Mikes Gulch Overlook Trail, Oregon

Mikes Gulch Overlook Trail, TJ Howell Botanical Drive, Highway 199, Cave Junction, Oregon. Mikes Gulch Overlook Trail is a relatively moderate hike that follows a ridge to a knoll overlooking the Wild and Scenic Illinois River and Eight Dollar Mountain. The hike is about a mile in length.

Directions
Mikes Gulch Overlook Trail is located about half way on the sixteen mile TJ Howell Botanical Drive (Eight Dollar Mountain Road). If you want to get the most out of the drive to Mikes Gulch Overlook trailhead, you can download the TJ Howell Botanical road guide (pdf 350kb), a handout that provides a road log and suggested stops to see the botany, geology and stream ecology of the region as you drive to the trailhead.

Trail information

The trail is unmarked but finding the old road that you walk on in the first part of the hike is not difficult. Some bulldozing has disturbed the ground for the first 100-200 feet but once you get past this the road will be fairly obvious since it is the only road running along the top of the ridge. After hiking about a quarter of a mile you will Picnic table at Mikes Gulch Overlook, TJ Howell Botanical Drive, Highway 199, Cave Junction, Oregon come to an intersection with the Days Gulch Road, a 4x4 route that crosses the ridge at this point. You want to GO LEFT and follow this road until you see it begin to go down off the ridge to the left. At this point, look to the right for the trail that continues to follow the ridge. The trail will begin to climb for a short distance and then will descend to a saddle before climbing to the knoll with the picnic table. The table is old and a nearby rock would be a safer place to sit. Along the way you may recognized a small mine on the left. Caution: Portions of the forest along the trail to Mikes Gulch Overlook was damaged by the Biscuit Fire of 2002. Fire creates hazards that can be unfamiliar to even the most experienced hikers, especially during high winds or rain and snow. Hike with additional caution on this trail.

Points of interest

Forest fire can have odd behavior that sometimes results in a heavily burned forest being situated next to a section of forest that exhibits very little burning or no burning at all. The result of this is called a fire mosaic and a good example can be seen near the end of the trail where one side of the ridge has been completely burned and the other side has very minor burning. The burned side of the ridge has blackened, dead trees; the other side a deep green forest. The mix of burned and unburned forest can also be seen in the middle left of the picture below. After the hike, if you continue driving on the TJ Howell Botanical Drive, you will pass through a similar mosaic of extremely burned areas surrounding an area of forest with little to no fire damage at all. For those of us who were here and watched the Biscuit Fire of 2002 come over Fiddler Mountain and ignite the forest around the TJ Howell Botanical Drive into an explosion of flame, it seemed impossible that any part of the forest could have survived. The fact that it did is what makes the Mikes Gulch Overlook Trail and the TJ Howell Botanical Drive all the more amazing.

The Mikes Gulch Overlook Trail also crosses a distinct boundary between the volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Rogue Formation, the type of rock seen around the parking area, and nutrient-poor rock of the upper mantle, the rock seen around the picnic table at the Mikes Gulch Overlook. This same interface of geologic controlled plant communities can be seen in the center of the picture and runs across the mountain in the distance. A portion of the TJ Howell Botanical Drive can be seen in the lower part of the picture.

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Disclaimer: All information in Highway199.org is accurate to the best knowledge of the author. However, conditions in outdoor settings can change dramatically after storms or fires. For this reason, travelers are advised to check current road conditions before traveling through the area, drive responsibly and take measures to understand safety issues in the region. When participating in outdoor activities, always plan and prepare for safe hiking, swimming or any other activities mentioned in the Highway 199 website. More on disclaimer and copyright...