Miller Lake

Miller Lake

Conifer Highlights:

· Baker's cypress (Hesperocyparis bakeri)

· Brewer's spruce (Picea breweriana)

· Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica var. shastensis)

· mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana)

· white fir (Abies concolor x Abies grandis) hybrid

· noble fir (Abies procera)

· sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana)

· western white pine (Pinus monticola)

· ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)

· incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)

· Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Some other cool species we might encounter along the way: Brewer's aster, sickletop lousewort, woodland beardtongue, quill-leaf lewisia, giant red paintbrush, white-veined wintergreen, one-sided wintergreen, western wild ginger, threeleaf foamflower, fireweed, northern phlox, corn lily, swamp onion, phantom orchid, pipsissiwa, twinflower, Beargrass, leathery grapefern, Pacific rhododendron, spotted coralroot, Sadler's oak, red huckleberry, purpleflower honeysuckle, curlleaf mountain mahogany, and more!

Leaders: Luke Ruediger & Suzie Savoie, with guest botanist Matt Dybala

About Matt Dybala

Since completing a degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon in 1998, Matt Dybala has served as an environmental educator with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. He is also a post-baccalaureate student in the botany department at Oregon State University and volunteers with our local Siskiyou chapter of the Native Plant Society of Oregon to organize field-based learning opportunities in ecology and botany.

Brief Trip Description:

Park at the Miller Lake trailhead and hike the trail for a half mile or so, then head off-trail to look at Baker's cypress, then return to the trail and complete the loop around the upper lake and return to the trailhead.

More Info:

This field trip will hike the Miller Lake Trail loop above Miller Lake, enjoying diverse wildflowers, shrubs and conifers. We will then take an off-trail detour to visit the Baker's cypress population. This will be a difficult hike with steep, uneven terrain during the off-trail portion. Trekking poles are advised.

The Applegate is home to one of Oregon's rarest trees, an enigmatic conifer called Baker's cypress. Found in only 11 widely scattered locations in northern California and southwest Oregon, Baker's cypress has a very restricted range.

Cypress trees generally don't grow in cold or wet climates; however, Baker's cypress is tolerant of cold and snow, growing farther north than any other cypress in North America. Near Miller Lake, Baker's cypress trees grow between 5,000'-6,000' elevation where persistent winter snow is the norm.

Botanist-explorer, Milo Baker, who found the species in northern California in 1898, first described Baker's cypress within the home range of the Modoc Indians. This is the reason why Baker's cypress is also referred to as Modoc cypress. Additionally, it is sometimes called Siskiyou cypress.

The botanical name for Baker's cypress is Hesperocyparis bakeri. The genus, "Hesperocyparis," translates to "western cypress," and the species name, bakeri, honors Milo Baker.

In the Applegate watershed Baker's cypress trees grow in four distinct groves along Steve Peak Ridge, including the northeast slope of Miller Peak at an off-trail location east of Miller Lake.

The Miller Peak grove has the second largest Baker's cypress trees in the world. They are located within the Oliver Matthews Research Natural Area. Oliver Matthews (1892-1979), who described himself as a "botanical tramp," drove around Oregon in his Model A Ford studying the state's rare and large conifers. Although he lived in Salem, Oliver Matthews became enthralled with the Siskiyou Mountains, campaigning hard for the designation of a Forest Service botanical area near Miller Lake within an area he called the "Miller Lake Magic Circle." Within his magic circle Matthews had found at least half of the 35 conifer species native to Oregon, including Baker's cypress.

Check out the Miller Lake species list from Oregonflora here: https://oregonflora.org/checklists/checklist.php?cl=10158&pid=2

This field trip will take place on Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest land.

Carpool Meetup Location and Time:

9am

(Please arrive five minutes early)

Applegate Store & Café (side parking lot)

15095 Highway 238, in Applegate near the Green Bridge

Expected return time: 5pm or before

Driving Directions to the Applegate Store & Café:

From Grants Pass:

Drive Highway 238 towards Applegate for 18 miles. The store will be on the right-hand side of the road just after you cross the green bridge.

From Jacksonville:

Drive Highway 238 towards Applegate for 15 miles. The store will be on the left-hand side of the road, just before the green bridge.

Driving Directions to Miller Lake from the Applegate Store:

From Applegate drive southwest on Thompson Creek Road. After 11.9 miles the pavement ends at a four-way intersection. Turn right onto Forest Service Road 1020, where you should see a sign for Miller Lake. Drive for 4.5 miles and turn right onto Forest Service Road 1020-400. You will quickly ford Sturgis Creek and then carry on another 3.5 miles to the Miller Lake Trailhead. The ford of Sturgis Creek is steep and requires high clearance and 4-wheel drive vehicles only.

Drive Time to Miller Lake from the Applegate Store: 45 minutes

Difficulty: Difficult off-trail hiking to see the Baker's cypress, otherwise moderate trail hiking during the rest of the trip.

Distance: 6 miles

Elevation: 4,834 at the Miller Lake Trailhead

Approximate elevation gain: 900' elevation gain along the Miller Lake Trail to complete the loop, and an extra 400' elevation loss and gain, off-trail, to see the Baker's cypress, for a total of 1,100' elevation gain for the day.

Start at 4,834' at the Trailhead and hike up to 5,200' at Miller Lake. Continue climbing up a ways before dropping off trail 400' in elevation to see the Baker's cypress. Then climb back up 400' to the trail and hike along the trail towards Upper Miller Lake. The trail tops out at 6,100' elevation before dropping back down towards the trailhead along the loop.

Group Size Limit: 25

Appropriate Footwear and Gear: Sturdy footwear is recommended, and trekking poles if they are helpful for you.

Bring with you: Lunch, snacks, water, sun protection, layers, binoculars, camera, hand lens, and any other personal items you might need.

Special Considerations: *High clearance vehicles will be necessary for this trip for those that drive in the carpool. The road to the Miller Lake Trailhead no longer has a bridge over Sturgis Creek, so fording the creek is necessary to get to the Miller Lake Trailhead. The water is not deep but the ford is steep, so high clearance and four-wheel drive is necessary.

There are no bathrooms after the meetup location. Be prepared to go to the bathroom in the woods. There will not be cell phone reception on this trip.

Photo below: Matt Dybala