Lincoln County High Point Trip Report
two unnamed summits (3,401 and 3,400+ ft)
Date: October 1997
Author: Ken Jones
These uninteresting bumps have an access problem. One is on, and the other
is accessed across, the Miami Corporation's Grand Ronde tree farm. Gates
are open to the public only on weekends during hunting season. I believe
that foot and bicycle access is open the rest of the time, but watch out for
log trucks. If you find the gates open the rest of the year and drive in,
you are taking a chance of being locked in. Follow all posted restrictions.
Contact Miami Corporation (address below) for further information.
We took Murphey Road in from SR 18, about 4 to 5 miles west of the town of
Grand Ronde. Murphey Road was signed, and probably still is. It is not the
problem.
Once you get onto the tree farm, the roads change from year to year. The
big ones usually are maintained, but it depends on where they are logging
each year. Spurs can wash out during a normal winter if they're not being
used. Use a topo, follow your nose, use your GPS, etc. I can't provide a
complete road log.
I would estimate that we followed Murphey Road for about 10 miles, but the
junctions weren't all signed, and we backtracked a few times. At the time,
Murphey was route 100 in the Miami Corp's numbering scheme. Ultimately, we
ended up at a junction with route 300, which went east for 1/2 mile before
heading south for another 1-1/4 miles. Here, we took a spur east for a
short distance, and walked to the summit of the SE possibility (3,401').
There are probably some Coast Range views on a sunnier day. (Note that I
think we were within a mile of here from the back side, having driven past
Laurel Mountain [see Polk county] on an exploratory trip. We didn't realize
we were there, though, so we didn't try accessing it this way. I only
discovered the likelihood that we could have on post-trip map review. This
might be worth pursuing if you want to link the counties into a single day.)
We returned to the junction of 300 and 100, and went further south on 100
(about 3/4 mile) to route 230, headed westerly (actually, more like NW at
the junction). This wound about; at one point we piled some rocks in a
stream crossing to get the Accord through safely. We parked just after
reaching Section 3 (I think we were still on 230 at the time, but no signs
proved it), and followed a bad route to the highpoint, and a worse one back
to the car. There was a lot of slash and 8 to 12 year old forest to lose
your way in, and of course, it was wet. The highpoint is (was; remember,
this is logging territory) wooded and viewless. I suspect from the shape of
the land inside the contour that this spot is higher than 3401, but I can't
confirm it, and I'd certainly do both if I were in the area.
Note: All mileages above are estimates, after the fact, from maps. If your
odometer does not agree, use your map reading skills. If you don't have
any, don't try this county. A further note, regarding maps - I have in my
posession a blueline map from the Miami Corporation of the "Lincoln Tract,
Grand Ronde Tree Farm" updated in June 1986. It was helpful, though not
perfect. I got it by writing to the tree farm manager. He'd never heard of
anyone wanting to visit the highpoints, and was somewhat amused, I think. I
also mentioned that it was a family activity. In any event, he sent a map
(which I hadn't requested) and wished me luck. I sent him a thank you after
we returned. The address I used was Miami Corporation, P.O. Box 978,
McMinnville OR.