fire ravaged many acres of Polk County, near the Aaron Mercer Reservoir watershed, and it was placed “off limits” to give some recovery time for the trees, plants and animals.  We heard this was temporary, but, it is obviously permanent.  There is a part of it named “Rickreall Ridge,” which I have been eyeing at a distance of about 7 miles away from the Valsetz Road, which is reminiscent of the rimrock so common in eastern Oregon, and looks like great habitat for Rock Wrens, and possibly Ash-throated Flycatchers.  There is also a report of Golden Eagles nesting in the area in the early 80s, and a report of Peregrine Falcons nesting as recently as last year.  

The main challenge is that it is a long walk or bike ride in.  I have occasionally scoured over maps and looked at google earth to survey the shortest, or easiest route to the place.  With the weather looking acceptable on Memorial Day, I decided to just do it.  I chose Robb Mill road as my entry point because I had already walked  part way on it, so was at least that much familiar with it.  

I packed food and water, camera and binoculars, and got to the parking gate at dawn.  The first two miles were all uphill, but pushing a light weight bike was really not much harder than walking, and, at least on the return trip it would be all downhill when I needed it most.  After two miles I reached the turn off and headed into unexplored territory for me.  In the next mile I went through some old growth forest which I always find intriguing.  The terrain was in general fairly level with ups and downs, so I pushed the bike up hills and coasted downhill.

One big hindrance was that it was foggy, and the visibility was maybe 200 yards.  This became a factor when I stopped for breakfast as I was obviously at a clear cut but could not see much of it, or get any bearings I might possibly benefit from.  While eating I texted my wife and scrutinized the old forest service map I had, as well studied the area on both the Motion X GPS app and Google Map app.  I was now somewhat disoriented concluding that the road dead ended a short way farther, and I could just not figure out where I was. Hmmm…. what shall I do?

I began back-tracking and after a half mile remembered that Google Maps had an overlay which showed the terrain, so after looking at that, decided to turn around and go past the place where I ate.  I found that the road kept going and I was headed in the right direction.  After another hour I came to a T and so looked at Google Maps again, and decided I needed to go left.  This was a dumb mistake!  It took me downhill and about a mile later I sensed this was wrong, so got out the iPhone again and figured out I better turn around again.  It was a “long” walk back uphill and caused me a good 45 minutes of time. 

Once back at the T I went the way I should have done before.  It was mostly downhill as well until I came to a junction of 4 other roads, and the one straight ahead looked the least used, but the map app was clear - another quarter mile and I’d be at the area I long awaited for.  It was all uphill, and it was a relief finally getting there.  It was now 11:00 and it was still foggy, but the sun was trying to peek through and there was a scant amount of blue sky to the east.  

I took a few pictures, then biked along the rim toward the rimrock.  I knew the road would end near the rimrock, and when it began going uphill, I left the bike and began walking.  Beyond the end of the road I ventured out to the rimrock area, and found a place to kick back, rest, and take in the scenery.  I played the songs of a few rare birds I hoped might be around, but no response.  I hung out here for about 20 minutes.

From the map I could see there was a road at the top of the ridge, so I meandered up that way, and soon found the old logging road.  My father-in-law tells of the old times when, during the hot summer days, someone would patrol this area to be on the lookout for forest fires, and I imagined that this old road was built on the trail he may have used.  It was remote, and because there was grass growing in the middle of this logging road, it had been certainly off limits to vehicles for a long time.  

I wanted to see if there were any spurs off of the road from which I could get different views of the rimrock, so walked a good half mile along it.  When it appeared that the rest would be downhill, I stopped for lunch.  On the way back, right up on top (which was 2,600 feet elevation) I saw what looked like a possible trail which might lead to a view point.  Sure enough.  It was so grown over I missed it on the first pass.  It was a great viewpoint, and by now the fog had lifted as well, so I took a number of pictures, like the only one with me in it. 

At the top I also had phone service, so reconnected with my wife, filling her in on my adventure.  We also have apps by which we can see where the other (phone) is, so she was “watching” me anyway.  They are really supposed to find/locate your phone if it is lost, and hopefully we won’t have to ever use it for that.  

Birds?  I did not find any of the birds I was hoping for.  There were plenty of others I saw and heard.  Mountain Quail were almost always calling within range of my ears; the occasional Wrentit was welcome; Hermit Thrushes in the woods at the top were nice; a Grey Jay on the way was nice; Black-throated, Wilson’s, Hermit and Orange-crowned Warblers were usually evident; White-crowned Sparrows were always singing in the clear-cuts; Swainson’s Thrushes serenaded from many places along the way; occasional Warbling, Hutton’s and Cassin's Vireos were heard; Turkey Vultures glided overhead; a Purple Martin was heard on the way back.  There were many others, but these come more prominently to my mind.

Well, it was time to start heading back.  Since it was cloudy/foggy when I arrived, I wanted to get better pictures on the way out, so stopped here and there to do so.  I could see a bluff not too far from where I needed to exit, part of the rim line which I was on, where I suspected I would gain a great advantage for picture taking.  So I left my bike again and traipsed through the trees and brush to where I needed to be, maybe 200 yards, and got some more decent pictures.  I figured it may be a while before I return to the area, so might as well explore more of it as was practical.  Just before leaving I spied a hole like feature in the cliff face to the south, which I determined was the “Rock House Cave.”  I had been here a long time ago with my father-in-law, and it was also written on the Forest Service map I was carrying.  I knew it was nearby anyway, so it was nice to at least see it from about a third of a mile away.  There is an old story that the person who used to patrol for forest fires had to walk past that cave, and apparently a cougar jumped out of the cave as he walked by, supposedly right over his head!  

The view of the area when I first saw it, fog and all

This is where I rested for a time, playing songs of rare birds and hoping for a response

Wild flowers were common

At the top looking back.  The bluff where I took the final pictures from
was over my head and slightly to the right

One more shot of the rimrock area

Another view of the rimrock

Looking back at the area from the bluff

The "Rock House Cave" about 1/3 mile away

Well, it was now time to leave.  I had already learned it was dangerous going downhill on old logging/gravel roads.  If you got going too fast you could lose control and wipe out.  Also, if you were rounding a corner going too fast the back wheel might slip out from under you.  Plus, if the hill was long enough, your eyes would well up with tears and your vision would get blurry, and you might not see a rock in the road.  After some longer coasting downhill, my arms were going numb from all the vibrations.  Still, it was better than peddling on even ground, and certainly beat walking uphill.  

Going out took less time than going in because it was more downhill, and, I did not get lost.  I got back at 4:30.  At 63, I am pushing the limit.  It would have helped if I was in better shape, but my ambitions are often bigger than my abilities.  Soo, today I am rather sore and taking it easy.  I slept quite well last night for that obvious reason. 

Here is a video clip from the bluff, my first to try to add to a blog:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132744272@N07/34156894914/in/dateposted-public/