Description: Looking toward the west at Cross Peak, Lizard Head Wilderness.

Image by Adam Baker from Houston / Moscow / Toulouse (travel a lot) – CC BY 2.0 – Wikimedia

Description: A field in autumn, surrounded by a wooden fence.

Image by Semiautonomous – CC BY-SA 4.0 – Wikimedia

Description: The United States Congress designated the Wild Rogue Wilderness in 1978 and it now has a total of 35,806 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Oregon and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. Surrounding the Wild and Scenic Rogue River, the rugged and complex canyon landscape of the Wild Rogue Wilderness provides watershed protection for the Wild portion of the river. The area is characterized by steep terrain of near vertical cliffs, razor-sharp ridges and cascading mountain creeks. The lure of gold in the 1850's attracted a numbers of miners, hunters, stocker raisers and subsistence farmers. Conflicts between white settlers and Native Americans culminated in the 1855-56 Rogue River "Indian War." After their defeat, Native Americans were taken to reservations. For settlers, life in the Rogue Canyon was difficult and isolated. Although extensive gold mining operations took place, overall production was low. The remnants of mining, such as pipe, flumes, trestles, and stamp mills can still be found. While the Rogue River flows through the core of the Wilderness, legislation specifically directed that it be managed under Wild and Scenic River direction. Because of this, there are some activities and development, such as motorboat use and lodges, which would normally not occur in a wilderness. The Rogue River is nationally known for its salmon and steelhead fishing and whitewater rafting opportunities, both of which require permits. Approximately 15 miles of the 40 mile Rogue River Trail #1160, a National Recreation Trail, provides year-round hiker only access to the river corridor from Graves Creek down to Big Bend near Illahe. The Panther Ridge Trail #1253 follows Panther Ridge from Clay Hill to Buck Point along the upper elevation of the northern wilderness border. A side trail provides access to the unique vista of Hanging Rock, which is a large rock outcrop on a sheer vertical cliff. It provides excellent views into Eden Valley and the Rogue River Canyon. Other outstanding views can be obtained from the Mt. Bolivar Trail #1259 which provides access to the summit of Mt. Bolivar at 4,319 feet. The Mule Creek Trail #1159, located on the Bureau of Land Management portion of the wilderness, provides a steep route on an out mining trail between the river and Panther Ridge. In general cross-country travel is not advised due to steep slopes and heavy vegetation. The Forest Service administers the entire wilderness, including the Bureau of Land Management portion, so Forest Service regulations apply wilderness-wide. Along the river you may see deer and otters, or even black bears looking for a meal of salmon. Bears, grown accustomed to easy pickings from boaters, may prove a nuisance in numerous campsites. Birds abound, such as fish eating osprey and great blue heron and lizards hasten over the dry slopes above the water. Ticks and rattlesnakes are often encountered. The river corridor is also excellent habitat for poison oak, whose stems and shiny leaves in groups of three can be a problem throughout the year. Mosquitoes are present during a good part of the season and yellow jackets can be a nuisance during the typically hot, rainless summer days. The Blossom Complex Fire, which occurred in 2005, resulted in damage to the Rogue River Trail. This section of trail will be monitored and maintained on a yearly basis. Additional information about the Wild Rogue Wilderness, and all the other BLM Wilderness areas in Oregon/Washington, is available online at: www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/wilderness2.php

Image by Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington – Public domain – Wikimedia

Image by – Public domain – Wikimedia

Description: Lizard Head from Cross Peak Ridge. The ridge leading to the summit of Cross Peak is only a couple of feet wide at a few points. Adding to the adrenaline, the rock is not exactly stable and my legs were burning from the hike up. Certain death if you fall to either side. I was too chicken to get out my camera on the narrow points.

Image by Adam Baker from Houston / Moscow / Toulouse (travel a lot) – CC BY 2.0 – Wikimedia

Description: Identifier: oursearchforwild00nile (find matches) Title: Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana Year: 1910 (1910s) Authors: Niles, Blair Beebe, William, 1877-1962 Subjects: Natural history Birds Publisher: New York, H. Holt and company View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: Fig. 30. The Fatal Mother of the Lake. We reach the lake long before the dew is dried and beforethe freshness of the dawn is dissipated. Hurrying over theplanks and the temporary rails laid for the workmans hand-cars, we push on a half-mile or more to the southward, wherenothing hints.of mans proximity. To the north and westare irregular peaks running off into a blue and misty range —the foot-hills of the Spanish Main. To the south the highwoods are (lose to us and tower high overhead) but evenwith the eye of yonder lofty, soaring Vulture we could see no 62 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. mountains in that direction — nothing but flat, green milesof mangroves, stretching to the horizon over the immensedelta of the Orinoco. The pitch lake itself is surrounded onall sides by dense forests, the front ranks of which are madeup of the marvellously tall and graceful moriche palms.There is one oasis in this pitchy expanse — Parrot Island it Text Appearing After Image: Fig. 31. White-headed Chimachima Hawk and Eta Palm. may be called. To this shelter, guarded on all sides by soft,quaking pitch, Amazon Parrots come at dusk by hundreds,roosting there until the next morning. Near the northern edge is the mother of the lake, justabove the deep-hidden source of supply, where the pitch isalways soft, and where no vegetation grows. It is a veritablepool of death, and nothing can enter it and live. The lizards THE LAKE OF PITCH. 63 and heavy-bodied insects which scamper over the rim areoften clogged and drawn down to death. A jaguar, leapingafter a Jacana, slipped in shortly before we came and madea terrible fight for life. Half blinded, its struggles carriedit only farther outward, but fortunately the end came mer-cifully soon. All the rest of the lake is a varied expanse of black pitch Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.

Image by Internet Archive Book Images – No restrictions – Wikimedia