Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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42.36520°N / 122.2701°W |
Route Type:
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Hiking |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Overview
Brown Mountain is surrounded by lava flows that have fractured into talus slopes making it an interesting mountain to ascend. Bob has a knack for routefinding and just seemed to find the right line up through the obstacle course that this mountain can throw at you. I liked his route so much that I took 24 waypoints on the way down from the summit. The last 500 feet up to the summit is steep but relatively easy. The tougher part is lower down where a lot of talus and brush/woods sections need to be sorted out. There were 4 or 5 talus crossings but brush bashing was minimal thanks to this route and it was pretty direct. I have posted 11 of the waypoints in the route section & I use lat/long on Nad 27 as the datum.Time up (for us) 2 1/2 hours
Back down was 2 hours.
Elevation gain 1700 feet in 1.5 miles.
As mentioned earlier, the steepest section is easily dealt with and the route presents no technical needs at all other than being a safe and sane hiker who uses common sense. Do not do this route solo, I advise against it and recognize that a broken ankle or leg would be a very bad thing on this terrain. You need to watch just about every step as some of the rocks and brush will do their best to try and snag and trip you. A hot summer day would not be a reasonable choice. Do this one in the fall when it is cool and bugless.
I was able to make a cell call from the summit.
Getting There
Lake of the Woods is about 35 miles from Medford and 35 miles from Klamath Falls.Highway 140 is the road to take. To find the right place to park for this one, use the following:From highway 140 take the turn off on the west side of Lake of the Woods. There is a sign on for this turn on Hwy 140 for Camp McLoughlin and Camp Esther Applegate. Take the first gravel road to the right and continue for about 3 miles to an elevation about 5,600ft and you are only about 1.4 miles from the summit. At the right spot, you'll find a place to park on the left side of the road as you are driving in on what used to be an old logging spur. The sign for FS spur 300 is still there but not easily seen until you are parked. Its obvious that the road has been abandoned for years. GPS your parking spot so you can find it on your return in case you get a bit disoriented, which I hope doesn't happen if my directions are of any value. After parking, up the road from the parking spot is a short connector trail that takes you to the Brown Mountain trail, a trail that will not take you to Brown Mountain but rather encircles the mountain. Choose a spot anywhere off of the trail and head towards the mountain and your adventure begins.
Route Description
Get your GPS units out, here is a route leading to the summit that works and hopefully will work well for you to.1) We parked at 42.3595 122.2429. There was room for 2 or 3 vehicles.
2) Walk up the road just a bit and head cross country and aim for 42.3584 122.2451
3) Waypoint number three will take you to 42.3584 122.2481
4) Waypoint number 4 will put you at 42.3594 122.2524 at 6000 feet.
5) Waypoint number 5 will put you 42.3610 122.2575
You may at this point begin to see old or discolored pink flagging along the route. If you do, look for others ahead and this might help you (assuming they are still there which is doubtful after all these years).
6) Waypoint number 6 is at 6500 feet 42.3624 -122.2608
7) Waypoint number 7 is 42.36206 122.26295
8) Waypoint number 8 is 42.3633 122.2651
9) Waypoint number 9 is 42.3635 122.2674
10)Waypoint number 10 is just about on the summit so keep going from 42.36392 -122.26809
11)Waypoint number 11 will put you on the summit at 42.36507 122.26912 Congratulations. Enjoy the views, visit the Benchmark on the south summit which is about 1/4 mile from the true summit and about 100 lower in elevation. You'll
find the benchmark about here: 42.3638 122.2702
Carefully retrace the route you came up. However, on this terrain, it helps to know where you are going and where you've been. Be sure to mark on GPS where you parked your vehicle. A low clearence 2WD vehicle can make it up to the parking area, as mentioned earlier, big enough for two or three vehicles.