Silver Falls Backcountry Camp Exploration and Work Party, May 17, 2014

On Saturday, May 17, 2014 Chemeketans and members of OET, Run-Wild-Adventures, and Salem Area Trails Aliance met Ranger Steve Hernandez for a work party and exploration for a back county camp and shelter in the Southeastern boundary of the Silver Falls State Park at the Buck Mountain Loop/Perimeter trail location shown on the map below.  Thank you to Run Wild Adventures for using their van to shuttle our crew into the area. 

We met at 8:30 am at the main park office at Silver Falls Park and shuttled via 4 wheel drive vehicles to a staging point near the proposed back country camp sites off of the  Buck mountain loop (see maps below.)
Chemeketan team included:
  1. Mike Niemeyer 
  2. Jackie Niemeyer
  3. Chuck Bennett
  4. Beth Dayton (SATA)
  5. Karen Huntzinger
  6. Joanne DeMay
  7. Michael Gurley
  8. Terri Canaga
  9. John Jamison
  10. Theresa Conley 






This is the area we flagged as "Area A" - a suitable area for the backcountry camp.  John Jamison in picture. 






























Silver Falls Weather


***********Pre-Trip Prospectus below**********

4 Wheel drive access to staging area

From that trail junction we will go by foot the rest of the way.  Steve Hernandez will be staging tools and materials at the work site where we will be filling in sink holes at the South end of the Perimeter trail, trail bench re-establishment (digging and grubbing), brush clearing, and some possible turnpike construction. The other purpose of this volunteer day is to visit the proposed location of our first back country shelter sites.  This will be a rare opportunity for volunteers to make suggestions on location and management ideas of new park facilities.

Location of back country Camp

This back country site will be a nice location for an introduction to backpacking for young families and others looking for an easy overnight backpack.   The area being considered at this point is near Howard Creek and is between the main park day use area and Shellberg Falls near the apex of the Buck Mountain loop. While there are some formalities that need to be worked out, the Park will be looking for an adopt-a-trail type agreement with multiple interest groups, such as the Chemeketans, OET, Run-Wild-Adventures, and Salem Area Trail Alliance, to seasonally maintain the facility once it is built. 

CAMP LOCATION

 On April 18th, 2014 Steve Hernandez and Mike Niemeyer surveyed an area that had been identified by Kevin Strandberg as a possible backcountry camp site. The pictures and GPS waypoints below are from that survey.  Area 1 is at N 44 degrees 50.418 minutes and W 122 Degrees 36.070 minutes (Datum=NAD27CONUS) Other features of this area:
  • The area being considered is off the main trail and has been disturbed by logging activities.  There is an old, overgrown haul-out road that leads off of the Buck Mountain loop and into the area for the proposed camp. This road will make camp construction access easier but will need to be mitigated post-construction to make it more like a backcountry trail. 
  • The location of the camp in the logged area has some advantages and disadvantages: The approval process will be simpler as concerns regarding environmental impacts, location of historical artifacts, etc have been addressed and the area will not be logged again for many decades.  The area includes a lot of downed wood and, in some areas, large slash piles.  Its possible that some of the timber that's down in the area could be used in camp construction projects and mitigation of cleared areas and roads.  
  • There proximity to Howard Creek will ensure year round water supply for the area and is a lush and visually interesting area in the drainage just below the proposed camp area. At this point there are also a number of smaller streams (see photo) draining through the area - although these are likely seasonal. 
Your input needed: You can email Steve Hernandez with your thoughts or, better yet, show up for the May 17th work party and participate in a discussion with the other user groups:
  1. What do you think about the proposed  site and its uses?
  2. A three-sided log shelter is proposed for the site.  What would you see as the best and most appropriate use for that structure?
  3. What about camp fires/no camp fires? Structures provided for fires?
  4. How much structure/improvements should be provided for the tent sites in the camp vs keeping them primitive?
  5. How can horse/hiker/bike conflicts be avoided?
  6. What additional information would you like to have regarding this project?  
Contacts: 
Steve Hernandez, Park Ranger, Silver Falls State Park, (503) 873-8681, steve.hernandez@state.or.us 
Mike Niemeyer, Chemeketans, 503-910-9726, mikessummits@gmail.com 









Looking down towards the drainage for Howard Creek

Old haul-out road