1.8 hr
Overview
The 9,000-acre Cummins Creek Wilderness, created in 1984, has only one official trail that goes through it: this is the is Cummins Ridge Trail #1366 which bisects the wilderness by running the ridge crest along its spine. The first half of the route is along an overgrown forest road, while the upper half follows a trail that ends at the Cummins Ridge East Trailhead at 2,175 feet above sea level. The ridge forest here was probably more diverse before Euro-American settlers arrived, but is now almost all Douglas-fir up to 150 years in age. Much larger rotting snags in the forest attest to the results of the devastating Great Yaquina Fire of 1849, one of a series of settler-caused fires fanned by September east winds that absolutely incinerated most coastal forest from Tillamook Bay to the Siuslaw River between 1845 and 1853. It is instructive to ponder the effects of such conflagrations as you hike this easy wilderness trail with no real viewpoints but which offers a sense of quiet and lush remoteness. Start on up the trail, immediately entering wilderness as you pass a welcome kiosk. Salmonberry, sword fern, wood fern, and alder hem the trail, while the slope forest includes Douglas-fir, Sitka spruce, and hemlock. Quite soon, you’ll notice mainly Douglas-fir, which took over what was a more diverse forest after the big mid-nineteenth century burn. Forest blooms include candy flower, hedge-nettle, creeping buttercup, and false lily-of-the-valley. You’re hiking just below the ridge crest, and slope on the right drops steeply to Bob Creek. After you pass through a thicket of young spruce and evergreen huckleberry, you'll continue to ascend very gradually. After 1.2 miles, the trail briefly reaches the ridge crest but soon traverses the south side again. The road bed becomes grassier and more open, and you’ll pass a slump in a cutting which has taken out a few alders. Look for deer and elk tracks in the tread. After 2.7 miles, the tracks begins to drop – this is a good place to turn around if you’re just out for
Trail Stats
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554 m
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Photos
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600px-CumminsRidgeMap
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