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Fiddler Mountain, OregonThe residents of Cave Junction remember this mountain for the day that the Biscuit Fire raged over the ridge throwing embers out and igniting fires on the west and east slopes into an uncontrollable fire storm that raced from all sides to the top of the mountain. No one who saw it is likely to forget. The trip to the top of the mountain takes you through a mixture of forest landscapes ranging from those that were heavily burned forest to those that do not appear to have been burned at all. A host of fire adapted plants now cover the floor of the forest among snags of trees killed by the fire. The forest near the top of the mountain remains nearly unburned with many Brewers spruce, fir and pines. Several vistas offer spectacular views in every direction. Mount McLoughlin, the rim of Crater Lake and Mount Thielsen can be seen along the crest of the Cascade Mountain about 100 miles away to the east. The Kalmiopsis wilderness and Wild and Scenic Illinois River are seen to the northwest. The Siskiyou wilderness and mountainous terrain of the Red Buttes wilderness and Oregon Caves National Monument are seen to the southeast.
A two track road goes to the radio towers at the top of the mountain and it is an easy drive for anyone with high clearance. The distance to the top of Fiddler Mountain from the Onion Camp intersection is 2.2 miles. Hikers who want to walk to the top will find it to be an easy walk up the gently graded road.
Directions
Caution The forest on Fiddler Mountain was heavily damaged by fire. Hike with caution. Rock outcrops at vista points have sharp drop-offs and cliffs that may be unstable after the Biscuit Fire of 2002. Stand back from these edges.
Fiddler Mountain Road Log
0.8 Pin turn with nice exposures of layered rock in the road cuts. These rocks are probably all debris off of the ancient Chetco Volcanic island chain that sat off the coast during the mid Jurassic and later collided with the continent to become the land you see around you.
0.9 Pin turn in the road with interesting rock outcrops on the ridge above the road.
1.0 Pin turn.
1.1 Pin turn with a rocky peak above the road.
1.9 Gary oak, canyon oak, chinquapin, service berry and rose are the predominant fire adapted shrubs growing back after the fire.
2.0 Enter into a section of green forest. Fir, Douglas-fir, Brewers spruce, Ponderosa pine and sugar pine grow above an under-story of manzanita and other shrubs. Brewers spruce can be identified by the galls that grow on the tips of some branches.
2.2 Radio tower and top of mountain.
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The Fiddler Mountain hike is located at the end of TJ Howell Botanical
drive (Eight Dollar Mountain Road), a drive that begins near Highway 199 mile
marker 24 about four and a half miles from Cave Junction. Once on Eight
Dollar Mountain Road, drive about fourteen miles from Highway 199 to the
beginning of the hike. Twelve miles of this road are
gravel and and it is recommended you have tires on your car that are
suitable for driving on this type of surfacing. If you want to get the most
of the drive to Fiddler Mountain, you can download the
0.0 Intersection with Onion
Camp road. The road goes through dense stands of snags of trees killed by
the Biscuit Fire. Trees close to the road have been cut down to minimize the
risk of snags falling on cars. Take a second to look at the tree rings
visible on the stumps and see if they can tell you something about how old
the trees were when they died and how fast they were growing by the
thickness of the rings.
1.6 Parking area and vista.
Take a walk along the ridge to the left to see rock outcrops and fire
adapted plants growing after the 2002 Biscuit Fire. 