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This trail is accessible from NF 23 (Bear Camp Road) only when that road is open, which is usually between Memorial Day and the end of October.
Description
Prior to the 1950s, the Bear Camp Trail used to run between a ranger station in Agness, a ranger station at Bear Camp Pasture (on today's NF 23), and a fire lookout on Point 4973 just to the north. Sometime in the 1960s, FR 2308 replaced much of the trail and the Bear Camp ranger station was dismantled. The lookout was destroyed in 1965 and replaced by a communications facility.
The Forest Service kept the part of the old trail that runs below the southeast side of Brandy Peak as the Bear Camp Ridge Trail #1147. It still shows on Forest Service maps but is no longer listed on the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest website. A part of the Bear Camp Trail is also reported to exist between FR 2308 and FR 2308-016 but that part is no longer shown on most maps.
All sections of the old trail are no longer maintained and are sometimes hard to follow. The #1147 now runs between unsigned trailheads on FR 2038, a good gravel road. The current #1147 is kept alive mainly by peakbaggers drawn to Brandy Peak – the Curry County high point and the peak in Oregon with the ninth highest amount of prominence.
The northern trailhead of the #1147 is in a saddle 3.4 miles south of NF 23 on FR 2038. There is no longer a sign here, just a post that used to hold a sign. It's easy to miss. The trail is faint at first but becomes progressively easier to follow as it ascends short switchbacks through the forest to a level area. From here, it contours below Brandy Peak and then descends to its southern trailhead on FR 2038. This trailhead is also unsigned and even more difficult to see than the northern one.
A clear use trail to the summit of Brandy Peak leaves the #1147 about 0.6 miles from the northern trailhead and makes an ascending traverse to the peak's rocky summit. On a clear day, the views from here are spectacular! Mount McLoughlin, Preston Peak, and the Pacific Ocean are all in view to the east, south, and west, respectively. A long drive to a short hike, but the views are worth it!
Contacts
Shared By:
BK Hope
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