July 15-18, 2025.
Kalmiopsis Rim to Eagle Mountain
10.1 mi. | 2130′ ele. gain | 7:30 hr.
The day before, we drove all the way up to the Kalmiopsis Rim Trailhead, hoping to find a dispersed camping spot. Much to our delight, there were several to choose from and we found a great place to park the van for several nights. We didn’t know at the time, but we’d have five blissful nights of absolute solitude. What a treat to have this corner of the Klamath Mountains all to ourselves in the middle of summer.
Back in October, 2021, Aaron and I had hiked a few miles back on the Kalmiopsis Rim Trail. But I never made it to Eagle Mountain, which was my goal for the day. I decided to spice it up a little bit by making a micro-loop on some forest roads before hiking to the actual trailhead. Since Aaron was stuck in the van all day at camp, that added a couple miles to my hike. But, I was in the mood to explore, so that didn’t bother me.
The hike began under clear skies with a steady breeze that kept the temperature down. I snacked on ripe black raspberries growing along the roadcut. I passed through an open gate down a side road that lost a bit of elevation before climbing back up to the official trailhead. At first, I was delighted to find thimbleberry plants growing in a depression at the intersection of some old forest roads. Then, I realized the “road” I scouted on the map disappeared into a wet meadow that was overgrown with plants and littered with downed trees.
Negotiating the terrain in sandals and shorts, I cursed my adventurous route-planning decisions until something stopped me in my tracks: leopard lilies!
I had previously only seen these on the internet, while scrolling through iNaturalist logs from southern Oregon. I found a small scattering of them, peeking up through chest-high grasses. Soon, I stumbled right into a much more lush meadow, filled with towering wild onions, delicate bog orchids, cheery yellow sunflower-looking blooms and a few straggling western azalea flowers. It was heavenly! After taking in all the wildflower goodness, I grunted uphill through the remainder of the meadow to the dry, sharp and poky vegetation and finally collapsed at the trailhead.
Hungry, I had a snack, then walked up the trail toward Eagle Mountain. I took my time, making sure to find every single flower. I knew this part of the state was full of endemic and rare plants, including several that I’d never seen with my own eyes. This was a fun dayhike but also a chance to document these plants. I observed ternate buckwheat, Siskiyou willowherb, Waldo wild buckwheat, roseflower stonecrop, so many new-to-me plants it was hard to make any progress!
As the trail dropped down to bypass Whetstone Butte, it became more faint. The aggressively growing understory, in the wake of the Biscuit fire, was successfully reclaiming the tread. I cursed my outfit again as my legs were scratched up by all the gangly shrubs along the path. But, I was on a mission. I continued to the pass and then picked my way up the gentle, rocky slopes of Eagle Mountain.
On the summit, I ate my leftover pizza and took in the views. It was a perfect place for plein air painting. I enjoyed this extended rest stop until I realized that now I’d be returning in the brutal heat of the day. The sun was positioned in such a way that I didn’t get a scrap of shade on the way back. I used this as an excuse to sit down and sketch some flowers and eat any berry I found in my path.
Babyfoot Lake Loop
5.5 mi. | 990′ ele gain | 3:30 hr.
Since we were parked near the Babyfoot Lake trailhead, the next logical hike was a loop around the lake, culminating with a lunch and swim at said lake before returning to camp. Again, I packed up for the day and left Aaron behind. But this time I invited Aaron to join me at the lake after work! This was going to be a fun one.
I trotted down the nice, established trail towards the lake and turned left at the first trail junction. As soon as I stepped away from the direct route to the lake, the trail became brushy. Soon, it felt completely abandoned. Again, what looked reasonable on the map didn’t turn out so great in real life.
No, matter, I was busy finding even MORE new plants. Today’s discoveries included California fuchsia, Bolander’s lily, granite buckwheat and Siskiyou corn lily. This place really is a treasure.
These trails also traversed the massive burn scar of the Biscuit fire, which burned nearly a half million acres in 2002. I marveled at all the plant life that seemed to be thriving in this dry, desolate, sun-baked habitat. I had a hard enough time not shriveling up in the sun and I had legs to carry me into the shade!
Eventually the trail vanished altogether and I bushwhacked down the side of a hill, looking to intercept a switchback that would return me to the lake. Eventually, I got back on track and followed the trail to a wildly out-of-place seep. SQUISH! Is how I found it. After walking on dusty hardpan and rock all day, I plunged my foot into wet mud. Of course, I should have known; leopard lilies, bistort and saxifrage were growing in the area. These are moisture loving plants! Just another reason to learn about native flora.
