A slow drive in the woods...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground

Gardiner, OR

There are three rivers within 20 miles of the Tahkenitch Landing Campground.  The three rivers are the Siuslaw, the Umpqua and the Smith.  The Siuslaw meanders from its source in the hills east of Florence down through the valleys to empty into the Pacific Ocean at Florence. 

The source of the Umpqua River is in south central Oregon, east of Roseburg in the southern Cascade Mountains.  The Umpqua is born of two rivers, the North Umpqua and the South Umpqua which join forces about six miles northwest of Roseburg.  From there, the Umpqua flows westward to empty into the Pacific at Winchester Bay, six miles south of Reedsport.

The Smith River begins in the Central Oregon Coastal Ranges east of Reedsport, in the Siuslaw National Forest, between the watersheds of the Siuslaw River to the north and the Umpqua river to the south.  The Smith empties into the Umpqua River across from Reedsport.

Last Sunday, I finished my morning duties at the campground and drove to Florence and then turned east toward Eugene.  I was following Hwy 126 from Florence.  The first 14 miles after Florence, the highway accompanies the Siuslaw River to Mapleton.  At Mapleton, the highway turns across the Siuslaw and begins to climb up the first hills of the Coast Range.  The highway winds its way east, toward Eugene, following the valley floor, along Knowles Creek which is a tributary of the Siuslaw River.  (Knowles Creek is noted for runs of Coho and Chinook salmon and Steelhead and Cutthroat trout.)  At milepost 19, the drive climbs a hill and turns into a tunnel for about half a mile.  After the tunnel, the highway descends into the forest with tunnels of trees overhanging the highway for about six miles.  Along this route the road passes a wayside/boat ramp operated by the Lane County Parks.  The boat ramp allows boaters to launch onto the Siuslaw River.  The highway continues along the Siuslaw for another three miles, crossing it at the Whittaker Creek Recreation Area (another Lane County park).  I turned off the highway at the Whittaker Creek turnoff and followed the road down under the bridge over the Siuslaw and came to a covered bridge.

The whole point of this drive was to determine whether it was feasible to kayak from the Whittaker Creek area to Mapleton on the Siuslaw River.  I had learned that, while the Siuslaw followed a portion of Hwy 126, there were major portions of the river that I had been unable to access.  I needed to be able to determine if the river was passable in a kayak.  

While visiting the Walton General Store earlier in the week while returning from Eugene,

I spoke with a young lady who has lived in the area and worked at the store for some time.  She told me about a road that mostly followed the Siuslaw from Whittaker Creek to Mapleton.  It was called Stagecoach Road.  And it could be accessed from the turnoff at the Whittaker Creek Recreation Area.  While the drive was beautiful and the views of the Siuslaw were wonderful, the option of kayaking down the river was a bust.  Oh, there were plenty of places to access the river from the road, and there were many places where a kayak would work.  But the places where the kayak would work were only about 200 yards long, broken up by a very shallow river, descending constantly, over small waterfalls and a very rocky, river course.  It would take you days to paddle 200 yards, portage half a mile, paddle 200 yards, and repeat until you reach Mapleton 20 miles of river later.  But the drive was beautiful.

So, I decided to take a look at the Smith River.  It had been said that you can drive from Reedsport to Mapleton (via Hwy 101/Hwy 126 - ~ 36 mile) by following the Smith River to an intersection that turns north and takes you to Mapleton.  Easier said than done.  I drove along the Smith for about 14 miles.  

 

 

Sure enough, there was a turn that took you in a northerly direction.  But there were no signs anywhere that said, “This way to Mapleton”.  I did run into a Douglas County road crew, working on the roads, so I asked if they knew if this was the road to take me to Mapleton.  My GPS sure wasn’t any help.  It kept telling me to turn around and go back to Reedsport.  The road crew told me that they had no idea, they worked for Douglas County and the county line was seven miles up this road.  After that they weren’t sure where the road went.  One of the road crew did think that this was the road to Mapleton, but wasn’t quite sure. 

So, what the hell, drive on.  Approximately seven miles up the road, I spied a sign that said “Mapleton 23 miles”.  I appeared to be on the correct road.  As I continued, following the North Fork of the Smith River, I crossed a bridge over the North Fork

and drove onto a narrow, one lane, gravel road.  I must have passed from Douglas County to Lane County.  Continuing forward the road was truly a single lane and in many places the brush and trees were enclosing the road.

All this time that I have been driving from Reedsport, my GPS was telling me to “Turn Around”.  I had been following (Douglas) County Road (CR) 48, then CR48A, then ?? in Lane County.  No road markers here.  The entire time, the GPS was showing, first “Lower Smith River Road”, then “North Fork Smith River Road”, even into Lane County.  But there were no road markers, not even mileposts once I left Douglas County.  The drive was beautiful.  I crossed the North Fork again and the road began to climb. 

I reasoned that while there were many creek and river valleys, to get from Reedsport to Mapleton on this road, would require some sort of climb over the ridges/hills at some point.  I confirmed I was gaining altitude when I rounded a curve and the North Fork was down in a canyon to my right.

At one point on the drive, the GPS lost track of the road.

Now I knew why the GPS had been insisting that I should turn around.  According to the GPS system, there was no road for me to use to get to Mapleton.  It was one of those “You can’t get there from here” moments.  I ignored the GPS and continued my drive.  More road and more curves and then a drive through a notch in the hillside

and I had crossed the ridge.  I was on my way down.  It was evident that I was heading down from some heights.  I could see six or seven ridge lines in the distance.  The forest still enclosed me, but it was obvious that I was nearing a resolution.  My GPS was again showing that I was on a road instead of out in the woods.  About 30 minutes later, the GPS told me that I would need to make a right turn ahead.  Sure enough, there was the right turn, and would you look at that, a road sign telling me that Reedsport was 32 miles behind me.

I was now on hard surfaced road again.  There were signs of habitation.  I was on a named road: “Sweet Creek Road”.  Far out.  I also discovered a trail that looks like it would be worth taking a walk.  Next episode, maybe.

Well, I made it safe and sound into Mapleton.  I stopped at Al’s Bar and, according to the sign outside, had one of the “World’s Greatest Hamburgers”.  It wasn’t, in my opinion, the World’s Greatest, but it was damn fine.  Total distance traveled from Reedsport…46 miles, total time on the road…4 hours.  Of course, probably an hour of that drive was spent taking pictures along the route.  You know, stop, get out of the truck, determine the picture, snap the photo, get back in the truck, do it all again at the next location.

Next week I will be back in Phoenix for the 12^th – 18^th to help Deb while she has cataract surgery on her left eye.  I will post from Phoenix, hot, dry, stormy (sometimes) Phoenix, AZ.  Until next time, stay in touch…