Author: Luke Ruediger

The Salmon River at the mouth of Wooley Creek, a cold water tributary flowing from the Marble Mountains Wilderness. The Salmon River is one of the most remote and magical portions of the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion. The region’s wild beauty is unparalleled. Located between the Marble Mountains, Trinity Alps, and Russian Wilderness Areas, the watershed is the axis of connectivity and diversity in the central Klamath Mountains. The region’s wild watersheds, spectacular high country and intact forests create one of the most important wilderness habitats in the west, including over 1 million acres of wilderness and roadless terrain spilling into the Salmon River from all sides. The Salmon River has been designated a “key” watershed for the endangered salmon in the Klamath River. The Salmon River, a major tributary of the Klamath River, provides a number of intact cold water tributaries that are very important to the region’s salmon and steelhead...

Butte Fork of the Applegate Trail USGS topo map The Klamath-Siskiyou Trailfinder is a fantastic resource for maps within the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion, including most trails featured in my book, The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History & Ecology. The website has links to maps in both the Oregon and California portions of the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion, a trail blog, trail updates, and other trail resources for the area. Check it out at: http://www.kstrails.org Read the exciting news about the Coast to Crest Trail on the Klamath-Siskiyou Trailfinder website: “A new National Recreation Tail called the Coast to Crest Trail (CCT) is being cleared from Crescent City over the Little Bald Hills Trail to the South Fork Smith River, then upriver along newly constructed trail segments to the upper South Kelsey Trailhead. From here the scenic trail climbs up to Baldy Peak in the Siskiyou Wilderness, and then heads down the West Fork Clear Creek to the Clear Creek...

Red Buttes Siskiyou Chapter, Native Plant Society of Oregon Program: Red Buttes Wilderness Natural & Cultural History Thursday, November 21, 7 pm Science Building, Southern Oregon University Luke Ruediger, author of the recently released  The Siskiyou Crest: Hikes, History & Ecology, will discuss the natural and cultural history of the exquisite Red Buttes Wilderness, a small but special Wilderness south of Applegate Lake in Northern California.  Southern Oregon University, Science Building, RM 171.  Refreshments at 6:45 pm, meeting and program at 7:00 pm.  Free.  Contact Kristi: 541.941.3744.    Getting to SOU: From Siskiyou Blvd, travel south (uphill) on Mountain Ave. to Ashland Street.  Turn left on Ashland St. and the Science Building will be on your right after Elkader.  Walk up the steps or to avoid the steps, drive around the Science Bldg. and park in the back.  RM 171 is on the first...

The Hinkle Lake Basin with Whisky Peak in the background This past weekend I visited a favorite place of mine. I drove up the Middle Fork of the Applegate River to the Fir Glade Trailhead and hiked closed road #850 (aka “The Hinkle Lake Trail) into the Hinkle Lake Basin. For over a decade now I have worked to protect the Hinkle Lake Basin and the Hinkle Lake Botanical  Area from OHV abuse. The last few years have seen an increased effort by many other individuals and organizations, and now, finally, things have begun to change for the better. The turning point toward recovery has been the Forest Service’s serious commitment, over the past year, to enforcing an effective motor vehicle closure for this now over 30 year-old Forest Order Closure. This has included adequate signage and notice of the road closure, gating, tank traps, and increased enforcement and monitoring. October, 2006 OHV tracks in lake                    ...