Fuji Mountain Hike

Overview

There are two routes to the top of Fuji Mountain: one leads in from the Waldo Lake Road through viewless forest (but past a couple of pretty lakes) for an 11-mile round trip hike; the other (described here) is short and sweet, the main obstacle being the 10 ½ mile drive on FR 5883, which is heavily potholed for the first mile but gets much better after that. Once at the summit, you’ll enjoy views up and down Oregon’s Cascades, from the tip of Mount Hood to Mount Thielsen to the south. Fuji Mountain’s name has no relation to the much revered peak in Japan. McArthur and McArthur of Oregon Geographic Names offer one suggestion for the origins of the name although it cannot be confirmed. An August 1995 issue of the Oakridge Dead Mountain Echo describes an outing to the top of the mountain by Cy Bingham and Charlie Tufti. The latter gave Cy some jerky and, upon questioning, averred it was genuine packrat. Cy spat it out, exclaiming “Phooey!” and “Jeez!”, the combination of which resulted in the mountain’s new name. The trail begins across the road from the parking pullout. Hike up through a recovering clearcut and into old-growth mountain hemlock forest with some Engelmann spruce. There are huckleberry bushes and younger grand firs in the understory. Soon, you’ll come to a trail junction where the Fuji Mountain Trail #3674 comes in from the right. Turn left, and traverse up along the side of Fuji Mountain’s south ridge. The understory becomes more open, with a carpet of lupine and woodrush and exposed outcrops of rocks. The trail switchbacks and winds up on a rocky tread, with aster, Jacob’s ladder, lupine, and bleeding heart blooming trailside in summer. After two more switchbacks, you’ll get a view along Bunchgrass Ridge to the west with tiny Deer Camp lake high on a plateau. At another switchback, there’s a view southest to Gold Lake and Maiden Peak as well as south to Diamond Peak. Subalpine firs now enter the conifer mix. You can also see rugged orange cliffs just below to the east on the ridge leading to

Trail Stats

Photos

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400px-FujiMountainMap

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250px-Looking_to_Mt

250px-Diamond_Peak_from_Fuji_Mountain

250px-Diamond_Peak_from_Fuji_Mountain

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250px-Mountain_hemlocks_on_connector_trail%2C_Fuji_Mountain

400px-Waldo_Lake_and_the_Sisters_from_Fuji_Mountain

400px-Waldo_Lake_and_the_Sisters_from_Fuji_Mountain

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