Oregon Butte — Tuesday, Jun. 26, 2018

Intending to do a multi-day trip on the Oregon Butte loop, we started out from Panjab TH (easily reached on excellent forest roads) in early afternoon.  The trail was in good condition, though in many spots it was very thick with flora, blocking vision for a few yards, and catching at trekking poles.  The usual conifers slowly became very old and very big firs, and the flora so thick it gave one the feeling of being in a rain forest.  Plenty of water in the creeks, but not so much so that they were impassable.  There were hundreds of downed trees, many probably within the last several years, but all had been cleared from the trail except one, at about 3 miles in.  Many butterflies around horse droppings, and a couple of squirrels, were the only fauna seen.  No bears seen, no evidence of recent bear activity.  After about one mile, we turned southerly onto Turkey Creek Trail at an unmarked Y trail junction, the left trail being Panjab Creek Trail, our proposed return route.  In the next three or so miles, there were five creek crossings, and probably and equal number of heavy mud areas.  Some of the creek crossings, on logs, were quite sketchy--so much so that it may be better to risk getting your boots wet than falling several feet onto rocks and water!  The creekside trail climbed steadily but gently, until at about 4400 feet (per my GPS) and 3.5-4 miles, it crossed (the fifth crossing) from the west to east banks.  Almost immediately, we reached a campsite with a fire ring holding two partially burnt logs.  (The Wenaha-Tucannon wilderness website says no fires, not even wood gathering, above 3500 feet.)  Several giant trees had fallen very, very close to this campsite some years earlier.  The trail seemed to continue from this campsite, but branches had been placed across it, in usual fashion, to indicate not to use it.  In a very unusual fashion, however, there also was a strip of orange surveyor's tape strung across the trail from two trees.  Beyond, the trail looked much less used, and began to climb quite steeply.  As it seemed obvious that someone thought that trail should not be used, we looked for a detour.  Just before that blocked trail left the camp, another well used trail bent off to the right.  Only a few yards along, though, a recently downed medium-sized tree (well, a small tree in this land of giant old-growth firs) blocked the path.  On the other side of the tree, the trail was nothing more than a recently smashed down bushwhack path that soon petered out as it tried to climb out of the creek canyon.  We went back to the creek crossing to see if the trail continued on the west bank, but it did not.  We had checked at the Ranger station before going in, and had been told the trail was clear.  Somewhat flummoxed, we decided to make use of the nice campsite for the night.  the next day, not wanting to make a steep climb with heavy pack on a trail that we might not be supposed to be using, we retraced our steps.  The TH information board had no more helpful trail condition information than the Ranger station, and we met no hikers on the trail, and hikers at the TH on return who knew the area.  Overall, it was a beautiful trail and nice overnight, but we wished we had been provided with enough information to be able to decide whether to continue or not, and in which direction/on what path, and why what seemed to be the main continuation of the trail seemed so disused and had two signs blocking that route.