McGrew Trail ride report and pics.

[colbystephens]

Or so I think anyway. 83ChevyK5Blazer and I met up in O'Brien, Or. to ride the "famed" McGrew Trail. I'd never been out there before, but had been wanting to go for years. It wasn't until yesterday that I could find someone to go with me!

Anyway, the State of Oregon basically describes this trail as though it is the most hardcore trail in Oregon - don't go alone, highest skilled drivers, highly modified rigs. Youtube shows that almost all the trucks that ride this trail are nearly stock Jeeps. One fellow claims that any truck on 31" tires could do it, but it would be a bit challenging. So I didn't know what to expect.

We cruised out of O'Brien at about 8:30 a.m. It started out as rough forest service roads. We followed about 20 miles or so of these rough roads all the way to the campground at end of the McGrew Trail. There was not a SINGLE sign that showed us where to go. It was a lovely drive though. We couldn't find it! Here's some pics of that saga:

The trail goes though Oregon's biggest wild fire area.

You can see 83's blue rig on the road from across the valley.

We finally arrived at Sourdough Camp, a bit bewildered about where in the world the Trail could possibly be. I decided to go for a swim in the headwaters of the Smith River.

 

[colbystephens]

So we headed back out of the camp to go find the trail again.

We *think* we found it. This was the more rigorous part of the trail.

We both accomplished the trail with essentially no issues. The ujoints on my front drive shaft are apparently shot, so I drove most of the trail in 2wd. With the locker in the rear and riding in low-gear, it was no issue. Many miles of the trail were this semi-technical bed-rock type drive.

This sign is why we think we were riding the right trail. The McGrew Trail is the old hi-way to the coast from So. Oregon to the coast, so there's wagon ruts in the rocks.

That rut in front of my tire is a wagon rut. You can actually see the wooden-wheel marks on the stone when you're there. This pic sucks because I'm looking toward the setting sun.

We are about 15 miles as the crow flies from the coast. The clouds were covering the beach/ocean, but you get the idea.

A lovely view of the mountains as we were cruising out off the trail.

 

[Engineered Vintage]

Very cool! Great pics as usual! Neat to see the wagon wheel tracks there in person- I drove by Hillock Burn road today (going fishing with my kids) and thought of last time I saw you when we went up Goat Mtn and cleaned.

Take care!

-Ben

 

[djtejas]

i miss the beauty of Oregon...i moved back to Texas 1 1/2 years ago...

 

[chalet2506]

Nice pics, looks like a good time.

 

[83ChevyK5Blazer]

nice pics colby, ill post up mine when i upload from my camera

 

[colbystephens]

nice pics colby, ill post up mine when i upload from my camera

Cool. Looking forward to seeing them! Apparently we didn't use the video feature correctly on the camera when I was going down that real rocky section, so I don't have any pics of my rig. Looking forward to seeing what you've got!

 

[y5mgisi]

Colby, i love how often you get out and enjoy nature with your truck. Inspiring.

 

[colbystephens]

Colby, i love how often you get out and enjoy nature with your truck. Inspiring.

Thanks! I sure don't feel like I use my truck that much, so that's really encouraging to hear! Aside from snow wheelin, I feel like this was the first real 4x4 trip I've been on in a couple years. I guess I do go exploring back roads frequently in the truck, but that's more a function of the fact that I don't want to cruise gravel roads in our nice car.

 

[y5mgisi]

yea i hear ya there. For me it comes down to a thought process like "well i dont want to do out in the woods in the car, and i dont want to spend a million in gas in the truck. Hmm, better just think of something that wont involve the woods then!"... Although, I am getting pretty frustrated with that so who knows, maybe i will change that around a bit.

 

[496truck]

And once again I concede the fact, I live in the wrong part of the country...

 

[colbystephens]

y5mgisi - That's what hiking, backpacking and mountain biking are for.

 

[djtejas]

y5mgisi - That's what hiking, backpacking and mountain biking are for.

and kayaking, snowboarding, rock climbing, camping...man, you guys are making me miss Oregon

 

[colbystephens]

Don't forget white water rafting on the Upper Klamath or windsurfing in Hood River or . . .

 

[djtejas]

Don't forget white water rafting on the Upper Klamath or windsurfing in Hood River or . . .

alright now you're really killing me...Hood River was one of my favorite places in Oregon...close to great whitewater (Oregon and Washington) and Mt Hood for snowboarding

 

[y5mgisi]

i know... I need to get back to having the out doors be a "go to" of that what to do today question that always comes up. I always talk myself out of hiking and things of that nature due to the fact that im fat and out of shape. In realitly what i need to do is talk myself into doing that stuff due to the fact that im fat and out of shape... Ok, hijack/off-topic off.

 

[colbystephens]

Well, if you're feeling like you're not up for major hiking or other rigorous outdoor activity, start with some of the short 2-4 mile hikes in the Gorge! I could list off a bunch of really nice ones that could get you worked up to more rigorous stuff, if you want.

 

[tymbom]

I was up there last year. It looks like you missed the trail on your way out to the camp. Did you make a right off the Forest Service road and switchback up the hill? There was some signs and stuff at the trailhead when I was there. The main trail isn't too hard at all, but there is some obstacles that the trail has bypassed over the years.

 

[colbystephens]

Yeah, we missed it on the way there, but I think we got it on the way back. There was NO signage anywhere that we could find except for the wagon tracks sign.

 

[Cornfield creations]

Man I am wanting to visit Oregon and Washington state, and this just makes me want to even more. Just beautiful, and having a k-5 in the scenery makes it even cooler. Thanks for posting!