The Kalmiopsis Wildnerness in Southern Oregon is something else.
Rand and I decided to camp in the nearby Kalmiopsis Wilderness for a night after a day of working in Grants Pass. It turned out to be an interesting adventure to say the least.
Our mission was to make it to Babyfoot Lake which is approximately over 4,000 ft in elevation above the Rogue River in Southern Oregon. The drive up to the trail head took some time, but it was worth it because we had a clear view of the Illinois River snaking through the canyon beneath us.
From the trail head, the hike to Baby Foot lake was only about 1.5 miles, but provided for quite the scenery even though there was still so much fire damage and burnt trees from a wild fire that blazed the area a few years back.
We packed extremely light and brought only whatever food we would eat that day because we weren’t sure of the bear presence in the area.
What we packed: a mini camping stove from REI, Macaroni and Cheese, granola bars, 2 sandwiches an avocado (we’re fancy), water, 2 Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat beers, 2 sleeping bags, 2 sleeping pads, a 1 person tent big enough for 2, pepper spray, bear spray, a flashlight and a “bear bag.”
When we reached the lake, there was a couple set up already were playing cards on one side of the lake. We took a trail around the lake and found a spot beside the lake beneath a small summit with a few snowy patches.
We built a fire and enjoyed our state of isolation from the rest of the world with beer and a modest dinner of mac ‘n cheese alongside a cheese sandwich we prepared in Rand’s car.
We had set up the tent near the fire and in sight of the lake. It was absolutely picturesque.
Earlier, we had been working in Grants Pass doing clearance work and had been up since 7 a.m. so the second I zipped into my sleeping bag I fell into a deep sleep. We had arrived to our campsite late in the afternoon so it did not take long for the sun to go down and for us (me) to go to sleep.
Just as a precautionary measure we had left our shoes, jackets, my pepper spray, bear spray and flashlight in our tent.
About a few hours into my sleep, Rand nudged me to wake up– whispering with a sort anxiousness and I knew something was wrong, but it took me a few seconds to comprehend him. “There’s a cougar,” he said. My heart stopped. I froze. I started to feel woozy. A cougar cried out it’s heinous screech and the fact that we were in such a desolate place made me feel nauseous.
We discussed our options and decided the safest thing to do would be to walk the mile back to the car and spend the night there. After waiting for some time to pass, we put on our shoes, jackets and each grabbed a stick. We decided to hike back to the car in the pitch black night while singing songs and hitting sticks together with nothing but our jackets, flashlights and pepper spray so that we could act quickly and swiftly.
I have a horrible out of sight out mind mentality and while we were walking back, I seldom looked around to see if a kitty was nearby. I was just so tired and exhausted, all I could think about was sleep. Apparently, cougars tend to first go for the back of one’s neck during their attacks and I just couldn’t bare to come face-to-face with one.
It also turned out that we are quite the songwriters. The campers on the other side of the lake must have been more afraid of the sounds we were making if we woke them up.
When we finally made it to the trail head, we both felt a sigh of relief come over us. We were so exhausted and didn’t feel like dealing with cougars or mountains lions in the middle of the night. We moved everything from the back of the SUV to the front seat and made a makeshift bed. We ended up using our jackets to keep warm, but we were so uncomfortable and unbelievably cold. Body heat was non-existent at this point so it was almost impossible to fall asleep.
Once the sun came up, we hiked back down the trail to Babyfoot Lake to retrieve our belongings and sure enough, there was cat scat on the trail. When we got to our campsite, we found that our tent and camping gear were still intact; no slashes from cougar claws. It was quite the adventure, that Kalmiopsis.
Looking back on this adventure, walking back to the car in the middle of the night was a horrible idea, because if anything it could have attacked us on the trail (yikes!) Would I hike in the wilderness again? Yes I would. Would I recommend it? Yes I would, and I do. There is nothing more satisfying than being so close to real, unaltered nature even if it does scare you some times.
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I am sure you scared the cougar more than the other campers. They are much more shy than bear.