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HIKING Crews will open hiking trails rarely explored off lower Rogue River Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted May. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted May. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News An Ashland-based group has begun clearing overgrown trails within the rugged Wild Rogue Wilderness Area, and a new grant means they can expand their efforts at opening foot access off these Rogue River trails. The Siskiyou Mountain Club's Wilderness Conservation Corps crew has begun scouting and hand-clearing light brush to launch the club's two-year quest to restore what will become a 30-mile hiking loop with multiple access points along the famed 40-mile Rogue River National Recreation Trail within the wilderness area downstream from Galice. The club this week secured a $10,000 grant from the REI store in Medford that will help fund clearing even more spur trails in the wilderness area, opening access to areas rarely explored by visitors largely relegated to the river or the main trail that hugs its banks and rocky canyon walls. "I think we're going to be able to extend what we're going to do in the Wild Rogue," says Gabe Howe, the nonprofit club's executive director. "It'll strengthen the scope of the project." The new grant buoys a nearly $21,000 federal grant the club secured last fall through the Oregon State Recreational Trails Program that is anchoring the work. Not only will the REI grant go toward reclaiming Mule Creek, Clay Hill and Panther Ridge trails from overgrown brush, it also will help create opportunities to continue maintenance clearing on them so the overgrowth and trail degradation doesn't return there, Howe says. "We don't want to get into the cycle of restoring trails then walking away from them without maintaining them," Howe says. "We're looking into the future." The Rogue River Trail bisects the heart of the National Wild and Scenic Rogue River Canyon and runs between Grave Creek near Galice to Illahe about 30 miles east of Gold Beach. It's an Oregon bucket-list hike for travelers who either do it alone or with the help of various Rogue River Canyon rafting liveries that offer packages for guided and supported hikes. The trail hugging the Rogue's north bank is co-managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, with the Forest Service portion in greater need of clearing and improving to meet trail specifications, Howe says. The trail is narrow and often at high elevations, so it is not recommended for kids under 12 and those afraid of heights, according to the Forest Service. Two of the project's bigger challenges will be clearing the Mule Creek Trail, which snakes between Marial and Eden Valley. The trail was once a supply route for miners who eked out their living in the hardscrabble mountains around Marial, which was large enough to support its own post office until the 1950s. The trail has fallen into disrepair, except when it's cleared strictly as a route for ground forces fighting wildfires in the wilderness area, where mechanized items such as chainsaws and water tenders are banned by federal law. The Clay Hill Trail will test crews' mettle as they battle blown-down snags and overgrowth along steep switchbacks. Howe says work crews will spend about 30 days in the wilderness area this spring and early summer and again in late summer to avoid the hottest times in the region. Their work will be extended by volunteer crews that will set out next month and again in September, he says. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Posted May. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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