On Saturday afternoon, June 23, I rendezvoused with three peakbagging friends, Caleb Morris, Michael Berry, and Michael Wanberg above the confluence of the Illinois and Rogue Rivers. We then drove to our campsite deep in the Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest. We had come to climb Big Craggies. Big Craggies has only 4619 feet of elevation, but 2099 feet of topographic prominence making it the 63rd most prominent peak in Oregon.
Sunday morning we got an early start and drove to the end of a minor forest road. That put us on a west ridge that led east over Green Craggie and Peak 4150 towards Big Craggies.
We could finally see Big Craggies from the summit of Green Craggie. Our route continued on an open ridge and steep slope to the summit of Peak 4150. From Peak 4150 we descended its far side to a saddle and climbed up the south face of Big Craggies.
Our route had a lot of up and down but routefinding was easy, the sky clear, and the sun was warm but not hot. Earlier reports had described the ridge as very brushy with limited views of the peaks. The Chetco Bar Fire of 2017 cleared the ridge and slopes of vegetation, but the vegetation is returning. If Big Craggies is on your wish list, I recommend you visit it soon.
We generally went at our own pace but regrouped at the summits and saddles. We regrouped again a few hundred feet below the summit of Big Craggies and shared the last climb to the summit together.
My friends let me reach the summit first. This climb of Big Craggies completed my project of climbing all 74 Oregon peaks with at least 2000 feet of prominence. It had been a multiyear project for me, one I did not expect to complete when I first started it.
We enjoyed the views from the summit of Big Craggies. The Siskiyou Mountains surrounded us and we could see the Pacific Ocean in the distance to the west. We celebrated in our own ways but knew we had a strenuous hike out. A climb is not completed until one returns.
We returned to our cars by the same route, descending and ascending time after time. I was glad to finally reach my Jeep as my hamstrings were beginning to cramp. We celebrated a last time and went our own ways, knowing we would see each other again on other peaks.
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