A Hazy Day In the Siskiyou Forest

On the road to Myrtle Point

The trip  started about 10AM on March 8 with an overcast day.  The first section has been done several times before, Route 42S (that is 42 Spur not 42 South) to Lampa Lane into Myrtle Point.  I was hoping to visit some antique stores to look for radios but they were all closed being a winter season Sunday.  In my previous trips I was taking a lot of photos with my phone camera.  This trip I was using the Garmin Dash Cam to take photos.  You can tell it to save a photo or save a section of video.

After Myrtle Point I came to the Coquille Myrtle Wayside.  A small picnic area amid Myrtle trees (

Elmer enjoying the peace and quiet

and a nice latrine).  A very pleasant spot where I stopped and gave Susan a quick call just to let her know I had not gotten lost yet!

The plaque at the site said it was purchased and given to the people of Oregon in 1949.  

There was a gravel road at the wayside that looked interesting so I started down it.  About thirty feet later it opened up to a gravel beach area next to the Coquille river.  I imagine in high river periods it is under water but at this stage was solid ground.

It was a bit early for lunch so I continued onward into Powers.  Not a lot to Powers, a small town of about 700, it borders on the Siskiyou National Forest.  The Powers County Park looked like a good stopping point and has campgrounds, playgrounds, and picnic areas.

Next was the Siskiyou Forest and the road changes to FS33 which is a less well maintained road that eventually becomes gravel until you leave the forest area.  There are lots of gravel back roads in the National Forest which I believe you can travel on although some seemed to be less navigable than others.  This one was visible from FS33 so I went a 100 yards or so up it to photograph the big tree in the road. 

In the forest there is a water fall, Elk Creek Falls along with a hiking trail.  Very near the spot where you hike in to see the falls there was a road side falls as well.  The trail looked incredibly muddy so I elected not to make the trek.  

On FS33 near Elk Creek Falls trail

On FS33 near Elk Creek Falls Trail

On FS33

The cloud layer was visible as you gained elevation and seemed to hover just over the trees at times.  Only at one point was is foggy but the clouds in the mountains was very pretty.

On FS33 in Siskiyou National Forest

There were some great views as the road continued and Elmer was keen on seeing the sights!

Elmer enjoying the view

After leaving the National Forest I had Agness OR as a waypoint on my Google Maps and the road took me off of  FS33 and onto 375 which took me onto the "wrong" side of the Rogue River.  I realized it at the begining but decided to travel to Agness anyway.  Its essentially a dead end trip ending up at a lodging and a few homes that get their mail by "Mail Boat".  

The next photo summed it up.  While you may not be able to read the sign, it said "This is it, Agness, Welcome"

"This Is It, Agness, Welcome"

After the detour to Agness it was on toward Gold Beach and Highway 101.  The trip up 101 was one I've made a number of times and always has scenic views of the coast.  Having seen them so many times, I failed to take any pictures other than the Dash Cam views.

Click on the jeep below for a link to a time lapse video of the 5 hour trip condensed into about 7 minutes using the dash cam's TravelLapse feature.  Music citation: Road to Tutu by Martijn de Boer (NiGiD) (c) copyright 2020 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial  (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/NiGiD/61093 Ft: Javolenus

 Or if you want to view a few of the portions of the trip in real time click on the image below.  The video is about 15 minutes long: