CCC Road: Upper Trailhead — Thursday, Mar. 6, 2025

Only three cars in the Middle Fork parking lot by the Gateway Bridge when I arrived. I headed across the Middle Fork Road to begin my hike on the CCC Trail. When I had last done this hike a year ago there were several inches of snow on the ground, none this time. After going by the junction with the side trail going to the Middle Fork Campground, I was soon up to the section of the trail on the old roadbed at the junction with the trail going up to the site of the former Nordrum forest fire lookout tower. Further along the trail enters a nice conifer forest area with moss covered ground. About 200 yards before getting to the giant Red Cedar snag, I decide to check out the cabin I had found off the trail about four years ago.

I headed off trail up through the forest that does not have much underbrush, so is easy to hike. When I got to the steep hill side I needed to go up, I found a less steep route on a 45-degree slope. After going north uphill, I then headed west along the contour of the slope and was soon at the cabin site on a small bench area. The cabin is now in worse shape than when I saw it 4 years ago. The roof has now fallen down. No one had been up to it to do any repairs or other work. Looks like it is now abandoned. Someone had built it illegally on Forest Service land. Since I was last up to the cabin, someone else had been there and had broken open the door. Who ever built it had brought up a lot of materials, many of them pretty heavy to pack up the CCC Trail, then cross country to the cabin site up the really steep hillside. Things like lumber, sheets of plywood, rolls of hog wire fencing, many plastic heavy duty storage containers (some containing boxes of nuts & bolts, screws and other hardware, one was full of jeans) and even some 6-inch PVC pipe. The cabin itself is about the size a king size mattress. The inside was filled with large containers, plus many water and juice jugs. I even saw two new bear spray containers. Plus, it seemed kind of odd place for a cabin location since it was not near any water source like a nearby creek. There are several creek crossings on the CCC Trail. After checking out the cabin, I hiked back down a different route. This one was steeper, but easy to get down using my trekking poles. There is no trail of any kind going from the CCC Trail up to the cabin.

Once back down the CCC Trail I continued my hike past the giant Red Cedar snag. I went as far as the big rocky creek crossing with a lot of water flowing this time of year. You can get across it with some big boulders. I had lunch by the creek as two women hikers and their two dogs came by heading toward the Middle Fork Campground. The CCC Trail is in good shape. Only three downed trees across the trail that will need to be cut out. One Western Hemlock missed hitting a bridge near the junction of a side trail that goes up to a rock-climbing area. I used my trekking poles to get some of the fallen limbs off the trail as I went along. Since I had last hiked this trail, some of the foot bridges now have new side rails.

Only saw two animals on my trip, one Douglas Squirrel on the CCC Trail near the big Cedar snag and a Coyote walking across the Middel Fork Road between the Oxbow Loop Trail and the Middle Fork River Bridge on my drive back home. I had seen a Cougar and a Black Bear on other trips. Made for another nice day of hiking up the Middle Fork Valley. George