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1 California Border to Observation Peak
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IF YOU'VE EVER WANTED TO SAY you’ve hiked from one state to another, here’s your chance. Enter Oregon the way northbound Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) thru-hikers do, and then climb the state’s first peak for a lovely viewpoint—all without working too hard at all.
Being something of a map geek, I’d first like to tell people how to hike to the Oregon–California border. It’s just over a quarter mile from a road, but that isn’t really the point of this hike—rather, Observation Peak is the point. And for the record, I wanted to include the walk from Oregon to Washington as well, but it’s across the narrow Bridge of the Gods at Cascade Locks, which has lots of traffic and no walkway. So this is your only chance for a border hike in this book.
From the road start south (right, as you drove up), through meadows and thin forest, for 0.3 mile down to a register at the border. You can join the hundreds of others who’ve had their pictures taken next to the OREGON/CALIFORNIA sign on a tree, enjoy the views south into the Golden State’s Donomore Meadows, and read the exuberant comments of the thru-hikers who have tromped some 1,600 miles just to get through one state. Most of them arrive here around mid-August, having started at the Mexico–California border around May 1. But their speeds vary greatly: on one September hike here, I encountered a northbounder who said he liked to “sleep late, nap after lunch, and have a good time.” At the other extreme, I met a man at Washington’s Snoqualmie Pass one August 30, then saw that he had signed this register on August 4. That’s about 700 miles in 26 days, or about 27 miles a day!
Now sufficiently humbled, trek back up to the road and cross it, then start a long, gradual climb along a ridge that was clear-cut years ago. Now it’s covered with chaparral, whose red blooms are a favorite of hummingbirds. Up ahead you can see your destination, Observation Peak.
Around 1.5 miles out from the road (2.1 miles total if you went down to the border), you’ll pass a couple of springs, and half a mile later you’ll come upon a sunny ridge that is the west shoulder of the peak. From here you’ll be in the forest for a bit, crossing a few small springs; then it gets a little steeper at times, but it’s never severe. Look for Kettle Lake down the hill to your left.
Half a mile past that little ridge, pop back into the open, with views ahead and to your right of Silver Fork Basin and rolling, forested hills stretching off to the horizon. Next, at a big rock pile, encounter the northern ridge of the peak, with fine views out toward Dutchman’s Peak and its lookout. According to the book Oregon Geographic Names, this peak is named after a miner named Hensley who froze to death here in the 1870s … and was German. Go figure.
The PCT now swings southeast and starts a traverse of the north side of Observation Peak, toward Observation Gap, but you step off the trail just before it disappears into the woods, which are often filled with snow well into July. A short climb of 50 feet will put you on the ridgeline, which you then follow cross-country past several false summits to the real one, which is marked by a pile of rocks with a wood stake in it.
From the broad and grassy summit, which is a little more than 7,300 feet in elevation, you can make out Forest Service Road 20 heading east toward I-5 (the PCT stays very close to it all the way there), and off to the northeast, Mount McLoughlin. Farther east is Pilot Rock, the next big PCT attraction to the north (see Hike 3). Looking south, you’ll see Mount Shasta, with the Marble Mountains to its right. To the north see if you can spot conical Mount McLoughlin, which for thru-hikers is a walk of several days ahead. And finally, in a red can among the rocks, there’s a summit register with (when I was there) entries going back to October 20, 1992. The can was also, when I opened it, filled with hundreds of ladybugs.
An interesting note about this summit is that it has two benchmarks labeled USC&GS, which stands for U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, a government agency that was founded in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson and has been known as the National Geodetic Survey since 1970.
Perhaps a bit anticlimactic, this sign marks the end of a 1,600-mile journey for northbound PCT thru-hikers.
You could cut some distance off your return trip by going cross-country to the west. You can’t miss the trail down there, but because the going is steep and brushy in spots, I don’t recommend it.
PERMIT INFORMATION No permits required.
DIRECTIONS The most direct route to this trailhead, which is labeled as PCNST Stateline Trailhead on Google Maps, starts in the town of Jacksonville. From there take OR 238 southwest for 7 miles to Ruch, and then take Upper Applegate Road south for 9 miles to Forest Service Road 20/Beaver Creek Road, which branches left (east). Follow FS 20, which eventually becomes gravel, for 14 miles to Silver Fork Gap, and turn southeast (downhill) on FS 2025, which is signed for Donomore Meadows. From here it’s 4.1 miles to the saddle where the PCT crosses the road.
You can also access this area from I-5 to the east, which would make sense only if you were already in the Mount Ashland area or doing one of the next two hikes (Grouse Gap to Siskiyou Peak or OR 99 to Pilot Rock). From I-5 North about 5.5 miles north of the California–Oregon state line, take Exit 6 for Mount Ashland, turn right at the exit, and in 0.2 mile turn left (south) on Old OR 99. Then, in 0.7 mile, turn right on FS 20/Mount Ashland Road. Drive about 25 miles generally west on FS 20 to Silver Fork Gap, passing Mt. Ashland Ski Area in about 9 miles—note that the route is twisty and winding, the road is unpaved past the ski area, and some of the stretch west of Meridian Overlook is quite rough. At Silver Fork Gap, turn southeast (downhill) on FS 2025, which is signed for Donomore Meadows. From here it’s 4.1 miles to the saddle where the PCT crosses the road.
GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES N42° 00.292' W122° 54.725'