1.7 hr
Overview
The Dry Fir Trail is a recently constructed trail for hikers and mountain bikers that allows the former a longer hike to the tranquillity of Veda Lake (see the Veda Lake Hike). Since the path was created for bikers, it ascends rather gradually up a slope in the Sherar Burn, with wide, looping switchbacks. In addition to Veda Lake access, the trail offers two other major delights: a stunning rhododendron display in late June/early July and a bounty of black huckleberries – the most delicious kind – at the top end of the trail below the Dry Fir-Fir Tree Trail Junction. Be warned, though, that the Veda Lake area is a mosquito haven in early summer! The hike begins in a clearcut regenerating with a smorgasbord of montane conifer species. Rhododendrons and huckleberries dominate the understory. The trail drops on an old road bed to a skunk-cabbage/red alder swamp. Head up on the old road and cross a small brook. Enter an unlogged forest of Douglas-fir and western hemlock, and traverse gently upward through the rhododendrons. Make the first of ten gentle, curved switchbacks. Silver fir, western white pine, noble fir, and even a few Engelmann spruce and western larch enter the forest mix. The forest becomes more open and then, at switchback #9, enters a former clearcut and begins a long traverse vegetated with bear-grass, rhododendron, vine maple, golden chinquapin, and huckleberry. The latter ripen in August and densely line the trail for excellent pickings; the chinquapin blooms at the same time and fills the air with a sweet-musky odor. There are glimpses through the trees of Mount Jefferson to the south. From the 10th switchback, the trail makes another long traverse, also with an excellent huckleberry harvest. Finally, enter a shady silver fir/mountain hemlock forest and pass several campsites at a sign for the Dry Fir Trail. This is also the junction with the Fir Tree Trail #674, which no longer appears on Forest Service maps. Swing right here and reach the camping/picnic area at the Fir Tree Trailhead and site
Trail Stats
0.0 km
505 m
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0 m
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Photos
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300px-DryFirVedaLakeMap
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250px-Golden_chinquapin_%28Chrysolepis_chrysophylla%29%2C_Dry_Fir_Trail
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250px-Rhododendron_alley%2C_Dry_Fir_Trail
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