Before long, I made it to the lake, where I set up my hammock. I had yet another delicious slice of leftover pizza, warmed by the summer sun. For the next few hours I read my book and napped. Then, Aaron showed up and we enjoyed a cool dip in the pristine lake. The worst part of the day was packing up and walking back up to the hill. I still couldn’t believe no one else had showed up at this lake.
Fiddler Mountain
6.1 mi. | 860′ ele. gain | 3:20 hr.
I took one rest day, then I was back at it again. I noticed another mountain on the map that would be a simple road walk from camp, Fiddler Mountain. Normally I’m not a huge fan of road walks, but after a few days of bushwhacking while on trail, I decided I could use an easy one.
It turned out to be an incredibly beautiful hike. Again, I found myself surrounded by berry bushes bursting with summer fruit and native plants that most Oregonians will never get to see. And for pretty minimal effort. It was still pretty hot and I had to walk uphill, but I had the whole day so I could take my time.
Soon after hiking up the road, I heard an unfamiliar sound, so I stopped and pulled out my phone to record it on Merlin. I’ve mentioned this app before, but it’s worth another shout-out. The Merlin app is free and it helps users identify and record birds that they see or hear. In this case, I used the sound ID feature to try and get a lock on the bird I was listening to. Merlin suggested a mountain quail, which I had never observed before! I couldn’t see it, and I know how elusive these birds are, so I crept up the road a little ways, turned around and took a seat near the edge.
I kept hearing the bird’s distinct call, and scanned the brush for any movement. It took a good 15-20 minutes of sitting quietly, but then she came out! I sat there and watched her squawking at the edge of the shrubbery for several more minutes before she disappeared back into the brush. What a memorable moment! I love how technology can enable these experiences. Without knowing what kind of bird it was, I would not have made any effort to sit and look for it.
For the rest of the hike, I followed the road as it rambled along the top of a rocky ridge. I paused several more times to look at cool plants, rocks and bugs. In the distance, I could see the smoke from several big wildfires raging across southern Oregon. We were very lucky to be where we were, unaffected by either the flames or the smoke.
Near the summit, I came across some milkweed plants with their weird seed pods, plus more radiantly red California fuchsia. The summit itself was marred with communications buildings, so I backtracked to a nicer spot where I sat to paint the scene.
On the return hike, I collected enough blackcap raspberries to share with Aaron. After work, we took one more walk down to the lake for a swim. At the start of our hike, we saw what appeared to be a new smoke plume and called it in to 911. They didn’t seem super concerned about us getting out of there, so we enjoyed our swim and spent one more night at high camp.
Roadside botany
Though the hikes were over, our trip to see southern Oregon wildflowers wasn’t over yet! I used iNaturalist to scout any new plants we might see along the road on our way down, then we took it slow through those sections. Most of the flowers were long gone by this time, especially in the lower elevations. But there were a few spots that hung on to water where I was able to hop out at search for plants.
After gorging ourselves in the thimbleberry patch we’d seen on the drive up, we continued down the long, winding road to enjoy blooming waxy coneflower and coyote mint. I was delighted to find the dried up skeletons of California lady slipper, since I’d never found these plants before. I’ll have to return a little earlier in the year to catch their stunning yellow blooms.
I knew of a few Darlingtonia patches not far off the road as well, so we pulled over to immerse ourselves among these crazy, carnivorous plants. They didn’t have any flowers, but the unusual hooded vegetative structures are cool enough to make a detour to see.
I think this region of Oregon is extremely underrated. There is so much outstanding biological diversity that anyone could appreciate. Unfortunately, this area is also under-resourced. With few developed camping areas, hardly anywhere to dispose of trash or access services, it’s a difficult place for most visitors to access. There is a lot of poverty down here and it’s evident that many folks are camping because they have no other choice. It is both a beautiful and sad place to explore.
There are nonprofits who are working hard to be caretakers of this corner of Oregon, like the Siskiyou Mountain Club, Southern Oregon Land Conservancy, Siskiyou Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center. They are great resources of information to help plan your visit. Also consider joining them for a guided walk or volunteer project. Do your best to be a thoughtful visitor and arrive prepared, pack out your trash and camp in previously disturbed sites only. It truly is a remarkable place to see.